Dead end NHS IT Job - advice please

cellblockH

Hi, I am a frequent person to this site and not a new poster, so you don't have to welcome me

I'm after some unbiased advice please.

I'm in my late 40's work in IT (2nd line server work, backups and server admin, nothing really cutting edge) and work for a NHS hospital. I have been working there Over 13 years and have about 25 years of experience in IT. My only relative passed away a month ago and current situation made me re-evaluate things.

Our department is farming out certain items to various third party shared services providers, and smaller one off jobs to contractors. I find my job has shrunk, is really limiting, no growth and no training. I'm at the top of my band grade so with overtime, on call and weekend work earn around £33000 p/a. I've also got to add another14% hidden extra for the pension fund that no one mentions that the NHS pays

Since jobs are being shared to outside sources there is no movement to other teams and all our roles have shrunk and now is just day to day drudgery tasks.

Historically, only the people who's face fitted were promoted - it is always the people that go drinking with management or make continuous cups of coffee. Last restructure they rather took outside people and windged for over 6 months, than train current ones. Yes, I did apply for another post. There is a lack of trust, as one team member makes a mistake then that team has their rights removed rather than training or developing into a better service. Nobody is perfect, so in actuality there are very few people that can really do stuff. All my colleagues I've spoken to feel similar to me, but the majority are at least 10 years younger.

Daily I have to approach contractors to complete some of my jobs, even on basic tasks like changing an email address.

My manager is a decent person, and supportive of me leaving, but the department would prefer highly trained, fresh blood to manipulate, so not sure that when he is being supportive in my leaving is actually being honest that there a loads of better paying jobs out there and it is a booming market and would be best for me. My retired friends are telling me to stay - grin and bare it.

The question is, at my age, considering the economy, job market and taking the fact that I have a mortgage, should I leave, go contracting, get another permanent job, or grin and bare it for 15 years till I retire. It does get harder as you get older.

What word of wisdom do the collective recommend? Ta.

LittleVoice

In these uncertain times, I would suggest that staying in the NHS would be no bad thing, if you can find the right thing there. Have you registered for email notification on www.jobs.nhs.uk? (It's run by jobsite, I believe, so you get notification in the way that they do things.)

Are you working for a hospital, PCT or SHA? Moving to another branch may help.

What happens in your annual appraisal? Do you take training/learning opportuntiies to those meetings to suggest to your line manager?

If your manager knows you are thinking of leaving and is supportive of that, then why not apply for jobs outside and see how you get on with finding some of those "loads of better paying jobs"?

[Deleted User]

Where abouts are you based? I work for one of the healthcare IT firms providing software as part of Connecting for Health. Your salary is roughly what we'd pay a graduate after 3 years of experience.

Sounds like you'd suit the role of systems engineer.. do you live anywhere near london by any chance?

LittleVoice

cellblockH wrote: »

We have yearly appraisals and get an email. We we fill in one column and email it back. Non of us know what is filled in the other columns, or the outcomes.

This is no way to run an appraisal system!!!! (It's so bad, I'm speechless.)

Are you a member of UNISON? What do they say about this?

[Deleted User]

Have IMed you

[Deleted User]

Having found out that i could be earning 350 - 400 a day as a contractor.. i've been toying with the idea myself...

Incisor

cellblockH wrote: »

... I'm after some unbiased advice please.

I'm in my late 40's work in IT (2nd line server work, backups and server admin, nothing really cutting edge) and work for a NHS hospital. I have been working there Over 13 years and have about 25 years of experience in IT. My only relative passed away a month ago and current situation made me re-evaluate things.

Our department is <fairly standard description of vital but non core function>

The question is, at my age, considering the economy, job market and taking the fact that I have a mortgage, should I leave, go contracting, get another permanent job, or grin and bare it for 15 years till I retire. It does get harder as you get older.

What word of wisdom do the collective recommend? Ta.

I don't know about the collective. But for me, it's about having a Plan B. Always have a Plan B, and be working towards it and ready to take any offers which help towards Plan B.

So, I didn't like a place I was working and the direction the work was going, plus they were in continual rounds of downsizing. I decided I wanted another career. I took some evening classes and found that I would be well OK if I had to do Plan B, then my employer offered severance with a pot of training money. Took it, had another career for 7 years, did the same again, getting a move to a part of the country I prefer.

Look outwards to where you could go, rather than inwards to where you are. Look for an 'I want to do that', stay where you are and focus on getting to where you want to be. I don't see £27/hr as being all that stable. It isn't a Plan B, but if you know where you want to go, it could be really good as a fill in or a stepping stone towards your Plan B, maybe if you want to amass some cash to take time out.

LittleVoice

cellblockH wrote: »

LittleVoice, I'm a member of Unite and I have not seen my appraisal in many years, but I'm top of my band and good or bad they can't do anything to my pay.

Appraisals shouldn't just be about pay but it sounds as though your organisation has promoted the view that that is all that they are about. In fact there is an argument for separating pay reviews from the actual time of an appraisal (but that's another topic).

Do you want to continue working in what I would say was a front-line, hands-on, IT role or would you consider something like informatics/compliance/data protection/other related areas? You would need training for this, though some could be self-directed.

LittleVoice

cellblockH wrote: »

LittleVoice, I'm a member of Unite and I have not seen my appraisal in many years, but I'm top of my band and good or bad they can't do anything to my pay.

Appraisals shouldn't just be about pay but it sounds as though your organisation has promoted the view that that is all that they are about. In fact there is an argument for separating pay reviews from the actual time of an appraisal (but that's another topic).

I would second Incisor's Plan B approach.

Do you want to continue working in what I would say was a front-line, hands-on, IT role or would you consider something like informatics/compliance/data protection/other related areas? You would need training for this, though some could be self-directed.