I am at a crossroads...

banderas1978

and need your advice badly. It will help me to make the right decision.

I am about to take my last exam which will make me a MCSE. So I will get to a point where I should start working and apply the knowledge I gained doing Microsoft certs. Now I could get an entry level position as a Help Desk Support and learn stuff and be paid. Or I could (and that would be going the easier way) get some work experience form a company that provieds me the IT courses I have been doing for the last 8 months. The company would not pay me but I could learn in an familiar and friendly environment for two months and then I could be given an opportunity to progress as a teaching assistant potentially.

What would you do if yo were me? Should I get a paid job and learn everything with the pressure that I am getting money so there must not be any room for making mistakes? Or maybe I am wrong and it's just natural that despite being paid no one expects me to do everything perfect form the very beginning?

Logical would be for me to start with the company, I mentioned (the IT training provider), I could end up as a teaching assistant as my aim is to become an MCT in the future. It is such a shame they do not pay though...

Please tell me what you reckon?

dynamik

What would your actual responsibilities for the unpaid position be?

No one's perfect, and I don't think they will expect you to be. If you're competent and know how to find answers to the things you don't know, you'll be fine.

On the other hand, if your goal is to become an MCT, you may wish to start with the unpaid position. However, I think the best trainers have a decent amount of real-world experience. I think you'd be a much more credible instructor if you actually spent some time working with the technologies out in the real world.

zen master

banderas1978 wrote:

and need your advice badly. It will help me to make the right decision.

I am about to take my last exam which will make me a MCSE. So I will get to a point where I should start working and apply the knowledge I gained doing Microsoft certs. Now I could get an entry level position as a Help Desk Support and learn stuff and be paid. Or I could (and that would be going the easier way) get some work experience form a company that provieds me the IT courses I have been doing for the last 8 months. The company would not pay me but I could learn in an familiar and friendly environment for two months and then I could be given an opportunity to progress as a teaching assistant potentially.

What would you do if yo were me? Should I get a paid job and learn everything with the pressure that I am getting money so there must not be any room for making mistakes? Or maybe I am wrong and it's just natural that despite being paid no one expects me to do everything perfect form the very beginning?

Logical would be for me to start with the company, I mentioned (the IT training provider), I could end up as a teaching assistant as my aim is to become an MCT in the future. It is such a shame they do not pay though...

Please tell me what you reckon?

First off, everyone mistakes. My suggestion is that you apply for a real job, and keep applying even as you're doing this other program. I'm guessing you're not particularly hard up for cash, as this wouldn't even be a question for many folks.

banderas1978

dynamik wrote:

What would your actual responsibilities for the unpaid position be?
A Help Desk Support fot 2 months with the view of progressing to a teaching assistant.


On the other hand, if your goal is to become an MCT, you may wish to start with the unpaid position. However, I think the best trainers have a decent amount of real-world experience. I think you'd be a much more credible instructor if you actually spent some time working with the technologies out in the real world.

You made a very good point here, thank you, dynamik!

banderas1978

zen master wrote:

First off, everyone mistakes. My suggestion is that you apply for a real job, and keep applying even as you're doing this other program. I'm guessing you're not particularly hard up for cash, as this wouldn't even be a question for many folks.

Actually I am but I patient and know that big money will come later.

Kaminsky

banderas1978 wrote:

zen master wrote:

First off, everyone mistakes. My suggestion is that you apply for a real job, and keep applying even as you're doing this other program. I'm guessing you're not particularly hard up for cash, as this wouldn't even be a question for many folks.

Actually I am but I patient and know that big money will come later.

And keep studying ! You will hit a pay ceiling if you only stick with the MCSE however much experience you get. Citrix next as MCSE and citrix are practically joined at the hip these days.

nel

Kaminsky wrote:

And keep studying ! You will hit a pay ceiling if you only stick with the MCSE however much experience you get. Citrix next as MCSE and citrix are practically joined at the hip these days.

You sure about that? ive worked at a few places who dont use citrix

LarryDaMan

I'm still stuck in the mid-1990's when an MCSE was coveted and commanded a nice salary. You are contemplating taking an entry level help desk position with an MCSE, my how times have changed.

No offense, but it does seem odd to me for someone to achieve what was once the pinnacle of tech certifications without ever having had an applicable job.

If you can afford to be in a unpaid position, do whatever you enjoy most. If money was no object, many of us might consider different jobs or professions.

banderas1978

LarryDaMan wrote:

I'm still stuck in the mid-1990's when an MCSE was coveted and commanded a nice salary. You are contemplating taking an entry level help desk position with an MCSE, my how times have changed.

No offense, but it does seem odd to me for someone to achieve what was once the pinnacle of tech certifications without ever having had an applicable job.

If you can afford to be in a unpaid position, do whatever you enjoy most. If money was no object, many of us might consider different jobs or professions.

So times have changed, haven't they. Now it is so typical for folks to do MS certs in order to get an entry level position in IT. And as hard as these exams are, you can learn stuff and pass them which is gonna help you later in a real work environment. So it is completely natural currently. I have no idea how it was in the far and distant past.:DDD

LarryDaMan

banderas1978 wrote:

LarryDaMan wrote:

I'm still stuck in the mid-1990's when an MCSE was coveted and commanded a nice salary. You are contemplating taking an entry level help desk position with an MCSE, my how times have changed.

No offense, but it does seem odd to me for someone to achieve what was once the pinnacle of tech certifications without ever having had an applicable job.

If you can afford to be in a unpaid position, do whatever you enjoy most. If money was no object, many of us might consider different jobs or professions.

So times have changed, haven't they. No it is so typical for folks to get MS certs in order to get an entry level position in IT. And as hard as these exams are, you can learn stuff and pass them which is gonna help you later in a real work environment. So it is completely natural currently. I have no idea how it was in the far and distant past.:DDD

I know. I was just thinking out loud. You are doing the right thing, it is very competitive nowadays. I'm not that old, but I do remember when it was like, "Wow, you got your MCSE." Now, it is preferred for entry level help desk jobs?...crazy.

dynamik

I think things like virtualization have really changed things. I can get a dozen VMs running on my laptop. You can do many things that would be difficult otherwise, such as simulating multiple sites with slow links. While that obviously isn't a substitute for an actual multi-site environment in terms of real-world experience, it really changes the way you study.

undomiel

In my call center experience the MCSEs I saw in there were either brand new ones who had no real work experience or ones who were complete paper MCSEs. When I got my MCSE and put it on my resume I started getting lots of contacts about Network/Systems Administrator positions. So I don't think it is quite relegated to entry level yet. But you can still find help desk positions that will say MCSE prefered. Plenty more A+ positions though for the entry level.

I agree with dynamik about the way virtualization has changed the IT map. If it wasn't for that I probably would not have my MCSE now. It would have required a lot more investment to be able to do the necessary labs to understand the concepts. I only wish I had discovered virtualization sooner!