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new york career advice
shuffles62
Member Posts: 14 ■□□□□□□□□□
Here's a little bit about my background...I have a Computer Science Bachelors degree and about 4 years experience in the Network Operations dept at a telecommunications company. I provided systems support to broadband optical network engineers. All of the systems I supported were proprietary, highly specialized & customized telecom apps. I also worked closely with the Network infrastructure guys to ensure 24x7 visibility to thousands of telco sites throughout the country.
So I've supported apps that run on windows, unix, linux & vms servers and feel comfortable in any of those environments, but there were server guys that took care of detailed OS maintenance and major problems.....so I really wouldn't consider myself admin level in any of those platforms. I'm also very comfortable discussing network related issues, from t1s all the way up to oc192, but I wasn't actually the network engineer performing the troubleshooting & maintenance either, so I lack some of the hands on experience in that area. I also have extensive experience taking ideas from end-users and specing out requirements with programmers to provide application enhancements, but I really haven't written any serious code since college.
I loved my job, but for personal reasons I left and moved to New York a few months ago, I haven't had trouble finding work, just not quite at the level I feel I deserve....currently i'm doing some help desk stuff.....and I'm just not happy where I am.
I feel as though my background has given me great exposure to a wide variety of skillsets, but I really haven't focused on one specific area of expertise and thats now biting me in the ass. I'm glad that I have such a varied background, but I just think it would be easier if I was really good at one specific thing.....Regardless, I'm thinking about heading down the certification route. Any suggestions? I'm leaning towards cisco and/or linux.....if I get my ccna, am i still facing entry level positions?
I appreciate any suggestions or comments.
~frustrated
So I've supported apps that run on windows, unix, linux & vms servers and feel comfortable in any of those environments, but there were server guys that took care of detailed OS maintenance and major problems.....so I really wouldn't consider myself admin level in any of those platforms. I'm also very comfortable discussing network related issues, from t1s all the way up to oc192, but I wasn't actually the network engineer performing the troubleshooting & maintenance either, so I lack some of the hands on experience in that area. I also have extensive experience taking ideas from end-users and specing out requirements with programmers to provide application enhancements, but I really haven't written any serious code since college.
I loved my job, but for personal reasons I left and moved to New York a few months ago, I haven't had trouble finding work, just not quite at the level I feel I deserve....currently i'm doing some help desk stuff.....and I'm just not happy where I am.
I feel as though my background has given me great exposure to a wide variety of skillsets, but I really haven't focused on one specific area of expertise and thats now biting me in the ass. I'm glad that I have such a varied background, but I just think it would be easier if I was really good at one specific thing.....Regardless, I'm thinking about heading down the certification route. Any suggestions? I'm leaning towards cisco and/or linux.....if I get my ccna, am i still facing entry level positions?
I appreciate any suggestions or comments.
~frustrated
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/usr
Member Posts: 1,768
Most likely, although possibly not. It would seem likely that even if you do have a broad background, you will start at the bottom of the ladder if you decide to pursue something you lack hands on experience with.