Recently laid off, need advice.

I will be laid off at the end of this month and thought this was the right place to come for some advice. I used to post here under a different name, but I cant remember that...too many different u/pws to remember

I earned my CCNA about 7 months ago, and found a help desk job supporting teleworkers where i have worked for about 6 months. Prior to that I did 3 months help desk at a local cable company. Other than that my formal work experience in non-technical.

My question is would it be smarter to finish up on my CCNP/CCDP since I have the time or would a 2-3 month lapse in employment be frowned upon?

Any advice, comments will be appreciated

Find more posts tagged with

Save $250 on 2025 certification boot camps from Infosec!

Book now with code EOY2025

Button

Comments

cacharo

I would suggest doing both. Look for a job and study at the same time. That way you will be brushing up so any technical interviews go well, and making the best of your time. I see the mistake so often where someone will quit a job right after they graduate or something and think they will get a job next week. You sometimes have to plan for the worst. You do not want to find yourself 6 months from now saying why didn't I start looking right away...

Sorry to hear of the bad news upcoming...

dtlokee

Yeah I agree, look for a job, but use any free time to study.

cacharo

If you have the time and/or money to wait then I suggest maybe being a little pickier when looking for a new job. That or negotiate for more than you are looking for and see who bites.

nynyc83

Great advice. I guess it wont hurt to keep an eye out while I study

blargoe

Work first. Experience is golden in this industry. But keep studying too.

brad-

Do both. Get the resumes out, interviews etc...and in the interim, study.

You may be out of work longer than you think, no sense wasting all that time. You could at least knock out a cert while you're afk.

Kasor

Always look positive and think of alternative for job in case that you don't the IT job that you want.

nynyc83

I really appreciate the advice guys. I landed a Sr Network Admin position. IF i would have just continued working on the CCNP, I would have still be out of work.

liven

nynyc83 wrote:

I really appreciate the advice guys. I landed a Sr Network Admin position. IF i would have just continued working on the CCNP, I would have still be out of work.

I am very happy that you landed a good job "Sr. Network admin"...

But, didn't you mention that you only had 9 months of total experience? I ask because the few folks I know that re Senior anything (admin, net admin, developer) have A LOT of experience.

Just comes as a little bit of a surprise to hear that some one with less than 1 year of actual work under their belt could fill the shoes of a senior admin...

Anyway congrats...

nel

congrats on the new job!

nynyc83

liven wrote:

nynyc83 wrote:

I really appreciate the advice guys. I landed a Sr Network Admin position. IF i would have just continued working on the CCNP, I would have still be out of work.

I am very happy that you landed a good job "Sr. Network admin"...

But, didn't you mention that you only had 9 months of total experience? I ask because the few folks I know that re Senior anything (admin, net admin, developer) have A LOT of experience.

Just comes as a little bit of a surprise to hear that some one with less than 1 year of actual work under their belt could fill the shoes of a senior admin...

Anyway congrats...

Thanks, I have got really lucky with the job. My best friend is lead programmer at the company, so he gave me a referral...networking pays off...heh. Anyway I will be trained on the job for the next few months on the stuff I don't know. I have a lot of freelance experience, so its not like i just picked up a book a year ago.

blargoe

nynyc83 wrote:

My best friend is lead programmer at the company, so he gave me a referral...networking pays off...

And there you have it folks. Use them contacts!

eMeS

liven wrote:

nynyc83 wrote:

I really appreciate the advice guys. I landed a Sr Network Admin position. IF i would have just continued working on the CCNP, I would have still be out of work.

I am very happy that you landed a good job "Sr. Network admin"...

But, didn't you mention that you only had 9 months of total experience? I ask because the few folks I know that re Senior anything (admin, net admin, developer) have A LOT of experience.

Just comes as a little bit of a surprise to hear that some one with less than 1 year of actual work under their belt could fill the shoes of a senior admin...

Anyway congrats...

nynyc83 - Congrats on the new job!

liven - Job titles assigned are often unrelated to amount or years of experience . There could be three levels such as "Principal Network Admin", "Consultant Network Admin", and "Managing Network Admin" above "Senior Network Admin" in the "Network Admin" job family in his organization. Another possibility is that 9 months of experience is truly "senior" in his organization.

Everyone - A useful tip when considering a new position is to ask the hiring manager or hr person what the layout of the job family is. This will give you a good idea of where in the structure you are coming in, and to what level you can hope to aspire in that job family.

We have modern human resources to thank.....

MS

mikej412

nynyc83 wrote:

I landed a Sr Network Admin position.

Congratulations!

Now's the time to study and hit the CCNP exams hard in your spare time!

Good Luck with the new job!

liven

eMeS wrote:

liven wrote:

nynyc83 wrote:

I really appreciate the advice guys. I landed a Sr Network Admin position. IF i would have just continued working on the CCNP, I would have still be out of work.

liven - Job titles assigned are often unrelated to amount or years of experience . There could be three levels such as "Principal Network Admin", "Consultant Network Admin", and "Managing Network Admin" above "Senior Network Admin" in the "Network Admin" job family in his organization. Another possibility is that 9 months of experience is truly "senior" in his organization.

MS

Trust me I am well aware of the levels of titles and what not in the industry. I have been working in IT for over 8 years for several different companies.

It just struck me as a little odd that a senior network admin didn't require 5 to 10 years of experience.

I am very happy for this guy, and hope he enjoys his new job.

Just found it interesting thats all.

I mean I have seen jobs posted for analyst that need 10 years of experience (usually security roles), but then I have seen tech support positions called "analyst" which is pretty much an entry level position.

So sure I understand it is more semantics than anything.

So good job nynyc83 on the promotion and let us know how things work out for you!!!! Please understand that I am not trying to down play your new job. GOOD WORK!!!

malcybood

Job titles don't really mean a whole lot in the bigger picture in the workplace. The main place you will benefit from having senior or fancy long job titles is on your CV, if you're that way inclined that is!

If you're senior in your work place, people tend to know this from your knowledge & the way that you present yourself, without having to refer to your job title.

On the flip side if you are a numpty and have a job title like "Senior Technical Infrastructure & Communications Analyst", people will also know!

nynyc83 - Congratulations on the new job man, hopefully you'll get to put that CCNA and possibly CCNP to good use.

Cheers
Malc

liven

Once again I want to make sure it is known that I am very happy for his new job.

I don't want to down play that!!!

Good job and good luck in the future!

c0d3_w0lf

Nice work on the job, mate! Human networking is how I landed my job as well, and while I don't have as spiffy a job title (Network Operations Center Technician), it was definitely due to using my contacts that I got this job.

Of course, the other difference is that I landed this gig with zero experience/certs >.>

In any case, let us know how it all works out!

nynyc83

The job is going well. I've been here less than a week and i've been working on stuff to make the department work more efficently. My boss is pretty happy he took the risk on me thus far.