Entry Level Virtualization Opportunities

luaby

Hi Guys,
I've been lurking around here for a while but finally decided to post. I'm a recent Comp Sci. with 1 year experience in healthcare IT.

I am looking to break into virtualization however finding entry level positions in this field has been a challenge. I've been reading Scott Lowe's Mastering vSphere book and I have also setup a virtual lab on my i7 Macbook Pro to get some hands-on experience. I plan to attend a VCP class at a local CC and eventually write the VCP exam.

Now to the questions, what will be a good plan to get an entry level position in this field? I've considered starting from the Vmware View (VCA-DT) and eventually rise up to vSphere or what do you experts think? Is the VCP too high a goal for a recent grad without much experience? Will employers hire even without on the job virtualization experience? Opinions are welcome. Thanks!

ehnde

You won't find any of your competitors in the job market claiming 10 years of virtualization experience. It's still an emerging technology - that's encouraging, right?

The VCP should give you a foot in the door. Too expensive for me right now That seems popular in healthcare. Have you considered labbing out for citrix certifications? Citrix Systems Application Virtualization and Session Virtualization Overview - Citrix XenApp If you intend to stay in health care IT I believe this is significant as well.

And if you really want to round out the edges, consider getting certified in Microsoft's Hyper-V. Microsoft exams are cheap. Especially for students right now.

That's all you can do that you have control over. Just keep studying and keep applying for virtualization engineer jobs. With patience something will come along.

undomiel

With no experience your chances of getting a job directly in virtualization design and deployment is slim to nil. But on the other hand if you target small IT services vendors you'll get a chance to get hand on with deployed virtualization technologies and also stand a good chance to reach in and fill any virtualization expertise they are lacking. I work for one of these types of vendors and from what I've seen out in the field of places that we've taken over that have deployed virtualization solutions, usually VMware, the majority of the companies that we are taking over from really have no idea about the technology they are working with. I've seen ESX servers with default passwords, virtual machines that have not been cleaned up after the P2V and even a single 2008 SBS server deployed on a Hyper-V host with only 4 out of 16 GB of RAM assigned to it and 1 vCPU. Of course I've seen all sorts of AD worst practices as well so these vendors could clearly use some knowledgeable talent.

But that's digressing a bit from my point. You most likely won't be able to get in with virtualization expertise as your primary sell. AD and/or Exchange would be good for your primary hook and virtualization would help sweeten the deal. From there you can soak up the experience and prep to move on to a large virtualization oriented role in the field.

Certification-wise Hyper-V and VMware are the largest targets. I haven't seen much been done out in the field with XenServer, though my company deploys it as well and I've run across one other. The MCITP:VA is a whole lot cheaper than a VCP though it also has nowhere near as much recognition. It would probably be better to look for an employer that would be interested in sponsoring your VCP than to pay for it out of pocket, though if you can cash flow it then that would be fine. I'd leave the XenServer CCA for last if you still have time and can see some benefit from it. XenServer's pretty nice though. I like it a lot. I'd recommend picking up some Linux skills along with it though.

Finally, experience is the most important thing so continue to practice working with VMware and/or Hyper-V and XenServer in your spare time as well. Document, document, document.

bertieb

I agree with undomiel. Experience is the key. Personally, I'd suggest that any experience in operating systems, applications like Exchange/SQL Server, networking, storage and the like would stand you in good stead as well getting involved in some virtualization projects.

This may mean looking for a 'jack of all trades' role to give you exposure to many areas. As a virtualization admin, you'll need to speak many different languages as the technology touches most areas - you don't need to be a CCIE level Cisco bod, or a MCA level SQL Server expert, but when you can easily relate to the needs of the guys you need to speak too, and understand what (and why) it'll be much easier.

I haven't personally seen any dedicated virtualization roles that haven't required in-depth experience in other areas. Don't let me put you off though, just get as much experience as you can!

RTmarc

Because virtualization is typically the cornerstone of many modern infrastructures, I wouldn't let an entry level tech even say the word "virtualization" too loud.