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So I had my performance review this week. Evaluation was great, my client is extremely happy with me, salary increase was 0. Not even CoL adjustment. Told them that I wasn’t happy with it and I expected at least CoL which was met with: “well yeah, that’s a decision I had to make”. Which means I’m going to make a decision too. 
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Jan 19, 2018 13:45
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LochNessMonster posted:So I had my performance review this week. Evaluation was great, my client is extremely happy with me, salary increase was 0. Not even CoL adjustment. So your hard work means nothing and you should immediately do the bare minimum to not get fired is what your bosses told you. Yikes.
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Jan 19, 2018 13:58
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I feel like my career is a bit on hold until I can start school back in September (I have to clear 1 year probation with the State). Or maybe it's the fact that I feel actually qualified to do my job. I dunno, most days I'm doing end user support, but the IT staff around here holds training sessions for poo poo like Systems Center, so I can potentially learn a ton about that by attending the workshops. Then again, I'm on a state retirement plan, already have $25k put back in a 401k and I'll be debt free once I pay my truck off. I think if I have my 4 year degree by like 35 I'll be okay.
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Jan 19, 2018 14:03
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LochNessMonster posted:Which means I’m going to make a decision too. Good grief. I hope you said this to their face I'd be too much of a wuss probably, but man it would feel good
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Jan 19, 2018 14:37
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adorai posted:I loving hate seeing managers who don't help their employees develop. It's not my job to develop them, but it is my job to help them develop themselves. Where's a manager like you in my life? hahah I've never had a mentor, etc. Really wish I did, maybe I'd be able to figure out what the gently caress I want to do with my life. Whee helpdesk/sysadmin at 37
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Jan 19, 2018 16:00
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I think I had a great mentor at my previous workplace. He pushed me to develop myself. Gave me constant feedback. Most of the times when I struggled with a problem, He didn't tell me the solution outright. But he would always talk the problem through with me, get me to realize the solution myself. I think I was really fortunate to have worked with him. Just a few days ago he messaged me on linkedin, but he's been silent after that..... I should grab lunch with him and catch up
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Jan 19, 2018 16:08
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Siochain posted:Where's a manager like you in my life? hahah I honestly don't even know what titles mean anymore. At my last job I held the title of "Grand Poobah of Cabling" At my current job I was just promoted to "Sr. Communications Specialist." I'm not even sure what the gently caress that actually means but they gave me more money so OKAY! I started working here as a "Helpdesk Specialist." But within 2 months of working here I was already re-structuring our virtual environment, had written a proposal for a whole new wi-fi implementation, had written a proposal for a M$ Surface deployment to replace laptops and some desktops, etc... So far this week, I've spun up a few VM's, worked on tweaking GPOs and folder redirection for Windows 10, moved boxes, replaced batteries, run cabling, reconfigured our PBX's PRI failover, worked on spinning up an Asterisk PBX to temporarily replace our current PBX, created diagrams for our new network closets, babysat Verizon while they installed new POTS lines, chased down Finance to get them to pay an overdue invoice, shuffled around a bunch of printers, installed a whole rack of AV equipment, installed more cables, babysat a presentation, worked with Verizon to design and move to a new DEMARC location, some poo poo with label printers, ordered a bunch of cellphones, Airwatch'd a bunch of cellphones, new hires, termination requests, some printer fuckery, configured security cameras, written a proposal to reconfigure our wi-fi networks, more purchase orders and software renewals, helped architect a section of our new building(reluctantly), moved televisions, and gone boot-shopping and who the gently caress knows what else. I've never had a job where the job description matches what I'm actually expected to do on the daily.
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Jan 19, 2018 17:47
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adorai posted:Some people just don't know how to move up. They were never properly mentored to know how to advance their career. My opinion is that your career is your responsibility. You need people to help you get where you want to be, but you need to be setting goals. I have a guy who is talented, but never moved off of the helpdesk. I coached him into wanting to become a supervisor, and now he is working hard toward that goal. It wasn't that he was lazy, he simply never had anyone who took the time to understand his goals (work 8:00am to 5:00pm, enjoy ample PTO to raise children) and how to best utilize his talents (linear problem solving, natural and raw leadership) to benefit both him and the organization. Now that he has a direction, the hard work is on him (develop soft skills, learn to better respond rather than react, coach rather than criticize, etc..). Bolded important part. I'm currently stuck in MSP hell while I search around to free myself of this cage, but I have a team of L1/helpdesk guys below me (I'm no manager, just a senior escalation point). It's not that the company is "bad" or doesn't care, but there just hasn't been any way for these guys to learn. Figured the very least I could do is help them not be stuck there forever. Got them all to email me what they think they're best and worst with, technology wise. Included in this was a list of what they most wanted to focus on in the immediate future. Now I'm gonna make some time to sit down with them for an hour or something and teach them the things they want to know. Not only is this going to help them improve themselves, but it's going to help the org as a whole by eating up less senior resource time for escalations. I've never been in a position to do something like this before so I'll be sure to share any fantastic trainwrecks I come across. Also any input from you seasoned leaders out there on how to do this better would be cool beans.
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Jan 19, 2018 17:51
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Teaching/mentoring someone is also a great way to reinforce things for yourself and, at times, learn new things.
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Jan 19, 2018 18:15
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Sefal posted:Just a few days ago he messaged me on linkedin, but he's been silent after that..... Networking is one of the few things that people in our field do right. It's the single biggest advantage in getting ahead / not lovely jobs I've found.
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Jan 19, 2018 18:42
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ChubbyThePhat posted:Bolded important part. I'm currently stuck in MSP hell while I search around to free myself of this cage, but I have a team of L1/helpdesk guys below me (I'm no manager, just a senior escalation point). It's not that the company is "bad" or doesn't care, but there just hasn't been any way for these guys to learn. Figured the very least I could do is help them not be stuck there forever. Got them all to email me what they think they're best and worst with, technology wise. Included in this was a list of what they most wanted to focus on in the immediate future. Now I'm gonna make some time to sit down with them for an hour or something and teach them the things they want to know. Not only is this going to help them improve themselves, but it's going to help the org as a whole by eating up less senior resource time for escalations. You're on the right track and you're doing a good thing. Some of this depends on culture, but I would say the two hardest things you might run into are 1) justifying the time spend on cross-training when there's tickets in the queue and 2) when someone is learning something and fucks up, having their back and having the company respond in a reasonable fashion rather than tearing someone a new one. I have been at too many places where the culture around #2 causes people to never make a decision or never leave their comfort zone. And then management would complain that people didn't think for themselves or take initiative.
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Jan 19, 2018 18:50
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:I honestly don't even know what titles mean anymore. Just chiming in to say letting users gets Surfaces has been hell with their high failure rates and DPI issues, especially since most of the users are old managers who have bad eye sight and don't know how to use computers effectively. 25% failure rate before year 2.
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Jan 19, 2018 18:59
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Ahaha just fixed a problem in SCCM OSD that's been bugging me for a week and literally wooped put loud in my chair. There's nothing quite as satisfying as figuring out a complicated technical issues entirely by yourself.
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Jan 19, 2018 19:05
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Cat Army
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Internet Explorer posted:You're on the right track and you're doing a good thing. Some of this depends on culture, but I would say the two hardest things you might run into are 1) justifying the time spend on cross-training when there's tickets in the queue and 2) when someone is learning something and fucks up, having their back and having the company respond in a reasonable fashion rather than tearing someone a new one. I have been at too many places where the culture around #2 causes people to never make a decision or never leave their comfort zone. And then management would complain that people didn't think for themselves or take initiative. For 1, I'm basically just tracking it as training time presented with the business case of saving senior tech time later down the road. It sounds like this won't be a huge issue as long as I don't plan the meetings when things are busy. For 2, our culture should be safe. The other seniors I work with don't mind dudes making mistakes as long as you own it so that we can fix it and you can learn a thing. I feel like the biggest issue here is that they're scared to use it as a chance to learn and only focus on it being an "I failed" moment. What my hope is, is that after learning more about it they wont be as concerned with "I failed because I don't know what I'm doing" and be more like "oh yeah I missed this little thing, I'll remember that now". Only time will tell if I am successful.
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Jan 19, 2018 19:10
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Good on you. You're doing the lord's work. Sounds like the place is fairly healthy. If these are technical people, even if just lower tier, I am sure they'll be more "I'll remember that now."
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Jan 19, 2018 19:13
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Captain Ironblood posted:Just chiming in to say letting users gets Surfaces has been hell with their high failure rates and DPI issues, especially since most of the users are old managers who have bad eye sight and don't know how to use computers effectively. Yeah, I like Surfaces and Surface Books in terms of hardware and portability and whatnot, but the quality control on them is terrible.
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Jan 19, 2018 19:34
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I just placed an order for $50k worth of new hardware.
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Jan 19, 2018 19:48
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The Fool posted:I just placed an order for $50k worth of new hardware. One half of an Oracle server? But why?
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Jan 19, 2018 19:53
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Avenging_Mikon posted:One half of an Oracle server? But why?
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Jan 19, 2018 19:54
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ha New laptops for 3-year tech refresh, plus some other misc accessories
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Jan 19, 2018 19:55
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Aunt Beth posted:Half? What bargain basement are you buying Oracle hardware from? Mickey's House 'o Hardware. Why?
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Jan 19, 2018 19:56
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Avenging_Mikon posted:Mickey's House 'o Hardware. Why? I thought Mikey's only did Apple hardware. (Definitely, 100% please do click on that URL to see their loving amazing logo/mascot that they have on ads all around the subway here in Brooklyn.)
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Jan 19, 2018 20:07
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MSPaint at its finest.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:08
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I just finished up a 90k order to buy hyperflex servers. Because gently caress the cloud 
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Jan 19, 2018 20:10
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Judge Schnoopy posted:I just finished up a 90k order to buy hyperflex servers. Another delightful application of C2B.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:12
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Super Soaker Party! posted:Another delightful application of C2B. Dammit, came to post this.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:17
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The icepocalypse in Houston delayed my interview until next week. Only two candidates so I have a good shot. I really want to get a new job with the first interview since I started looking.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:43
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George H.W. oval office posted:The icepocalypse in Houston delayed my interview until next week. Only two candidates so I have a good shot. I really want to get a new job with the first interview since I started looking. When its down to two people all that is left to decide is who they would want to work with better. Be the most charming version of yourself possible. Lots of smiles and modesty. They can learn to hate the real you after you are hired.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:48
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I just got called in for a second interview with that company who wanted me to work for them for 2 days. They asked if I do side work and I said I do and they asked if I'd be willing to not do that side work and I said "Sure, depending on salary". What a weird company. They're a consulting/msp and it seems chill and they all seem very smart and cool. I get the sidewalk conflict of interest thing but lol, cmon guys.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:53
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We're finally switching to purchasing cards which means no more collecting loads of points with my Amazon Chase card. Gotta by a bunch of poo poo, quick!
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Jan 19, 2018 20:55
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I dunno, the MSP I used to work for had a 'no moonlighting' policy. It makes sense to me, you're basically competing with your employer and they don't want you trying to steal their clients while you are working for them.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:56
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Captain Ironblood posted:Just chiming in to say letting users gets Surfaces has been hell with their high failure rates and DPI issues, especially since most of the users are old managers who have bad eye sight and don't know how to use computers effectively. Yeah we've had a few problems ourselves but returning them for warrantied replacements has been a breeze.
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Jan 19, 2018 20:57
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The Fool posted:I dunno, the MSP I used to work for had a 'no moonlighting' policy. I explained to them that the side work i do is mostly nickel and dime poo poo. I get the policy, but they're going to have to make up for the loss of income financially.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:02
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Virigoth posted:So your hard work means nothing and you should immediately do the bare minimum to not get fired is what your bosses told you. Yikes. That’s pretty much how I feel right now. I chose this company because of the honesty of the CEO / Management Team when they interviewed me. This year we merged with another company but after a few months the old CEO and MT got replaced by folks from the other company. About 10-15% of my coworkers left when that happened. I figured I’d wait until the end of year review since the new CEO and my manager expressed that they really want to keep me aboard. Guess I know where I stand now. Docjowles posted:Good grief. I hope you said this to their face They also want to change some of the benefits and asked if They can make me an offer. I’m thinking this is an elaborate plot to make me accept the benefits by giving me a raise if I do (and not giving me one now). Either way it’s not how I treat people and it’s not how I expect to be treated. If the changed benefits do not contain an increase in salary I will tell them that their statement is clear and I’ll draw my conclusions from their lack of appreciation. I’ve been in this situation before and gave it 2-3 years before I finally spoke up and quit. I’m sure as hell not making that mistake again.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:08
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Matt Zerella posted:I explained to them that the side work i do is mostly nickel and dime poo poo. I get the policy, but they're going to have to make up for the loss of income financially. Nickel and dime poo poo is the MSP's bloodline. They live for a million small invoices.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:10
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Captain Ironblood posted:Just chiming in to say letting users gets Surfaces has been hell with their high failure rates and DPI issues, especially since most of the users are old managers who have bad eye sight and don't know how to use computers effectively. Same experience here... Both the CEO and his son (VP) got a Surface Book against my recommendations... While initial impressions where great, the hardware/software stability sucks. The pen stops randomly working on both units on occasion; only way to fix it is remove the thing from Device manager and reboot. They both had the well know sleep of death; driver update mostly solved it, but it still happens once every few months. I've also had the camera completely stop working, again requiring it to be removed from Device Manager and rebooting. Also the screen resolution being so high, and the fact that DPI scaling in Windows absolutely sucks, means the CEO's Surface Book is running at half the native resolution. I almost bought one to replace my aging MBP, until I saw what a overpriced poo poo-show they where.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:17
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Judge Schnoopy posted:Nickel and dime poo poo is the MSP's bloodline. They live for a million small invoices. Yeah, but I can see how if they're asking him to stop as a condition of employment, he'd like to get paid to make up the loss of doing those small jobs himself. Perfectly reasonable negotiation.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:26
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Yeah, I guess I just know nothing about the MSP world.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:28
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Matt Zerella posted:Yeah, I guess I just know nothing about the MSP world. It's hell. Wall to wall tickets no matter how stupid the issue is. If you have too many tickets, the company will likely ask you to pitch in extra hours to keep customers happy. If you don't have too many tickets, the company will market heavily to bring in more clients until you're buried and they ask you to pitch in extra hours to keep customers happy. MSPs thrive by squeezing the most amount of work out of employees for the smallest paychecks possible. Avenging_Mikon posted:Yeah, but I can see how if they're asking him to stop as a condition of employment, he'd like to get paid to make up the loss of doing those small jobs himself. Perfectly reasonable negotiation. Certainly not going to argue against this. Anybody with experience that is going into MSP work should make sure they get an enormous paycheck up front.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:32
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Judge Schnoopy posted:It's hell. Wall to wall tickets no matter how stupid the issue is. If you have too many tickets, the company will likely ask you to pitch in extra hours to keep customers happy. If you don't have too many tickets, the company will market heavily to bring in more clients until you're buried and they ask you to pitch in extra hours to keep customers happy.  well they had better get drat close to the six figgies i asked for or else ill look elsewhere. Yikes. Although the position seems to be more of a project management/design stuff so maybe I won't have to deal with that ticket bullshit.
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Jan 19, 2018 21:38
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