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Sorry for the wall of text on a Monday morning, but I wanted to provide as much detail as possible.

I’ve been in my current position for 9 months, and while I was originally very excited about it, I’m beginning to experience the employment equivalent of buyer’s remorse. While this new position has provided me with some new experience (mostly in the areas of practical SCCM implementation and HP networking) and the increase in wage was very welcome, I find that there are things about this position that make me rather hesitant to go into work each week. I don’t mean for this thread to be a rant of reasons I don’t like my current position, but I do want to provide some context. If you just want to get to the meat of the issue, skip the next paragraph.

Easily the most justifiable reason to mention, I find myself struggling to find enough things to keep me occupied working work hours. I know it is a popular thing to say, but I could easily handle my responsibilities just as well in a WFH arrangement. SCCM is handling updates on a monthly basis; I have almost completed the network documentation, one of the things explicitly requested by the CIO during my interview; the semesterly import of new students is handled via script. Really, if it weren’t for the server upgrade/virtualization project I’ve been asked to do, I would be rather bored. The boredom isn’t what bothers me, however. I just hate looking idle with the CIO’s office less than 50’ away from me and within line of sight.

But enough back-story. I have always wanted to get in with an MSP. My brother, who also works in IT, has been working for an MSP in another city for years now, and his advice to me was to jump on the opportunity if it presented itself. A company here in Chattanooga’s wonderful downtown area (I mean that seriously, just can’t seem to not make it sound sarcastic) has three open positions for SysAdmins (level 1, level 2, and field engineer). Looking at the desired skillset for these positions, I think I’d fit the bill pretty well for any of them, though I lack the Citrix experience that the level 2 SysAdmin position wants.

The reason I am reluctant to apply is because 1) I’m a little concerned with how my quick departure from my current job will look on my resume and 2) My current job is contract-based. To be honest, the first issue doesn’t bother me so much. I know a few people who have jumped from job to job in IT for years without any repercussions. It is the second issue that is really holding me back. I’ve already signed up for another year at my current job, and I don’t think I have the ability to break the contract. In the “Early Termination” section, the contract clearly states that “the school, in its sole discretion, shall have the option to amend, modify, or terminate the agreement prior to the end of its term.”

I assume I could discuss the issue with the school to see if they would be willing to nullify the upcoming contract, but the timing on that would be difficult. I wouldn’t want to discuss the issue with the school until I had accepted the position with the other company, but I don’t think my odds would be very good if I mentioned during the interview that I might not be able to get out of the contract with my current employer.

So, to try my hand at turd-polishing this unfortunate situation and assuming that I will not be let out of my upcoming contract, how can I take advantage of this opportunity? As I said, I really think I would be a good fit for at least the level 1 or field engineer SysAdmin positions. On the list of essential duties, I have experience with each item. On the list of desired qualifications, I have experience with all items (including the healthcare one, 3 years experience and the HIT cert), excluding two (Citrix and Exchange). I would at least want to make contact with them, but I don’t want to take up their time with questions while they are busy looking for people to fill those positions now. I would feel like a burden and don’t want to give a bad first impression. On the other hand, introducing myself now could provide me with details that I could use a year from now to help get my foot in the door. For example, I could ask them for specifics regarding their Citrix use and use the next year to become familiar with it.

Again, sorry to throw a lot out there so early, but please chime in with your advice, especially if you have experience dealing with contract work. What do you think about at least making contact with the other company? Would doing so without a definite ability to leave where I am be viewed as a waste of time to them? Should I just keep my nose to the grindstone for the next year and hope that similar openings are available at that time? I’ve read through Robert5205’s recent thread but wanted to get some additional suggestions.

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Ultimately, you have to do what is right for you. It seems that although you have made a good start, the current position is not going to provide you with the ongoing satisfaction that you will need for the longer term.

As far as I’m aware (not a lawyer), you can leave your current employer and they could penalize you; but they can’t actually stop you from going. If the contract says that they can, I suspect that might be argued as an “unfair clause” which could actually render the contract invalid. It’s more likely that they include the clause to provide a level of stability for staff and is probably something relating to public service contracts.

The question is, what do you want to do?

I’ve been in that situation and there is only so much time that you can spend going through online training material. If they allow you to set-up a lab so that you can experiment, that would also be useful both for them and you; but there could come a point when that might not be enough.

As it’s a school, there could be an opportunity for you to expand your role by getting more involved in training staff or children; or possibly even running some out of school day classes, subject to their approval. That might also offer you the chance to enhance your skills.

But here’s the thing; there will always be opportunities for those that have skills, are prepared to work hard and willing to adapt. Don’t think for one second that this is your only chance; I can guarantee that there will be many more down the road and possibly some of those will be even better.

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As I am in the UK, and all of my dealings with contracts of Employment has been under UK law, I cannot comment on your case. In the UK there is a requirement that contracts are fair and equitable. In the UK, if there is a clause that says an employer can end the contract early, there is an implied clause that the employee can end the contract early, under the same conditions, for example if a contract says an employer can let an employee go with a week’s notice, but requires the employee to work the full term, a UK Court would rule that this was unfair, and that the ability to give a week’s notice applies to both parties. Not only would the employer loose the case, if they tried to take legal action for the employee leaving after giving a week’s notice, they would also risk a large fine for trying to impose an unfair contract.

Not a lot of help to you on the “wrong” side of the pond, I know, but a commentary on the law in the UK.

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Still, it’s definitely something to think about.