Pros
Very Good money for permi's is all I can say . Avoid at all costs if you respect any of your certs or family life.
I am a CCIE Network Engineer with 12 years of experience at all levels and this is the most high maintenance job I have ever had and gladly quit for the sake of my family, sanity and Profession.
I was persuaded to come out of contracting by what appeared to be an executive level salary and freedom.i turned them down twice , wish I had done a 3rd time.
Soon after joining , a weird reorganisation of "IT" occurred and I suddenly found myself as a single Network Engineer in a team of Windows sys Admins and worked like a Donkey. I experienced discriminatory treatment and bully boy tactics .
The whole set up is arranged for your failure , one example being ownership of q o.s whilst another team owns the circuits .
The entire leadership lives in Seattle usa , so apply if you want to experience the very worst of American employment politics and bullying .
There is no project control and you are game for lots of sideways approaches to which the only answer is "yes".
The technical is not very challenging and a backwards step for a CCNA. You likely won't be asked for any certs because nobody else has them.
There is a very strange Alice in Wonderland atmosphere and not in a good way . Non IT staff are very belligerent and take every opportunity to thrust their IPad in your face to fix immediately .
Be prepared to perform 1st, 2nd and 3rd line level support whilst simultaneously expected to churn out project after project. There is no overtime available ; take a lieu day ,but you will return to a bigger pile of work , with twice the urgency.
Operating in more than 12 time zones, there is no follow the sun policy , so expect to be working 24/7 or else . There is also no change freeze or sla's so expect stuff like a 3am call because someone's iPhone is not connecting to the guest Wi-Fi .
Expect vast hours of enforced extra work to be for free. The " from time to time" clause of the contract used to force regular on call .
This is the very first time I have had the sense that a job would have permanent life impacting effects should I stay . I have delivered some very complex projects for very important clients and I would HIGHLY recommend against this role . If you're a veteran , skills will slip, fast . If your a newbie , you will be trapped since there is no training and nothing is done with respect to the OSI reference model .
Cons
Same as the above . A very mixed up place .Better off in a data centre noc where you will get shift allowance and overtime . Same deal as above if your applying for New York or Seattle role,it's the same job , same managers . ' Remote staff are basically in the same teams but expected to be the lone IT guy to placate local users , managers pic and chose where to host roles; not based on follow the sun .
