I am a level 1 help desk tech at an MSP. I’ve been at this job for a year. I’ve been working in IT for 1.5 years, though.
I have my yearly review coming up and I have no idea what kind of questions to ask. I’m drawing a total blank.
I do know that I am being prepped to become a level 2 tech, but I’m not there yet.
My company is small and I can be totally open and honest with my boss.
I’m still anxious though.
Thank you for such a detailed response! My company pays for the first attempt at a cert test, but I have to pay for it myself if I fail and have to retake it. I am also going to ask for a raise if one isn’t offered. I had to do a self-evaluation and listed a bunch of stuff I want to learn and start doing. I have to get help from other techs for a lot of stuff that I end up not understanding, and I want to not have to rely on them so much going forward. Like, they’re more than happy to help me, but I don’t want them to put their work aside for me. As for my coworkers, they’re all absolutely amazing. I consider them work friends and we are close and support each other.
NoneYa has the best answer you’re going to get, focus on it. All so very true for us techs.
They’re correct about moving on to get paid more. I’ve received massive pay bumps moving from my last two jobs. Hell, if I included benefits, this job doubled my last one. You’re expected to move every 3-5 years so your skills don’t stagnate. Some places won’t hire you if you’ve been in a job for 10+ years. They figure that’s all you know how to do, that one job.
And it’s not just tech! When we moved here, my friend took a job at an oil change place. So wildly under his experience we were scratching our heads. He just kept hopping jobs, excelling, and doing it again. Got up to $80K pretty fast, now he’s well over $100K, finally settled down I guess.
You’re in a great place! It’s where most of us start. Technical learning aside, you also get invaluable experience dealing with people. That will take you far in any field. If you’re not doing it already, use your coworkers to learn more! People starting out are passionate and always experimenting with tech outside their immediate needs.
Build relationships and learn from each other. Those relationships are key in helping you move to bigger and brighter jobs. One of our top managers brought in great people he worked with in the past. Our new VP just brought in a couple of new directors who I’ve talked to and have high hopes for. Keep in mind, even in a big city you’re quite likely to run into your current coworkers down the road.
Go forth and kick ass!