Hard time at work...

[someone_4]

I know this is a forum for HPUX related topics but this is somewhat HPUX related.
I work for a telco company and we have several HPUX boxes. I have been really productive lately and with the help of this forum I have brought allot of things to the table. Not once have I taken credit for anything that has come from the forum. And even with my boss knowing that I get out side help its ok. Because the bottom line is that I am learning and that I am still getting things done. I have been doing really good here but the last few weeks there were cut backs in our IT dept. And I feel that I got knocked down a level I am still doing work on HPUX but not I am customer support for our applications. Over all I don?t feel right here anymore. I don?t know why I feel this way but it is really affecting me out side of work. After looking at everything and reevaluating everything. I determined that my values are not being meet here.
And that this company is NOT the vehicle for my long-term goals. Now I live in a small town and there are not many IT jobs around here. I do know that I want to further my knowledge in HPUX, networking and telecommunications. But the closest place where I could find work in this field would be Dallas Texas and that is about 2 hours away.
I don?t want to leave this company but at the same time I don?t want to be here. I am looking at my self and I am turning bitter due to the fact the way things are going. I find my self coming to work angry and un focused. I have spoken to my boss about it and basically I was told that I have two choices. One to work here and do what I am asked to do or two go find another job. I feel stuck.
Thanks

Richard

[Ravi_8]

Hi richard

Be yourself, don't get distracted.we the people in the forum are all knew at present the IT is going slow. Life is a wheel comes up and goes down. we have to take as it comes.
one more thing i would like to tell, to gain something we should lose something.

with good wishes
ravi

[boley janowski]

Richard,

I can relate, I did 9years in the Navy I felt very stuck for a long time. I would suggest that when confronting your employers, take credit for what you do. The forum is a reference just like all the books on my book shelf, fortunately its more interactive but in this area we can all help each other. You give the credit due to the ones that help you when you assign points and feedback, but you still have to decide how to implament the information you pick up here (or any where for that matter). My very simple suggestion is to go with your gut, if your still conflicted about it. Stick it out, take credit, and let it be known that you need something else, and see where it takes you. I guess you only live once its sorta pointless to be unhappy on your only go around, but nothing gives me more satisfaction than to make what I already have work for me. Best of luck to you!!!!

[R. Allan Hicks]

I aggree with the others. The forum is a reference. The satisfaction of helping someone solve a problem is really all I need. I grow by participating in the problem resolution and/or reading the responses.

My advice, keep on learning and growing, and keep an eye open for opportunities. The days of working for a company and being appreciated for your contributions seem to be an artifact of the last century. Companies (for the most part) are no longer loyal to their employees and by a strange co-incidence, employees are no longer loyal to their companies. The result is we all lose. I don't know who was disloyal first, but I wish it would stop.

The way telecom companies are going...If you don't like the organization, wait a week maybe you'll like the next one.

Try to remember 'Everyday is a new adventure'
Best of Luck
-Allan

[Rita C Workman]

There is good and bad in every job....The only thing you control..is you.
You decide to be happy with your job or You decide to be unhappy with your job. You can not change other people, you can only change You.
You say you are stuck. But you also said you don't want to go somewhere where you have more opportunities. Ask yourself why?
If you are looking for someone else to make your job 'better' for you...than you will probably be waiting a long time.
Your boss is correct...you truly have only two choices. But remember, only you can decide how you feel or react to things. So you may go to another job, not get what you feel you should have gotten..and be in the same boat again!. Life is alot of folks, each wanting their needs to be met.
My parents always said '..take it with a grain of salt'. In other words, if something doesn't taste right to you, season it until it does.
I guess I'm showing my age now...but we raised 3 sons & 1 daughter. I will say to you what we have said to them..."...it's your decision, it's your life, choose wisely--because you will have to live it"

My Best Wishes to you 'whatever you choose'
/rcw

...no points on this one please !!...

[Tim D Fulford]

Richard

I also work at a telco. Things are hard now, jobs less lucratave etc. You are bound to feel less valued.

There is an upside to this though. Whether you stay or leave if you focus on self improvement & skills and are are able to carve out an area of expertise, when things turn 'round you will be well placed. Then your employer will need you more than you need them!

Letting these feelings of doubt cloud your thoughts will only make things worse. Focus on the positive, once you can do that you will be better able to make that decision. Either way!

You also imply that you are presenting forum answers as your own. This is not true, you DO contribute. I checked it out, & you have answered other peoples problems. That is what counts. Your employer wants answers not sources!

Good luck

Tim

[Dave Wherry]

Richard,
The world is open book. We are not tested each day on our knowledge. We are judged on results no matter where you get the information. If we all knew all the answers, there would be no need for the forums. We're all learning something new every day.

You say you are not dealing in customer support any more. What a bonus! We all know there would be no system problems if it were not for the users.

It may not be true, but not dealing with customers sounds like it could free up some time for you. Use it to hone your skills. If you're not on the phone with users catch up on some documentation. Experiment with some new options for commands you use every day. Take the time to make your life simpler.

I'll share something I got from a magazine article years ago. My boss and I were very frustrated with upper management and our jobs. We would finish our day and then sit in her office for another hour or two complaining about the place. Then we would take it home with us. Her husband finally had enough and gave her an article called "Wash that Job Right Out of Your Hair". A play on an old shampoo commercial. The article dealt with separating your work life and your personal life. It didn't work that well because the job was really bad. So I left the company.

About a month after that my wife and I met some of my old co-workers for drinks. She told them "I would like to introduce you to the man I married". I was relaxed and they were jealous. Sometimes you have to make a change. Other times you learn to live with it. The summary of that article was:
Work to live.
Do not live to work.

[Stefan Schulz]

HI Richard,

first of all i hope my english is good enough to understand everything that has been said and tell you what i think.

I think nobody is always happy with his position and his work. There are always ups and downs during a year. A friend of mine said that it should be a 80% good feeling in the average. And he was right (you will never get 100% every day).

But it is sometimes hard to find out where you are right now if you had a recent "bang on the head" (hope this is understandable). So i decided to check my position every 1.5 years where i go down to the very detail every 3 years.

I do a list (sometimes in mind sometimes on paper) where i note down some questions to my selfe. Like:

Did i reach my goals from the last check?
What are my current goals? Are they the same or did the "direction" cahnge? What can i do to reach this goals? Am i happy with my job/situation right now? Have i been happy 6 and 12 months ago? What did change in this time and why? .... and so on.

It really helped me a lot to make this lists and answer all those questions to my selfe. This gets you to a more objectiv view of your own situation.

But in the end its you who has to decide. And its not always wise to quit the job and go somewhere else. I learned that if you fight in your company for improvements and if you are able to find people to support you will gain a lot.

At least i earned a lot of respect and learned how to fight and cope with the top managers. Because of other reasons i did quit this job (my wife, my house and my doughter). But i still know that the little SysAdmin i am can get a whole company moving.

As for this forum and the benefit you get from it:

Your boss is not interested where you got the solution to your problem. And i personally am not interested if you tell somebody you got an answer from me (nobody will know my name) or not. But if i have a question and you are the one who shares his knowledge, thats what counts for me.

These are my thougths, hope they help you in some way.

Regards Stefan

PS: I don't think this answer is worth any points. so please assign me some.

[Stefan Schulz]

Uuups, i ment:

PS: I don't think this answer is worth any points. so please don't assign me some.

[Bill McNAMARA_1]

I never stuck out in the same company for more than 2 years.. in completely different environments all focussed around hpux. There are always lots of jobs, and too little knowledge in Unix in general out there... they all tend to be gray bearded 40 year olds ;)
The industry still needs the techies, it's tougher for the managers...
just have fun and don't take it too seriously.

Later,
Bill

[Sachin Patel]

Hi Richard,
I was feeling same as you two week ago because I want to go to Oracle side on my job but some politics works and I was not able to go. They even blame me for something that I have not done. Then I decided to leave the company. Elder says you always think that your neighbor has more green grass then you. but when you jump the fence, you will like your grass. I think about it I look around and found another place to satisfy my self (linux)(If you don?t see anything interesting then GO). Now I am working on Unix and Linux both platforms. Wait there if you like working there. Work on other project on your extra time.

Don?t tell your boss that you are solving your problem by going in to forum or reading book. Just tell him that you solved the problem and tell him that you can solve any problem at any time. Just show him that you are the smart-ass (hahahhaha).

I don?t tell my boss that I am going here or reading this book or asking someone or whatever.I am not expert either. I am in this field only from two years. He wants his problem solved. When I solved the problem I once broadcast that I have solved this problem.

Good Luck, God is with you all the way.
You will take good decision.

Sachin

[Scott_14]

see, your not alone, sounds like everyone can relate to this in one way or another.

I agree, with the post of you wont get 100% out of a job feeling good, if you do then that is wanderful, but i dont know how long that would be.

You may have to weigh in your own status, sometimes, not letting your boss know your not happy is better, cause that could lead them to beleive you are already thinking of leaving, and why try and keep you, when they are cutting back. Then the flip side is, sometimes your boss would rather keep you happy, so I would weigh things carefully, if they are cutting back, i wouldnt let them know how you feel.

I also beleive this forum is a good resource, like everyone said, a lot of us have a vairety of experiences, which is great, cause not all of us use everthing on HP-UX, and we all deal with diffenent applications, and enviroments.

Dont get down on yourself, look how far you have come already with HP-UX. Using this board doesnt by far mean you dont know much, or you know little, using
the forum, shows you have the knowledge to look for an answer to a problem, try and find the best solution, and apply it as it may fit your own enviroment.

If you can, hang in there, keep your resume up to date, it never hurts to look, explore other companies, you can always say NO, and keep looking.

Best of luck to you, and one more note, REMEMBER
YOU DONT GET PAID TO WORRY ABOUT WORK, when your not there, even if your on call, try and leave the frustrations behind, and enjoy the times away from work.

scott

[Steffi Jones_1]

Hi Richard,

thanks for starting such an interesting thread and the chance for me to get a little insight of "the world outside HP".

First of all I'm sorry to hear about your situation , but as said before you are the one who can change it and only you.

I don't want to comment too much on your work situation but I want to share a very personal experience with you:

You wrote:
"But the closest place where I could find work in this field would be Dallas Texas and that is about 2 hours away."

I grew up in a little town in germany and managed to stay in this town all through school and university by commuting to various schools. I later found a job "around the corner" at HP. I loved the familiarity and was always under the impression that I'm too attached to leave. I didn't even consider moving 20 miles at that time.
About 4 years ago HP offered me a job in the States and I had about 2 days to think about it and I said 'yes'.
It was scary and exciting. Looking back it was the greatest decision I made (besides getting a good education) and I don't regret it a single second. It had opened my horizon so much. I have made new friends (kept the old and real ones), learned a second language, experienced a total new life style, etc.
Of course I wish I would sometimes only be 2 hours away from home.
So if you can make it happen to find a job somewhere else in this big country go for it. Even if your kids (if you have some) complain... they will appreciate it later in life.

Don't waste time being unhappy. Life is too short.

Take care and keep us posted about your whereabouts.

Good luck,

Steffi

[Paula J Frazer-Campbell]

Hi Richard

Wow - you got some wonderful answers, so what do you do?

Lets look at the positive things.

1. You are employed.
2. You are still on Unix, which you stated that you like doing.
3. You are motivated

Next steps ---

Do not get too despondent.

Continue to learn from the forum - do not just answer what you immediately know but pick questions that you feel you should know - find the answer and post it.

Get on courses - put together a business case as to why you require this/that course and present it ? with the emphasis on benefits to the company.

Course to attend :-
All admin courses, security courses ? The HP security course was my most enjoyable.

Look at possible commuting to Dallas to work ? I did 2 hours plus travelling each way for over a year and it paid off ? now with new company - more money and bigger challenge.


Best Wishes and as the Irish say ?may the road always rise up to meet you?.


Paula

[Bill Hassell]

One of the most difficult parts of the SysAdmin job is answering the question: Wat is it that you do every day?

The SysAdmin job is such that when you are a complete expert, proactively resolving problems before they are noticed and planning for the future, no one will know what you do. This means you must educate users about the sysadmin process.

I directly managed a bunch of servers for several thousand users and indirectly managed over 250 systems for about 6 years. I made sure that major changes were communicated to everyone, managers and users. Many did nor understand every message and some even complained about the 'useless' email (which I blamed on a Microsoft mail-something). But with a minimum of 2-3 messages every month, lots of people knew what I did and some even appreciated it.

HP-UX SysAdmin is still a job posting that many IT shops are desparate to fill as experienced sysadmins are still in short supply. For a lucrative career path, it would be a good idea to learn Oracle, specifically Oracle for HP-UX Sysadmins. You can make major improvements by knowing both sides of a database server.

[Denver Osborn]

Hey Richard!

I can relate. Fresh from high school I joined the marnine corps, still haven't figured that one out. Anyhow, at times things become unbearable. Especially when you're told to do something technical, and exactly how to do it, by someone that doesn't have a clue. (I'm sure this applies pretty much anywhere) So when things seem tough, know they'll always end up better and you appreciate it so much more!

-denver

[someone_4]

I want to thank everyone for your thoughts about everything. This is a very nice discussion and if you have any more thoughts about everything please post them. Some of the post refer back to stuff I already know. I am a big fan of Steven Covey and the 7 Habits. This is a situation that will put these habits to the test. Especially the first 3
Be proactive, Begin with the end in mind, and put first things first. Im going to work on a new mission statement and set new goals for my self. And I will mold my destiny not let someone else mold it for me. I want to thank everyone again for your post and to keep sharing your thoughts about everything. This is an HPUX forum and we are now taking it one step further and by talking about issues that are not always talked about but in fact are important part. That would be the fact of the ups and downs of a Network Admin. I would like to hear more stories from the guys who have been around for a while. I?m 25 and have been working with HPUX for a little over a year. And would find stories about other system admins very helpful and motivating. WOW here is an idea , Chicken Soup for the System Admins Soul .. =) Once again thanks for everything and all your help.

Richard

[Alan Williams]

You had some very good replies, Richard, but perhaps one thought (which may not apply to you) was missing.
I have found that sometimes I have felt unhappy at work (and even changed career direction) only to find, looking back, that it was my personal life that was the problem, really.
Worth checking out - may not be the case for you.
Best wishes

[Patrick Wallek]

Richard,

First off, where in TX are you? I am in Fort Worth and moved up from Austin 4 years ago.

I, too, have been in your shoes. Before I moved to Fort Worth, I was working for a small company in Austin, no possibility for advancement, the boss was a pain the (insert you favorite word), I was having stomach problems (I had previously had an ulcer), I felt I wasn't getting paid what I deserved, etc. And at the time I was engaged and my fiancee was living in Richardson (a Dallas suburb).

To make a long story short, the move I made to Fort Worth was the best move I had ever made for myself. The job has been wonderful. The last 3 years I have been the primary (only) admin for 4 production HP boxes, and I help out on the Solaris machines (we had about 20 servers at one time).

I have gotten exposed to Oracle, OpenView NNM and IT/O, backup products, DR stuff, and numerous other things I never would have gotten at my job in Austin.

Last July, the company I work for in Fort Worth was bought by another oil company in Houston and I got offered the chance to manage the company's data center and staff in Houston. I chose not to move to Houston, but I was flattered at the offer. Apparently I made an impression on people here. I am currently in the position of helping to transition all operations and servers from Ft. Worth to Houston and as such will have to look for work again probably the first part of next year. I am not too concerned about that though especially with the experience I have gained these last 4 years.

I enjoyed living in Austin and really did not want to leave, but I thoroughtly enjoy living in the Dallas / Fort Worth area now. I am going to try to stay in this area when I have to look for work next year. The Dallas / Forth Worth area is a good area to be in. If you do want to move here, there are HP jobs available.

The bottom line is you have to decide what you want to do and where you will be better off.

Good luck to you.

[someone_4]

Hey Patrick ..
Im in Longview Texas about and hour and a half east of Dallas. I go to Dallas all the time to HP for training classes. Dallas is a great town and so is Austin. But I really like the East Texas area so I am going to try to find something around here if I go anywhere.
Once again I would like to thank everyone for your kind words and all your support.

Richard