I have an opportunity to transfer out of my FT position and into a systems technician position. Frankly , I’m not sure it’s a good move. Looking for honest opinions about this position. Namely , job security. Do we think they are going to stick around. It’s not clear to me what they do anymore. They USED to install and configure PBX but that’s a dead end now. What the he-l do they do and will they be here 5 years from now.
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Depends on your area I guess. In the Midwest we’re called customer service specialist in business services. Here we also do abfs work, routers, switches, access points, lte modems, ip phones. Etc. Work in and outside of are traditional wire centers. Never did any residential work here. I do ocs and special service work. Your inside 70% of the time. Been doing this job for a long time, probably will take 3-5 yrs to get up to speed.
India & pi-s poor support is what k!lls it for the Sys tech & his customers. No telling how many customers & jobs we’ve lost because of it.
PBX is ran on servers now, IP service, like CISCO Call Manager.
Tech jobs are being micromanaged more and more every day and it gets to be so annoying that you spend more time making time sheet entries than you do working effectively! They watch and monitor everything you do in a way that it makes you feel like they're out to get you! The money is certainly good, but there's a price to pay with union membership!
Systems techs make a butt-ton of money. Do it. And if they lay you off, you’ll already be in a better place from your salary, benefits, and pension.
If you worked in the CO or in the DEG group (DLC) I would say go for it. If you didn’t there’s no one left to train you for very long. The managers can’t read an oss-log or a word-doc so they think every job’s an hour long pots install. Some jobs take longer than others, even a DS0. Bvoip, Gpon, T1’s, ethernet - media converters, business fiber, mux’s and other stuff will keep you busy.
There are three types of systems techs in the west.
One of the three is very secure. Those guys have huge areas to cover and do everything. Their bread and butter transport technology will never go away.
Special services technicians are really just glorified prem techs. They mainly install fiber and business class services. The problem is that the business office will sell that corner li---r store 4 voip lines and they don’t have fiber available and can only get 6megs on a cr-ppy copper line. You have to make it work and have the customer yell at you because they aren’t getting what they were promised.
I’d say, if you only have a few years left, it’s doable. But if you are looking to stick around another 10-15 years, well that’s another story.
Just wait, in about 5 years there will be a HUGE mass exodus of all of us that got hired in 1997 to 2001. There will be all kinds of openings, from Specials to MSTs to Comm techs.
You should have posted whether you are a Construction or I&M FT. If Construction then be prepared for a daily dispatched load along with playing the numbers game, if I&M then more of the same including working on a lot more different kinds of equipment. Have vehicle, will travel, get ready for a lot of windshield time over a large area, also most system techs have a lot of seniority so it’s something to think about for future surpluses. The MOA for outside techs will expire next year, expect a lot of surpluses, unless the company gets their share of the “BEAD” money.
Previous poster pretty much gave a detailed description, mostly business installs and maintenance, etc.. we are a small org compared to other titles to begin with but there is less and less of us each year just like other orgs. The company is trying to combine titles (System Tech & DT’s) and their work so be ready for a larger scope of work down the road.
I don’t think there is any title that has security anymore, the company thinks they can plug in any monkey to do skilled work without any significant training. In less than 5-10 years, after the experienced and knowledgeable 1998-2001 hires retire, it’s going to be very interesting. For the individual tech, it’s more about work/life balance and how toxic your org has become which as we all know, can change instantly with new management and procedures. Good luck!
Top tech wages of $46.75-48.00/hr. is pretty good money, however, you have to take a lot of cr-p for that money! T micromanages the he-l out of you and it's only getting worse. They're basically up your behind with a microscope and it gets very old very fast!
PBX, lol, that's 20+ years ago. Special services techs mostly work with fiber to the prem (fttp aka abfs) installs and maintenance. They sometimes work on copper hdsl T1s including H2, H4, and H4s with doubler spans. Lots of customer interactions, so that kinda su-ks, lol. Installing and turning up different types of layer 2 and 3 routers and switches and running cat6 cabling all over business parks and strip malls. Systems techs (aka specials) also do OCS, official company services, which are fiber and copper installs and maintenance to company sites. Installing APs and provisioning all the equipment.
It'll be 2 or 3 years of half-a-s training before you're competent at the job on your own. The numbers game with your supervisor, AM, and above, will drive you crazy. But, at least you'll be in the union at top wage, or close to it, at about $50/hr. The atmosphere is as toxic as many other parts of this company, imho.
I wouldn't do it, but that's just me. I left that org for a different tech job, but am sick of this one too, so am looking for a new job. Buena suerte 🍀