When IT Work Goes Bad

March 7, 2006 8:10 PM

BurnoutFilter: Were you an IT / Help Desk / Computer Support Tech in your past and successfully switched to a different career? If so, please tell me about your career switch story. Successful and unsuccessful stories welcome!

I suspect I'm not alone in this. I've been doing IT professionally since June of 1999, and before that it was part time for two years. But the burnout has started (again... mostly due to the same questions day in and day out from the same people doing the same dumb things over and over again) and I am feeling less and less that just looking for yet another support position is going to help things.

Now, I am completely aware that I have a long road of evaluating my own skills ahead (finding out what my other interests and skills are outside of IT, etc.) and determining my own path. I've done similar things in the past, so I'm not looking for that type of advice.

I am simply interested in successful (and, well, hell, I guess it might be good to hear some UNsuccessful ones as well) tales of techs shifting to other careers, be they creative careers, blue collar careers, weird careers.

posted by smallerdemon to work & money (16 comments total)

I guess i'll start. i was a programmer/IT manager(VP) for a major investment bank when I decided to quit it all and become an elementary school teacher. I applied and got into Teach For America. To be fully honest, it turned out to be a terrible match for me and I spent most of my time (when I wasn't in class) working or crying or frustrated. I finally quit after a long many months and made a huge move across the country (with hubby) and went back to programming but working out of my home and for a small company. A few months ago, I was getting frustrated/bored again so I started a photography business on the side and now do both quite successfully. This way I am still on the up and up with new technology but I can make my creative side happy on the weekends and it even brings a bit of additional income.

Also, before I joined TFA, I had changed my work situation so I worked 3 days a week. I spent the other two days doing stuff I loved (which for me was taking different classes and volunteering) and it was quite wonderful. I'd recommend trying to make that kind of a change first before you do the full jump. But it all depends on how much income you're willing to give up. If you don't care too much about it, I am sure you can find a way to make it and be happy. Just so you know, almost any career/job will have the burnout factor you're talking about, so don't think this next career will fix all your problems. IMHO. THe trick is to keep yourself entertained whether that means constantly learning new stuff or working with bright people, etc.
posted by karen at 8:51 PM on March 7, 2006

Well, I wasn't a tech, but I did do a succesful shift - from DNA Analyst to Post Production. I was in London at the time, unhappy with my job, and took a two hr evening class at a local university called Changing Careers. Doing so gave me the confidence to make the switch, and I learnt the golden term that will grease your wheels of change - "transferable skills". Just because you're burnt out and you don't want to do what you do any more doesn't mean you have to throw away all the skills you have learnt and start from scratch. I personally had no problem convincing employers that my science skills were useful in a creative field, and in fact it made me stand out from everyone else that had taken the well beaten path. Good luck!
posted by forallmankind at 9:02 PM on March 7, 2006

I started in IT support in '96, moving up to testing, sysadmin, then business analyst. In 2000 my entire section was moved to another city, so I transferred to a policy area. I hated it. Six months later I was headhunted to audit because I'd developed a reputation as a critical thinker, a straight talker and a good communicator. Been here ever since.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 10:03 PM on March 7, 2006

I worked in a help desk and tried to switch careers. It was tough for me to not be "needed" like that anymore. I also hated having a boss that was so superior to me.

I went back to help desk work and left again to go back to school in hopes that next time will be better when I try to switch careers.

What I'm doing now that may make a difference is that I've hired a life coach to help me work out what made me good at the help desk and translate that to normal office work.
posted by k8t at 1:09 AM on March 8, 2006

Another thought -- since you probably have a pretty quiet day with some free time, why not get an online degree while you're working there?

Then once your degree is done, you'll have more options and a degree to boot.

Because if you're looking to switch to a new line of work that is significantly different from your background, you're likely to need some education.
posted by k8t at 1:49 AM on March 8, 2006

I worked in a small office and had done programming on my own time previously. They had a need for an extra hand on a project and liked what i did on it so eventually moved into that role. pretty standard....
posted by joshgray at 6:11 AM on March 8, 2006

"Another thought -- since you probably have a pretty quiet day with some free time, why not get an online degree while you're working there?

Then once your degree is done, you'll have more options and a degree to boot."

Well, I'd have a second degree. I got my undergrad degree in philosophy in '94 (there's a lot of English, Philosophy and Psychology majors doing tech support). :) But the suggestion is noted.

I have been able to adapt my skills pretty well. My employment history has had some variety (for jobs last more than two years)
Theater Manager
Library Circulation Desk Manager
Administrative Assistant / Tier 1 Tech Support
Help Desk Technician

Not to mention a pile of very different skills I have built up doing various computer related hobbies over the years.
posted by smallerdemon at 6:25 AM on March 8, 2006

After 8 years of mostly Mac troubleshooting, I quit at the end of 2003 to try teaching English as a foreign language. My plan was to go to Japan, but I ended up in Brazil, and now I'm also working on a master's degree. It's worked out pretty well, but I don't have the same knack for teaching as I do for computers, so it's more stressful. And I earn a lot less. Enough to pay my expenses, though. Even so, I often think about coming back to the US and returning to troubleshooting long enough to figure out what I should really be doing.
posted by dmo at 6:26 AM on March 8, 2006

I did IT/helpdesk/tech support for 10 years until I had a small heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery. I left my job at beginning of 2005 and went to cooking school to explore those options. I didn't complete the cooking school program, but I have launched my own personal chef business and am beginning to think that maybe it will all work out.

I blog about all of this, of course, so I won't go into loads of detail. My cooking blog is NOT linked in my MeFi profile, but you can get to it easily enough from my main blog.
posted by briank at 6:35 AM on March 8, 2006

I did help desk stuff for Speakeasy for about a year and a half out of library school. It paid better and was more interesting than working as a city librarian. When I decided I didn't want to get yelled at for a job anymore, I did a few different things: I did some tech consulting for local lawyers in Seattle (had a friend who used to do it and got a few of her clients for starters) and found that I enjoyed getting paid $25-50/hour to do onsite support better than sitting in one place. I did some contract web design work -- not really to my liking ultimately -- and did some tech consulting for non-profits.

Then I moved to the east coast where I did some librarian work and then moved into more of a tech job where I teach basic skillls computer classes, staff a drop-in time at a local high school and teach adult basic ed classes at night in Word, Excel, stadard stuff. Most of this work doesn't pay well, but it pays well enough for me to live where I want to live, and the teaching actually pays okay. Tech skills are in huge demand out here, and I find myself turning down work just because I really want to have a lot of my time free. People are still getting their first broadband connection, their first email account, designing their first web site or blog and they have business addresses that are like [e-mail]. Being able just to get them one more step down that road is fun work for me.
posted by jessamyn at 6:38 AM on March 8, 2006

You might wanna give programming a try. Pretty easy move from the support role and it's waaaaay more creative. (Plus, you get to send all the obnoxious freaks over to the support crew when they have questions...)
posted by ph00dz at 7:53 AM on March 8, 2006

You might wanna give programming a try. Pretty easy move from the support role and it's waaaaay more creative. (Plus, you get to send all the obnoxious freaks over to the support crew when they have questions...)

*heh* Well, I have tried programming in the past, and I'll be frank here, I don't "get it". The same way I didn't get math (I switched from a poorly chosen physics major) or symbolic logic (my only C in philosophy).

Many great stories everyone, and greatly appreciated!

-----
"...since you probably have a pretty quiet day with some free time..." :) that's part of the problem actually, is that those kinds of days are few and far between now since my department has taken on a lot more people to support (which is part of what is leading me to this career re-evaluation)
posted by smallerdemon at 8:47 AM on March 8, 2006

I specifically signed up to reply to you as I am in a similar situation.

As of 4 days ago I made the transition from Senior Tech Rep to Jr. Developer. I came from a development background before going into support so after a while I knew that I wanted to get back to development.

I've always enjoyed the creative aspect of development and when I was doing support I often felt powerless to fix customer problems. Sure, I could give them workarounds but I couldn't fix those bugs that exhisted. This really started to get to me after a couple of years.

I can agree with k8t that the transition is odd because it is hard not always being in the thick of things when it comes to supporting customers. It often feels *too* quiet.

I guess you could always try out one of those Myers-Briggs tests to help you figure out what you want to do.
posted by cbushko at 12:09 PM on March 8, 2006

*heh* I also signed up to answer a question just a few weeks ago (after lurking for years). Thanks for your story, cbushko.

Re Myers-Briggs: INFP. :) My wife and I have been using it for years as a reference point of discussion.

Not sure what I am leaning toward at all. I'm going to pick up the What Color Is Your Parachute Book next week and start working through it... again. :) I did it back in '99.

Thanks to everyone for so many interesting stories of career shifts. I'm pretty sure I'm looking at getting out of IT on the whole. It's just not interesting to me in such a way that I'm passionate about. Now, Macs, otoh... still crazy about them after all these years (16 years of Mac use this year) and still crazy about film, movies and the like, so maybe something there, so I was very excited to hear about the DNA to post production career switch. :)
posted by smallerdemon at 9:05 PM on March 8, 2006

You're welcome.

I believe I am an INFP too. (The Healer using Keirsey)

I have not read this book yet but it comes highly recommended by one of the self help guru's I often check out online (Steve Pavlina). It might be useful to sign it out from the library.

(p.s. I don't find that I use much math while programming but instead I have to use my basic problem solving skills instead.)
posted by cbushko at 3:02 PM on March 9, 2006

One thing to realize is that there are many roads you can take in the field of "IT." I myself started out as a consultant (Mac only) and migrated to in-house tech support and systems administration (which ARE different). I "improved" ;) my skills by learning Windows at the desktop and server level. I am now a systems engineer, doing pre-sales tech support as well as supporting the sales people when things get too "techy." Granted, they are all along the technical line, but they are all different, especially in regards to the people you deal with.

If you don't like dealing with people, move towards a more server-oriented sys admin position--learn Windows or Linux servers. If you like dealing with people, just not their problems, try and find a systems engineering position at a company that makes a product you use (or a competing product).

I have found the two most important things in a job are: the ability to keep learning and having a good manager. Just those two things make me glad to wake up and go to work.

Good luck.
posted by JLobster at 3:50 PM on March 14, 2006 [1 favorite]