Need insight on leaving current job for temp position...

[gtdragon980]

I have posted about my job before a few times, but for cliffs, I have been working as a temp employee for the Montgomery County Gov't for 3.5 years now. It is a indefinite position, so pretty much perm. without benefits or higher pay. It is a laid back job, no micromanaging bullshit, I like it. Unfortunately, this is not the field I'd like to stay in and the county has been dragging their feet to hire me as a perm. To top it off, we just received an email saying that FY15 has been put on a hiring freeze, so out goes my chance of being hired soon, even though my boss' boss claims he can still push my position through.

Anyways, I've been contacted by a recruiting agency and they are offering a Desktop support position close to home and the pay is the same as well as the hours. It is a Temp-Hire position with a contract from 2-6 months. It would be my first experience in the IT field, which is where I want to be in the near future. My concern is that I will be leaving the security of my current position w/ possibility of becoming a perm county employee, for a temp contract position that may or may not hire me.

The only reason I am considering this is because I feel like I am wasting my time here. It is a great environment and what not but it is not what I want to be doing and I feel like I keep getting the run around about getting hired into the county. 3.5 years of temping at one position is a long fucking time. Should I take my chances and try something new? Is it worth the risk? The way I see it is, I'll be making the same money, I'll be working the same hours BUT, I'll actually get to work in a field where my skills would shine. However, there will be trade-off's, such as different management (diff. standards and expectations), strict attendance, etc.

Is this a wise decision or a train wreck waiting to happen?

[Jorgen]

Does the contract house have experience with this company and if they contract to hire is a high likelihood of being hired or not?

[gtdragon980]

I didn't ask much about the relationship between the hiring agency and the company that is seeking. What they told me is the company is looking to hire a couple of employees permanently, but as far as the temping goes, they are hiring around 7-8 employees. So the competition for getting permanent is there.

[slaterd]

County sound sounds like one of those blackhole jobs. It's hard to get out of it because you need $$$ but it leads to nowhere. I'd jump ship and go somewhere else. I had a job like that when I first moved to Phoenix 3 years ago. But I took a gamble not knowing if I could keep up with it and jumped to this job. 2 years in I'm making nearly triple what I originally was, I have a career lined up for me in project management and I found out exactly what I want to go to school for. If it feels right then go for it.

[gtdragon980]

See and that is why I am considering making the jump. I know I will eventually get hired into the County as a permanent, but I will be making an average salary, good benefits but not much room for growth afterwards. Going the outside route could be beneficial because like you said, you are making nearly triple what you originally started with! It is just scary to leave something that has almost become a security blanket for something that may not work out leaving me jobless. It doesn't help that I don't have any certification in the IT field nor any college degree.

[slaterd]

Neither do I. Currently I only have a yellow belt in Six Sigma (working on green and BA in business management)...which means shit without the BA degree to tie to it. The benefit is now I am 100% sure of the field that I want to study. I was able to bounce out of something I knew wouldn't lead anywhere and I learned so much about what I'm capable of and what I really enjoy doing for a job. Honestly, I never imagined that I would enjoy project management as much as I do until I snagged this job.

So if you are 100% confident in the fact the current job is going to lead nowhere then leave. Life is a long time to go nowhere. It'll also help you polish up your resume. If you get the job and enjoy it, go to school and work on your certification or even a degree. You'll have both real world and academic experience in the field going for you at the same time. Trust me, it's the best way to learn. Going to school and working at McDonald's gives you the academic aspect, but not the real world. Same as if you got the job but decided not to pursue it academically. If you do it at the same time, you will be able to apply what you learn on the field in the classroom, and what you learn in the classroom on the field.

[Todd Black 88]

If you have no other responsibilities such as a family, JUMP ship.

Find something you love to do, and the money will find you. Happiness in what you do is more important than money.

[gte175x]

If you have no other responsibilities such as a family, JUMP ship.

Find something you love to do, and the money will find you. Happiness in what you do is more important than money.

I agree, you'll never go wrong betting on yourself, just be determined and polite. But if you have others betting on you too, you should take them into consideration.

[z31maniac]

^Agree with these guys.

When I started in Tech Writing, I went from full-time with a huge company with great benefits, to being a contractor with none for the same amount of money.

I also made the switch at the end of '07 just as the economy was really starting to go under.

[gtdragon980]

Neither do I. Currently I only have a yellow belt in Six Sigma (working on green and BA in business management)...which means shit without the BA degree to tie to it. The benefit is now I am 100% sure of the field that I want to study. I was able to bounce out of something I knew wouldn't lead anywhere and I learned so much about what I'm capable of and what I really enjoy doing for a job. Honestly, I never imagined that I would enjoy project management as much as I do until I snagged this job.

So if you are 100% confident in the fact the current job is going to lead nowhere then leave. Life is a long time to go nowhere. It'll also help you polish up your resume. If you get the job and enjoy it, go to school and work on your certification or even a degree. You'll have both real world and academic experience in the field going for you at the same time. Trust me, it's the best way to learn. Going to school and working at McDonald's gives you the academic aspect, but not the real world. Same as if you got the job but decided not to pursue it academically. If you do it at the same time, you will be able to apply what you learn on the field in the classroom, and what you learn in the classroom on the field.

I mean, if I did stick around and waiting to become permanent, I would have to work for at least another 10 years before I could somehow swindle my way into another, better position in the county where I'll make some really good money. But, as always, this is not guaranteed.

I do see what you are saying though, there's no point wasting all this precious time doing something that will not help me out in the field I want to be in.

If you have no other responsibilities such as a family, JUMP ship.

Find something you love to do, and the money will find you. Happiness in what you do is more important than money.

This is very good advice, I will keep this in mind!


I'm hoping to hear back from this agency soon. It's very hard to get your foot in the door without any sort of certs or degree in the IT field.

[roguetoaster]

Take the jump, but be sure the company is on the level first. Check around, and if you want to get crazy just ask someone who works there about their experiences. Remember, LinkedIn/Facebook works for you too.

One other aspect to consider, f*ck MoCo and speed cameras.

[E30SPDFRK]

If you've been in a temp position for 3.5 years and you're still not hired, they're not going to hire you. They're using you. You need to get out of your comfort zone if you really want to go somewhere in life.

[slaterd]

If you've been in a temp position for 3.5 years and you're still not hired, they're not going to hire you. They're using you. You need to get out of your comfort zone if you really want to go somewhere in life.

THIS! I cannot agree with this more. I've seen this happen to my friends so many times. Hired on for a couple of years and then dropped like a wet bag of shit. Temp jobs that take too long to hire on someone have already made up their mind that they're not going to hire you full time unless someone in that position gets booted.

[Massimo]

I can give some insight into IT service desk as I work at one and am currently a team leader.

I am not sure about the service desk you will be on but I, started as a call agent on a account that takes about 2500 calls per day. I will say that it is not easy but if you put your head down it can be rewarding.

If you do follow the IT path some tips that will help put you in front of everyone else and probably into a perm position.

First: Never ever ever ever ever be late. I would always rock up 1 hour early and would be on my phone and in available 5 minutes before my shift started. As most call centers do not go by when you walk in the door but at what point you are in available on your phone. The reason for rocking up early is because one day your PC will not start or there will be phone issues etc, this way it give you time sort any shit out to make sure you are never late.

Secondly: case management and call backs, there will no doubt be some sort of case logging system, this is where you can stand out more then everyone else. Most agents hate cases and even more hate calling back, make sure you always follow up your case the last update should not be any older then 1 day, you should be following up with any open cases everyday. Now if you happen to follow up on all your cases and have nothing to do start following up on other agent cases, while yes it is a pain in the ass management will eventually catch on to what you are doing.

Thirdly: Something to help you, I can not stress enough about the basics of trouble shooting understanding good troubleshooting techniques will help you solve even the hardest of problems. examples

Have you restarted the PC?
When did the issue occur?
What changed on the PC before the issue?
If it is a corporate network dose the problem happen for the user on another PC and dose the issue occur for a different user on that PC?

Understanding troubleshooting is a skill that seems simple but seems to be the one thing most agents can't do.

Fourthly: Breaks, there will no doubt be busy and quiet periods, if your break is scheduled at a time it is busy, you should and should not go on your break, sounds confusing I know.

allot of these call centers work on an automated rostering system, if you go to a break at the wrong time it will recognize this and change everyone else's scheduled causing all sorts of problems. But on the other side there are service levels that need to be met and by going on a break this could jeopardize that service level. Best thing you can do is chat to your boss on a lync conversions 5 or so minutes before your break and say "hay it is busy should I take my break or stay on the phone?"

Fifth and final: Always do what your boss says I know it sounds simple, but the amount of time people do not listen is very concerning. Bosses can be very hard I know mine is. I work in Adelaide it has about 1 million people, but no matter what IT company you go to if you mention my bosses name they will all cringe, he is known to be the hardest boss out there, I am always doing something wrong and everything is always my fault even when it is not. You just need to suck it up and accept it no matter what it is.

Even though he is hard he is the one who have given me the pay rises and the team leader position after 1.5 years of being there.

Ass kissing will take you very very far. At the end of the day it is call work not fun and you need to put the hard yards in to reap the rewards.

Also I do not entirely agree with doing something you enjoy, you should find something that pays fuck loads and you can do well. Dose not matter if you enjoy it, I don't go to work to enjoy myself, I go to work to make money to spend on cars, because that is what I enjoy.

If you need any advise or help along the way hit me up always willing to give advise.

[TimeMachinE30]

Have you been actively seeking employment these 3.5 years? This is not the best economy and the fact you are in a temporary position makes me think - no loyalty here - they could replace you quite easily.

I'd stick with the steady paycheck, knowing the bills will be paid before I go making a jump. Your jump will give you up to six months of employment....? Maybe.. and still in the same boat then come summer of where do you go?

Get aggressive with your job searching. It appears that in 3.5 years this is the only other job? It shows a need to invigorate your search OR the job market is really that bad. If the former, words may not be enough. If the latter, I'd be wary of leaving a job for one with little security.

Local counties still say they are hurting. As a neighboring county, the same freeze is ahead of us, too.