Service Desk to Application Administrator. Good move if my goal is networking?
I’ve been working at a bank for nearly 8 years, the last 3 on the IT service desk. I have a bachelor’s in IT, CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, AWS Cloud Practitioner, and Linux certifications. I’m also studying for my CCNA as well as for my masters in IT.
My long-term goal is to become a network engineer. I’ve built a strong relationship with our IT Operations team and have assisted them with several projects, most recently helping with a phone system conversion and upgrading routers at our branches. Unfortunately, they don’t anticipate any openings for at least another year.
Recently, the IT Operations manager and director of IT recommended our applications team manager to consider me for a role as an Application Administrator . The role pays $83k–$113k (currently making $67k) and involves SharePoint, Fiserv DNA, IIS certificates, Tomcat, Tableau, OnBase, and SSO integrations.
The hiring manager seems interested in bringing on someone familiar with our environment and developing their technical skills.
My biggest concern is whether taking this position would move me further away from my goal of working in networking.
Would you consider this a good step up from service desk, or would you hold out for a networking/infrastructure role? How transferable is application administration experience to networking or infrastructure positions?