IT jobs......

[UDT89]

so the best thing to do is get the certs b/c i dont have experience to get into some interviews.

i've asked around but most of my friends arent in the IT field or work with companies that even have an IT department.

 

[hx009]

Originally posted by: UDT89
so the best thing to do is get the certs b/c i dont have experience to get into some interviews.

That sounds about right. Your degree + certs + zero experience = entry level. There is no magic pill to get you into some $50k+/year job. Whatever IT position you get will likely start with "Junior".

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: UDT89
I spoke to a friends IT department head and he said most companies look for experience over certs.....

I disagree with that statement.

Certifications are resume eye candy. In most companies you have to get past HR before you get interviewed by the IT managers. Then experience means more than certs and degrees.

 

[UDT89]

well it looks like im going to get my CCNA cert and im still not sure between mcsa or mcse

i'm probably going to have the school where im taking everything explain it to me.

 

[enis083]

I have seen people with a bunch of certs who can't get the job they want and on the other hand I see people who don't have any certs in jobs where they should have one. It all depends on your ability to BS your way into a position once you get the interview. The hard part is getting the interview. Knowing people definately helps. If you are still in school try to take a few "IT" courses and get some networking done there with the professors and classmates who might know people. If you get stuck doing phone support, make friends with the Tier 2/NOC/Desk side support guys so they will let you know of openings.

 

[TheSlamma]

Originally posted by: UDT89
well it looks like im going to get my CCNA cert and im still not sure between mcsa or mcse

i'm probably going to have the school where im taking everything explain it to me.

For starters do you really like computers? and do they come to you very easy? If a field is like pulling teeth then what would be the point.. just money? Fun life.

 

[wetcat007]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob

Originally posted by: jbourne77
Certs mean jack. There was a time and place when they held some value, though. In the late 90's the tech boom was in full swing, and no one could make heads or tails of what was going on. Certs were the easiest way for a company to determine if you were qualified for the job (even though most people holding certs - myself included - were book experienced).

When I interview someone, I'm going to tech them to the fullest extent of MY knowledge. I want to know exactly what they know and don't know, and I also want to make sure they're capable of admitting they don't know something, as opposed to making a bunch of bullshit up. I don't claim to know it all, and I don't want people around me or my team who think they know it all.

All a cert tells me is that you can buckle down for a couple weeks. I can glean that info from the previous project experience you have.

True... Certification only shows that you're good at memorizing information for an exam. It doesn't teach real troubleshooting skills, which is what IT support as all about. It might help you get promoted later, but it's not going help figure out why server X is crashing or why Ms. Y can't get on the network.

This does vary on some exams, such as Red Hat certification, part of it is an actual production test where you gotta fix problems. Some cisco certifications I believe require you goto school for the classes and have to pass production tests there as well.

 

[Imdmn04]

If you don't have the experience, a technical degree (such as engineering) would help.

Too many liberal arts majors trying to crack into IT nowadays because their own field makes jack sh!t, you would stand out more if you had a technical degree.

 

[DaiShan]

Originally posted by: eleison

Originally posted by: UDT89
I spoke to a friends IT department head and he said most companies look for experience over certs.....

so how does one get into IT? i have my 4 year degree in economics and minor in business management. i have enough personal knowledge of IT to take a few classes and get my MCSE and CCNA.

but will that help me break into the IT field?

I live in the NY metro area.

Its easy... work for very small companies doing small IT stuff for experience... keep on doing this until you get to do big IT stuff... its a 5 year plan though.. good luck..

^^ yep get your certs then start applying to small companies for experience.

 

[midwestfisherman]

Originally posted by: Feldenak
Networking...it's not just for nodes.

I admit it...that made me chuckle....

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: UDT89
I spoke to a friends IT department head and he said most companies look for experience over certs.....

so how does one get into IT? i have my 4 year degree in economics and minor in business management. i have enough personal knowledge of IT to take a few classes and get my MCSE and CCNA.

but will that help me break into the IT field?

I live in the NY metro area.

Well yes and no.

Certs usually will not get you in the door at most places alone. However, there is a big drought for Cisco certifications in my region (SE) of guys that can pass a technical interview. There are a lot that are heavily certified that cannot answer abstract questions in their claimed field of expertise.

My company is putting up a bit of a wall now since I only have a CSCS and no certs. I am going to bang out a CCNA and MCSE though since they are willing to pay for it.

Getting your certifications will never hurt you.

If you had experience in working in your field then came into the door to support it on the IS/IT side....that is a big winner.

I have been doing mortgage banking since I was 12 on the operations/production side until my 20's...I came back in my 30's to handle the IS/IT side and it's been a good ride.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: midwestfisherman

Originally posted by: Feldenak
Networking...it's not just for nodes.

I admit it...that made me chuckle....

teh funnay was found and in all seriousness. Who you know > anything. however; also What you have done > anything as well.

9 times out of 10 the latter is going to lose to the former...however, whenever you can put a 7 figure savings or profit on a resume from just the stuff you can pull out of your bag....companies that can benefit will listen.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: UDT89
wow im really torn now.......

i just dont wanna waste my money.

It's definitely not a waste. It will help get you interviews, especially considering that you don't have a lot of experience. You are the exact kind of person a cert was made to help. Once you get the interview, the cert means nothing though.

I have been on the job market recently in Chicago, and a majority of the places say various certs are either required or preferred. At the very least, get an A+. It'll set you back only about 250 if you buy vouchers.

 

[LeadMagnet]

Originally posted by: UDT89
I spoke to a friends IT department head and he said most companies look for experience over certs.....

so how does one get into IT? i have my 4 year degree in economics and minor in business management. i have enough personal knowledge of IT to take a few classes and get my MCSE and CCNA.

but will that help me break into the IT field?

I live in the NY metro area.

I do a lot of tech hiring & interviewing for a fortune 1000 tech company, the certs only get your resume more closely read (just having the right acronyms on your resume is sometimes enough) like saying (I am working towards my MCSE or CCIE).

But upon closer inspection of the resume it is experience that lands the interview.

 

[BunLengthHotDog]

Here is the path I ended up going down

1) Graduated Highschool
2) Got a job working at local Best Buy in late 90's as a PC upgrade Tech
3) Moved to Atlanta, continued job at Best Buy for 3 more years
4) Promoted to Service Center tech (not in store, at actual service center), worked there for 2 more years
5) Scored interview with Regional ISP, got job based on PC experience mentioned above working on Dial and DSL customers (late 98, early 99)
6) Worked on Dial, DSL, and Infrastructure networks
7) 3 years ago promoted to VPN and Big Business customer Network Administration.

If I leave this place Jan 1, 07 I will be able to list 7 years of networking experience (Cisco, Redback, Juniper etc etc) and 12+ working with PC's

Caveat 1 : Step 5: I knew someone already working there, once I got my foot in the door I was hired based on my expertise in PC's (had never even tried telnet before, GASP)
Caveat 2 : To this day I have no college degree, and have 0 certs and make very good money without either. I am looking at getting certs however (the upper level ones DO help) for whenever I may go job hunting, or in case I get laid off (which is sadly ALWAYS a possibility in IT).

I recently interviewed at another similar job, and was #2 out of 15 prospects, most of which had either various certs or a related degree of some sort. Where the "good ole boy" system helped me in step 5, it bit me in the ass here...I had 1 guy pushing for me, the other guy had 2...oh well, maybe next time. When I asked them about the other prospects, they said the folks that had certs and degree's had far less experience then myself and the guy who eventually landed the job. It's certainly a delicate balance between the 2, there is no definitive answer to your question.

Even starting somewhere as "lowly" as Best Buy can help...experience is experience, and in the grand scheme of things, BBY didnt pay bad either (made 15.00 an hour at the Service Center).

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[UDT89]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma

Originally posted by: UDT89
well it looks like im going to get my CCNA cert and im still not sure between mcsa or mcse

i'm probably going to have the school where im taking everything explain it to me.

For starters do you really like computers? and do they come to you very easy? If a field is like pulling teeth then what would be the point.. just money? Fun life.

no i really like computers.....i should've majored in CS in college, but i got caught up in finance. and yes they come very easy.....pretty much the reason i did/do most of the troubleshooting at my jobs.

 

[marulee]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
You break in by either knowing people or starting at the bottom in support.

True that !

 

[UDT89]

updated

 

[her209]

Projects... the bigger the better.

 

[Cal166]

I recently completed the MCSE 2003 Bootcamp paid by my company. It will have better weight in your resume because you actually attended the courses instead of reading the books.

What I have learned from this course is that its well worth the money because you are actually learning a lot from the instructor instead of reading the books. My knowledge of Group Policy and Security permission has greatly improved because working at a company where all the policies and permissions are already set, you will not learn much beside add and creating users account in Active Directory.

This course for people know has been in the field for atleast 3 years and has server and network experience. We had one guy in the class who thought this class teaches you everything and not realized that it's an accelerated class. He failed the XP exam.

The certification itself it not worth much if you already have the experience in the field. Its mainly for people who wants to get their foot into the company and start from there.

The main reason that these certificates from Microsoft is not worth what it used to mainly because anyone with a brain that can memorize 100+ questions can pass.

Getting my certification was one of my main goals when I entered the field, I have enough experience and just wanted to get it done. When my company offered to pay for the course, it was a no brainer.

Good luck!