Need an opinion on a job I interviewed for

themagicone

I had a job interview today for a Cisco/Juniper re-seller. All it would be doing is unboxing used equipment, testing and then reboxing. Might get to do some config resetting and the like. No benefits except they said that I could possible use their massive warehouse of Cisco gear for cert training. Didn't pay much ether. They said they'll let me know in a few days. Not sure if I should pursue it further. I want to get into IT but I doing resetting used equipment all day is going to get me much experience except for knowing how to do resets. The use of equipment for training would be nice but I don't think it'd be worth low pay and no other benefits. They were telling me they'll get in 3-4 pallets of switches and all you do all day is test ports, reset and move on to the next.

Has anyone done this type of work? Has it helped in other jobs? This was my very first "Cisco" type job interview so not sure what to think about it just yet.

Jourdsh

My only advice is employers like potential employees that are employed more than ones that aren't. So having some job is going to be better than nothing in your employment history even if the gig isn't what you want long term.

Essendon

I did a very similar job for Mobil for 4 months, the only exception was the devices were new, I had a pre-cooked config that I'd load into them, box them up and have them picked up for shipment. The work dried up after about 3 months and it bored the hell out of me after 3 months.

But it was good experience for a guy that had never worked at a big company with real gear. The experience there later proved to be a big plus, my resume would get much more keyword hits from prospective employers and the fact that I worked at the world's largest company was attractive to them.

If this is just a contract or something, I say do it. If you dont have any other real Cisco experience, maybe do this for a few months. Might just be the shot in the arm your resume needs.

elTorito

themagicone wrote: »

I want to get into IT but I doing resetting used equipment all day is going to get me much experience except for knowing how to do resets.

Does the above mean that this will be your first IT job? If so, I'd say go for it. Even if your primary task will be resetting Cisco equipment, I'm sure you could fit some lab work in there, or at the very least, familiarize yourself with a variety of enterprise-level gear.

Most entry-level people don't even get to touch any server or networking equipment until they've progressed to a systems admin or networking position, so I'd say this is a cool opportunity. I'm sure it'll be a valuable addition to your resume.

andy4tech

themagicone,guys have said it all,go for it as this will be added to your experience.It will be an experience in both cisco and juniper gears and that will be good to have down on your resume.