Job Responsibilities
I am second level server and desktop support for an insurance
company in Minnesota. We do a variety of things, our first
priority are tickets - when a client calls in to the helpdesk
and the analyst is unable to resolve the issue it gets escalated
to our team. We are on ticket time 2 to 3 days per week all
day, there are 3-4 of us on at a time. Our second priority are
our projects, currently I am working on MFD, SMS 2003, Windows
2003 Server SP1, upgrading all of our Windows 2000 servers to
Server 2003 SP1 (there are about 300 that will need to be
upgraded, and this will include business unit testing),
upgrading all of our Personal Finance Company offices to meet
our hardware requirements, there are 99 offices that will need
to be upgraded, this includes some servers, laptops, desktops
and printers. We have R&D days 2-3 days per week and this is
when we have time to work on our current projects or catch up on
tickets. We are also in a server on call rotation, once every 9
weeks I am on call 24x7 to support our server environment.
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Job Requirements
I attended Brown Institute in Mendota Heights MN, I was 23 when
I started so I knew that I wanted to take classes that would
lead me to a career faster than a BA would. I enrolled in their
PC/LAN course. Securian recommends a four year degree in MIS
now to apply for a Tech Support roll (which is where I started).
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Uppers
There are many "best parts" about my job, learning new technology and being part
of the reason as to why or why now it was brought into our environment; resolving
clients computer issues; the variety, you never know what is going to happen from
day to day; everything that I have learned and will be learning, our network
environment is amazing if you think about it; I love what I do and the company
that I work for; recognition for a job well done. For example, I have been
second level for just short of a year and I have already been promoted from an
Assistant Analyst to an Analyst. For working on the MFD project our company has a
suite at the Excel Energy Center so the MFD and Patch Management Team get to go
to a concert (John Mellencamp) in the suite.
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Downers
There isn't enough time in the day to get everything done. I
work the late hours 8-4:45, but now I will be working nine
nines, so that isn't a downer anymore. I really enjoy my job
and don't have any downers to share.
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Lifestyle
Our core company hours are from 6:45 - 4:45, there are technical people staffed
during those hours. On any second level or engineering team, there is need for
after hours implementation of new products or upgrades to existing technology.
This can involve weekends, early morning or after 5pm. We are also on a rotating
schedule for on call support. You can have a family and a life in this position,
I have two small children. The dress code is business casual. We have remote
offices and there is a need to travel to those occasionally, maybe once or twice
a year. Anytime we have to set up a new office we will have to travel there to
set up their server. We have a few annual IS events, we have an IS picnic and an
IS BBQ in the summer, we have all Network meetings, happy hours.
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Compensation
We have health, dental and life insurance available. My base
salary is $53K/year. I started with the company just short of
four years ago at $37K. There aren't any bonuses (except PIE
awards)until you reach a certain pay grade level and then there
are MIPS (Management Incentives). I have three weeks vacation
and two weeks personal time. We can carry over up to 15
personal days each year to have a total of five weeks of
personal time.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Securian is a great company to work for, sometimes it is hard to
get hired but you can start in an entry level position and work
your way up. They pay well and have good vacation and
benefits. I have been there almost four years and I will be
there for a long time to come. I feel lucky to have the job
that I do.
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