hiring an IT professional to look after small LAN
11 April 2007, 10:02 PM
#1
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hiring an IT professional to look after small LAN
A friend is looking to hire someone full time to look after his company's computer systems.
Small business, circa 20 PC's, win2k3 server, broadband, remote VPN from home, etc...
He wants to place an ad in the local rag, but isn't sure what to requirements to put in there. Salary is £25k ish. What IT based qualifications should he put in the ad ?
Small business, circa 20 PC's, win2k3 server, broadband, remote VPN from home, etc...
He wants to place an ad in the local rag, but isn't sure what to requirements to put in there. Salary is £25k ish. What IT based qualifications should he put in the ad ?
11 April 2007, 10:46 PM
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Ideally you want someone with both, but dont rely on just qualifications
we have a problem at the moment with some of our staff in that they have some qualifications, but have absolutly no experience and it is really showing, and we have lost a number of customers as a result
And we can no longer charge a higher rate except if I go out on site
we have a problem at the moment with some of our staff in that they have some qualifications, but have absolutly no experience and it is really showing, and we have lost a number of customers as a result
And we can no longer charge a higher rate except if I go out on site
11 April 2007, 10:54 PM
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As above want some with combination of experiance of SBS, W2K3 server, might help to name what type of what hardware VPN use (if hardware based) same with firewall.
IT Qualification wise possibly MCP, but if I was hiring I would be more interested in their experiances, rather than if they can learn the Microsoft spiel !! Someone with approx 2 / 3 year experience of the above and can demonstrate it !
Richard
IT Qualification wise possibly MCP, but if I was hiring I would be more interested in their experiances, rather than if they can learn the Microsoft spiel !! Someone with approx 2 / 3 year experience of the above and can demonstrate it !
Richard
Last edited by richs2891; 11 April 2007 at 10:55 PM. Reason: .......
12 April 2007, 12:13 AM
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Sorry but an advert in the local rag can be a complete waste of time. Getting in touch with a good quality IT recruitment consultancy is by far the best way of finding that right person. Sure this will cost % of salary but you should get what you pay for, without the headache... Adverts are not cheap either…
Agree with above, the right person should be technically competent, have experience of working in SMB land, which really does not require qualifications!
The most important qualities in SMB are; flexibility, multi-talented, bags of common sense and a friendly and approachable nature!
Agree with above, the right person should be technically competent, have experience of working in SMB land, which really does not require qualifications!
The most important qualities in SMB are; flexibility, multi-talented, bags of common sense and a friendly and approachable nature!
12 April 2007, 12:48 AM
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I know of a company that charges something like £120 per seat per month and supplies everything including desktops, screens, servers and printers and supports everything.
From my experience of people who say they know SBS and exchange etc they generally do not (aprat from one) and I would strongly look into a managed service rather than a full time (rather cheap!) employee.
Just my 2p.
From my experience of people who say they know SBS and exchange etc they generally do not (aprat from one) and I would strongly look into a managed service rather than a full time (rather cheap!) employee.
Just my 2p.
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12 April 2007, 08:11 AM
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12 April 2007, 10:01 AM
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12 April 2007, 10:08 AM
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25k for a sysadmin who to look after 20 boxes & two servers (all windows based) is insane!
Once they are up & running there shouldn't be that much for you to do - short of regular (software) maintainance, make sure backups work.
I was sysadmin for a 200 user site, once everything was setup to my liking (everything fairly automated via scripts etc) there was very little for me to do ion a day to day basis aside from firefighting user errors & the odd bit of hardware failure.
I had loads of time to play with projects (learn new stuff), teach users how to use applications etc. . . .
If you are paying that amount of money, the person needs to be multi-rolled -ie will pitch in with other aspects of the company - especially as you are a small organization.
Once they are up & running there shouldn't be that much for you to do - short of regular (software) maintainance, make sure backups work.
I was sysadmin for a 200 user site, once everything was setup to my liking (everything fairly automated via scripts etc) there was very little for me to do ion a day to day basis aside from firefighting user errors & the odd bit of hardware failure.
I had loads of time to play with projects (learn new stuff), teach users how to use applications etc. . . .
If you are paying that amount of money, the person needs to be multi-rolled -ie will pitch in with other aspects of the company - especially as you are a small organization.
12 April 2007, 10:33 AM
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25k for a sysadmin who to look after 20 boxes & two servers (all windows based) is insane!
Once they are up & running there shouldn't be that much for you to do - short of regular (software) maintainance, make sure backups work.
I was sysadmin for a 200 user site, once everything was setup to my liking (everything fairly automated via scripts etc) there was very little for me to do ion a day to day basis aside from firefighting user errors & the odd bit of hardware failure.
I had loads of time to play with projects (learn new stuff), teach users how to use applications etc. . . .
If you are paying that amount of money, the person needs to be multi-rolled -ie will pitch in with other aspects of the company - especially as you are a small organization.
Once they are up & running there shouldn't be that much for you to do - short of regular (software) maintainance, make sure backups work.
I was sysadmin for a 200 user site, once everything was setup to my liking (everything fairly automated via scripts etc) there was very little for me to do ion a day to day basis aside from firefighting user errors & the odd bit of hardware failure.
I had loads of time to play with projects (learn new stuff), teach users how to use applications etc. . . .
If you are paying that amount of money, the person needs to be multi-rolled -ie will pitch in with other aspects of the company - especially as you are a small organization.
12 April 2007, 11:13 AM
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going rate for IT bods has dropped considerably over the years, too many young ones prepared to work for next to nothing, or accept being paid next to nothing, so they can gain the experience
I would say the same as the above really, that such a small network, they *wont* just be doing IT, they will have to pitch in somewhere else in the company
very few companies employ someone full time just to look after IT in such a small company
usually they will outsource if there isn't enough for a full time job
One customer of mine were stuck between a rock and a hard place, firm of solicitors, 8 Citrix Servers, SQL server, Exchange Server, remote vpn for home workers, 150 users, they couldnt find anyone with that level of experience and skill set to manage and maintain the network for the salary they were offering
The biggest problem was finding someone who wouldnt get bored, and wanted a long term career there
I would say the same as the above really, that such a small network, they *wont* just be doing IT, they will have to pitch in somewhere else in the company
very few companies employ someone full time just to look after IT in such a small company
usually they will outsource if there isn't enough for a full time job
One customer of mine were stuck between a rock and a hard place, firm of solicitors, 8 Citrix Servers, SQL server, Exchange Server, remote vpn for home workers, 150 users, they couldnt find anyone with that level of experience and skill set to manage and maintain the network for the salary they were offering
The biggest problem was finding someone who wouldnt get bored, and wanted a long term career there
12 April 2007, 11:25 AM
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(again depending on the company - I come from a small "family" company hence my approach. . . )
I'd go for someone out of uni / collage looking for experience (both in IT & Business) - pay them very little, put them on courses to gain experience (have a clause in contract whereby they pay back the courses if they leave with X years) - get them multi-rolled. But most importantly I'd get professional in (frequently at first, then less frequently) to give the infrastructure a health check & answer any questions your young IT bod has.
I'd go for someone out of uni / collage looking for experience (both in IT & Business) - pay them very little, put them on courses to gain experience (have a clause in contract whereby they pay back the courses if they leave with X years) - get them multi-rolled. But most importantly I'd get professional in (frequently at first, then less frequently) to give the infrastructure a health check & answer any questions your young IT bod has.
12 April 2007, 07:56 PM
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I have no idea what BBI support is but totally agree with the post that you need time on a Microsoft based helpdesk taking, logging and resolving day to day user issues. I was desperate to get into desktop support full time but had very limited experience doing the job as a side job at a small company where I was employed to do something else. Had to bite my tongue and take a helpdesk job answering the phone at a company with a 700-800 user base where there was only 3 of us answering the phone. Once in there its a case of getting on with the desktop support team, in my case going drinking (heavily) with them and also during the day resolving as many calls as I could on the phone to take the pressure off them. After 6 months they went to the boss and got me a job in the desktop team and then went from there. You have to start at the bottom no matter how much you hate the thought of answering the phone or if you think its a step backwards.
Oh and experience counts for a hell of a lot more than exams, i've been doing it 7 years and only this year have I started doing MCP's. I've worked with MCSE's with no experience and they were hopeless.
25k for a small lan support role outside of London isn't that bad currently. Some London desktop roles are paying peanuts and that has reflected onto server support roles and these have dropped salary wise too in London. Pretty much only investment banks paying big money currently. Contracting is taking off again as too many applicants for permy roles driving salaries down
Oh and experience counts for a hell of a lot more than exams, i've been doing it 7 years and only this year have I started doing MCP's. I've worked with MCSE's with no experience and they were hopeless.
25k for a small lan support role outside of London isn't that bad currently. Some London desktop roles are paying peanuts and that has reflected onto server support roles and these have dropped salary wise too in London. Pretty much only investment banks paying big money currently. Contracting is taking off again as too many applicants for permy roles driving salaries down
Last edited by Bravo2zero_sps; 12 April 2007 at 08:25 PM.
12 April 2007, 11:26 PM
#18
I have no idea what BBI support is but totally agree with the post that you need time on a Microsoft based helpdesk taking, logging and resolving day to day user issues. I was desperate to get into desktop support full time but had very limited experience doing the job as a side job at a small company where I was employed to do something else. Had to bite my tongue and take a helpdesk job answering the phone at a company with a 700-800 user base where there was only 3 of us answering the phone. Once in there its a case of getting on with the desktop support team, in my case going drinking (heavily) with them and also during the day resolving as many calls as I could on the phone to take the pressure off them. After 6 months they went to the boss and got me a job in the desktop team and then went from there. You have to start at the bottom no matter how much you hate the thought of answering the phone or if you think its a step backwards.
Oh and experience counts for a hell of a lot more than exams, i've been doing it 7 years and only this year have I started doing MCP's. I've worked with MCSE's with no experience and they were hopeless.
25k for a small lan support role outside of London isn't that bad currently. Some London desktop roles are paying peanuts and that has reflected onto server support roles and these have dropped salary wise too in London. Pretty much only investment banks paying big money currently. Contracting is taking off again as too many applicants for permy roles driving salaries down
Oh and experience counts for a hell of a lot more than exams, i've been doing it 7 years and only this year have I started doing MCP's. I've worked with MCSE's with no experience and they were hopeless.
25k for a small lan support role outside of London isn't that bad currently. Some London desktop roles are paying peanuts and that has reflected onto server support roles and these have dropped salary wise too in London. Pretty much only investment banks paying big money currently. Contracting is taking off again as too many applicants for permy roles driving salaries down
Broadband Internet Support ! on a Help desk
12 April 2007, 11:40 PM
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I agree about exams. I've seen so many clients that have employed uni leavers with computing degrees or MCSEs only to be disappointed with the problem solving abilities or common sense and lack of life experience. I started at the bottom and only recently have been asked to become MCSE to fit in with the company profile. From what Ive seen of the exams they have very little relevance to real systems. The best methods to set up and fault find come through experience not the microsoft way.
Because you are looking for one person to be responsible for your entire network I'd look for someone with experience over exams (Ideally both) unless you can have someone over them to help them out.
Because you are looking for one person to be responsible for your entire network I'd look for someone with experience over exams (Ideally both) unless you can have someone over them to help them out.
13 April 2007, 08:50 AM
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So you work for an ISP then. I wouldn't have known that as its not a job position across the board in IT, only at an ISP. That experience unfortunately wont count for a lot for a desktop support role at a financial services based company for example. The reason why is because you will be up against other applicants who will have already done desktop support roles. Getting in somewhere at the helpdesk level (somewhere other than an ISP) is your best bet and then working to get off the helpdesk as quickly as possibe into the desktop team. It works both ways though, the adverts I see for ISP positions only seem to want applicants that have already worked for an ISP or a telecomms company.
13 April 2007, 10:00 AM
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For that size company he may want to consider outsourcing to a local support company. For about £6k a year it would be fully supported remotely. Otypically they would use alerting tools to tell them when there are issues with the server etc. They then remote in and fix problems. If they cant they come out on site. Cheaper option by far. Dont need to worry about training / holidays etc.
13 April 2007, 03:42 PM
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thanks for the comments lads
I like the idea of outsourcing, given its only 20 machines, as someone has said, there'd be very little to do once everything is setup.
The catch is, they've just greenlighted the purchase of a 2nd branch office 200 miles away that needs looking after as well (similar size). So they need someone for the Newcastle area and someone for the Midlands.
I like the idea of outsourcing, given its only 20 machines, as someone has said, there'd be very little to do once everything is setup.
The catch is, they've just greenlighted the purchase of a 2nd branch office 200 miles away that needs looking after as well (similar size). So they need someone for the Newcastle area and someone for the Midlands.
14 April 2007, 11:08 AM
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Why not do it via RITM and save yourself a small fortune and have far more experience at your disposal.
PC World Business - I.T Computer Network Support Management Solutions and Small Business Computer Network Maintenance Services
Heard some excellent feedback about this
AllanB
PC World Business - I.T Computer Network Support Management Solutions and Small Business Computer Network Maintenance Services
Heard some excellent feedback about this
AllanB
14 April 2007, 01:14 PM
#24
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Is there someone already in the company with IT skills that could be trained to run the network? i.e. get a company to set it all up then have your chap trained up to maintain it.
14 April 2007, 03:48 PM
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Will check out that PC World link - are you SURE you heard good things about ANYTHING PC World related ?
15 April 2007, 08:18 AM
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Don't ever confuse PCWorld Business and the PC World stores, they may be part of the same group but work in very different ways.
I'm not a fan of the stores by any stretch of the imagaination, actually let me correct that I like the stores it is the people that work there.
AllanB
I'm not a fan of the stores by any stretch of the imagaination, actually let me correct that I like the stores it is the people that work there.
AllanB
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