Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
I am pursuing a career in technical support and have been doing so for six years, now, but I regrettably have not been able to find a permanent position in all that time, a fact that greatly bothers me. All of the positions that I have had have been contract positions that had the possibility of becoming permanent, but did not, with the most recent of these being a nine-month position at a major pharmaceutical company that was the best job that I have ever had, a position that I thought might become permanent, but did not, much to my great displeasure. Even when I am searching for a new job position, most of the positions that I find are several-month contract positions that may or may not become permanent.
I do not understand why this is, since companies need to have permanent technical support staff, and they must find people to hold such positions. I myself need to find a stable and long-term position if I am to support myself as time passes, and the fact that such positions seem to be very scarce has me worried. I cannot do short-term contract work forever, so any assistance that anyone could offer to me would be greatly appreciated.
What can anyone else here say about this? Where are all the permanent technical support jobs?
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
In my experience (30+ years) technical support positions are the waxing and waning indicator of a companies bottom line and why so many of them are contract (or offshore). The best chance of becoming a permanent employee is looking for the technical lead, or managerial positions or concentrating on specific products so you get the second and third tier support positions. There are also contracting or headhunter firms that can help find the permanent jobs.
What geography are you located in and what sort of technical support positions are you looking for?
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Airbozo
What geography are you located in and what sort of technical support positions are you looking for?
I live in Massachusetts in the United States, but I would prefer to not be any more specific than that, to protect my anonymity, and I am seeking to have a position on a team of technicians who provide general technical support for a variety of issues for internal employees at a company.
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
We don't have anything at the moment but it might be worth checking back occasionally as we're a few months away from opening a Canton, MA site. https://externalhub-agfa.icims.com/jobs/intro
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DemonDragonJ
I live in Massachusetts in the United States, but I would prefer to not be any more specific than that, to protect my anonymity, and I am seeking to have a position on a team of technicians who provide general technical support for a variety of issues for internal employees at a company.
Understand the anonymity issue and why I only asked for a geographic location.
There are several companies that operate on demand tech support operations that hire local folks to be on call for critical customers. These are for customers that have specific contracts requiring 2 hour response up to next day response, 24/7/365. I'll see if I can dig up some names for you. The company might not be local, but the position is. At my last company we contracted with one of them and they hire all over the country and have contracts with similar companies in other parts of the world (we offered worldwide support with all our systems).
How do you feel about traveling?
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Airbozo
How do you feel about traveling?
I prefer a position that is thirty to forty-five minutes away from where I live, but I can accept a position that is an hour or more away, if it pays well and lasts for a long duration, and I also have no problem with driving from one location to another in the same work day, provided that the locations are not too far apart and I am reimbursed for my mileage.
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
As far as traveling, I was more curious if you would be open to occasional plane trips to other states or areas. 25%, 40%?
There are a few companies that require the occasional trip to service specific customers.
I'll see if I can dig up some of my contacts and forward them along. Might be some fit there.
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Airbozo
As far as traveling, I was more curious if you would be open to occasional plane trips to other states or areas. 25%, 40%?
I could travel out-of-state if either accommodations are provided or I am reimbursed. Traveling by airplane may be too much for me, as I prefer to be able to easily return home when I wish to do so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Airbozo
I'll see if I can dig up some of my contacts and forward them along. Might be some fit there.
Yes, that would be great; I would certainly appreciate any assistance that anyone could offer in this situation.
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
Several of the companies I am thinking about might require travel. Not on a permanent basis, but things like overnight or several days long trips to resolve issues at customer sites if they cannot be fixed remotely. Fully paid travel and lodging as well as meal and entertainment reimbursement (most pay in advance for the travel, so that does not come out of your pocket).
When I was doing that sort of work, I would take the wife along for a short vacation. The room was paid for, so I only had to pay for her plane ticket (which was easy, because I was using miles since I paid for my own flights and got reimbursed later). It's fun for a while, but after a couple of years I liked to be more stationary. Now I am in a new job that will require half a dozen out of country trips a year once I get settled in. The wife is more excited about it than I am.
I have reached out to a couple contacts and will get contact info and job descriptions to see if they will be a good fit. I'll PM you with the details so it's a little more private.
Re: Where Are All the Permanent Technical Support Jobs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Airbozo
I have reached out to a couple contacts and will get contact info and job descriptions to see if they will be a good fit. I'll PM you with the details so it's a little more private.
Yes, that is great to hear; thank you very much.
