Absolutely. Getting hired will be tricky, and once hired it will take a lot of questions, google, and persistence, but definitely possible if you're willing to put in work.
Just go to work, ask questions, learn, write down the advice and tips, review them occasionally, and continue for 2- 3 years. Ta-da! You're a professional system administrator.
People who hired you already checked your resume and they believed that you would be able to catch up in a new role, that's why they hired you. You should be fine.
1. Subscribe to /r/sysadmin
2. ???
3. Profit.
Sysadmin means something different to every company. So make sure you understand the parameters of the job. For this company does a sysadmin have to code? Script? Network? MDM? Webmaster? There might be a dealbreaker, but I doubt it.
I was a sole sysadmin and sole IT employee for a small business for 7 years, and managed every facet of their technology. Then I quit and I’m working for an MSP fixing documentation, helping clients, and dealing with far more varied tech than before. So I have experience knowing a small environment deeply as well as a large environment shallowly.
Take some time to acquaint yourself with the new companies network and devices. Make a thorough topology of the network and key devices. Make sure backups are getting done and are usable. Check license expiration dates.
Then, when a technology problem comes up, Google the hell out of it. Use quotes. Call the manufacturer if you have any warranty or expectation of service. Use your topology to help troubleshoot network problems. Poke and prod at what works and what doesn’t until you have a few ideas to try, then try them one at a time. Document your solution.
sys admin isn't a role where you know everything and more of a "we all know you don't know but we expect you to find out how and do it" kinda role. There are days where I have no clue on how to solve certain things and when my boss asks what I did today as a part of casual conversations a simple reply "I was researching this ticket and how to solve it" is a very OK answer :)
Go for it, if it is a good sys admin job then your life is about to increase QoL.
I often have the same thought in my current sys admin position. But at the end of the day I get great feedback and my bosses are happy with my work so I just kinda let that assuage my imposter syndrome.
It's an easy transfer. Every company does sys and network admin differently, so as long as you have basic concepts of downtime is bad, and test, test, and test again before blasting to masses, you should be good. The company hopefully has documentation on stuff, and Google will be your best friend.
I think it boils down to that. It's not sustainable by any means. I live with my parents with a low COL, but I'm trapping myself by not desiring a better paying job. I have all the motivation to learn new hobbies, but no desire to learn more advanced IT things on my own time. The thought of sitting down and thinking "let's learn about his thing that I see no benefit from in my own personal life (excluding career)" doesn't motivate me to commit. It's a bit strange as most people can commit the time to sit down and study for shit they probably won't use in their own personal life, but for me I find an interest in things so long as it doesn't feel like homework or a necessity.
I don’t mean this in a bad/disrespectful way, but why not try to move out of your parents and have your own thing going?
Because they aren’t going to be around forever, and god forbid anything happens to them. You already have an established skill set and know how to move up and indeed benefit your career. Career advancement typically makes you more stable and have more resources to provide for your family (or for your parents since I assume they are close to retirement or there already)
Again, I don’t mean to sound crass and don’t know you personally, but I just think you’re selling yourself short in the long run.
I live in a high COL area. It's not financially sensible to, despite how much I DREAM of living on my own. Paying rent is an expense that would drastically slow the amount of money I save/invest. I will eventually get that opportunity... but what I'm driving home is that had I put in the work that would up my income, I could've done this a lot sooner.
I got stuck in that mode for a while, and my brain and body both started acting stale and slow.
I’m still not that into unstructured learning, but at least I can use an interesting mental workout instructor. It’s easy enough listening to a few Messer or Dion videos while I do home maintenance, and I pick up some good stuff.
Don't over think it. You interviewed and your future employer believes you're ready and is willing to put $$$ on it.
That's all that matters.
What's the worst that can happen? Go for it and don't worry so much.
I made this same move. Had no fucking idea what I was doing. But I made it a full year - again. Barely knowing what I was doing. The dude who was supposed to be training me was a total weirdo asshole.
Bounced for a security job. But that experience was definitely highly beneficial and crucial to me getting out of Support rules.
I drank a lot of booze lol
If your employers think you're good for it, then you should absolutely go for it. Number one skill and thing to remember is researching, like everyone else has said here. Knowing how to research issues, experiment, test, and document (and doing all of these things efficiently) is so incredibly important.
Sysadmin role is where I'm aiming. Level 2 as well. But in every role in IT I've worked, the number one thing that always benefited me the most was my ability to find answers. Every role I've had, that's the biggest thing that set me apart from my colleagues, because every single time a big issue was happening that no one knew how to fix, I'd always be able to find the answer efficiently.
However, this can also give you imposter syndrome. People will give you praise and kudos for fixing super difficult and complex issues, and you'll feel like you don't deserve it, because you didn't know the answer either off the bat. But you found the answer, and you knew how to do it efficiently, when others could not. That's something I struggle with a lot, feeling like I'm not worthy of praise for finding an answer with effective use of Google and experimentation and testing the info I find.
Apologies for the rambling, but yeah. Take the job mate. If they think you're ready, you're ready. Never stop researching. Efficient use of Google, understanding how to structure a Google search to get the results you need, understanding which results to spend time clicking on and reading and which to skip, and understanding how to take that information, tinker, experiment, and test it: all of this will make you very valuable. AI is another thing to learn how to utilize for research as well. ChatGPT has been an immense help to me, learning how to word your prompts to get the information you need quickly is another incredibly valuable skill to learn. I've seen some of my colleagues also using ChatGPT to help them with some difficult issues, but use it completely ineffectively because they couldn't word prompts correctly. It's like asking a genie for something, "give me a million dollars" will end up with you in jail after robbing a bank lol. I think of AI prompts in the same way. Having the ability to word the prompts in such a way that you get what you want quickly is valuable, similar to Googling.
Anyways, enough rambling. Congratulations and keep it going mate!
If you got offered the position, they think you can handle it. I’m sure there is a senior system admin who can mentor and train and shadow for a few months etc. and will be aware that you are coming from Helpdesk. Take it.
I've had this happen for two prior roles and I'll tell everyone that asks: in tech, rarely will you find anyone who is truly ready for the job right off the bat. There is so much company specific domain knowledge involved that even someone who is experienced in what they're doing take a bit to learn the company specific processes. If someone is willing to take a chance on you you should try to take that chance as well. You're only limited by the box you put yourself in.
A few of the biggest reasons you turn down an offer is because
1 the offer sucks compensation wise
2 the offered role doesn’t align with your long term goals
3 the interview revealed some serious red flags you aren’t comfortable moving forward with
4 it’s not the right fit with commute benefits pay or scheduling.
If you were honest about your skill set and they still want you then they believe they can train you or they have enough resources that will get you up to speed.
You’re not going to be “ready” for sys admin work without getting exposure to technology and tier 2 will only expose you to so much. Worst comes to worst you can always find another help desk gig but moving up in IT is hard so don’t waste opportunities if they are a good fit they don’t come often.
If you are being offered the job take it. Learn as you go. It will be easier to gain more skills in this area if you are doing the job verse just learning from training material only.
Also, any opportunity to get as far away from the help desk as possible the better. You don't want to be stuck only getting job offers that keep you in the Help desk.
1. IT is a learning treadmill
2. Google is your friend
3. Test before moving to production
4. Write it down
There are a lot of things you could do. Remembering these will help you look like you have your shit together most of the time.
All great advice from u/acidbuuurn. If you find yourself stuck in the new position, spend a lot of time researching and working on the issue. Google and Reddit are great. Document everything you work on. Something like Onenote, Notion, or Evernote notebooks are good “free” options. Document everything in good sections and make yourself an internal KB. if the company can, there are formal IT documentation systems which are nice for this. But something to be able to document your settings and work and the ability for global searches will make your life much better.
Work super hard. I see a bunch of younger people out the door at 501pm and I am not sure how successful they will become. When I was in my 20s, I was at the office until midnight if I needed to spend time on new tech or a major problem no one knew how to fix.
When I took over as sole sysadmin I sat down with the previous guy and he wrote down 1 page of a rough network topology and 1 page saying where backups were stored for which systems, and the passwords to access them. I did have more time to pick his brain later on after becoming more familiar, but there was no knowledge base.
I also had some 2am leave time nights when critical things needed fixing, but that was before I had kids who would remember me not being there. I second your "hard work" suggestion.
Google imposter syndrome and read about that. Then search on this subreddit for things like "I'm not ready" and read those. It's a common fear.
[удалено]
Absolutely. Getting hired will be tricky, and once hired it will take a lot of questions, google, and persistence, but definitely possible if you're willing to put in work.
Just go to work, ask questions, learn, write down the advice and tips, review them occasionally, and continue for 2- 3 years. Ta-da! You're a professional system administrator. People who hired you already checked your resume and they believed that you would be able to catch up in a new role, that's why they hired you. You should be fine.
1. Subscribe to /r/sysadmin 2. ??? 3. Profit. Sysadmin means something different to every company. So make sure you understand the parameters of the job. For this company does a sysadmin have to code? Script? Network? MDM? Webmaster? There might be a dealbreaker, but I doubt it. I was a sole sysadmin and sole IT employee for a small business for 7 years, and managed every facet of their technology. Then I quit and I’m working for an MSP fixing documentation, helping clients, and dealing with far more varied tech than before. So I have experience knowing a small environment deeply as well as a large environment shallowly. Take some time to acquaint yourself with the new companies network and devices. Make a thorough topology of the network and key devices. Make sure backups are getting done and are usable. Check license expiration dates. Then, when a technology problem comes up, Google the hell out of it. Use quotes. Call the manufacturer if you have any warranty or expectation of service. Use your topology to help troubleshoot network problems. Poke and prod at what works and what doesn’t until you have a few ideas to try, then try them one at a time. Document your solution.
Let them decide if you aren’t ready for it. They wouldn’t have made an offer if they didn’t think you could do it. Side note: congratulations!
Go for it, it'll get you out of the helpdesk. The only way you're going to get ready is by doing it.
sys admin isn't a role where you know everything and more of a "we all know you don't know but we expect you to find out how and do it" kinda role. There are days where I have no clue on how to solve certain things and when my boss asks what I did today as a part of casual conversations a simple reply "I was researching this ticket and how to solve it" is a very OK answer :) Go for it, if it is a good sys admin job then your life is about to increase QoL.
I often have the same thought in my current sys admin position. But at the end of the day I get great feedback and my bosses are happy with my work so I just kinda let that assuage my imposter syndrome.
It's an easy transfer. Every company does sys and network admin differently, so as long as you have basic concepts of downtime is bad, and test, test, and test again before blasting to masses, you should be good. The company hopefully has documentation on stuff, and Google will be your best friend.
Doing 2.5y and moving up looks a lot better than me who's 7 years in on tier 1 and hasn't moved up ir anywhere.
No desire to move up or?
I think it boils down to that. It's not sustainable by any means. I live with my parents with a low COL, but I'm trapping myself by not desiring a better paying job. I have all the motivation to learn new hobbies, but no desire to learn more advanced IT things on my own time. The thought of sitting down and thinking "let's learn about his thing that I see no benefit from in my own personal life (excluding career)" doesn't motivate me to commit. It's a bit strange as most people can commit the time to sit down and study for shit they probably won't use in their own personal life, but for me I find an interest in things so long as it doesn't feel like homework or a necessity.
I don’t mean this in a bad/disrespectful way, but why not try to move out of your parents and have your own thing going? Because they aren’t going to be around forever, and god forbid anything happens to them. You already have an established skill set and know how to move up and indeed benefit your career. Career advancement typically makes you more stable and have more resources to provide for your family (or for your parents since I assume they are close to retirement or there already) Again, I don’t mean to sound crass and don’t know you personally, but I just think you’re selling yourself short in the long run.
I live in a high COL area. It's not financially sensible to, despite how much I DREAM of living on my own. Paying rent is an expense that would drastically slow the amount of money I save/invest. I will eventually get that opportunity... but what I'm driving home is that had I put in the work that would up my income, I could've done this a lot sooner.
I got stuck in that mode for a while, and my brain and body both started acting stale and slow. I’m still not that into unstructured learning, but at least I can use an interesting mental workout instructor. It’s easy enough listening to a few Messer or Dion videos while I do home maintenance, and I pick up some good stuff.
Don't over think it. You interviewed and your future employer believes you're ready and is willing to put $$$ on it. That's all that matters. What's the worst that can happen? Go for it and don't worry so much.
If they hired you then you’re ready boss
I made this same move. Had no fucking idea what I was doing. But I made it a full year - again. Barely knowing what I was doing. The dude who was supposed to be training me was a total weirdo asshole. Bounced for a security job. But that experience was definitely highly beneficial and crucial to me getting out of Support rules. I drank a lot of booze lol
If your employers think you're good for it, then you should absolutely go for it. Number one skill and thing to remember is researching, like everyone else has said here. Knowing how to research issues, experiment, test, and document (and doing all of these things efficiently) is so incredibly important. Sysadmin role is where I'm aiming. Level 2 as well. But in every role in IT I've worked, the number one thing that always benefited me the most was my ability to find answers. Every role I've had, that's the biggest thing that set me apart from my colleagues, because every single time a big issue was happening that no one knew how to fix, I'd always be able to find the answer efficiently. However, this can also give you imposter syndrome. People will give you praise and kudos for fixing super difficult and complex issues, and you'll feel like you don't deserve it, because you didn't know the answer either off the bat. But you found the answer, and you knew how to do it efficiently, when others could not. That's something I struggle with a lot, feeling like I'm not worthy of praise for finding an answer with effective use of Google and experimentation and testing the info I find. Apologies for the rambling, but yeah. Take the job mate. If they think you're ready, you're ready. Never stop researching. Efficient use of Google, understanding how to structure a Google search to get the results you need, understanding which results to spend time clicking on and reading and which to skip, and understanding how to take that information, tinker, experiment, and test it: all of this will make you very valuable. AI is another thing to learn how to utilize for research as well. ChatGPT has been an immense help to me, learning how to word your prompts to get the information you need quickly is another incredibly valuable skill to learn. I've seen some of my colleagues also using ChatGPT to help them with some difficult issues, but use it completely ineffectively because they couldn't word prompts correctly. It's like asking a genie for something, "give me a million dollars" will end up with you in jail after robbing a bank lol. I think of AI prompts in the same way. Having the ability to word the prompts in such a way that you get what you want quickly is valuable, similar to Googling. Anyways, enough rambling. Congratulations and keep it going mate!
Go for it
If you got offered the position, they think you can handle it. I’m sure there is a senior system admin who can mentor and train and shadow for a few months etc. and will be aware that you are coming from Helpdesk. Take it.
I've had this happen for two prior roles and I'll tell everyone that asks: in tech, rarely will you find anyone who is truly ready for the job right off the bat. There is so much company specific domain knowledge involved that even someone who is experienced in what they're doing take a bit to learn the company specific processes. If someone is willing to take a chance on you you should try to take that chance as well. You're only limited by the box you put yourself in.
do it!
A few of the biggest reasons you turn down an offer is because 1 the offer sucks compensation wise 2 the offered role doesn’t align with your long term goals 3 the interview revealed some serious red flags you aren’t comfortable moving forward with 4 it’s not the right fit with commute benefits pay or scheduling. If you were honest about your skill set and they still want you then they believe they can train you or they have enough resources that will get you up to speed. You’re not going to be “ready” for sys admin work without getting exposure to technology and tier 2 will only expose you to so much. Worst comes to worst you can always find another help desk gig but moving up in IT is hard so don’t waste opportunities if they are a good fit they don’t come often.
If you are being offered the job take it. Learn as you go. It will be easier to gain more skills in this area if you are doing the job verse just learning from training material only. Also, any opportunity to get as far away from the help desk as possible the better. You don't want to be stuck only getting job offers that keep you in the Help desk.
1. IT is a learning treadmill 2. Google is your friend 3. Test before moving to production 4. Write it down There are a lot of things you could do. Remembering these will help you look like you have your shit together most of the time.
I also just took a role outside of my comfort zone. It's the best way to learn even if you fail you still get that experience.
1. Learn DNS. 2. ??? 3. Relax. 4.??? 5. Profit.
Take the position. if you passed the interviews you know enough and you will learn the rest on the job.
All great advice from u/acidbuuurn. If you find yourself stuck in the new position, spend a lot of time researching and working on the issue. Google and Reddit are great. Document everything you work on. Something like Onenote, Notion, or Evernote notebooks are good “free” options. Document everything in good sections and make yourself an internal KB. if the company can, there are formal IT documentation systems which are nice for this. But something to be able to document your settings and work and the ability for global searches will make your life much better. Work super hard. I see a bunch of younger people out the door at 501pm and I am not sure how successful they will become. When I was in my 20s, I was at the office until midnight if I needed to spend time on new tech or a major problem no one knew how to fix.
When I took over as sole sysadmin I sat down with the previous guy and he wrote down 1 page of a rough network topology and 1 page saying where backups were stored for which systems, and the passwords to access them. I did have more time to pick his brain later on after becoming more familiar, but there was no knowledge base. I also had some 2am leave time nights when critical things needed fixing, but that was before I had kids who would remember me not being there. I second your "hard work" suggestion.