2 Weeks In ....

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Well, just about, 1 day short of it

This is a Network/Server support job for a very small company (40ish max users). I'm the sole IT guy so get my hands dirty with everything. It was my first real step outside of Servicedesk support roles and I was really looking forward to it.

That was how it was sold to me. However .... It's not that bad a job, just not exactly what they said it was. Or isn't because of circumstances. I was hoping for a longish term position, I think I'll be treating it more like a 'contract' role and giving it 6 months. Why's that then? Well .....

1. The company is 3 companies under one logo. One of the companies went bust the week before i started (NOT what you want to hear first day ) This arm was the arm that had the major IT side and most users and machines and they side that needed the most IT support (I was told that in my interview).

2. They sacked my predecessor for unknown to me reasons, even though he was meant to be staying a month and a bit after I started to train me up. No one else knows anything about the systems and setup.

3. There is little to do (see point 1). I'm left with about 15 users and some old kit. 1 DC (on W2K3 SBS), 2 IIS webservers, 1 Windows 2003 server running SQL and bespoke apps.

4. They're also getting me to do other peoples jobs when they're off, which is basic data entry onto a Warehouse system. Not happy with this and my mentions of it are swept aside.

So, overall, thought it isn't a disaster, it's far from great. Yes, there is stuff to support and I've had a good play around and am presently (off my own back) coming up with some ideas for there AD setup (they have NO GPOs, anyone can do anything and all the PCs just download and install updates automatically!). I've also learnt more about IIS then I've ever known, they've had me working on there website a lot. Oh, and there is a lot of free time so I'm getting loads of 291 study done

What I'm mainly worried about is getting stuck in such a small environment and the IT side slowly disappearing, with the arm that went bust there isn't a lot of work for me. I'm very worried that they'll suddenly decide that actually they don't really need to pay £21k for an IT guy when someone could probably just learn the basics and they could contract out the rest when needed (they already have a 3rd party doing all there actual physical network (routers, cables etc..) support, I don't touch that. They keep brushing aside my queries on how stable the rest of the company is. Not good.

Overall then I'll get my 291, which will then give me my full MCSA (planned to take August), give it a few more weeks which will then be 6 months here. My CV will then include 3rd line support of servers and hands on work which is why I was having trouble getting a job last time as all I'd done was phone support. Then get my CV out and about (sometime during September) and move on again. At least I've a good reason to put on my CV for wanting to leave pretty quick. Worried about my job position, company may not be financially secure!

 

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You do find that in smaller companies, the IT work just isnt always there when your running with a small number of users. At the end of the day though, they do need someone there incase of emergency.

Its a shame you have to do Data entry etc, but at least your earning a decent wage and getting the most important thing done, which is getting experience and learning!

I find it strange they wont tell you about the previous IT guys sacking, I dont even work there and I want to know!

 

yeah, well done mate. at least they are letting you loose on their servers....

they fired the last guy for asking too many questions like 'why was my predecessor fired'

 

I wouldn't want to know why the previous guy got sacked. If I were told the reason, I wouldn't be myself as I would be trying to avoid the same mistakes and I would have to keep myself in check. You want the best out of someone you let them off the leash and get on with their job in their style.

 

Paul this sounds like a great action plan, its going to look good on your CV, pays oright and is not too stressful so u can concentrate on getting your certs.