Should I take a Help Desk Job?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1781975

by isitpossible • 16 years ago

8 13 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm currently in a computing program and I'm looking for internships. If you'd like more info about me, I asked a question before: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1718229

Basically, I'm looking for some sort of programming related job, be it testing or anything else as long as it's a bit related to it.

I was offered what I think a Help Desk job the other day. I'll be upgrading the firm's hardware and provide maintenance support. It's a bit far from where I am ~2hrs commute. I don't have any other interviews as of now and I'm not sure if I should accept the offer.

I'm afraid that I might not give my 110% because it is not truly what I want although I can see myself doing it. With the current state of the economy right now and given that I have no experience in anything IT related (mostly fastfood and retail), I'm seriously considering this.

I live in Vancouver if that matters. I'd like to seek some advice from you guys as I have no idea what to do right now. Should I take it or wait?

cscotta• 16 years ago

I'd consider asking yourself what you expect and/or hope to get out of it. A two-hour commute for an uninspiring job does not sound like something terribly enjoyable or fulfilling.

Perhaps others here could suggest different opportunities in the Vancouver area?

alexknight• 16 years ago

Do yourself a favour and find something else you truly feel excited about. A long commute for a position that you cannot get 100% behind is a recipe for disaster. Stay true to yourself and your ideals.

psawaya• 16 years ago

I've been keeping a list of CS internships/research opportunities on delicious, maybe you'll find something interesting there: http://www.delicious.com/psawaya/Internships?page=1

Also, I don't know if you're looking for an internship for the summer, but if you are, check out the Google summer of code program. You'd learn a lot more about programming by contributing to open source than you would at a helpdesk, plus you get paid a little.

paulsingh• 16 years ago

I'm going to take a counter position to some of the other advice on this thread.

Consider taking this gig. As an internship, I suspect that it's going to last 3-6 months. Yes, the commute sucks but I suspect you'll learn something far more important:

1. How users react to systems that geeks/engineers put in place.

2. How to talk to non-technical users (who, I assume, are the likely callers)

I did a short stint at a helpdesk many years ago and it certainly helped me learn how to talk to non-technical people. (I also did two summers selling cars at CarMax which, IMHO, was a fantastic way to learn how to sell yourself to anyone.)

gaelian2• 16 years ago

Like you, I decided to get into IT kind of late. My first position in the IT industry was help desk support for a local and quite successful ISP. We did both sales and tech support. It was a very busy job with high call volumes, lots of shift work and the shortest legally required break times. Coincidentally enough, I also had a long commute to this job, though it was < 2 hours. After about three months I found a new position working in web design/development which was more like what I was wanting to do. This was lucky because shortly after I left, the local ISP was sold and everyone was told they could relocate across the country or lose their job.

I learned a lot from working help desk and don't regret doing the job at all, if nothing else, it was good to have something other than study on my resume. But I could tell even after three months I was already starting to burn out and was getting a bit sick of being treated more like a resource than a human being. In my experience, help desk workers tend to be treated as being pretty expendable and easily replaceable, whether this is actually the case or not.

My advice would be if you need a job now or feel that you might benefit from the experience of working a "real" job (assuming this is your first foray into a professional position), then take this help desk job. If you don't need a job now or don't feel the experience of this job would be helpful, don't take it. But either way keep looking for something that's more inline with what you're really after.

gexla• 16 years ago

I had a similar experience sans commute with a helpdesk. I also credit that gig as being a good learning experience and eventually getting me interested in web development. I couldn't find a web development job though, so I did freelancing instead. The nice thing about development is that you don't have to wait around for something to come to you, instead, make things happen yourself. Work on getting freelance gigs, in the downtime, work on an open source project or work on your sales tools (portfolio, web site, connectivity via social networks, reputation management, etc.)

gaelian2• 16 years ago

After some years of working in "enterprisey" environments, I've recently starting a partial transition into something a little more freelance and self determined. Always glad to hear from people who are on the same wave length. :)

naner• 16 years ago

A 2 hour commute? Each way or total? Unless you are hard up for cash or this is the most amazing opportunity ever, this is a waste of your time. Find something closer.

isitpossible• 16 years ago

Unfortunately, it's each way.

CyberFonic• 16 years ago

Nah! That's way too much of your life wasted.

As for the main question. If you plan to be programming or building systems, then 6-12 months on the help-desk will make you so much more aware of the sorts of things that are show stoppers for average users. In my experience technical staff with help-desk experience make better usability decisions.

bdclimber14• 16 years ago

2 Hours?! That's 10 hours a week (20 hours if you meant one way) that you should calculate into your hourly pay rate. However, if you really don't have any IT experience help desk support is a good stepping stone. Just make sure you never go backwards.

known• 16 years ago

    I have no experience in anything IT related (mostly fastfood and retail)

Since you've no experience, I suggest you take the job.

codeslush• 16 years ago

My first professional software job was at a great software company, but I had a horrible commute each day. I ended up leaving that company to work in tech support (enterprise software) at a software company much closer to my home. I remember feeling a little embarrassed about it - it was definitely a downgrade -- but I chose it for the lifestyle improvements it offered at that time.

Turns out, it was probably one of my smarter moves. I really enjoyed solving problems for the customers. People sent emails and actual snail mail to my company raving about me. That was cool. Then, I noticed a need for a utility in the field. I wrote it and did some testing with it and then the development manager caught wind of it and came by to talk to me.

He wanted to recruit me in to the development team! Simultaneously, I was being recruited into sales consulting. Not only that, but our customers were trying to hire me left and right. I ended up taking the internal position for sales consulting.

Moral of the story: You can create opportunities for yourself even when in a position that may not be your ideal role. Hard work, creativity and initiative go a LONG way.

Taking this job clearly depends on your goals. It seems to me that one has endless opportunities right now if they are willing to be self employed or work for a startup and don't have heavy income requirements. Lots of functions like startup weekend, group meet-ups, etc... can get you in front of the right people. If your goal, however, is to work for the man, then why not take a position like this and see what doors it opens?

Should I take a Help Desk Job?

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