Any NON-PHONE SUPPORT entry level I.T. jobs?

davidvoyage

Hello everybody,

For your information, I'm a fresh grad from University with a degree in Comp. Sci., no job experience. Currently working on the network+ certificate(but I may not take the exam). I want to work as a network/system admin in the future.

Since I don't have any job experience, I'm sure my first job will be entry level i.t. job. However, I don't want to talk on the phone. Face to face support is "ok" but phone support is a BIG NO to me.(I feel extremely uncomfortable, stress so I couldn't understand others properly).

If I look at most desktop support jobs, it seems they need skills like good communication and phone supports...that make me worry.

Hope you guys can suggest me some non-phone support entry level I.T. job.

Thanks

networker050184

Communication skills both over the phone and in person are VERY important in IT. Most entry level positions are end user support positions, so phone communications are required. You may be able to find some sort of computer reapir or something where you are in a back room fixing pcs. You will most likely have to face your fear and work help desk or some sort of end user support eventually if you want to move into a sys admin position.

ITNYC

davidvoyage wrote:

Hello everybody,

For your information, I'm a fresh grad from University with a degree in Comp. Sci., no job experience. Currently working on the network+ certificate(but I may not take the exam). I want to work as a network/system admin in the future.

Since I don't have any job experience, I'm sure my first job will be entry level i.t. job. However, I don't want to talk on the phone. Face to face support is "ok" but phone support is a BIG NO to me.(I feel extremely uncomfortable, stress so I couldn't understand others properly).

If I look at most desktop support jobs, it seems they need skills like good communication and phone supports...that make me worry.

Hope you guys can suggest me some non-phone support entry level I.T. job.

Thanks

I kind of understand where you're coming from. Fortunate for me, my first real IT job was dealing with Servers and not having to communicate with users, just my co-workers but as i looked on for a new job, many positions wanted someone who could communicate with others by phone or face to face. I didnt want the hassle of dealing with that but eventually i took on my current job that deals with users all day and honestly its not such a big deal. When im working on servers, I dont have to deal with anyone but my tech team but sometimes i have to support some users and you get used to it. PLUS, When your looking for employment in the future, having dealt with users can bring on a positive side to your work history by showing that you can communicate with others and previously being in that type of environment/situation.

Kasor

Sorry to say that you are kind of late. You just graduate with BS degee on CS and with no job experience. You need to hit the Job Fair and school career office. Since you don't have any experience, online career website might not able to help you at all.

You are in difficult situation..

davidvoyage

Ok few more questions.
Is Computer Repairing job experiences count as I.T. experience in Networking? I mean is it going to help me to move up to network administrator in the future? Is Computer Repairing experience as good as desktop support experience for the Networking/System industry?

Thanks.

druid318

Experience in repair should be just as good as experience in phone service. A network admin should have both skill sets. Just find a job you are comfortable doing and don't worry about it.

RobinM

I believe a computer repairs position will lead you down the wrong track. In a system/nework admin role, you don't repair PC's, you send them into repair.

Ideally you can try to find an entry level position which isn't 100% taking calls. My first job was about 50% support desk and 50% projects. However I still make/receive about 30 calls per day. Really you need to just jump in the deep end and get over your phone phobia. I'm speaking as someone who has 3 years experience as a Network Analyst.

davidvoyage

@Robin
Oh I see, it seems PC repairs won't be benefit for networking in the future...

Today, I look at some of my previous JAVA, C++, Python programming assignments. And guess what, it seems I don't really hate programming afterall..and it seems my interest in programming is "back" a little bit. I start to think the reason I hate programming before at University is because of the negative people around me saying bad things about programming. But of course, I still interest in Networking as usual. I start to feel that deep down in my heart, I still like programming... Probably the ONLY down side for me is the LONG working hours for programmers.

Now I'm thinking, if I get a programming job as my entry level I.T. job, will it help me to get into networking admin. jobs in the future?

Slowhand

I will say one thing for being a code-jockey, (I could fill pages and pages on all the topics brought up in this thread, but I'll try to keep it short,) you get a certain freedom if you find the right company to work for. I know a couple of programmers, two are web developers and the other is an AI developer for a game company, that do most of their work at coffee shops or bookstores, on their laptops. Due to the nature of their work, they don't really need to be in-shop to write their code. They've got independent projects, and don't need to have team-meetings or anything like that, except on a monthly basis or sometimes even in the form of a teleconference. In most cases, they phone up the particular person they need to talk to, or just communicate through emails.

If you're very lucky, or you become senior enough at a lot of places, you can earn this type of freedom and find yourself leaning more towards project-oriented work, as opposed to having to be in your seat at your starting time, and out the door at quitting time. It's one possible benefit of being a coder, but the downside can be that you find yourself working on projects all through the night, on weekends, and the computer will take on the negative connotation of "work", even when you're just sitting down and surfing the web. Naturally, there's no guarantee that you'll be allowed to roam freely as a programmer, and there are lots of reasons to pick your career path in one field or another. My advice: learn as much as you can, both about the various avenues of software development and the (sprawling) world of network/systems administration, and figure out what you like to do the most. After that, the choice is easy. . . and you're never really tied down to sticking with it your whole life, you're perfectly entitled to change your mind as many times as you'd like.

sainth

I dont think computer repair position will lead you down the wrong track... I'm currently working as pc tech, however, I'm doing almost everything, troubleshooting network, programs, etc. I'm also doing some sys admin job like making an image for multiple platform, setting up accounts in AD at the same time making a group policy... so for me, being a computer repair tech is one stepping stone to reach your goal in IT. But you still need to answer phone because not all the time you'll be working with your customers... this will also help you improve your customer/client relationship

By the way, I've finished CCNA in a CISCO Network Academy and , Administering Windows Network and it's a good experienced, try that too if you can afford.

famosbrown

Programming is cool, and a lot of money at entry-level right out of college since that's what you mostly learn at Traditional Colleges.

Netstudent

Programming takes a special kind of person. Good programmers love to code. If you kinda like it, but are having trouble sticking with it, it may not be a good career move. I mean you have to ask yourself, is sitting there writing code something you can do for the next 10 or 15 years? A career is about the long haul ya know? Ya you could always do something else later down the road.

Building a foundation in programming and then moving into networking can be very lucrative. being able to integrate both of those skills can pay huge dividends in the long run.

Secondly, if you have a 4 year degree in computer science I would think you could get something a little more than PC tech. I dunno, I could be wrong but damn. 4 years of college just to get out and get a job at the geek squad just doesn't seem right to me. Don't sell yourself short just because you don't have tons of experience. There are companies out there that bring in comp science grads and train them. I wish you the best of luck bro.

KGhaleon

I've played with web languages like HTML and javascript, but only flipped through books covering C++ or Python. If someone were to sit down and start learning to code, how soon would they be able to turn that knowledge into a profit?

Programming has always appealed to me, but it just seems like it would take a long time to learn it.

KG

Mishra

KGhaleon wrote:

I've played with web languages like HTML and javascript, but only flipped through books covering C++ or Python. If someone were to sit down and start learning to code, how soon would they be able to turn that knowledge into a profit?

Programming has always appealed to me, but it just seems like it would take a long time to learn it.

KG

It takes a long time to learn anything that you want to be good at. You can be a lazy crappy programmer and still have a job. Just work for the government. >_<

I wouldn't be worrying about how long things take to turn into profit. I would worry about your happiness, pick something you enjoy, then pour your heart into that and try to do a great job.