Job Responsibilities
Network, Telco/PBX, Printer (local/network), laptop, desktop,
server, and PDA support for the user community at the Boston
Sales & Tech Support Office. Active Directory migrations from NT
4.0 to Windows 2000/2003 Server. Active Directory Group Policy
administration to deploy software, updates, and computer
configuration. Documentation of all issues and resolution in a
Lotus Notes Database. Support of Lotus Notes email and Domino
databases, Pivotal CRM, Microsoft Office, as well as other
software applications utilized by the company. Processing
outbound terminations and inbound new hires of employees on a
regular basis as well as in house office moves for the staff.
Utilization of Remote Desktop and WinVNC for remote control of
desktops, laptops, and servers as required. Rebuilding
workstations and laptops utilizing Norton GhostCast images
stored on network drives. Building Servers (OS) according to the
company written policy and specifications
That said, a lot of my time was unfortunately spent terminating
employees due to the high turnover rate in all departments. This
involved disabling accounts, putting employee data onto network
shares, and rebuilding machines. Consequently I wound up
creating new accounts for new hires and orientatint them.
With all of the turnover, about 40% of my time was "wasted" on
preparing for new hires and outprocessing terminations.
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Job Requirements
I have an A.A. in Computer Science, Comptia A+, MCP in Win2K,
MCSE in 2003. I really though the major was tough at times, some
of my peers did not.
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Uppers
The overall system administration work was great, I really got to work with
advanced projects including deploying software packages via Group Policy in
Microsoft Active Directory as well as other policies on the domain. When you are
able to complete a project and help people to do there jobs it gives you a good
feeling.
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Downers
Watch out for the "hot-shot" sales rep's, they can really be a
pain, but his is true in all companies. Specific to Sophos Inc.
there was an incredible (50%) turnover rate in the 6 months that
I worked there. Also, when you have servers/systems housed in
your building and they are adminsitered by another geographic
location in another time zone that can be a pain.
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Lifestyle
Work hours for me were 10am to 6pm, I always took a working lunch, I did not
have to travel, the company had an outing at the Sheraton every other Thursday in
which it was an open bar to try and get people to relax and get to know each
other. There was even a keg kept in the cafateria under lock and key and at times
management would send out an email and say "come down and grab a draft beer",
this I believe comes from the UK subculture. The dress code was very casual,
Jeans and t-shirts are acceptable along with sneakers. They tried to get a good
"cultural fit" in which they balanced the sex/ethnicity of the employee
"head-count".
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Compensation
I was only paid $50,000 per year, and this was a big letdown for
me with my having an MCSE in 2003 and such. You get what you pay
for, if you don't compensate people enought they will leave when
something better comes along. For the young and new IT folks,
watch out for salary, don't necessarily settle for the first
offer. Even if you tell them you want to think it over for a
night they may come back with a better offer that will make you
feel worthwhile and keep you in the company. Honestly, I
accidentally saw a database of the salaries paid in Sophos Inc.,
it was pitiful, it seemed like all of the hard workers were
being paid less and the folks that coasted got paid more. There
definitely is a problem in the budgeting of the differnt
departments at this company. The President was making $177K per
year and he was basically a "yes man" and in my opinion could
have taken a 50% pay cut to keep the real bread and butter of
the company. Marketing was being paid an unreal amoutn of money
as well. I don't agree with the money being thrown around this
company and when I asked for more and knew where the money was
being used, the lied to me and told me they "did not have the
budget" for a pay increase. Until the realize the error of there
way they will experience exponential turnover and employee loss.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Be careful, again, don't just jump at the first offer made, all
offers are negotiable no matter what Human Resources tells you.
I have seen several incidents in which case HR lied to employees
about salary and reason for terminations. Be real careful for HR
because they have the ultimate power and they are not alway
honest. They put on a front as if they really care about you but
in a lot of cases they just have a "headcount" to fill. New
comers beware, do not trust HR, and do not talk about salary
with other co-workers, it will only lead to your miserable
demise in the company. My opinion of Sophos Inc. is not
favorable at all, they have admitted that they have the illusion
of being a "revolving door" and this is true. Ask companies how
high the turnover rate is when you interview, ask why you job
opening is available and be careful as HR are not always honest.
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