If you've been laid off from IT raise your hand.

tschnabel99

Mines up!

Ricka182

That sucks, sorry dude. I've felt it coming for a while now, but I'm still going today.

keenon

as i have posted before i have been which made me more jaded about taking a permanent position with any company. i don't like putting my faith in any company i rather keep it on me. b/c i know me better and i'm not fake with myself besides when i'm ready to go i'm gone..

/usr

I think the ideal job for most IT professionals is to start up your own business or do enough independent work to keep yourself happy. Unfortunately, not all of us really have that opportunity, at least not when we're first starting off.

Sorry to hear about your job...don't worry though, I'm sure something else will turn up.

tschnabel99

Actually I was laid off in November 2003. Still haven't replaced it with a fulltime job yet. Guess I'll have to take a level 1 help desk to get back in. Been doing project work which is not steady. Even getting 3 certs since layoff hasn't helped much.

TranscenderMichael

I'm not raising my hand... but I know of several who have.

garv221

My hands down but F**k the IT field. I would have found something else to do if I couldn't get job in it. Its all about the money, if you not making dollars, how does that make cents?

/usr

garv, if you're in this field solely for the money, why not find something you really enjoy doing?

garv221

I mean I would find something else to do if I were layed off for more than a year. I like what I do, but I hate the IT field, it can be rough.

mcornell5

my job is done come september this year. going bye bye to india. at least was given a heads up instead of being dumped on the spot. to give a nice stat, i work for ge healthcare....and they are using this model for IT

India - 70% of workforce
Contractor - 20%
Actual GE employee - 10%

hope this isnt a model more companies turn to

remyforbes777

You guys are scaring me here. I am going back to school to get my degree in Computer Network Engineering, but I eventually want to get into Network Security. I only have my A+ and Network + but I am working on my Linux + and Security + while I am attending school. You guys are making me think about reconsidering this whole IT fiield thing. I love computers and I am also going to learn programming. But is this all worth it. I mean I am not doing it solely for money, I am doing it because I generally like learning about computers. What advice do you have.?

viper75

remyforbes777 wrote:

You guys are scaring me here. I am going back to school to get my degree in Computer Network Engineering, but I eventually want to get into Network Security. I only have my A+ and Network + but I am working on my Linux + and Security + while I am attending school. You guys are making me think about reconsidering this whole IT fiield thing. I love computers and I am also going to learn programming. But is this all worth it. I mean I am not doing it solely for money, I am doing it because I generally like learning about computers. What advice do you have.?

Well if you enjoy working with computers then I'd say you would be happy working in the IT field. You just have to take a chance just like anything else in life. I say give it a try...you never know what may come out of it.

TranscenderMichael

remyforbes777 wrote:

You guys are scaring me here. I am going back to school to get my degree in Computer Network Engineering, but I eventually want to get into Network Security. I only have my A+ and Network + but I am working on my Linux + and Security + while I am attending school. You guys are making me think about reconsidering this whole IT fiield thing. I love computers and I am also going to learn programming. But is this all worth it. I mean I am not doing it solely for money, I am doing it because I generally like learning about computers. What advice do you have.?

Do what you truly enjoy doing, put forth the required effort, and you'll be fine. The jobs won't fall into your lap, but they're there if you look for them.

skully93

I have been laid off before. Stinks!

This time I entered the unemployment market reluctantly, but due to relocation to a place that actually has tech jobs.

lazyart

Finding independent work, or working for a place that services many accounts is probably the best. No one from India will beat you out for a monthly service agreement, an upgrade or "oh ****, my hard drive crashed!!"

strauchr

I been done twice man and it hurts.

Think of it this way, it opens up opportunities for you to try something else.

I got brought back down to earth by being made reundant from a great Network Admin job and ended up (after 4 months of looking) with a low end desktop support (if you could call swaping monitors over desktop support). I have now worked my way into another company as a consultant/network engineer.

Its a bloody tempermental market - just like computers are

Even though jobs come and go I enjoy the IT industry as I get bored very quickly and like to move jobs. It makes for extra work but its worth it!

mikedeek

i love IT.... but im finished....tired of being stuck at desktop and not getting a chance for network admin work even though i got a degree....these bulls$%t contracts that lead to no where....come july i will be going into the NYPD academy

porengo

Even the NYPD has an IT department.

I can relate to everyone here by having been laid-off twice before, and in fact still trying to get back in. But to be honest, this time away has allowed me to re-evaluate my career path, as well as my love for computers/technology. It has helped me to regain my focus, and has finally allowed me to get those certs I was "too busy" to get when I was in the field.

I firmly believe that the industry is going into its final stages of correction after the dot com bust. Obviously, the days of it being a workers market, where workers were getting huge salaries and jobs were plentiful are gone. But things are starting to get better, and will continue to do so in the upcoming future.

I understand that the new business model is to have most of the low end IT tasks farmed overseas. But if you think about it, most of those jobs are low skill positions. Positions we all complain about having to do. Most of the high end skills are still here, and are in high demand.

So, instead of just giving up, look at where the trend is going and make adjustments to compensate for that trend, and make your position stronger. If you love computers/technology, you will always love it. And, you will do what it takes to succeed in it.

Just MHO.

Ten9t6

It happened to me in 2000. Looking back, it was the best thing that has happened to me in this field. I was happy with day-to-day admin stuff...until that happened. It pissed me off. I decided that I would make them regret it and and I started learning as much as I could. It was great to go in there on a contract to fix a mistake that the replacement knucklehead had made on the firewall. I charged them 150.00 and hour with a 3 hour minimum. It took me about 15 minutes to fix it.

The company is no longer in business....so, I was going sooner or later anyway...

garv221

Ten9t6 wrote:

It happened to me in 2000. Looking back, it was the best thing that has happened to me in this field. I was happy with day-to-day admin stuff...until that happened. It pissed me off. I decided that I would make them regret it and and I started learning as much as I could. It was great to go in there on a contract to fix a mistake that the replacement knucklehead had made on the firewall. I charged them 150.00 and hour with a 3 hour minimum. It took me about 15 minutes to fix it.

The company is no longer in business....so, I was going sooner or later anyway...

Nice...Very nice.

tschnabel99

***********NEWS FLASH**********NEWS FLASH************

Guys I got a job! I'm going to work for Volt at Caterpillar! I went in to interview for IT Help Desk. They don't folow the level 1,2,3 model, just IT Help Desk. As I interviewed they told me several times I had more qualifications than necessarry for a Help Desk Position. They said they could use me in Admin too but I would still have to answer calls 50% of the time. I negotiated $3 more an hour based on the Admin stuff, even though I was laid off since November '03! They have all the technologies going on at Cat. Wireless, VPN's and I'll be learning SMS and Pereguine whatever that is. All I know is a lot of companies want those skills. I am not going to stay forever. Probably 2 years at most but I am getting expereince to advance my career and that is the most important thing. Give me some feedback here peeps. Volt still has positions available.

TranscenderMichael

Congrats!

/usr

Sorry to hear about your job...don't worry though, I'm sure something else will turn up.

I told you!!

Congratulations!

Webmaster

Congrats! Nice to see this thread taking a positive direction

tschnabel99

thank you all. I was about ready to quit it. this will give me a reason to continue with my certs

jsond

I have been laid off from 2 good IT jobs. nowadays trying to find a job in IT can be tough. On one hand there is always gonna be the demand but on the other the field is so saturated that it can be quite difficult to get your foot in the door w/ a good company.

Up until August I was doing basic tech support, listening to customers whine and cry about every little thing. Sucked because I was only doing it for the experience, even though it felt like my job was 70% cust svc and 30% tech support. I was sending out my resume for a year and a half at least one a week. Never got any replies regardless of how much I re-did my resume and tweaked my cover letter. In August I saw an ad for TruSecure and thought I had no chance at all, why bother when jobs I was less qualified didnt give me the time of day. Well to my disbelief the guy called me and I interviewed the next day. They asked me some pretty tough technical/security questions. A few I did ok on a few I bombed on. Never thought I would have a chance and almost didnt even send a follow up thank you letter. But I did and a week later I got called in for a 2nd interview. Did much better on that one and was hired the next week.

The point is at the time I only had my A+ and MCP and was halfway thru my Security+. The guys just said they loved my enthusiasm and felt I would dedicate myself to learing and doing everything I could to be successful at the job, which I have done to this point.

The point is, just like tschnabel99 I thought I was doomed to work at a garbage job while constantly being upset that noone was giving me a chance. Now I am working as a security operations tech for a very reputable company. I really didnt think I had a chance but the point is you have to keep doing whatever you can to get what you want. Get your cert's, make ur resume professional but honest, and keep trying. It took me over a year and a half to find something good. But you have to persevere no matter how frustrating it is that you re-did your resume/cover letter over and over to make yourself attractive to employers only to get ignored.

TranscenderMichael

Great advice, jsond. You and tschnabel99 have proven that perserverence pays off.

Good companies will make positions for intelligent, motivated people, even where no positions exist. When I applied at Transcender for a Content Developer position, another person who was less qualified had also applied. Only one position was available. However, Transcender figured that both of us were too good to let one of us go, so they hired both of us, me as a Content Developer and him as a Technical Editor. He eventually got promoted to Content Developer and I was promoted to Senior Content Developer.

Just goes to prove that, even if you don't meet EVERY requirement for a job listing, it is still sometimes beneficial to apply.

tschnabel99

Congratulations man. IT will bounce back after all the people from the dot com bust are either absorbed or left the field. I read that all total IT lost 750,000 jobs in the last 3 years or so. The Econmic Policy Institute posts a report every month. I would go there and keep updated on employment trends

http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_jobspict_20050107

http://www.epinet.org/printer.cfm?id=1973&content_type=1&nice_name=webfeatures_econindicators_jobspict_20050204

I've been exhausted and depressed but hung in there. Now I am going to get a boost to my career of only 3 years. Hasn't even been 3 years since I got my A.A.S.

/usr

I really wish I could apply for more jobs. I like my job right now, but I have pretty much learned everything I'm going to there and I feel like it's time to move on. Unfortunately, I'm still finishing up my Bachelors degree and the job I have now is very flexible with my schedule.

TranscenderMichael

/usr wrote:

I really wish I could apply for more jobs. I like my job right now, but I have pretty much learned everything I'm going to there and I feel like it's time to move on. Unfortunately, I'm still finishing up my Bachelors degree and the job I have now is very flexible with my schedule.

Sometimes, jobs can merely serve as "stepping stones" while you work your way to the next "hop".

/usr

Of course.

I'm not actually complaining, I like my job. It's easy and allows me time to study, while getting paid.

I suppose I'm just anxiously awaiting the time when I can put all of my knowledge to use, rather than running Ad-Aware because an end-user's PC is "running slow".