Can you handle one more career help thread?

im really hoping someone can help. i have a difficult time explaining things properly, but here goes...i am having the worst time, really in a tough spot in my life right now. let me start by saying career wise, i don't know anyone in any field of IT, have no idea whats out there or how to recognize a good job or interesting place to work.

all my jobs, ive been the "everything" guy...have experience administering smallish networks ~40-50 servers, 500 users, sonicwall, vmware, email, backup, vpn etc etc...

right now im laid off, using this time to get MS2008 certs (maybe exchange 2007 w/messaging) and CCNA, figuring that would get me in a good position where i can get back out there, relax and pick a career path... unfortunately i don't know what that would be. i have never been in a position where ive been confronted with opportunity. i need to get out of the rut of working for places with no advancement.

i cant take steps backward b/c i am 44 and have a house. right now i'm debating whether i should go into Boston or not. i dont really want to get caught up in some big corporate thing and forgotten about and i dont know how to even apply for a job there? what would i do?

have nt mcse, sec+, a+, net+ for certs, i graduated college with BS in Bio minors in Chem, Physics and music but couldnt find a job that paid enough to cover my student loans so i switched to the IT stuff.

right now i'm having a really tough time staying focused on the 70-640 stuff even though ive used 2008 for a year professionally. i can barely make it through a page without getting distracted.

i hope this is coherent to some of you, thanks for reading and allowing me to rant.

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Comments

elover_jm

How much experience do you have in IT?

you might want to consider consulting for a while, this will get you some solid experience you can build on.

tdean

elover_jm wrote: »

How much experience do you have in IT?

you might want to consider consulting for a while, this will get you some solid experience you can build on.

i have a decent amt of experience. probably 7 years as sr help desk / net admin. i wouldnt know how to start consulting... does that mean working for myself?

elover_jm

tdean wrote: »

i have a decent amt of experience. probably 7 years as sr help desk / net admin. i wouldnt know how to start consulting... does that mean working for myself?

okay thts good enough......

you could choose to go independent(working for yourself) or seek employment from IT consulting firms (they are normally quick in finding jobs). beware of the bad ones though.

some of the good ones i've heard of > Robert Half, TekSystem , KForce....stay away from the indian Companies.....most of them are bad.

there should be lots of system admin positions out there search (dice, monster and career builder).

CompuTron99

It seems like you have alot of experience. I don't know how the job market is by you, but as elover_jm said check out the online ads.

As for getting distracted... Plan out several hours to study for your certs, even if you have to go to a library or quiet coffee shop.

I know alot of people that have become "Independent" Consultants and love it. Especially the fact that you make your own hours. You can do enough of it to keep you afloat until something permanent happens.

tdean

the job market is ok by me, im south of Boston, Ma. by Cape Cod. my biggest problem, other than not knowing what i want to do, is marketing myself. i simply dont get it.

as far as interests.... i "think" i would ultimately like to get into the security end of things. i figure i'll get some sort of current MS cert, then the Cisco. after that, i dont know where to go... i dont particulatly enjoy being the everything guy though. im just not good enough at any particular discipline to be a highly paid specialist i guess...

how does one become an independant consultant?

GAngel

tdean wrote: »

the job market is ok by me, im south of Boston, Ma. by Cape Cod. my biggest problem, other than not knowing what i want to do, is marketing myself. i simply dont get it.

as far as interests.... i "think" i would ultimately like to get into the security end of things. i figure i'll get some sort of current MS cert, then the Cisco. after that, i dont know where to go... i dont particulatly enjoy being the everything guy though. im just not good enough at any particular discipline to be a highly paid specialist i guess...

how does one become an independant consultant?

Become an expert at a particular discipline. A company doesn't need someone that does the same job as there in house guy.

tdean

GAngel wrote: »

Become an expert at a particular discipline. A company doesn't need someone that does the same job as there in house guy.

thats kinda my plan with the security stuff. i worry if i pick something, there wont be a market for it and i will have wasted all that time. i dont know what to pick.

i think the position i'd be going for now, actually IS the inhouse guy.

CompuTron99

tdean wrote: »

the job market is ok by me, im south of Boston, Ma. by Cape Cod.

Lobster Hut?

vCole

There's a bunch of jobs in the Boston area. (I live in RI).

I currently work in CT, but there's plenty of Sr. level work in Boston, I would take a look.

elover_jm

tdean wrote: »

the job market is ok by me, im south of Boston, Ma. by Cape Cod. my biggest problem, other than not knowing what i want to do, is marketing myself. i simply dont get it.

as far as interests.... i "think" i would ultimately like to get into the security end of things. i figure i'll get some sort of current MS cert, then the Cisco. after that, i dont know where to go... i dont particulatly enjoy being the everything guy though. im just not good enough at any particular discipline to be a highly paid specialist i guess...

how does one become an independant consultant?

mmmm.... you seem to be struggling with confidence.

What is it in Technology you enjoy doing Most? (ex: programming, fixing pc's, building networks etc).

The field of Information Technology is quite diverse, start Building you career around what you feel most passionate about (Probably you need to start reading some IT magazines or googling to get a feel of what IT is all about).

As for marketing yourself start with a well written resume, cover letter and put it out there on Dice, Monster and other job portals (build and save your profiles on these portals). you receive tons of calls once you do that.

tdean

elover_jm wrote: »

mmmm.... you seem to be struggling with confidence.

What is it in Technology you enjoy doing Most? (ex: programming, fixing pc's, building networks etc).

The field of Information Technology is quite diverse, start Building you career around what you feel most passionate about (Probably you need to start reading some IT magazines or googling to get a feel of what IT is all about).

As for marketing yourself start with a well written resume, cover letter and put it out there on Dice, Monster and other job portals (build and save your profiles on these portals). you receive tons of calls once you do that.

thats always been an issue. if one thing comes up that i dont know, i'm completely thrown off. however, where ever i work, people think im really good and every review ive ever had has been great.

what do i like? not exactly sure, but i dont think programming is somehting id enjoy. net admin may be good depending on the place im doing it. my last 2 jobs were pretty bad experiences. i think i may end up enjoying the Cisco end of things more in the long run. things i cant stand are server updates, spending hours vpn'ing in to reboot servers, dealing with proprietary apps etc etc.... i dont think id like DB admin. although im not exactly sure whats involved. i've managed clusters and worked a bit with sql, but thats it.

i have my resume on a bunch of places, not sure if its well written or not. i havent received many calls lately and the head hunters i do deal with, i dont know what to tell them im looking for, if that makes sense. i guess im looking for move forward from the "everything" guy at a mom and pop shop, but dont know the best way to do that.