I work at a tech company in an entry-level role right now.

Anonymous

October 2,2021 at 2:00AM UTC

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I work at a tech company in an entry-level role right now. They called it "product specialist", but it's really customer support for the product. Long story short, they advertise this job with promises of professional development, cross-team collaboration, growth, etc. but the responsibilities are literally just taking a high volume of support tickets every single day, to the point you don't have time to do anything else. So there are no opportunities to build transferable skills outside of the very narrow scope of knowing this particular company's product.

I'm extremely unhappy right now. I have a masters degree in healthcare informatics from a top university, but I'm being paid below $65k here. Job searching was soul-crushing for me (no interviews) which is why I took this offer, as it was the first job offer I had ever gotten. I really don't know what to do right now – any advice? If I leave before 1 year, I have to pay back the relocation stipend, but... while I do want to leave, I absolutely dread going back into the job hunt where I would apply and hear nothing back time and time again. Yes, I know about networking and getting referrals but I have never been able to truly deepen a relationship beyond an initial conversation.

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Jackie RukaOctober 2,2021 at 5:11AM UTC
Hi there,
As someone who has a job , out of school for $65K, I think you are on the right track, for several reasons. But first, it is not uncommon to dislike your first or even second job. Why? Well, the real world of work is repetitive, based on systems , with little for the imagination, insight or challenge, however, to show you are employable, with an above average salary than most out of school shows employers you are a potential good hire.
I did not last in my 1st job for 9 months before landing my second job, however, I found a place I wanted to work at and they were hiring. My first job got my foot in the door, with good references etc.
Point being, if there is a will there is a way.
Healthcare is very much a growing industry especially telehealth, electronic patient information, Medical informatics.
Clinical informatics.
Pharmacy informatics.
Public health informatics.
Biomedical informatics.
Bioinformatics.
Jobs in hospitals, start-ups, university teaching hospitals, pharmacies, bio-tech are vast.
If you could secure a role with a sign on-bonus, perhaps you could pay off the stipend plus get a better salary?
Have you considered talking to healthcare recruiters in your field?
AnonymousOctober 3,2021 at 2:07AM UTC
I actually haven't thought about talking to healthcare recruiters. Recruiters in general seem to not have our best interest as job-seekers in mind.
Could you elaborate on why you say I'm on the right track right now?
Jackie RukaOctober 3,2021 at 5:48AM UTC
It’s about leverage.
Leverage yourself and skills to what’s needed right now and fill that gap.
Move from $65k to $75k
Transfer what you are doing now toward what you prefer. Look at what you currently do plus what you have learned and studied as an obvious fit and hire.
As for recruiters, search for one in your field in LinkedIn and connect ASAP.
Don’t look at this as a hassle look at it as you leveraging yourself!
You have assets, flaunt them.