Which IT Workplace?

KwIT

Hey! I'm from the San Antonio area and there are plenty of entry level IT Jobs being offered right now. I would like to know which workplace is the best to gain as much IT knowledge: School District, Hospital, Government Office, or Businesses(Insurance, Banks).

stryder144

Honestly, any of the above would be great to start with. It will depend on the role offered and if there are any options on moving into different areas of technology that you might be interested in (such as security, networking, etc).

darkerosxx

Agreed... for an entry job, they're all going to help you get your feet wet.

To answer your question specifically, though, it's likely that the right large corporate environment is going to give you the widest array of experience. It really all depends on the company, but all other things held equal those are usually your best bet.

techfiend

The large companies should offer a more accessible career path in a specialized area but I think small businesses with just a few IT workers offers a much broader scope of knowledge.

lsud00d

If you have an opportunity to get into a large higher education environment, I would go for that. Since you worded it as school district I imagine you mean something in the K-12 range...chances are they have a low budget for IT so I wouldn't suggest that education sector.

Hospitals can have cool technologies if they prioritize IT and are not publicly owned. Hospitals also can be high stress environments depending on what you do.

Some state governments have good IT budgets however most state/local government workers will make you pull your hair out. The stress involved with these jobs is typically red tape/bureaucracy and individuals with low motivation.

Business can be good to work for but again depending on their IT prioritization. Anything financial related can be higher for stress but they typically have better budgets for IT resources.

A lot of things depends on the size of the shop, the user base, the IT budget, the bottom budget line, and several other factors. Out of all of these I would recommend higher education and then a private sector business. Also checkout local MSP's...you didn't list it but that would be the best for working on your IT chops.

instant000

Howdy!

If you want breadth of knowledge, you want to work in a smaller shop.

If you want depth of knowledge, you want a larger shop.

As far as a local MSP, I believe that Computer Solutions is the one local company that a LOT of people have on their resumes, but not sure that they have any openings right now.

If you'd be happiest in a local school district, then I encourage you. If anyone's working on the technology used by the next generation, I'd rather it be someone who wanted to be there.

If you want to work in education for an MSP, then there is Dynamic Campus, which specifically focuses in that area. They're headquartered in Austin, but they actually work with schools all over the country. I'm not sure if they have any openings right now for entry level, but if you contact me offline, I can probably get you introduced to a guy from there.

San Antonio is a very small IT market.

There is this LinkedIn group, called "San Antonio IT Networking Group" make sure to join it, and try to get to the next monthly meeting. The meetings are free because they're sponsored. The best thing about the groups are that the sponsors only speak for about five minutes, with no presentations allowed. For the entire time, you get to shoot the breeze with others in the IT community.

Feel free to connect to me on LinkedIn, too!

Hope this helps!

techfiend

MSP's are probably the quickest place to gain knowledge but from what I've read they are often quick training and then you either sink or swim, it's a very stressful position but there's almost always something to do so time must fly.

K-12 IT pay is really good around here, well above average but they don't offer much for advancement, it's mostly laid back like most SMB's are.

County government is a very high stress position but great pay from someone I know working there. It's probably a plus to have a public sector on your resume but like large companies you get more specialized knowledge, which can be a great thing, but you need to know you want to do it.

KwIT

instant000 wrote: »

Howdy!

If you want breadth of knowledge, you want to work in a smaller shop.

If you want depth of knowledge, you want a larger shop.

As far as a local MSP, I believe that Computer Solutions is the one local company that a LOT of people have on their resumes, but not sure that they have any openings right now.

If you'd be happiest in a local school district, then I encourage you. If anyone's working on the technology used by the next generation, I'd rather it be someone who wanted to be there.

If you want to work in education for an MSP, then there is Dynamic Campus, which specifically focuses in that area. They're headquartered in Austin, but they actually work with schools all over the country. I'm not sure if they have any openings right now for entry level, but if you contact me offline, I can probably get you introduced to a guy from there.

San Antonio is a very small IT market.

There is this LinkedIn group, called "San Antonio IT Networking Group" make sure to join it, and try to get to the next monthly meeting. The meetings are free because they're sponsored. The best thing about the groups are that the sponsors only speak for about five minutes, with no presentations allowed. For the entire time, you get to shoot the breeze with others in the IT community.

Feel free to connect to me on LinkedIn, too!

Hope this helps!

Wow it's great that you're also from San Antonio.

I didn't put MSP as an option because I know that I haven't learned much about networking or security.

I'm graduating next week with a degree in Information Systems and also has been an IT HelpDesk intern for 2.5+ years. I also currently don't have any certifications, which most networking or security jobs wants me to have. So basically I've just been looking at PC TECH type of jobs since I know that I have enough experience.

I'm planning on studying for certifications as soon as I'm officially done with college.

tkerber

KwIT wrote: »

Wow it's great that you're also from San Antonio.

I didn't put MSP as an option because I know that I haven't learned much about networking or security.

I'm graduating next week with a degree in Information Systems and also has been an IT HelpDesk intern for 2.5+ years. I also currently don't have any certifications, which most networking or security jobs wants me to have. So basically I've just been looking at PC TECH type of jobs since I know that I have enough experience.

I'm planning on studying for certifications as soon as I'm officially done with college.

Honestly with 2.5 years of intern experience in a Help Desk you should be looking to go far away and beyond a PC Tech or Help Desk job. Also you don't have to know about networking or security to work for an MSP. I worked for an MSP and I started out as more of a general Systems Admin doing desktop support and server administration. They slowly trained me into networking and security and with MSPs you get to touch a lot of different stuff. For anyone starting out in IT or anyone that is in the early stages of their career -- I highly recommend MSPs as a first choice solely based on the kind of experience you get.

KwIT

Update:

I found a job back in April 2015 as a technical support at a small insurance company and is still currently working here. IT Prioritization is very very low and job is unchallenging. But since this is my first Full-Time position in IT, I've just been waiting to hit that one year mark before moving on.

Will definitely start looking at MSP's and other bigger places where I can grow.

techfiend

I'd start looking if you aren't challenged. There's nothing special about one year, especially early on. Many start with 6 months or less contracts. It's better to take some time and find a good fitting job rather than quickly take the first one that comes along.