I've just been offered a help desk position (simple password resets)! Its a year contract and the pay is good (a helluva lot more than I'm making now), but I have some reservations. Mainly because after the year is up, I would have to wait 90 days before I could possibly begin another contract with this company.

I've had some experience working short-term contracts (3 days), but never anything long-term. What experiences have you guys had? I wanna know the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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Hi Foster, congrats on the job offer I can't speak to loud about contract jobs, I've never had one but I would say that it sounds like good experience. And it gets you a foot in the door, if it's better pay you could maybe put some $ aside for those 3 months. Or maybe they will offer something more perminant once you have been there for a bit. What are the hours like?

I say if you like the sounds of it then give it a try, but maybe someone who has worked on a contract basis will come by and have more input

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I was looking for work as a programmer after i finished mcsd. I could not find anything. However, during my "quest" I was offered two weeks work as a software tester.

Although it's not what I want, I took it for the money and experience. At the start of 2nd week they extended the contract to two months as tester/programmer because they were pleased with my work.

At the end of 1st month, they offered me full time position as programmer because they were impressed with my coding ability, attitude etc.

So I have had a good experience with contracts. Though certainly not all contracts end out the same way. But you might end up lucky too, and get offered full time employment.

I believe it is not uncommon for contracts to become full time positions. If the employer likes you, he/she may not want to lose you etc, bla bla bla. Contracts can provide a way for the employer (and employee) to "test drive each other before committing to the purchase".

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Its the old try you before they buy you routine.

Look at the situation from a long term view>

Will the job give you the desired experience
that you want?

Is the employer the type of company that you would like to be invloved with.



Do the same thing that they are doing "try them out before you buy them.

Just my $.02 worth

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Hi -

Well, I had a fantastic experience contracting on a helpdesk position. I worked there for almost 2 years, and learned something new every single day. It really was quite challenging, but also exciting to be learning all the time. I say go for it, and see what happens. If it doesn't work out, then move on, but you gotta give it a try.

Also, I think you may be underestimating the significance of a level 1 helpdesk analyst if you think all they do is reset passwords all day long. Sure, they do it often, but there's also a heckuva lot of other things we learn to do as well.

Good luck!
caseynrbq

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I received a call last year from a drug company to work as a temp for a first level help desk. I almost did not take the job because it was a temp position. A year later I am still with the company and promoted to second level support.

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Thanks for the advice. I'm definately gonna take the job especially in these economic conditions. Even if I'm only there for a year, thats a year of experience on the resume and a nice sum of cash in my pocket. Thanks again for all the help.

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"a dancing Jesus... if there's a better use for the Internet, I haven't found it."
-Homer Simpson

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I will warn you be cautious. I took a one year help desk job and a month later got laid off.

If they are planning big projects for a few months and then after that they don't have a goal be careful. I did some of those and got burned they said once the projects and rollouts were done they didn't need the staff.

I would ask questions about rollouts upcoming and why they are wanting more people for a year it's not always try before you buy.

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take the Job

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Senior Network Engineer

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URL:- www.westleynetworks.co.uk
Essex Based IT Consultancy
We offer IT Support, Network Builds/Design, Security, PC Builds to name a few services
Symantec Software Partner / AVG Anti-virus reseller

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I took the helpdesk job for the IT dept at the college i currently work and attend at night. Although it wasn't a contract gig, I did have some reservations concerning what my duties would entail as well as what I would gain in the long run. I ended up learning quite a bit more than I imagined. Active Directory, Exchange Server, NTFS group policys and security, etc. Not only that, I had the opportunity to "help" some of the bigger wigs in the organization. They aren't exactly ready to reneme the college Wiza-U but the helpdesk job did led to a better job which I currently fill.

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