Got my Network+ & still no job

Mudkip16

@SpetsRepair: Hmm, now that I think about it, I met a recruiter from Robert Half just last month at a job fair. Maybe I'll call her instead of the main building next time. Thanks for your input. I'm glad it worked out for you!

tahjzhuan

Our 1st level desk has hired people primarily for the reason of speaking different languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, etc). Customer service is a large part and technical skill can be developed over time. Willingness to learn, enthusiasm, and other soft skills are also very important. I'd also 2nd starting off at a help desk as you can learn a lot about various parts of a business before beginning to specialize. Focus on building a foundation and constant improvement and you'll be successful imo.

Shoe Box

I started by getting in touch with the technical divisions of some local agencies (Robert Half Technology, TEK Systems), and talking to them about low level IT Support jobs. After a couple weekend hardware refreshes (like replacing 10 computers and a switch and a printer in 3 branches of a local bank while they were closed one weekend) and other installation jobs, like the scales, scanners, computers, etc, in a supermarket being built, I was able to get my first support job, and it grew from there.
Ask for short term assignments, like a few weeks or less. Anything to get started, then once you have a few of those, other employers will start to pay more attention to you. If a company is doing an XP to 7 migration, that is a good thing to get some work with. It’s mostly pretty basic stuff, if you can unpack a computer and assemble it and turn it on and install a printer, then you can do these jobs. But when it comes to employers and paychecks, even basic stuff is looked at as requiring a certain amount of skill, even if it doesn’t really need it.

Codeman6669

Hey Mudkip

Getting in the door with IT jobs is a task. I wont tell you it wont be. I remember it like "we need people with experience" but how the hell do i get experience if no one will give me experience!

So you say your in a group doing some development or what not. Perfect! Its not just about who you know, but how well you know them. So make friends, learn, and when there jobs are hiring, they are likely to suggest someone they already know that has been "working" with them. Even if its on the side for fun. I got a guy hired at my job because he was in my cisco classes. He had no I.T. experience aside from the classes, but i like how he presented himself, how he handled himself, we worked as a two person team on some cisco labs for a hour or so and it he was cool.. So i got him a job in the network field, and hes doing quite well. So dont give up, KEEP going to school. Even if you an study this stuff in books, go to school, work with piers, make connections. It sounds like the long route, but trust, this is how it works.

additionally, if you can do "IT consulting" on the side, like fixing peoples computers, virus removal etc, you know small jobs, but your a consultant. You can put this on your resume. Its not a W2 experience, but it does more then having nothing. (besides i think all of us got started doing that, just make it sound more official. They dont need to know what your income was and if they ask, bull SHT it. But just be sure your looking for low level IT jobs. Your likely going to be on a phone. Look for jobs like Help Desk, Desktop Support, Technical Analyst, etc.

Do not give up, unless of course your not cut out for this?

n FYI I had a A+ cert like ten years ago. I got small jobs through horrible temp agencies that had me doing things like organizing computer parts for a week, or doing cleaning on printers for a week. It was cool, i got mild experience then moved onto a desktop/field support role, now im in networking and LOVE it. Kudos!

kenrin

I got experience by doing server administration work for game servers, which led to my "group" getting a full dedicated with website, multiple game servers, multiple OS's, VMware (esxi), cpanel (for the regular users not me lol).

I have to say it does look good on a resume even though it isn't "professional work". I never got many calls until i got the A+ , Recruiters and HR will reject your resume for the dumbest reasons.

nathandrake

I agree with what SpetsRepair said. Look for an entry level help desk (or even a technical call center, like at an ISP or something like that). Just something to get you exposed to supporting something and interacting with end users. I stated out at a call center, then moved up to desktop support from there, and starting next week in the infosec field. Getting that first initial job is always the hard part. After that, as long as you continue to learn and grow, finding jobs won't be too difficult.

sthomas

This may have already been mentioned but I would recommend you start studying for your CCNA instead of more CompTIA certifications. Having the CCNA will open up more doors for you.

Also, keep trying to find a place that will let you work part time for free on your spare time. Surely there will be some place that could use free tech support. This will get some experience on your resume. And keep applying for IT positions evening if you don't think you have the qualifications they are asking for if you feel you can do the job apply anyway someone may take a chance on you.

Mudkip16

Hi all,

Just a quick update...I got an IT Internship!

All the time, sweat, and anxiety to my 100+ applications, and this was the only offer.
However, I am SUPER grateful and extremely relieved.

One word of advice, never let ANY of the "Requirements" stop you from applying.
The description said I "MUST be in school, MUST be pursuing a degree in Computer Science or CIS, and MUST be a rising junior or senior in college." I was NONE of those, so part of me was like "man, why even bother."
But I applied anyways, passed 2 interviews, and they called me yesterday. AHHH I'm so happy. I think the scariest part was when they asked me to fix a PC in front of them that they purposefully manipulated to not boot.

Anywho, I thank you guys for all your encouragement. My spirit was dying inside, and I had no one to ask for advice. But you all responded so promptly and kindly. Thank you so much!

Kinet1c

Congrats with the internship. you will now have experience on your CV/resume, which makes it easy to move forward and up. Best of luck with it.

mamoreno89

Mudkip16 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just a quick update...I got an IT Internship!

All the time, sweat, and anxiety to my 100+ applications, and this was the only offer.
However, I am SUPER grateful and extremely relieved.

One word of advice, never let ANY of the "Requirements" stop you from applying.
The description said I "MUST be in school, MUST be pursuing a degree in Computer Science or CIS, and MUST be a rising junior or senior in college." I was NONE of those, so part of me was like "man, why even bother."
But I applied anyways, passed 2 interviews, and they called me yesterday. AHHH I'm so happy. I think the scariest part was when they asked me to fix a PC in front of them that they purposefully manipulated to not boot.

Anywho, I thank you guys for all your encouragement. My spirit was dying inside, and I had no one to ask for advice. But you all responded so promptly and kindly. Thank you so much!

Congratulations!!! I wish you the very best!

Hondabuff

I would stay as a pharmacy tech and go back to school for 2 more years and become a Pharmacist. Your going to waste the next 2 years bouncing around help Desks doing crap work. Meanwhile you could tally up 2 more years learning the ins and outs of a pharmacy and then graduate and land a job close to 6 figures. Being 26 making $100k sounds better then $45k as a Desktop Support gig.

Mudkip16

Hondabuff wrote: »

I would stay as a pharmacy tech and go back to school for 2 more years and become a Pharmacist. Your going to waste the next 2 years bouncing around help Desks doing crap work. Meanwhile you could tally up 2 more years learning the ins and outs of a pharmacy and then graduate and land a job close to 6 figures. Being 26 making $100k sounds better then $45k as a Desktop Support gig.

@HondaBuff

I don't like it. That's why I've made the decision to leave the field. I thought it would be fine career for me, and then I realized, it's the EXACT opposite. No lunch breaks, you can only go to the bathroom like twice a day if lucky, and you work 12 hr shifts on their feet until retirement. I've only been a technician for 3 yrs, and I alreadycan't wait to transition


#1 Pharmacy school = 4 years
#2 I'll be 200K in debt by the time I'm done, half of the young pharmacists I know still live with their parents
#3 This internship is more than just tech support. It's very project based, so I HOPE I can accelerate my career much faster. Last year they did computer imaging, but I don't know about this year.

akatsuki91

I felt the same way being an Anesthesia tech in a hospital for 2 years. Now that its over with I can do schoolwork at work. Win/Win.

NiteOwl

Mudkip16 wrote: »

Hey guys. Thank you for all your comments. I'm currently employed as a pharmacy technician, but I feel stagnant and truly desire room for growth.

I have applied for many internships, even unpaid ones. No one has reached out to me yet. I will take anything. I guess I thought one certification would at least land me a tech support job.

Currently studying for Security+ ... my endgame is geared towards InfoSec, but if I end up in Network Administration, I wouldn't mind that either.

I hate to do this, but you need a reality check. Some may not agree with what I am about to say, but you need to abandon Sec+ and get your A+ asap if you want a job. I am sure there has been a few cases where someone with their Net+ has gotten a job, but where I am from, you would not even get a interview. You are competing in a flooded market, where everyone has degrees with certification, Net+ will not get you a admin job. That being said, you are shooting for the moon, which is fine, if its your dream. Its time to land a on star(helpdesk), then after you get some basic IT experience to go for those admin jobs you want.

I truly hope you do get a admin job or networking job and prove me wrong. I have first hand experience, I have a networking degree, along with 10 others who went to a very good school, and we have not been able to get networking or admin jobs. I wish you the best, but get your A+ and you can get a helpdesk job very easily.

Mow

@NiteOwl

She got an internship. She has a foot in the door, so I disagree, she doesn't need to get A+ ASAP.

Hondabuff

I would set a 3-5 year plan. Obtain CCNA then CCNP. CCNA will open a few more doors but only if you have a work history to support it. Everyone thinks getting a CCNA is a magic cert that will bring them a great job. It will get you more recruiters and that's about it. Don't spend more then 2 years doing Help Desk type work. If you cant move up within the company within 2 years then apply at a different company to move up. Truth is that the fastest way to move up in IT is to job hop. I would try and expose yourself to everything during your internship. Being a Network Admin requires you to know what's running on the network. A good foundation of Active Directory and DHCP/DNS servers will help you down the road. After all this is what everyone's network is running. Being a good Network Engineer/Admin requires you to have Job Skills, If your boss asks you to update the IOS on 20 switches you should have the skills to back them up, Download the IOS and Install it via tftp or USB stick. You should even have to think about it. And if you hose up a switch in production then you should know how to recover it. If you get a chance to repatch a server room then do it. Learning how to run cables and terminate them is a valuable skill to know. The biggest rule to know getting into the network field is: If you don't know it then Google it. Nothing will irritate the Sr. Engineers more if you ask them something and you didn't Google it first. Lots of Fragile egos involved. Have fun with the internship, There is a lot of technology to get your hands on and everyone started from the same start line. You might not be able to land a Help Desk job with out the A+ cert. Some companies use that as a basic requirement.

NiteOwl

Mow wrote: »

@NiteOwl

She got an internship. She has a foot in the door, so I disagree, she doesn't need to get A+ ASAP.

I just read that post, that is awesome for her! Its just my personal opinion and experience. Since she has the internship, she has no need for A+ now.

rjon17469

Hondabuff wrote: »

I would set a 3-5 year plan. Obtain CCNA then CCNP. CCNA will open a few more doors but only if you have a work history to support it. Everyone thinks getting a CCNA is a magic cert that will bring them a great job. It will get you more recruiters and that's about it. Don't spend more then 2 years doing Help Desk type work. If you cant move up within the company within 2 years then apply at a different company to move up. Truth is that the fastest way to move up in IT is to job hop. I would try and expose yourself to everything during your internship. Being a Network Admin requires you to know what's running on the network. A good foundation of Active Directory and DHCP/DNS servers will help you down the road. After all this is what everyone's network is running. Being a good Network Engineer/Admin requires you to have Job Skills, If your boss asks you to update the IOS on 20 switches you should have the skills to back them up, Download the IOS and Install it via tftp or USB stick. You should even have to think about it. And if you hose up a switch in production then you should know how to recover it. If you get a chance to repatch a server room then do it. Learning how to run cables and terminate them is a valuable skill to know. The biggest rule to know getting into the network field is: If you don't know it then Google it. Nothing will irritate the Sr. Engineers more if you ask them something and you didn't Google it first. Lots of Fragile egos involved. Have fun with the internship, There is a lot of technology to get your hands on and everyone started from the same start line. You might not be able to land a Help Desk job with out the A+ cert. Some companies use that as a basic requirement.

This.

Also, especially when interacting with higher/more senior level engineers and admins, don't be afraid to say you don't know something. It'll be a learning opportunity from a knowledgeable source. But even more, nothing makes a senior engineer more nervous than a lower-level tech overstepping their knowledge and risking creating a larger issue.

I can recount this numerous times from experience. When I ask a tech/engineer to do something that is beyond what they know or are capable of, I would much rather they say they don't know how to rather than try it and mess up.

thenjduke

There is a lot of sound advice here and congrats on the internship. I will tell you first thing is learn as much as possible from those people you work with in internship. So you want to go the InfoSec route. I would do the A+ and then Sec +. My next step would be in a 3 to 5 year plan do CCNA / CCNA Security. Once you get these certifications out of the way I would look at where in security you like to specialize and start to focus on that. In this 5 year plan I would also try to start focusing on security for networks and infrastructure. I presently do security with Citrix and VMware and a lot of Design. It took me awhile but it is a good field.

Kreken

Mudkip16 wrote: »

@HondaBuff

I don't like it. That's why I've made the decision to leave the field. I thought it would be fine career for me, and then I realized, it's the EXACT opposite. No lunch breaks, you can only go to the bathroom like twice a day if lucky, and you work 12 hr shifts on their feet until retirement. I've only been a technician for 3 yrs, and I alreadycan't wait to transition


#1 Pharmacy school = 4 years
#2 I'll be 200K in debt by the time I'm done, half of the young pharmacists I know still live with their parents
#3 This internship is more than just tech support. It's very project based, so I HOPE I can accelerate my career much faster. Last year they did computer imaging, but I don't know about this year.

Here is my take on it. Stay in the biology field. Go be a pharmacist, a doctor, do bio-engineering and etc. You will have a much better opportunity at accelerating your career than in IT.

I am pretty sure, your current working conditions are specific to where you work now. Is this the only place you worked as a pharmacy tech? Have you tried to work for another pharmacy/hospital? It would be silly to change your career just because of one pharmacy. I know a lot of people in the pharmacy business and they don't work under the conditions you've described. On top of that, a lot of them are much wealthier than I am.

$200K debt? Are you planning to go to Harward? I doubt it. The average tuition cost (from 2012) is $114k according to this article - Pharmacy Student Debt and Return on Investment of a Pharmacy Education. You can always apply for scholarships, grants and etc.

From the same article, "[FONT=Times New Roman, stixgeneral, serif]In 2011, average indebtedness for pharmacy students ($114,422) was greater than [/FONT]average first-year salary ($112,160).[FONT=Times New Roman, stixgeneral, serif]" I highlighted the average first year salary for you. It took me close to 7-8 years to pass $100K salary mark as IT. Do yourself a favor, stay within the pharmaceutical business.[/FONT]

kurosaki00

Kreken wrote: »

Here is my take on it. Stay in the biology field. Go be a pharmacist, a doctor, do bio-engineering and etc. You will have a much better opportunity at accelerating your career than in IT.

^ Agree
Why would you be 200k in debt? Not even an engineering BSE+MSE would result in that amount.
Also, if you have 3.00 GPA you can easily cut your college tuition cost to half, the better the GPA and how you involve yourself in college the less it will cost.
Even if your college is small and have not many programs to help you out, there are a sh1t ton out there online and in your local county office.

If you dont like biology/chem that much and really want to move to IT. Do what have been recommended, get ANY job. I sold phones for a while and worked in call centers before getting an IT job. Someone in a job is way more employable than someone sitting @ home.
Also if you're not getting calls it's your resume. Resume gets you calls, you get yourself the job afterwards.
Apply to help desk, support, nocs, best buy, staples, etc.

GreaterNinja

I myself started in the field with only Network+.

Initially, it started out with college helpdesk jobs and then moved to installing POS systems and doing weekend company moves with consulting companies (a great way into a perm job), then desktop full-time.
If you are trying to get into IT with Network+, I suggest working on A+ (Tier 1), or CCENT (Tier 2) and CCNA (Tier 3). Then get a Desktop, Tech Stop, or Network engineer position.


Now as a POS installer who setup systems for pharmacies I met a lady who got her Pharmacy degree online. I'm pretty sure there are significantly cheaper Pharmacist degree programs out there.

jt2929

Sent you a PM, Mudkip.

Iristheangel

Why is everyone giving her the advice to leave the IT field and go back to the pharmacist/bioengineering field she stated she left because she didn't like it? And I quote her here: "I didn't like it. That's why I've made the decision to leave the field."

And why are we encouraging her to absorb the average tuition debt of $114K so she could make about $115-150K a year doing something she doesn't like doing when she could make the same money or better in 5 years in a field she likes with less or no debt?

Yes, she's learned the hard way that getting your foot in the door in IT is hard but I commend her for getting that foot in the door, passing the Network+, working on her Security+ and setting some goals. Let's celebrate that and give her advice on what she asked instead of telling her to go back to a field she has no interest in.

Mow

^^This^^

Blackout

Getting a CCNA will help, but like another said the area where you live means a lot in terms of jobs. If you can get your CCNA getting into a NOC would not be a problem. I suggest getting a lab going, work towards your CCNA, try to get as much experience as you can. Honestly I let my Network+ go awhile ago as the CCNA was far more sought after. Just my two cents.

doobu

Mudkip16 wrote: »

@HondaBuff

I don't like it. That's why I've made the decision to leave the field. I thought it would be fine career for me, and then I realized, it's the EXACT opposite. No lunch breaks, you can only go to the bathroom like twice a day if lucky, and you work 12 hr shifts on their feet until retirement. I've only been a technician for 3 yrs, and I alreadycan't wait to transition


#1 Pharmacy school = 4 years
#2 I'll be 200K in debt by the time I'm done, half of the young pharmacists I know still live with their parents
#3 This internship is more than just tech support. It's very project based, so I HOPE I can accelerate my career much faster. Last year they did computer imaging, but I don't know about this year.

That's excellent you're moving on! There is a need in healthcare, but be prepared to fight against doctors and clinics that will do anything and everything to fight your attempts at security. It's...so annoying. I've been doing it for 2 years and my hair is graying.

kurosaki00

Iristheangel wrote: »

Why is everyone giving her the advice to leave the IT field and go back to the pharmacist/bioengineering field she stated she left because she didn't like it? And I quote her here: "I didn't like it. That's why I've made the decision to leave the field."

I think she needs to get a job. So you got the background to get a good job in something you dont like but then pay for certs, do something while you move to IT.
vs
Get a job in something you dont like, get paid less, then move to IT.

Personally I would look how to bridge IT with biology. There are a lot of health care IT positions, there is a lot of public health/IT stuff to do. Then little by little, migrate to full I.T.
Vs starting from scratch.

Again, thats me. I wouldnt be able to afford to not have a job. I would get a job in what I could with my skills then focus moving to the one I want.

Blackout

kurosaki00 wrote: »

I think she needs to get a job. So you got the background to get a good job in something you dont like but then pay for certs, do something while you move to IT.
vs
Get a job in something you dont like, get paid less, then move to IT.

Personally I would look how to bridge IT with biology. There are a lot of health care IT positions, there is a lot of public health/IT stuff to do. Then little by little, migrate to full I.T.
Vs starting from scratch.

Again, thats me. I wouldnt be able to afford to not have a job. I would get a job in what I could with my skills then focus moving to the one I want.

She has a job, she stated earlier int he thread she is a Pharmacy Tech

Deathmage

This post was so suspenseful reading it from start to finish. Glad it had a happy ending. Keep it up Mudkip16!

My fiance is Vietnamese and she had the same level of commitment that you had throughout all this... and she was also working as a nurse and hated it she's now working on her MCSA after getting her A+ and Network + and now works in help desk for the past 4 months. She doesn't make the money she wants but she loves it! ..I told her to stick it out for a good year and then move on, she wants to do system administrator like her soon-to-been hubby. ... it's very interesting at night when we fight... cause were fighting over who can play with the home-lab 1st! ... her revenge is leaving my world of warcraft characters in different places all the time and deleting my hearthstone.