True IT people: how to compare?

this is bugging me.. i need to vent it out...
seriously..
I believe in myself, and I believe i am good enough to get a job..

I am about to graduate with a bachelor degree in computer information system.... I work as IT teacher assistant and I run Association of IT chapter in my school..
anyway,
I just got CCNA certified couple of months ago.. and I didnt find it that hard as people were talking about..
and here.. I surf through posts.. and I see people keep talking about how hard to get a job....and therefore.. I dont know where I stand anymore..
I dont know how to measure my knowledge & skills with other people..
because there are people out there... who are 25..and just decided to shift to IT field because they might think its easy ride...
And there are people out there who have been in the field for a long time and claim they cannot find job..

Now, this is my confusion... How can i compare myself to others?
if others are not as what you might think they are..
I know I might not be clear of what I am trying to say..

but... anyway,,.. i am currently working on CCNP..and hopefully I will finish them all by next January..
now I am only 22.. and I am pushing it..because I see people out there who are scared... and saying they cannot get a job..and thats why I am trying to get as much certifications as I can..
but do I really have to? are these people who cant get a job..is it because they are not that good as they claim? or just new in the field..and trying to get a job? or have certs but with no background knowledge at all, and trying to find a job? or have certs with knowledge but no college degree?
or what?

So... How can I truly measure myself and compare myself to others?
I would love to know where I currently stand in my age(22).. and how hard I need to work on myself to reach to the right level for my age...

let me know what you think...

kicker

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Comments

janmike

The problem with getting IT employment is an economic problem. It varies from area to area. There are a few more IT jobs showing up on web sites and in newspapers than there were a year ago.

Generally a person will more likely obtain employment from visiting and applying for a job rather than online applications. Also, it pays to know somebody--a time-tested truth. So, have you formed any relationships while in school that might help you make a good contact with a potential employer?

How to compare yourself with other IT people, I have no idea. Generally I say go by practical experience. Most adds I see require 2 or 3 years of experience to land a solid Admin job.

Certifications are always good for a resume. If you land a job, the possession of a cert may get top dollar rather than the average salary.
It helped me that way on one short-term job.

So, get the cert. It sure can't hurt! Reach for the experience and don't worry so much about comparisons. If you try comparisons on an employer(I speak from experience) it won't work. If you have to work for a little less in order to get experience, that's the way I would go, and am going at this time.

Best of luck!!

w^rl0rd

Experience. Plain and simple. I got my job not only because of my degree, but mostly experience.

I guess who you know helps, but the people who cannot find jobs lack experience, usually.

Companies, like mine, don't want to spend millions of dollars per year on training. They want someone they can send to the wolves and let fight for themselves.

Do you have any IT experience?

kicker22

good question..
and yes i do in many different fields..mainly networking..

thanks anyway guys..

kicker

CopperFrog

Hey Kicker,

I'm in a similar boat. I'm 23 and have two college diploma in computer programming and have tried everying to land a job. I live in Ottawa, Canada and the IT market here is different from the US. I also wondered what I needed to mesure up against other candidates. And I know experience is the key to getting the job but here I'm having trouble get even that. Since Nortel took the plunge we now have a surplus of experience IT personnel. And also the market has not been in as much of a demand as it used to be. 4 Years ago all the high school guidance councilors were pushing students in the IT field telling them that high tech is booming and you can make a lot of money. Creating people that go in the field just to make a big buck. I always had an interest in IT since I was a child. And now that I'm ready to jump in the work force, I hit this stop sign that tells me I need at leat 2+ year experience before an employer will even look at me. I have a year of experence as a programmer analyst but none of which I was payed for. I'm currently studying A+ to start some cerfitications to backup my diplomas and giving me a balance between software and hardware.

I saw a job post yesterday that was for a web designer position that required a college diploma and 1 - 2 years experience and the job only pays 10$ to 11$/hr CAD. Now that is pretty bad pay to ask for that much education + experience.

This is just to give you an idea of my experiences in the field. All I can do for now is get certifications and keep trying.

JOblessELement

w^rl0rd wrote:

Experience. Plain and simple. I got my job not only because of my degree, but mostly experience.

Ah, that drasted vicious cycle again.

I'm in the same boat as CopperFrog. While at school in the US, I've worked two years (part time) as Tech Support and a year as a programmer intern for GE and Hughes, 6 months each. With a bachelors degree at the age of 21, I still have no "real" job and in any other words, no way to show my dad why he just spent 80K on my education

But all's not lost. Of recently, I've started my own tuitions for math and programming in C++ and you'll be surprised how students come flowing in (especially high school ones) especially if you get to really know these "kids". I'm just hoping all this outsourcing comes to an end or is capped to a certain amount so that the IT industry is back up to normal again.