Specializing in one area in IT

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by rockstar6181, Aug 13, 2012.

  1. rockstar6181

    rockstar6181 Byte Poster

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    Is it feesible to specialize in one area in IT support e.g know SCCM inside out but know v little about exchange?

    Would an employer accept a engineer to be an expert in one subject or would they require them knowing lots more (you see some jobs that ask for every subject under sun)
     
    Certifications: A/N+ MCSA 2003
  2. Shinigami

    Shinigami Megabyte Poster

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    It really depends... I've generally been employed as a jack of all trades in most companies I've worked in. Even now as a consultant, I maintain my knowledge by keeping up to date on Active Directory and the Server OS, Exchange, Lync and FIM and the client implication of these products.

    But meanwhile we have internal guys in the Premier field who are specialists in just a single product. Works well in the consulting field, but may not work so well if you're asked to be a first, second or third level admin. Then again, some companies may very well hire a specialist in just a single subject such as PKI, but you really need to be exceptionally good to be considered by a prospective employer if all you know is a single product. You need to make it a major selling point of your career and know-how.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCITP, MCDST, MOS, CIW, Comptia
    WIP: Win7/Lync2010/MCM
  3. JK2447
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    JK2447 Petabyte Poster Administrator Premium Member

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    I work for a large IT services company and they silo us so that we can be either general support or specialists. I know a few specialists who only do SCCM, AV, SCOM etc. I work on the Wintel BAU team so we are more general but we can specialise if it comes under our remit such as Citrix or VMware. We have a Subject Matter Expert (SME) title for Wintel staff that know more than most in one particular area.

    Can you be a specialist in one area and only have basic knowledge, or none in other areas? I think you can yes. Check out the jobsites. They often ask for specialists in one area. Does this limit the jobs you can go for? I'd imagine so. Do they expect you to have a solid foundation knowledge built up from 1st 2nd 3rd line in addition to your chosen specialism? I'd imagine so.

    If you do want to specialise in one area I'd say go for the large IT services companies as smaller firms are the places where they need you to do it all (not always but in general I think thats fair to say). I for instance know nothing at all about exchange and not a lot about SQL because we have teams for that.
     
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