Unhappy with my new job, feel like this is a major step back. What do I do?
Posted by ITquestionsAccount40@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 28 comments
Im not sure what to do at this point and looking for other people’s thoughts. I am extremely early in my career.
I have been in this industry for 3 years and a half almost. About 1 1/2 years of help desk and was given a major learning opportunity at my previous employee of being the sysadmin/network guy (promotion) after the previous team had left at the time, so I did that for 2 years and learned sooo much and got to touch essentially everything. It was a full microsoft shop. I touched every product and system a newbie could ever dream of (Azure, HyperV, Intune, Entra, Defender, Exchange so on and so on).
Throughout my 2 years there as a sysadmin I got my MD-102 certification as I really enjoyed my work especially in Intune managing Windows and iOS devices, Id say I spent 50% of my time in there. I did a migration to Autopilot from using PXE boot and thoroughly enjoyed everything that went into that (app deployment, config profiles, setting up WUfB, etc). I became THE Admin that knew everything and setup up everything.
Flash forward to this week and I started a new job. I was hoping it would be an upgrade (slight pay increase, less responsibilities) but it feels like a downgrade to me. For one my new title kinda sucks: Specialist II, makes it sound like help desk but it is not Helpdesk. This feels like it’s going to limit me when getting a new job as my previous title was Network/System Administrator.
Second, at first I was told I would be doing app support and Intune work, as well as m365 work. But after being told my duties today, app support didn’t mean what I think it meant. I thought they meant like deployment application support and keeping windows 3rd party apps up to date with Intune. But its more like dealing with dated 3rd party app integration. My intune work will also be limited to Apple devices only, because another team takes care of everything windows related. This is a HUGE bummer to me as I was hoping to mostly do Windows Intune work. Unlike a lot of people, Im one of those freaks the genuinely enjoys working with Windows and figuring out all the quirks of Microsoft.
I want to be a full Intune SME in the future (especially on the Windows side) and it feels like this job just aint it. I really do not know what to do at this point. It has only been a few days but so far I am not happy. There is also barely any work to be done since the team is huge and so siloed off. I work in government now as well. I feel my Windows Intune skills will begin to atrophy and whither away and that really worries. I would do Intune at home but the licensing I dont want to pay for/its not in my budget at the moment.
I feel stuck here and I also feel bad because I got this job through connections after applying here and there for nearly a year. I left old employer because I just had too much on my plate for one guy and they also don’t do raises at all and I needed some more money.
The job market is my area especially is awful right now so this all just feels like a perfect storm. I feel extremely stuck now.
This was a lot so if you read this thank you for sticking around. Just looking to see other perspectives.
MedicatedDeveloper@reddit
Da fuq you want to do intune for? That's all being outsourced. It brings very little value outside of a MSP role. It's a complete dead end.
Go hardcore instead: Linux, automation, cloud, containers, ci/cd, k8s, etc. If you can make the cut that's where the money is and will be for the foreseeable future.
If you want to say in a similar sphere as intune maybe specialize in IAM but that's just pigeon holing you futher and entrenching you in more products and very few technologies.
kerosene31@reddit
This is a public sector role? You're probably on a 1 year "probation" period (I hate that term). Wait it out and see how things go. Show you can handle what they give you and you should move up to more quickly. I've never seen a gov't office that had too many people and not enough to do.
Don't sweat titles in the public sector either. They are goofy and all over the place. Money is what matters. I assume you get really good benefits too? I know lots of people with help desk pay but who have fancy management titles that sound important. Better to be in the other group.
justaguyonthebus@reddit
You don't put your job title on your resume, you put your role and back it up with your accomplishments. Titles are not standard and often just internal designations or pay bands.
Centimane@reddit
They can also be legally wrong. Most of my job titles have ended with "engineer" - but "engineer" is a protected term in my country and you can't use it unless you meet certain criteria. Putting engineer on my resume would almost certainly be a death sentence in the interview.
justaguyonthebus@reddit
Yeh, it was supposed to be that way in the US. I don't know about legally protected but there was definitely a stigma against it's use until the tech boom where people without a formal education basically created the tech industry. Then basically defined the software engineering role and couldn't hire people into it fast enough.
I'm sure if you ask a real engineer today that they are still bitter about it.
ITGuyThrow07@reddit
Yeah when I've been involved in hiring, I did not even look at job titles. I just care about what work they actually did. Job titles are pretty much meaningless in IT because it can be so so variable depending on the environment.
Pyrostasis@reddit
I mean...
Most of this you could have gotten out of them in the interview process.
Your title should have been on the job description.
During your interview this is why you ask questions.
What will I be doing?
Whats an average day in this job like?
What are some of the common issues I'll be supporting?
What happened to the guy who did this before me or is this a new poisition?
Take those questions and drill down a bit. Oh cool Ill be using Intune. So are you a windows shop or do you handle other os's etc etc.
I'm not trying to dog pile I get it this sucks, but its also your first week and we're on Tuesday, give it a bit of time. Worst case scenario you can keep looking and move on when you find something else and drop this off your resume.
ITquestionsAccount40@reddit (OP)
You’re right, I should have asked more in depth specifically. I will make note of that for any future opportunities.
I guess I had assumed since the team I interviewed for was using Intune, that is was both iOS and Windows OS. I never expected them to have a completely separate team that deals with the Windows side.
uptimefordays@reddit
Remember this for your next interview! It’s a two-way street, so make sure the role aligns with your expectations and get a sense of the team dynamics and organizational structure.
Pyrostasis@reddit
I feel yah man.
I got lucky with a similar situation and DIDNT get the job but found out later through a friend it was a nightmare.
Ever since I've tried to remember that interviews are 2 ways. You are being interviewed for the gig and you are interviewing them to see if its a good fit. Everyone has to eat and sometimes that means we gotta work a shit job till something better comes along.
Take it as a learning experience and give it a bit of time, you never know this gig could turn around and in 2 years you may love it.
BlackV@reddit
No, you're on point
jdptechnc@reddit
Titles don't matter, role/responsibilities do. This is a non-issue.
When you are interviewing with a company, remember that you are also interviewing them, not just the other way around. The onus is on you to grill them for complete details and not assume things. You are fresh and didn't know that. You'll remember for next time.
I normally wouldn't suggest this at all, but if the old company is really that understaffed, maybe they would consider hiring you back for an increase in pay? Being miserable isn't good for anyone, and it sounds like that is where you are headed.
ZAFJB@reddit
You have three choices:
Get a different job.
Change things where you are.
Accept the situation and live with it.
snebsnek@reddit
You have not been there long enough to make long term decisions at this point. Stick with things at least a month. You're still in the "first week shock" period.
coolbeaNs92@reddit
Yeah, I think unfortunately you've learnt a lesson here in properly asking questions during the interview process. It sounds like you didn't identify the specifics before taking the role and now you're discovering what the role really is.
Keep looking for roles, learn what you can and then move on.
PawnF4@reddit
I don’t know what an MD-102 is so that’s probably not gonna carry much weight, been in this for 15 years.
Job hopping for pay and title fluff was good a few years ago but we’re in a different job market and economy now. I’d focus on some solid reconzibsble certs and skills. Ccnas, security +, AWS etc.
If you can and the environment is such I’d try to stay and learn where you are at least a couple years but I understand if it’s not that kind of place. The most valuable thing you can find early on in your career is a good mentor or two honestly. I owe so much to my previous sages I was fortunate enough to meet and work under.
Master-IT-All@reddit
Ya it really sucks when a company doesn't actually list what you'll do in a job but instead lists something like, Intune Admin. Except you're not. You're an Apple MDM admin.
I got sucked into a job like this myself a few years ago, thought I was going to be working with modern identity systems, got stuck working for a PE owned company with this ridiculous software developed in germany, documentation in german first, but worldwide support in english. 99% of the work was collecting SQL logs.
I did the bare min, I won't lie, I did not try. And I just kept looking and left as soon as possible.
The_Penguin22@reddit
Why leave your old job?
ITquestionsAccount40@reddit (OP)
Too many responsibilities for too little pay. Was great at first but after 2 years of being there, I got burnt out being the only admin that took care of everything 24/7. It was a healthcare company that had a few 24/7 sites, so it was annoying being on edge even on my days off and on PTO.
_Robert_Pulson@reddit
Why can't you bring Intune to this job? Build a case for it as you keep understanding the business, and become the SME for it.
ITquestionsAccount40@reddit (OP)
They already use it on the iOS side but they are building up the Windows side since they still use SCCM. I thought given they said “youll be working in Intune” that meant I would touch both sides, and not just the iOS side. There is another team that deals with the Windows Side of things.
I guess I didnt ask how segregated they are with their roles here.
dpf81nz@reddit
stick around a while at least, once you are not 'new' and they see your talents and know you better, you'll likely be given opportunities
RAVEN_STORMCROW@reddit
28 years and change traceable in Resume as I am friends with my first manager in corporate.
I just survived 4 months of doing bench work as my administrator rights were on hold for a new background check.
I have worked same gig for 19.5 years. Job duties same regardless of 10 org changes. I was only person in department for a year.
If your skills degenerate, Google is our friend. Been on the boxes since 1980, Wang mini for the start, the 10 key on unisys.
Use for your skills may change.
Seen every dos since 2.0 win since 2.0. Unix Vax Mac Linux used. Mainframe for Fleet Bank POS systems, Medical systems etc..
Learning everything you can and tough it out. Look at Civil Service fed, state and local for stability
BlackV@reddit
stick it out for a while, learn to work with multiple teams, find a new job after a year or so
Intelligent-Pause260@reddit
Create the position you want. You gotta learn to advocate for yourself and show management that you have skills above your level. Be the first to volunteer for a challenging project, lend your expertise even if it’s outside your role. The thing young people haven’t really realized is that titles and job responsibilities in corporate are fluid and you can often break out of a silo if you show talent and ambition
TheArcticFox1337@reddit
Honestly the best advice I can give you after 15yrs in IT at a bigger company is this: Find a way to enjoy or at least tolerate what you've been asked to do, and challenge yourself to find areas within your scope of work that need improvement. Remember that what your doing now isn't what you'll be doing in the future, opportunity often comes when you least expect it. It's far easier to move around once you're on the inside than it is to get in from the outside, I started in workstation support, then moved internally to Systems Engineer 1 and within about 7yrs made it to Lead Systems Engineer. I now Lead a technical team and focus on large scale systems architecture scaling multiple data centers, covering Azure, AI, Citrix, on-prem windows and Linux, SANs, VMWare, etc. A lot can happen in 6-12 months, it may feel like an eternity but when you get through it and look back you'll realize it was brief. And hey, if it's been a year and there's been no opportunities with none insight, look for something else.
unknwnerrr@reddit
Just stick it out and see what happens
Swordbreaker86@reddit
Quick summary:
You got what you wanted, less on your plate. Monkey paw curled and you have to do work you don't want to do.
Suggestion: Pivot like you did before and discover how to enjoy your new work with the increased time you have now.
If you really hate it after 6 months/year, shop I guess?