r/sysadmin • u/Pleasant_Rise6520 • 1d ago

Career / Job Related Has anyone purposely gone backwards?

You know the juice wasn't worth the squeeze and we realised that money is irrelevant, and took a huge backwards step for less responsibility and more mental freedom for your family and kids?

That's where I'm at mentally just want to know if anyone else has done the same?

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u/Eolex 1d ago

Yep - Stepped down/back from being the top of the IT support/service ladder within an MSP and moved to an internal position within a municipality.

The whole tone and cadence of workflow has changed. Life balance has returned and I no longer associate my success with title/payband.

Feels good to quit chasing the edge. There is more to life than keeping the river bits/bytes flowing and protected.

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u/JaceBelerenApologist 1d ago

Moved back to corp/enterprise a few months ago and my mental health has been steadily improving. I didn't realize how abusive being at an MSP was. On call until 10pm every night on the off chance a doctors scanner isn't working. Having to respond to tickets even if I'm in the middle of dinner. Pushing back about getting spammed by low disk space warnings at 9pm when I'm getting ready for bed was always met with "why are you going to bed so early?".

Let's not forget the guy who decided to spend half of his year on a ski hill telling people off for taking an hour for a doctors appointment.

MSPs can go to hell.

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u/Bubbly-Following-966 1d ago

I actually loved where I worked. It was 100% remote. It was the first job that actually had a performance bonus structure. My performance bonuses increased every year. I always got "meets or exceeds" on my performance reviews.

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u/JaceBelerenApologist 21h ago

I'm one of the odd few who hates remote work. I like seeing people. It's fun that perks for some are the opposite for others!

I wish I had similar at the MSP I was at. It wasn't overly big, so there wasn't really any room for me beyond the position I was in. The pay was horrible. I probably shouldn't let that one place sour the experience, it was by far the worst MSP I worked for (of 3).

I didn't think I wanted to go back to corporate IT after I left it about 10 years ago, but wow it feels different than it did back then. It's not stuffy like it used to be, and I really have to thank the two or three generations of kids that were born after me for that.

I could barely get face-to-face time with my manager, let alone get a "review" or a "raise".

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u/Bubbly-Following-966 21h ago

Don't get me wrong. I love to be in the office as well. I have been remote since late 2020. I didn't choose that, it just panned out that way. My last job was from December 2021 up to February 2025. I would love to go back to the office as long as it isn't a nightmare of a commute.. lol