A computer science degree holder, worked on various IT related jobs (application programmer for classic Mac platform, technical support engineer for a start-up ISP and a web master for a multimedia company) prior to my recent employer, a mulitnational IT company and service provider.
Initially hired as a web developer that transitioned to a server administrator when the dotcom crashed; a better option than getting laid off. When the server support group's operations was transferred overseas, moved to being a network support engineer and spent the last 8 years providing support services to local telco companies.
My job includes but not limited to corrective & preventive maintenance of Cisco routers & switches, implementing and supporting network monitoring platforms hosted in Linux & Windows servers, non-Cisco multilayer switches transporting DSL traffic and provide classroom training to customer field & NOC engineers on purchased products. On a few occassions would write scripts to automate repetitive administration tasks.
Decided to leave after experiencing burnout during the last year and a half of my tenure; constantly firefighting incidents, being readily avaiable to clients 24x7, lack of sleep (3-4 hrs max), increasing workload and working for 13.5 hrs/day for 5-7 days straight. Was offered a similar (but less stressful) job by a company business partner but eventually dropped after they've violated a 'hiring' agreement with my employer who counter-offered with a promotion and salary raise for the same line of work to which I respectfully declined.
A year after amicably parting ways with my employer of 15+ years, got my only job offer from a multinational company that involves automation, databases, network monitoring platforms and network devices. Was told by the hiring manger of being a good fit due to my developer and network support background; just needed to wait to formally roll out the job offer. Sadly, after 5 months of waiting it was dropped after the company president decided not to hire an additional engineer a week prior the offer was to be released.
Will be 'celebrating' my 2nd year of unemployment in a few months from now, yet grateful to be in a better state of health and have set aside savings to stay afloat and pay the bills. Currently, rebuilding my Cisco certification that I regretfully neglected to renew over the years.
My three questions are...
First, in addition to renewing expired certifications that I can afford, are there other options I should consider that would help improve my chances in landing a network-related job that would value my coding skills similar to the failed job prospect? Have signed up to a free online class on Python fundamentals, currently writing basic programs and uploading code updates on a github repository to document progress but felt that it might not be considered by a potential employer as 'bare minium' to demonstrate interest in pursuing a related job.
Second, should I rather restart my network career from the 'ground floor' by seeking a help desk job instead? Would this be considered a more realistic approach if not a practical considering that I've been unemployed close to 2 years? Save up money that would later be used in financing professional-level IT certifications that will help pursue better network-related jobs that doesn't require firefighting or being readily available 24x7.
Lastly, are there other network-related jobs that is a fit with my background that I failed to consider? Have worked in a siloed work environment for quite a long time where cross-skill (dev and ops) is often discouraged unless it can generate revenues. I admit that my point-of-view with modern day network jobs is somewhat limited; hoping to gain some insight with your feedback.
Thank you for being generous with our time in reading my post.
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