General career advice for a new graduate but old vet

miguk82

Hey guys and gals I need a bit of advice. A quick background about me. I spent the last 10 years in the military as a 25Q(LOS microwave stuff). I spent time working with satellites, in a help desk, and in a NOC during those 10 years. I have my CCNA, Net+, and Sec+. I will also be graduating this month with an associates in Information Technology(mainly network stuff with a few server classes). In the process of getting into WGU now. I have some rudimentary experience with ESXi, server 2012, and CUCM. In a perfect world I would love to pursue something that includes the server side of things with networking. I know this is just a brief description of me and my skill set but any recommendations on the type of positions I should be looking for? I feel I have a pretty broad skill set but am not a master of anything, which kind of adds to my confusion. Also, I have received a few calls from recruiters. Should I stay away from recruiters? I'm completely lost when it comes to anything in the civilian world. Any advice in regards to anything would be much appreciated. Thanks guys n gals and enjoy your holidays! -Aaron

Danielm7

There are lots of different types of roles you could go for, maybe something like a sysadmin?

As for recruiters, like anything else, there are good ones and bad ones out there. If you avoid them altogether you'll miss out on a lot of potential jobs. Look for ones that are local and probably know local businesses. I got my current job through a recruiter and he knew the manager personally. I was changing job roles and I just needed to be able to talk to someone and sell myself as my resume didn't totally line up with the field I wanted to get into. The recruiter talked to me for awhile, talked to the manager and connected the two of us and it worked out great. Otherwise they might not have even called me back from an application as I didn't have the exact skill set they wanted but I had done a lot of related things that could be easily transitioned.

techfiend

Ideally jr admin or jr engineer otherwise msp, noc tech, computer op or desktop support. More generic titles like IT support/assistant can be a good learning opportunity.

I'd stay away from phones unless its tier 2 or 3. Help desk often means tier 1 call center customer service work. some smb's use help desk titles for desktop support type roles. SMB's can offer a lot of learning opportunities because you are one of few.

Recruiters were good for one thing for me, improving my hiring process skills. I would say quickly turn down positions recruiters offer that you aren't interested in but always interview with them seeking a lot of hiring process advice. For jobs, apply to everything you have some interest in and at interviews ask questions to get a really good idea of what the job duties are. Job listings, often posted by hr, don't always match the job duties.

I'd suggest putting wgu on your resume as soon as you are approved with a start month and expcted year. Are you doing bs net admin?

Good luck and persistence will pay off. If you are having problems receiving replies don't hesitate to post your stripped resume on here.