How can I break out of the Help Desk and move toward Systems/Network Engineering?
I’ve been working in IT for about 5 years, primarily in Help Desk/Service Desk roles, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to make the jump into Systems Engineering or Network Engineering.
My background includes:
- I currently work in healthcare IT supporting a hospital system, where I troubleshoot enterprise applications, identity/access issues, endpoints, networking/connectivity, and clinical applications such as Epic. (Service Desk Analyst I) Its been about 5 years now.
- Former IT Asset Management Specialist and Support Technician for about a year at a local school district
- About 10 months of Field Technician experience with CompuCom
- Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in information technology through Purdue Online, I complete my degree courses in January of 2027.
- Planning to pursue both vendor-specific and vendor-neutral certifications ( CCNA, AZ-104: Azure Administrator Associate etc.)
Outside of work, I’ve been building out my technical skills through labs and hands-on projects. I’ve worked with virtual machines, networking, VPNs, WAN concepts, and various open-source tools. I also built out a small home lab and configured an entire domain environment for my house so I could practice Active Directory, networking, and systems administration.
My long-term goal is to get into Systems Engineering and possibly Network Engineering, but I’m trying to figure out what my next realistic role should be.
For those who made the jump out of Help Desk, what helped you the most? Should I be targeting roles like Systems Administrator, Junior Systems Engineer, Network Administrator, NOC Engineer, Desktop Engineer, or something else first?
I’d also appreciate recommendations on certifications, home lab projects. Thank you.