Considering Internal Move

[ukjane]

I currently work in PC Support, have been bored of it for a while now and looking for something different. A job is going in another IT team, in applications support, supporting JDE Oneworld.

Would this be a good career move, I would enjoy it in the short term as I would be learning new skills and learning about the business which is what I want. But should anything happen, i.e I get made redundant from that job. Would it still leave me with saught after skills. Is business analysis and jde support saught after??

Any help appreciate, I have to decided pretty quick if I want to apply, it means giving up my company car and i;m not sure about salary, but i;m really tempted to give it a go.

 

[DTSMAN]

No one can tell you that when you get bored or fired from this job that you will be able to move on easily. Everyone gets bored with their jobs after they master them. First ask yourself who else will be effected by this decision, such as spouse, kids, or creditors gettng their money due to a pay cut. If you want to do it, go for it. Only you can weigh the pros and cons. I am bored too. I work with POS software for retaurants and retailers. Dont get to learn as much as I would like about general computering. Due to the skills I have developed in this field I have been offered restaurant management jobs by my customers, but I don't want to work those hours. There are IT people out there who job hop alot so they can learn different programs and softwares. Sometimes this can be advantageous, because it makes for a long resume with lots of exposure to different products.
This may not help but I didn't want to leave you out there with out a response from anyone.

 

[Craig0201]

Business Analysis is a very sought after skill.....

As for JD Edwards....well, could very much depend (in the medium to long term) what happens with the proposed buyout by Peoplesoft and the proposal by Oracle to buy Peoplesoft.

Craig

 

[ukjane]

I think I need to carefully over the weekend look at the pro's and cons of staying in Desktop support or moving in application support. The main points being that in my opinion IT support is changing and I don't like it, many companies are choosing MCSE's over real experience (starting another topic there) and my current manager won't let me do any training or MCSE exams. Whereas in the new role, I could do a degree in Business Studies or Computing, which would be useful. Also finding a job in desktop is getting harder, people doing MCSE's with no experience and these training agencies training people off the streets for these jobs are pushing salaries down and expectations up and i'm sick of trying to compete when I have over 6yrs experience.

Decisions, decisions......

 

[CajunCenturion]

The certificate issue has been discussed ad nauseum and certainly don't want to get into that here. However, I will make one point about that. I don't see any validity in connecting an MCSE to JDE Support and/or Business Analysis.

It's awfully hard to make any suggestion because there is so much about the situation (both your company and your own personal situation) that is unknown.

But I would give serious consideration for accepting the new role for the additional experience, and to pursue the degree in Business Studies or Computing.

Your observation is correct. It is an employers marketplace right now, and they can set the bar where they like. A rather un-scientific look at the on-line job boards for software positions seem to have about 65-75% "degree required" standard.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[Craig0201]

Jane,

If they are paying for a degree then it sounds like a great opportunity. And losing that company car does wonders for your tax bill!

Craig

 

[ukjane]

The degree would be good, too late to start this year now though. The company car only costs me £40 per month in tax and to buy a car for myself and maintain it would cost more than that, so it would work out more expensive to hand the car back and have my own.

I just feel like i've gone as far as I can in this area and want to do something different, except I don't know what that something different is, the business interests me which is why I think this move would get me out into the business more, understanding it's needs from the IT systems and liasing with the business managers more.

I think i'm at that stage in life where I am questioning what I want to do for the rest of my life and I know this isn't it. But I don't know what is, If I had a degree then more doors would be opening for me, my husband is becoming very sucessfull in his company, but he started as a graduate.

They say find a job you love and you never have to work a day in your life......how true is that......

Either way I won't stay doing this, so what's the harm in applying I suppose I might not get it anyway, let the hands of fate decide....

Thanks.

 

[DTSMAN]

UKJANE,
There is anther forum called "where is IT going in the next 5 years" that I follow. Read some of the post there. Maybe it can offer you some insight on how other people in your posistion see the future.

 

[Craig0201]

Jane,

Def not too late to start this year. October for the Open University, August applications for University.

As an alternate, have a look at British Computer Society diplomas. Equivalent to a degree. Good distance learning stuff from Southampton Institute.

Craig

 

[ukjane]

Didn't get the job anyway. Hoping to try and talk my manager into giving me some meaty stuff to get my teeth into. Problem is the others in the team have been here 2-3 yrs each and we seem to fight over the good stuff. Always the same I guess.

 

[ukjane]

Before I got this job, I applied for several positions. I wanted to work in the public sector ideally, local council, hospitals etc. These sorts of organisations person specifications, usually said 12 months experience, plus MCSE or MCP as an essential criteria. Alot of jobs you see here in the UK for 2nd line server\desktop support want minimum 2 yrs experience and an MCSE.

I'm lucky that my manager believes in experience over qualifications and believes the likes of MCSE's only backup the knowledge you already have and proven you can pass an exam. They advertised my job as minumum 4-5 yrs experience and MCP\MCSE an advantage. I have 3 MCP's. I would like to go for the full MCSE but my company are not keen to do this, as my job is virtually all Desktop and Network support not much server stuff, they would prefer me to do a CISCO course or something like that rather than like Exchange\SQL stuff to get an MCSE, even the AD stuff because I don't have much to do with that side it's not really relevant to my job, so I won't get an MCSE here. Which worries me if ever I was to leave or was laid off. But I found this job and i'll find another.

I think these specifications and advertisements for jobs are put together by HR departments and they put MCSE down but they don't really know what it means.