questions about the industry.

johnboy3193

Hello, my name is john and im new to this website...

I enjoyed the posts and thought i may b in the right place to answer this question.

I currently work for the 'big' telecom as a pots/dsl installer/repairman (phoneman)

Ive been employed for 14 years but i slowly see this dept. slipping away and ppl being moved to different depts. or laid off.

I currently go to alot of businesses and set up their dsl for them; routing iw to dmarc, extending to different locations, and setting up their modem/routers with ip info, etc...

Usually when i get there theres an 'i.t.' guy there who is their internal vendor and extends the service to their pcs and equipment. ( printer, fax, cameras, etc.) Im thinking of returning to school to extend my knowledge of computer networks, etc, i just get lost with all the initials and certifications out there....I enjoy the challenge of getting wire to devices (i know wireless is putting a slow end to that) but i think i would enjoy that line of work.. Id like to have the 'skills' to either keep me employable with my company, but also to b ready for 'plan b' if im not able to stick around here. I would like to build on the path that ive already started, so maybe some line of small business vendor work, etc would b ideal for me..

i know im rambling, i just am truly lost in this big world of technology, ha...

any info or remarks would b appreciated, thanks
john....

steve13ad

First off, welcome to TE!

There is nothing wrong with developing a plan B, you'd be surprised how many people never develop one.

With your current position do you handle much Cisco equipment? I saw that you enjoy cabling, do you have much experience with fiber?

drew726

Wireless won't take the place cabling in businesses, so you won't have to worry about that. Since you've done telecom, maybe you should get into doing VOIP by starting off getting your CCENT and working towards your CCNA Voice. If don't feel you're proficient in basic computer knowledge than you can start by getting your A+ and Network+, but some people suggest by starting with just CCENT if you want to be a network guy. If you already have a B.S. then maybe just take some courses from your local community college for IT just to help your certification exam. Company's I've seen don't really care what B.S. you got as long as you have one. I've seen a lot of liberal arts and english majors doing help desk. You don't have to go to school to do this. There's plenty good books out there and resources online. This website being one of the best.

steve13ad

One thing to look at is going back to Community College.

Many Community Colleges are also Cisco Academies, where you receive the same training that many 3rd parties offer but for much cheaper.

johnboy3193

Steve I don't handle any cisco. I pretty much stop at our routers which are netopia/ motorola. I have been trained in fiber splicing. But just the fiber, no equip. On the ends

CodeBlox

steve13ad wrote: »

One thing to look at is going back to Community College.

Many Community Colleges are also Cisco Academies, where you receive the same training that many 3rd parties offer but for much cheaper.

I'm almost done with CCNA through my local community colleges Cisco Netacad program. They have soooooo much hardware and most of it's NEW! 2911 routers and 2960 switches.

johnboy3193

I was hired right out of h.s. So I never went to college. I am blessed that the telco will reimburse me for my education, just not really sure what certs. Cover what.

steve13ad

We can spout all these different acronyms out at you but what are you ultimately interested in doing?

johnboy3193

Wherever the job security and growth is. I just like the idea of being able to grow on the knowledge I've gained thru 14 years telco. Maybe skills that can allow me to b a small business vendor/ it guy

Priston

Assuming you work day shift I'd say night classes at a local community college would be a good way to learn more, if the company is paying for it you might as well go for a A.S. degree.

Also, If your company will pay for it I think the CompTIA Network+ would also be a good cert to start out with. It has alot of topics that relate to what you're currently doing.

johnboy3193

Thanks for the help guys, yea the local community college has a cisco academy, I've looked into that, just not sure what all these classes actually teach. I mean how much is actually useful info ?

ehnde

You should try the Cisco classes at your community college and see if you enjoy configuring routers and switches. If you decide it's for you, there are Cisco specialty certifications. One in particular I think may fit you, if you want to remain with the same company or even another telco is the Cisco service provider certifications.

After you obtain a standard CCNA (routing and switching) you could go this route: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccna_sp_operations

ibcritn

johnboy3193 wrote: »

Thanks for the help guys, yea the local community college has a cisco academy, I've looked into that, just not sure what all these classes actually teach. I mean how much is actually useful info ?

I agree it sounds like your skills will transfer nicely to CCNA. I think you really need to focus on what you love doing and not JUST what has the most job security....I feel that in IT you need to constantly be going after new knowledge....not just follow a degree/cert and be done.

So, if order to constantly go after new knowledge (which I feel you need to do to be successful) you certainly need to be doing what you love.

CompTIA exams (Network+/Security+) are good ways to get your feet wet if you aren't sure of where to go. I would suggest you take a look at CCNA, but also some systems, or security stuff as you might find your passion there.

N2IT

I would recommend meeting with a counselor at one of the community colleges.

Map out a IT plan or whatever and go from there. Once you get a few classes under your belt you will start to see things you haven't seen before. In my opinion then you will be able to make a sound decision without nearly the cost of those expensive forprofit schools.

ehnde

johnboy3193 wrote: »

I mean how much is actually useful info ?

80% of what you learn in college is useless. It's the other 20% knowledge that gets you the extra pay that other non college grads are not getting. That being said, you'd be surprised at what you're learning that turns out to be valuable knowledge. Might not be the classes you think

xenodamus

If your employer will pay for education costs the Cisco Academy classes will give you alot of bang for your buck. The academy is 4 classes that take you from the fundamentals of data communication to configuring Cisco routers and switches on a CCNA level. Being in the telco industry I would assume networking would be the easiest field to transition into.

If you want a good foundation of PC/Network knowledge I would pick up a couple of books on the A+ and Network+ certifications, but you don't necessarily have to take the exams. The two of those will set you back $500+. It would be good to read over the Network+ material before jumping into serious networking, though.

By the end of the first Cisco Academy class you'll know whether networking is for you or not. When I took the classes they met one night per week for 3-4 hours, which is nice for someone with a day job.

Paladin

johnboy3193 wrote: »

Wherever the job security and growth is. I just like the idea of being able to grow on the knowledge I've gained thru 14 years telco. Maybe skills that can allow me to b a small business vendor/ it guy

A wise man once told me this:

"There is no more 'Job Security' in Corporate America... The only Job Security you can hope to achieve is this:

a) Whatever experience you can get

b) Whatever knowledge you can stuff between your ears"

That was good advice. Worked for me. I got busy right after that conversation.

Cheers!

ibcritn

N2IT wrote: »

I would recommend meeting with a counselor at one of the community colleges.

Map out a IT plan or whatever and go from there. Once you get a few classes under your belt you will start to see things you haven't seen before. In my opinion then you will be able to make a sound decision without nearly the cost of those expensive forprofit schools.

Good advice, but in my experience colleges aren't very good at this at all....well community colleges yes, but 4yr universities tend to not have a very good grasp of "technical" roles besides programming.

johnboy3193

again thanks for the info and responses.. it is true that u need to be passionate about what you do to truly be happy, not just the paycheck or 'security'..

I enjoy a nice salary at my position, and envisioned staying there til retirement (still may) but i was trying to get a 'plan b' going, and thats where i was wanting to find training that can go along with the telecom training/experience if developed already. I do enjoy troubleshooting, and actually enjoy my work immensely.
I will talk to the counselors at the community college and hopefully will get a clearer understanding of the 'big picture' after a semester or two of the cisco path.

thanks again
john