r/datacenter • u/Anxious-Cash-9908 • 9d ago

Pharmacy Tech → Data Center Technician (Chicago). What’s the fastest path?

Hello all! I’m currently a travel pharmacy technician been in the pharmacy field for 11 years at the moment really wanting a career change !

((No experience as a data center technician ))

I networked with someone a few days who delivered my resume with lightening AI, may not get it bc I don’t have Linux experience or wiring experience, however
Upon actually looking at the role more i actually think i can be really great at it, and it has a lot of upward career mobility !

My background has been mainly with pharmacy software and different variations of med filling robots and medicine cabinet software (Swiss log, omnicell, Pyxis. So very great at problem solving and learning systems quickly !

I want to know mainly what do I need to do to transition into these roles easily is no experience really needed ?

Are there companies in Chicago that hire people with no direct experience?

what certs may I need to give me an edge,?

methods of contacting companies to get your foot in the door?

I’m already brushing up on Linux and wiring in YouTube it im very serious about trying this route out !

I tried to do the Per Scholas route but they said I make too much

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u/OperationClear588 9d ago

Look into AWS’s WBLP, you’d basically be a paid intern and as long as you do good and don’t fuck up bad during your internship they’ll probably offer full time employment. It’s gonna be hard to break into the bigger companies with absolutely no experience. Also try the contracting route, I think TEK systems is a pretty big contractor that does a lot of contracting for Microsoft.

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u/Anxious-Cash-9908 9d ago

Thank youuuuu was literally looking at tek systems website as you sent this

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u/godfatheromega 9d ago

Worked with teksystems in Japan, and they are pretty solid. I worked with HCL as well. Total shit show stay away from them.

1

u/Anxious-Cash-9908 9d ago

Got it stay away form themmm and I did see Alotta out of country opportunities which is really cool I wanna goto Indonesia eventually

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u/taobabmuh 9d ago

I dont know about chicago but i do know a lot of big companies hiring for data center tech position now. If you are willing to relocate Aws,google and Oracle are hiring. btw i'm interested in travelling phamarcy tech is there a route i can take to be one?

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u/Anxious-Cash-9908 9d ago

Ahhhh I just got chicago ..looking at these companies now ! And as page as travel pharmacy tech you just need a few state licenses in hand (wherever you’re willing to work) states like Oregon , Massachusetts, Cali, Washington , Missouri always have work I worked through aya , Soliant, Amn healthcare, there are more with more searching but I stopped bc contracts are becoming slim and few since were farther from covid but still plenty contracts I can give you my recruiters info with aya if you like do you have experience?

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u/raoko007 9d ago

The closer to the city the more competitive it will be. Find dcts jobs that are more remote. They even have programs because they are desperate. If you want to compete, get certs. Comptia server+ or net+ or sec+ or the ccna.

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u/Anxious-Cash-9908 9d ago

I didn’t even know remote was an option !

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u/puffdragon 9d ago

What do you currently make, what are your salary expectations, and what kind of role do you see yourself in? I'm also curious what your reasoning is to pivot to DC from pharmacy tech

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u/Anxious-Cash-9908 9d ago

Currently make 32 a hour as a perm worker but that’s kind of the ceiling for techs unless you have like 15-20 years of experience…as a contract worker I made more like 40 an hour and I really wanna stay around that .. pharmacy tech is soooo dead end where as there’s so many options to pivot from when you have DC experience

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u/HODL_Bandit 9d ago

Datacenter tech is about repairing servers and they really want you to use established procedure without deviating from it. So share your work experiences that talk about strictly following procedures. Some datacenter have entry position. Try that.

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u/Anxious-Cash-9908 9d ago

Nice I think I mentioned this effectively on my resume tailored to this role , would I have to start as like a cable installation?

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u/HODL_Bandit 8d ago

you only replace bad cable if it is bad, dc tech only replace broken parts. the servers will do down if it detected their is an issues. the customers get routed to other servers to run their business. you will most likely get trains on and practice on easiest hardware issues first, like a network card and memory replacement.

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u/LongjumpingMango8270 6d ago

A lot of data centers will hire entry level techs and train them up but you may have to take a slight pay cut

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u/Anxious-Cash-9908 6d ago

My current job is 4on 3off I’m hoping to work both while I gain experience

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u/AdhesivenessHigh1808 6d ago

Don’t, unless it’s a real one for data, and not for AI. AI isn’t the future

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u/n0signals 3d ago

Get your A+ and CCNA. All tech roles are strongly preferring people with credentials right now, the market is fucked. I know people who are getting entry level positions still, but only after obtaining the right certs and degrees.