I got the job!

MQuinn6

This is a follow up to a previous post of mine: http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18232

They originally went with someone else who had more experience, but told me they would most likely be hiring again in the new year. They emailed me the end of December & offered me a job.

This is my third week on the job. It's a small (but quickly growing) IT outsourcing company. My official title is junior network administrator. I didn't get any official training so I'm kind of learning as I go. This is my first IT position & I don't have any MS server experience, so it's overwhelming at times, but definitely a great learning opportunity.

royal

This sounds like my first job in IT. I had zero experience except for what I taught myself growing and reading online. I got the job and was supposed to get formal experience. They didn't have the time, however. We shared a building with another company that had Exchange 2000 and 2000 Servers, Proxy Server, etc... They were consultants and had to constantly go out of the office to go to clients so they basically gave me full administrative access to the company's entire network (not a good idea but was good for me). I supported their entire network (I started off mostly supporting their users). I played around the servers learning about Group Policy, Active Directory, and a bit about Exchange. It was a great learning experience and I was a bit lucky to get into the job with no experience, and immediately began to support a user base of 50 users with 5+ servers which I basically had control over when problems occurred. It was an extremely stressful job because I didn't know what I was doing with servers and usually didn't have anyone to help me, but I learned a ton.


Good luck to you on your new job. Don't slack and strive to learn as much as possible since it's an excellent opportunity.

5no-yt

nice one man! congrats

I was in the same boat as you about a year ago when I started working for a small IT integrator company as a Jr Network Engineer.

Are you going to be studying MCSE? or any cirts at all?

MQuinn6

icroyal wrote:

they basically gave me full administrative access to the company's entire network.

I have full access as well. It's a scary thing!


I'm debating what cert to go for next. I bought the Sybex MCDST study guide. Not sure if I'll actually take the exams, but I figured it couldn't hurt to read it & learn some stuff.

royal

I'll be honest right now. I was laid off at my first job. Why? It's not because I didn't have the technical aptitude. It's because I was not experienced enough to run their entire network alone which is what they needed. They wanted me to study for my MCSE so they could use that as a scapegoat for not having time to train me. I didn't study for my MCSE because I was too stressed out on the job trying to do stuff I had no idea how to do while 50 users would constantly question me on how to do stuff on their computers. Although I got laid off, I still have a positive view about my time there. As I stated, I learned a ton, and it pushed me ahead in my quest to become a Microsoft Consultant/Engineer.

When I got laid off, I decided to go back and finish my college education. With that college education, I landed my current awesome job which I love to death. The job requires a degree. I have lots of time at work right now studying and going out with other Engineers/Senior Engineers/Architects. It's pretty nice, I get paid to study and go and help other engineers with tasks till I am experienced enough to do the jobs on my own.

Like I said, if you have the time to study for MCSE outside or inside work, take advantage of it. It will only benefit your career and your future and will open up jobs that you otherwise would not be able to obtain.

Good luck to you!

elover_jm

Hey congrats man..............

Just focus hard with a will to learn and you'll be fine.

MQuinn6

icroyal - The higher ups know that I don't have an IT background. (I have my masters in psychology.) I didn't exaggerate anything on my resume. So they know where I'm coming from & what level of experience I have. I think they liked my "soft skills".
That sounds like a good gig you've got going on! So you think I should skip the MCDST & start studying for the MCSE?

IonCannon

IMO, no certification or book can teach you like hands-on, live job training. Experience is the best teacher and will earn you the most money! Keep up the good work, you will learn a lot!

manny355

I would suggest that if you are looking at MCSE complete the MCDST that you are currently studying...it will serve as an added certification on your resume and you can use it as an elective on the MCSE test, and you will also learn those "soft skills" mentioned in one of the other posts. Win/Win/Win

I've found that in IT most IT techs don't know how to interact with the people. It's one think to say to the user that they are stupid and must be entering the password with the caps lock on, and another to tell the user to check the caps lock, sometimes that is usually why they can't log onto the system. Both things mean the same it's just the way the information is presented. Get the MCDST since you already have the study material, and then go for the MCSE. (assuming your working in a Microsoft environment)

Kaminsky

manny355 wrote:

I've found that in IT most IT techs don't know how to interact with the people.

That's 60% of most IT support jobs in my book and that's one of the main things on the job experience will give you. I know I get lot of work based on my time with the users as well as my technical ability.

Good luck with the new job and well done for getting yourself there. Now make sure you stay there learning for at least two years and you will find it quite difficult to be unemployed ever again.