Need advice. 20 years old. What to do after MCSE?

Ok so I used to belong to an IT training school for Microsoft. I signed up for a 1 year IT membership which allowed me to complete my MCSE for 2003. So far I've done Network+, A+, 70-290, 70-270,70-284. Unfortunately when I failed the 291 vendor twice I was discouraged and wanted to continue on to 284, which I passed. Right now im on 293 preparing for the vendor and then REPEATING 291 so I'm more confident then continuing onto 294 and 298.

Heres what happened. Since their not paying for my vendor exam I decided to pretty much quit their school. I was on a grant on behalf of the admissions specialist, since I didn't finish the whole MCSE in a year, he at least let me finish my current course.

Now being 20 years old, without a degree but with only MCSE, and with no work experience at all, was wondering if anyone can give me advice? I want to work part-time after I receive my MCSE and continue on my bachelors degree from DeVry University (online bachelors program for Networking/Communications Management).

Any advice on what to do? I really want to get my foot in the door.

Thanks!

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nel

finish your mcse and try to find some work even voluntary work or an internship. In the UK ive found it rare for PT IT work but im not sure what the US is like. or you could try and pickup some contract work like deployment work etc to put on your cv.

Its either something like that or get a FT IT job and do your degree PT. This is what i do. it takes longer to complete the degree but at least your getting some experiance along with certs.

If your just starting out it will be more than likely helpdesk work for your first role. You can learn many things froma helpdesk (i work on one too) but its not pretty work by any means.

liven

Yes get a job in the industry.

You will have to look around, but you will find one. Probably some sort of help desk job.

Many people say working on the help desk is a bummer... Well it is sometimes. But you will learn MANY valuable skills. Trouble shooting and dealing with all different kinds of people are the main skills you will learn. And these just happen to be two VERY important skills.

If you do this by the time you finish school you will be ready for more. You might just move up in your current company or move on to something else.

And remember not all help/support positions are deal with typical end users. I have know people (including myself) that have work very high level support positions. Typically supporting other techs at other companies. THe work is very fast paced, and challenging. And trust me you will learn so much, it will make school seem like childs play. Not to discount your schooling.

Keep looking, every big (and a lot of medium and small sized) companies have help desks and support positions. They also have junior admin, tech and field techs. The jobs are out there.

Make a list of 20 or 30 companies in your area. Go to their web site and look for the job link, even if they don't have opennings send your resume anyway. Get someone with way more experience than you to proof your resume and help you write a good cover letter. Then check all the online job sites. Do this on a semi regular basis and before your know it you will have a part time job or full time if you desire. And that will give you the experience you need to take it to the next level.

nicklauscombs

I agree with the others here finish your MCSE, get going on school and start working an IT job either volunteer or for money. Having a degree shows you have a solid learning foundation and the experience even if it is a helpdesk position will really help you move up the ladder. Good luck!

Mmartin_47

You think is it worth it to go for earning my certification for desktop support? I know it should be easy comparing to Server 2003.

undomiel

Get your A+, that is really all you should need for getting a help desk position or desktop support position. I have not seen too many companies specifically asking for the MCDST, they are normally just looking for the A+ or an MCP, and you already have an MCP. Since you're going in with no experience that will be a barrier but you should be able to overcome it without too much difficulty.

janmike

Hi Mmartin_47

Helpdesk will teach you patience with customers, besides placing you in situations that you have never seen before. You will see what a lower-tier operation is like. You will learn about escalation to more experienced technicians and get to know them.

By all means, work on the MCSE, but get a little IT work right now--at least, seriously look for some. If you want to do IT work, then don't let anyone, or any sort of failure discourage you again.

My 2-cents. Good luck!

nel

undomiel wrote:

Get your A+, that is really all you should need for getting a help desk position or desktop support position. I have not seen too many companies specifically asking for the MCDST, they are normally just looking for the A+ or an MCP, and you already have an MCP. Since you're going in with no experience that will be a barrier but you should be able to overcome it without too much difficulty.

i have to slightly disagree as it depends on the area for me, in the UK many jobs - even helpdesk work - ask for a minimum of mcse and ccna!!!!

dont know how or why but they do!!! ....probably because of those crazy HR people!!

Crazy i know but ive seen it ALOT. in theory a+,N+,mcdst is probably entry level helpdesk work anyway but ive rarely seen it here in the UK. ive heard the US advertises for a+ etc more, i dont know if thats to do with differences in popularity between the 2 countries for example. So i would look at job boards and see what the kind of jobs you are interested in are asking for.

Mmartin_47

janmike wrote:

Hi Mmartin_47

Helpdesk will teach you patience with customers, besides placing you in situations that you have never seen before. You will see what a lower-tier operation is like. You will learn about escalation to more experienced technicians and get to know them.

By all means, work on the MCSE, but get a little IT work right now--at least, seriously look for some. If you want to do IT work, then don't let anyone, or any sort of failure discourage you again.

My 2-cents. Good luck!

Probably after I pass 291, I will start looking for a help desk job. Will most jobs hire people with a degree in progress? I won't be starting my degree after MCSE. I can't do 2 schools at once, I was able to before but I couldn't handle the workload.

undomiel

I know lots of places around here ask for A+, MCSE and CCNA for help desk (once even saw one asking for a CCIE for $10/h help desk) and it looks to me like it is pretty much just HR people writing up the adds with big name certifications. But in actuality they'll consider anyone certs or no certs the majority of the time. Again, this is just in my experience. For every job posting no matter what the job is I always take the required cert list with a grain of salt. Except for a hard-headed HR person here and there they'll always consider you even if you don't meet each and every single requirement.

Mmartin_47

Out of curiosity, since I will have my MCSE I will mostly be supporting desktop users if I do get a job as desktop support tech.?

snadam

undomiel wrote:

I know lots of places around here ask for A+, MCSE and CCNA for help desk (once even saw one asking for a CCIE for $10/h help desk) and it looks to me like it is pretty much just HR people writing up the adds with big name certifications. But in actuality they'll consider anyone certs or no certs the majority of the time. Again, this is just in my experience. For every job posting no matter what the job is I always take the required cert list with a grain of salt. Except for a hard-headed HR person here and there they'll always consider you even if you don't meet each and every single requirement.

+1 I saw a $30k/year security job for a CISSP with a Masters or equivalent experience...

Ive noticed that all companies want ad's are above and beyond normal expectations. Companies tend to do this to attract as many candidates as they can. I have discussed this with some of my colleagues once before.