Entry level helpdesk role

uperkurk

Hey guys, as some of you know i'm searching for a career in IT and after being told CCNA was too advanced for someone who has never had an IT role before I have thought about some entry level helpdesk roles. I know alot of you are from america and maybe theres different requirements but after some searching I see "junior Helpdesk role"

Here is a link Junior Helpdesk Analyst Job in City of London W1J5AJ, London UK and I was expecting them to say training will be provided but theres none of that, I havent seen one job that said training will be provided. Has anyone here in the UK actually got an IT job where training was provided and they taught you active directory, citrix ect. Would it be possible to learn this stuff from just reading books? I just want a job where some training is provided

tpatt100

usually the training is how to do the work needed the way the company wants you to do things. So its just orientation.

uperkurk

But how am I surpossed to get experience of active directory, citrix and all the other basic requirements if no company is willing to train me up... surely there must be one company out there that is willing to spend afew weeks training people up on these programs.

Nullify

If you can get your hands on a copy of Windows Server 2003 or 2008 install it at home and start reading up on it to learn the basic of active directory. This way you will be able to hold a decent (beginner) conversation on the subject for the interview. It is unlikely you will cover all real world scenarios on a home lab, unless you are very thorough, but it will give you a good foundation to build on once you are on the job.

Also, if I think it is applicable to the position I am applying for I list training (college classes/cert prep) that I have gone through on my resume or mention it in my cover letter. If you do this, be prepared for questions on the certification or about your dedication to completing the cert. This shows that while you may not have the on the job experience, you are serious and dedicated to learning, not to mention "trainable".

laidbackfreak

Well looking at that advert I'd say there's a fair bit of training (on the job) to be gained there. At that level I would say you'd need strong(ish) understanding of operating systems and office. If you know how networking printing works great. Everything else while essential to do the job can\will be learned fairly quickly in that enviroment.

Like others have said if you can get a copy of w2k look at setting up some labs and gaining familiarity great go for it. In answer to your quesitons yes you can learn just from books, but it makes it harder to get a break sometimes.

tpatt100

uperkurk wrote: »

But how am I surpossed to get experience of active directory, citrix and all the other basic requirements if no company is willing to train me up... surely there must be one company out there that is willing to spend afew weeks training people up on these programs.

I got my active directory experience and Citrix experience by volunteering for extra projects at work. The sys admins were over loaded with projects and a Citrix project came up for a few server farms. I volunteered and spent a couple of hours at work and a couple of weekends at home reading the CCA book and playing with the demo software.

Most companies will train you up if a project comes along that nobody has any firm experience on so they can't expect you to know how to do it. Or they allocate time in the lab so you can practice on your own.

Too often than not companies get burned on training by employees learning and bailing for more money.

uperkurk

Nullify wrote: »

If you can get your hands on a copy of Windows Server 2003 or 2008 install it at home and start reading up on it to learn the basic of active directory. This way you will be able to hold a decent (beginner) conversation on the subject for the interview. It is unlikely you will cover all real world scenarios on a home lab, unless you are very thorough, but it will give you a good foundation to build on once you are on the job.

Also, if I think it is applicable to the position I am applying for I list training (college classes/cert prep) that I have gone through on my resume or mention it in my cover letter. If you do this, be prepared for questions on the certification or about your dedication to completing the cert. This shows that while you may not have the on the job experience, you are serious and dedicated to learning, not to mention "trainable".

So if I get VMware I can set up windows O/S on another partition but I dont have any other computers to connect to, when you say set up a lab what exactly to you mean?

brad-

uperkurk wrote: »

But how am I surpossed to get experience of active directory, citrix and all the other basic requirements if no company is willing to train me up... surely there must be one company out there that is willing to spend afew weeks training people up on these programs.

Do this to set up a virtual lab quickly.

1) Download and install Virtual PC 2007 (free) on a machine with at least a couple gigs of RAM and hopefully 50ish gigs of free space - or more.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/

2) Download some preconfigured virtual hard drives (free) from MS, to use in your lab.

Run IT on a Virtual Hard Disk

You can do the same thing to learn Exchange, ISA, whatever you want. The newer technology requires hyper V, but if you're wanting to use Server 2k3, this will work well for you.

Find a book or some method of learning/tutorial, and you can learn it on your own for just the cost of the book(s).

uperkurk

Thanks for the help thats great, I guess ill get downloading now, so you suggest just messing around with it and following some online tutorials?

Daniel333

Just break this down for certification. There is no way you can earn the certs on your own in a year on this one. Even the MCDST and Office certs will take a good 3-6 months. But hopefully these links will help you see what you need to work on.

Good working knowledge of the following products & technologies:
Windows 2000/XP
- http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mcdst.aspx

Office 2003/2007
- Microsoft Learning: Microsoft Business Certification

Network printing
- Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment

TCP/IP & Ethernet networks
- CCENT - Career Certifications & Paths - Cisco Systems

IBM PC & Laptop hardware
- CompTIA A+

Microsoft Active Directory Administration
- Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment

Lotus Notes -
IBM Professional Certification - IBM Lotus

Citrix (Remote Support)
- Administrator (CCA) - Citrix Training

Kohlb353

uperkurk wrote: »

Thanks for the help thats great, I guess ill get downloading now, so you suggest just messing around with it and following some online tutorials?

That's what tutorials are for.