Lots of you I know are keen to progress your career and for many of you that will mean getting off the helpdesk and into projects.
Customers are great and user support is essential but if you really want to progress technically, projects are where it really happens.
So how do you move from an IT support role to an IT Projects role?
My top tips:
Promotion prospects
Look around you, how many IT Project Engineers do you see? How long have they been there and how likely are they to move on or up in the company? In other words, what are your prospects for promotion in the current company you’re in. If they’re not great, make yourself available to consider other opportunities. If they are good, go ahead and use some of the tips below.
Certifications
Certify up in areas where your current employer has active projects. MSPs and IT companies love certifications. It builds credibility, reduces risk and means you should know how to implement that technology in the right way. All great things for implementing projects for clients where risk mitigation and best practice are essential.
Mock up
Mimic the projects being undertaken in a home lab environment. Show your work to your manager, prove you can do it on your own, in a test environment.
Shadow a Project Engineer
Ask to shadow a Project Engineer for one of the projects, after hours if you must. Look at the whole project plan, learn what you don’t know for each task.
Put yourself forward
Put your hand up for the next project that comes along that you have the skills for. Do your research first. Have a good understanding of the technology involved and the clients requirements and then make a pitch to your manager on how you’d plan and implement the project and then show them a VM mock up from your test environment of the built environment.
If you’ve done all that and they keep knocking you back to service desk, then it might be time to look around for some other opportunities.
Some of the smaller MSP’s have good mid-level roles that include a 50/50 mix of projects and support. This can be a great way to grow your career into IT Projects. Feel free to reach out to me about this to know more via the contact form or book your appointment for IT career advice.
