Re: Struggling to find work in the I.T. field

From: Leythos (void_at_nowhere.com)
Date: 09/18/03 

Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 03:10:24 GMT

In article <0I8ab.8887$CU3.3754@pd7tw3no>, brennanhm@shaw.ca says...
[snip]
> Since graduation, I've applied for jobs such as Assistant Network
> Administrator, Helpdesk Analyst, and field PC Technician (for an ISP). After
> an initial interview (or two) the response from these companies is that I'm
> lacking in qualifications and/or experience (or someone else had a lot
> more).
>
> My question to any I.T. professionals reading this is - where do I go
> from here? How am I supposed to land my first "entry-level" position into
> the I.T. field? How did you land yours (when you had no prior formal
> experience)?

Son, dang I feel old saying that. You are on the right path, but being a
graduate of high-school is not going to get you taken seriously
anywhere. There are people with degrees in Computer Science that can't
get hired, and they have the extra 4 years + internships.

What you are going to find is as follows:

1) If it can be done overseas it will be done overseas - find an area
that they can't out source easily.

2) Working in computer shops doesn't count for much unless that's all
you want to do.

3) Computer sales - again, it doesn't count for much - just look at the
quality of people working in computer stores (large chain ones).

4) The A+ doesn't mean anything to most people in the field. Getting a a
MCSE or a couple CISCO certs would help.

5) All the thing you hear about IT being a hot field is not as true as
it use to be. A few years back we could get very high rates and there
was not much competition - now, with the Global economy, tech support,
remote management, off-shore, etc.. all these drive the rates way down
and put a LOT of lot of qualified people out of work. It didn't change
so much in the last two years, it's a wave that was heading from the
west coast of the US to the east coast (at least in the US), it was
always on it's way, but people are just now seeing it. IT has reached a
level where a LOT of things can be done remotely (off-shore) and that
means you are looking at people that were earning $60K/yr being replaced
with people earning $5K/year. Programmers are going to have it the
hardest, then support center people.

6) You have to understand that you are in competition with senior IT
people that are out of work (more than 600 IT people in the small county
I live in here in Ohio).

So, how to get started - go back to school - get a 4.0 GPA - intern with
large IT companies. Pick a special area where people need you, not just
some remote support person that can be half way around the world. Study
you *** off and get the MCSE and the CISCO certs (I don't take MCSE's
seriously unless they have something to back it up, but a CISCO cert
with an MCSE would score very high in my book).

Be willing to work for cheap in the beginning - if you want a job that
has potential for advancement you may have to start at the bottom/low
salary. It might help to find someone that works with a company that's
hiring and ask them to help get you in (friends become contacts, and
contacts become customers).

I started when I was 9 in electronics (back in the very early 70's) and
had my first patent by 14, then started with computers (IBM) in boy-
scouts and through a banking group that helped kids in high-school. I
was being paid for coding and micro-electronic design work by the time I
was 16. I was getting paid to design micro-controllers and systems by
the time I was 18, and then did 4 years in the US NAVY (nothing to do
with Computers), and got out of the service and was designing batch
weighing systems on S100 buss computers in machine language. Those where
the days - too bad it doesn't work like that any more. 10 years later I
was a director for a fortune 500 company for the IT and Remote
Development division. I quit that job at the start of this year and own
my own IT company now. I (and my team) design WAN/LAN systems for medium
size businesses. We avoid programming, but still write custom interfaces
to systems. I have not formal certifications, no 4 year degree, but I'm
also 41 and it would have been a lot easier to get here sooner had I
done the Computer Science route.

How can you do this - get working hard at finding a company that will
let you START and work your ass off proving that you are a valuable
asset (don't brag, let them see how much you know by the quality and
depth of your work. Be willing to work long hours and look like you love
it, never hide when the network is down, stay in there helping and
learning). Stay in school and get that degree in Computer Science while
you work (some employers pay for school, or part of it). Never stop
tinkering at home (I have two rooms of servers and workstations in my
home, just so I can try things when I have an idea).

The most important thing is this: If you don't love IT with all your
heart, get out now and find something else to do. If you love it with
all your heart, then never give up, work harder than everyone around
you, and never LIE to anyone about what you can/can't do.

My wife has a degree in Computer Science from DeVry, I helped put her
through school (even did some of her homework). She worked for Sperry,
Unisys, Sterling Commerce, and other places. She never had the love of
IT work and decided to leave the field after 15 years.

> I thought that I could get a technical job out of high school without
> post-secondary education - maybe that was very naive of me. I thought that
> certifications and the experience I had would be enough to get myself into

Don't stop trying - while it won't get you a hired easily, you could
still get hired for low level positions that provide you with the
opportunity to add EXPERIENCE to your resume and to LEARN more.

> Hope I don't sound too whiney :-P. Thanks for any comments or
> suggestions - I'd be happy to hear any input or thoughts.

No whiney - in fact, there are a lot of IT people wondering how they are
going to get a job too.

Remember, if you really have the love for IT, never stop trying for that
job and NEVER STOP TINKERING AT HOME. 

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