thinking of transitioning from help desk to sysadmin

You should have started asking for additional responsibilities before the other sysadmin quit. Currently they might prefer hiring an external more experienced sysadmin instead

This 100%. I was desktop support for 6 years and eventually became a sysadmin because i shadowed everything the sysadmin did in case they needed a backup. Once sysadmin left, i (the backup) got hired as sysadmin

This is reassuring lol. I’ve got 9 years IT experience and slowly been taking on more responsibilities. We’ve got 3 sys admins at my job so I likely won’t be seeing the position there but I’ve been struggling with the lack of certs hurting my confidence. Am I correct in my assumption that the main difference between Helpdesk and sys admin is the access and thinking about problems at their root as opposed to individualistic? Like if a printer is displaying the incorrect subnet. Obviously I’m sure there’s more but I’m curious what you have to say on that.

And if you weren't hired, I'm sure you would have applied elsewhere and moved on with your new set of skills!

How complex of tasks were you asking for? If there was only 1 sysadmin, they're not going to want to give you complex work because there will always be the concern they'll have to fix whatever you break. Remember, your skill level is unproven in their eyes regardless of the cio's or anyone else's blessing. Ask for the stupid simple tasks (aka grunt work. There's some at every level) that still falls under the sysadmin. You don't even necessarily need to be the one doing the task. Ask to shadow the sysadmin on some tasks where you can learn while staying out of the way. Even if it's something you already know how to do. As you complete the simple tasks successfully or they notice you paying attention and correctly lending a hand here or there, they'll start to think of you whenever they want to offload some of their work, which will be frequently if they're a solo admin, and you'll start getting more complex tasks. Just don't start acting like any of the tasks are "below you." It gets annoying fast and then they'll avoid you. I've had multiple people do that before. I stopped giving them any tasks and avoided them afterwards. As for applying to the role now, do it anyway. The worst they can do is say no, which would put you in the same position you are now. Don't offer a pay decrease. That should be something they ask you for if they feel it's required.

Excellent advice

Helpdesk people just work on user issues via tickets. Sysadmins are supposed to work on escalations and projects When I was a sysadmin the battle was trying to stay away from dealing with support issues so I could work on my projects and other responsibilities. Like patching and lifecycle maintenance and upgrades and scripting stuff

How long have you been on service desk?

Apply for the position as it. Don’t request a reduced salary. It would be cheaper for your company to promote you and have you learn than to hire someone new. If they hired you as a jr sysadmin, a position that doesn’t currently exist(?), they still need a main one. This does beg a question that someone else asked: how long have you been on the help desk there? That would be a larger determining factor (for me at least) than what certain you had.

This may already be known to you, but you don’t move up in the IT world by staying at the same company and taking over other people‘s positions or looking for promotions. Every couple years you’re gonna have to leave to find a new job, get a 50% pay increase with new responsibilities. You’re never gonna get paid what you’re worth at your current position, and you’re never going to get the big jump in experience or title by staying at the same company. There’s reasons why people stay at the same company even early on in their career, but just know that that’s going to be a limiting factor when it comes to your ability to progress your career (title/responsibilities/experience/salary).

I wouldn’t jump right to shorting your salary. They’re going to expect you to do the job if they give it to you, so you might as well get paid. I’m a sys admin and have been a sys engineer and sr sys engineer in the past. No certs and no degree.

Don't offer reduced salary or a jr title. Just apply for the job. Either you are more qualified than you think, or you aren't a good fit.

Certs to some just mean you can read a book and pass exams. Hands on experience is probably much better than having a paper to prove you can read. I’m a sr sys admin with no recent cert but I think my employer kind of wants me to get something to show the auditors that we know what we’re doing. Lol

Totally up to the organization. You should be discussing this with the hiring manager. There is no "now you are qualified for sysadmin" list. It's up to the role and what would need to be filled. Also if there is a single open position and it's not a senior/junior relationship, there's a good chance the company will need to hire someone with experience simply because they need the role satisfied immediately, not when you're able to get trained up. Best of luck to you, definitely talk to the manager about how they might make this a possibility, but sorry we won't be much help here. Just be eager to learn and don't wait for someone to tell you to learn about something, if you hear about a technology in a meeting that you aren't familiar with, write it down and learn everything you can about it. That's going to be the best way to advance in a specific organization. If your company uses it, you learn it, demonstrate that you have learned it to management in meetings and express your interest in fulfilling the needs the organization has. Worst case scenario you never advance there, but you've learned enough to pad your resume and talk your way into an advanced role somewhere else that uses a similar tech stack. Which might not actually be the worst case as this is usually how you maximize your income.

Never, never, never going into negotiations offering to accept lesser pay or a junior title - that’s not the salary or the position that you are applying for apply for. Do either, and you are immediately advertising yourself as unqualified , unfit for the role, and willing to settle for far less while undoubtedly being presented with and expected to fulfill all the difficult challenges of the full - and fully funded - position.

Transitioning from helpdesk to sysadmin is kind of a natural progression. If you are a good helpdesk tech, there is nothing you need to do except get exposure to different systems. Network+ and security+ are helpful. I got my server+ and security+ and both feel like a giant waste of money. 75% of the stuff in the cert doesn’t apply to the actual job. Started working on network+ and it’s the same. Been a sysadmin for 5+ years and the certs aren’t worth the work. Just learn how to read documents and follow SOPs and always think about the security repercussions when doing anything.

Why would you ever request a reduced salary?

Its so difficult to say. If you have problem solving skills and are orderly, you will probably be fine. These days, so much info is out on the web to help, plus AI. You may be ready if you are driven to succeed.

and requesting reduced salary Never do that . But this is exactly why I keep telling people to skill up on their own and not to rely on the company to just hand you stuff. When opportunities like this pop up you are head and above those round you and so you are bascially a shoe in. People will hang around in helpdesk for 10years still waiting for the oppurtunity. Don't be that guy. Skill up and demand your place.

Even as a SysAdmin, you'll still be Help Desk. Polish up on them soft skills. Your BAS don't mean shit.

You have an edge in that you have some familiarity of your environment and user base. Something to play up. Of you have the skills to do the job and you can sell how your knowledge of your systems helps - it makes an interesting choice. It would be a quicker transition than bringing someone external in cold. Worst case, you show management your ambition and maybe it leads to other opportunities. I started on the helpdesk- I befriended our sysadmin and really pestered him to involve me in his projects. I was promoted and I’ve been at it 27 years now.

If he was the only one, unless you’re awesome and know what you’re doing… hard to recommend hiring you.