Random Thoughts....

Happy Boxing Day?
 
Happy new year!
 
I’ve come to the realization that sometimes one has to take things slower than expected. Basically ever since taking on Mac and iOS support at my current job about a year or two ago, I’ve wanted to specialize in that role. So I’ve mentally toyed with the idea of a home lab, began very casually looking at positions, etc.

Today I decided to look at more generalized positions like what I do now, desktop support. Sure it’s not nearly as glamorous but I can actually use my kills I have now - those Mac-centric positions have requirements that I just cannot meet with my current skill set. Sure 40k vs my current 30k seems to be pretty shit but if I divide 10k out by 12 that’s like 800 dollars more a month pre tax and contributions.

I’d make more money which I need to do, without the time suck that is getting a second job. I can then use the free time and additional income to move, start building the Mac-centric homelab to practice, get my JAMF and ACMT certs, etc. from there in a few years I can look again at going for Mac specific positions.

I’ll start contacting my professional references after work. there’s seemingly never a ideal time to leave but I have to do this for me.
 
Today I decided to look at more generalized positions like what I do now, desktop support. Sure it’s not nearly as glamorous but I can actually use my kills I have now - those Mac-centric positions have requirements that I just cannot meet with my current skill set. Sure 40k vs my current 30k seems to be pretty shit but if I divide 10k out by 12 that’s like 800 dollars more a month pre tax and contributions.
Is there a desktop support supervisor position you can apply to? Or a similar position with a larger company that will pay much more?
 
Is there a desktop support supervisor position you can apply to? Or a similar position with a larger company that will pay much more?

40k is worst case scenario - they really dont give the salary band this position falls in (this is a university position).

I’ve shyed away from corporate positions because I like the flexibility and less stress that Edu has but maybe it’s time to move on from that.
 
I’ve shyed away from corporate positions because I like the flexibility and less stress that Edu has but maybe it’s time to move on from that.
With regular industry it'll vary tremendously company-to-company. I once worked at such a bad place that I started looking for another job after two months; on the flip side, I also spent 6yrs working for a company that had tremendous flexibility, which was great. Ironically I'm going in the opposite direction from you - I recently took a university job but the jury is still out what it'll be like here.

Anyways, the point of my previous post was to simply encourage you to aim high. Typically it's much easier to get a big raise and advance your career by applying at a new organization and for a higher position than what you current hold. Just something to consider - for all I know you could be perfectly happy doing what you do. Good luck Rick!
 
With regular industry it'll vary tremendously company-to-company. I once worked at such a bad place that I started looking for another job after two months; on the flip side, I also spent 6yrs working for a company that had tremendous flexibility, which was great. Ironically I'm going in the opposite direction from you - I recently took a university job but the jury is still out what it'll be like here.

Anyways, the point of my previous post was to simply encourage you to aim high. Typically it's much easier to get a big raise and advance your career by applying at a new organization and for a higher position than what you current hold. Just something to consider - for all I know you could be perfectly happy doing what you do. Good luck Rick!

Yeah. I’ve seen some positions that are higher and somewhat managerial in nature that I could try but they have requirements that I need to brush up on like HTML or learn like scripting. I’d hate to get hired only to have to ask for help with this stuff as it’d look bad to the people I’d be leading.

I really need to work on essential parts of my skill set that I’ve let atrophy while focused on other stuff.

I’ll see what other positions are out there. There’s a interesting one at another university for training/elearning but they want knowledge about software in that field (likely Adobe Captivate but they didn’t specify) I’m a quick learner and I googled the UI and it seems intuitive enough. The pay is, well, a big boost...56k to start.

The biggest issue is the location - it’s 2.5 hours away from Baltimore because it is essentially on a peninsula separate from the rest of Maryland.
 
You know the old saying, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Well in Michigan, when there is a toxic spill, you make a drink called then green ooze.

https://amp.detroitnews.com/amp/2799875001

One for the road? Hazel Park bar serves green ooze drink after I-696 spill


This is a drink that @CrzRsn should love.
 
This is a drink that @CrzRsn should love.

If I drank liquor or did shots, I’d totally love that. But as far as alcohol goes, its only beer for me.
 
Yeah. I’ve seen some positions that are higher and somewhat managerial in nature that I could try but they have requirements that I need to brush up on like HTML or learn like scripting. I’d hate to get hired only to have to ask for help with this stuff as it’d look bad to the people I’d be leading.
If you believe that asking for help will make you look bad in front of your directs, I think the biggest issue here is your misunderstanding of what a good manager makes. A good manager knows his or her strength and weaknesses and is not afraid to ask for the help of a direct who is better at a certain skill.

See Liverpool's Juergen Klopp spell it out (if embed is wonky, starts at 4:00):
 
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