Entry level IT jobs in England V US

MrXpert

Hi, i've been out of work since October last year so you could say that's quite a long time. Since January I have really studied hard to aquire a few certs and these are the ones shown in my profile. I've had to really work hard for them as with limited funds etc. I got my CCENT last week and now am slowly working on ICND2. I'm enjoying the Cisco stuff. It just seems so clean, neat and well refined for want of a better phrase. I dont know how else to describe it.

My work history is mainly made up of sales jobs..namely business to business sales in an unrelated sector. I have also done a few office based jobs and about 10 years ago worked for PC World as a customer service/pc clinic person. I also have about 6 months helpdesk experience and have built about 20 computers and upgraded several others.

Unfortunately my work history has changed quite a bit due to company closures and this forced the primal need of just needing a job....ANY JOB We all need to pay bills so sometimes beggers can't be choosers so i ended up in sales and someone thought I was good at it. I've used my time out of work to gain IT certs but have been looking for IT help desk roles. Now here comes my problems. what else can I do to help me find an IT job quicker? i've looked at volunteer jobs where i work for free but nobody wants to know, i've sent out prospective letters but not had any interviews from them and they say they are not hiring.

Although i have been looking for jobs I have noticed some odd discrepencies in the market. For example, recently the NHS (National Health Service) were advertising an IT Support position and were looking for someone with a CCNP. The salary stated was £30k per annum.
I have found several IT jobs entitled "1st Line IT Support", "Junior IT Analyst" positions which although they purport to be 1st line/junior levels they ask for things like skills in SQL, Linux, Server2003/08, AD, experience in field based roles. A lot of these jobs are advertising a salary of £15k to £18k (which is US dollars is $23,450 TO $28,000 approx) I have seen these types of jobs constantly advertised since i've been looking which is nearly a year now. To those that work in the US, how does this compare? is it similar salaries to what an entry level/1st Line IT support/help desk person gets paid in the USA?

What i find quite strange is that when I was working in sales (not IT related), my annual salary was £19.5k per annum and on top of that I'd receive quarterly commission which was very high if I met all my targets. While I was working in this sales job I used to think to myself "i'm doing an unskilled job and I bet IT techs get paid a lot more than I do". Do you see the irony in this?

I'll try not to complain but seriously i have noticed a downward spiral on salaries in the UK over the last few years. Employers know that people are desperate for jobs here and so realize they can get away with paying even a CCNA or MCTS certified tech with experience under £20k ($31,200). It seems very odd that Office Juniors and administrators are offerred salaries in range of £14k - £17k and then you have IT staff including those that have field experience and/or major certs yet in England these people are in the same salary band (in alot of cases)

I have included a few examples of jobs in Central London are near to it where pay will or should be higher than the rest of the UK
reed.co.uk - Job Details: Help Desk/1st Line Support Role in Central London


Service Desk Technician (Ashford) - delivered by JobsInKent.com

Network Technician (West Malling) - delivered by JobsInKent.com

this last one calls on the person to be able to speak italian but also have a degree (thats usually 3-4 years spent at a University which you would get assuming you passed your A Levels (not sexual) at college or 6th form) as well as having training experience.
reed.co.uk - Job Details: Help Desk Support - IT in St. Albans


So what can I do further to help me get a job? any ideas please

the_Grinch

US Market is somewhat close to that, pay varies depending on where you live, but those numbers seem about right for the job titles. Companies know that with the economy being what it is, they can ask for the world and pay crap to get it. I see job postings asking for CCNP (and even CCIE preferred) for first line tech support jobs. But something you should realize is that sometimes HR just throws certs in there. If I were you, I'd apply anyway, you already don't have a job so you lose nothing by trying. I believe many members would agree that you should apply and many have gotten jobs they didn't believe they were qualified for (or at least on paper didn't appear to be). Wage wise, IT does take skill, but is always looked at as an expense. We are picking up customers all the time who layoff their IT staff and bring us on. They don't pay retirement and health benefits for the MSP, plus they get experts in various technologies. I won't lie that I do feel bad about people losing their jobs because of my company. So I would keep pumping out resumes and I figure with certs and your soft skills you'll find something. Let them tell you no, don't assume! Good luck!

stuh84

I've never worked in a job where the sales guys get paid less than the techs. The sales guys bring in the profit, so the good ones tend to be valued higher. The techs tend to get enough to keep them around a little bit extra, with the incentive of being paid more to move up.

Tackle

The salary seems about right, for Minnesota. I started at 25k USD with no expirience. 30k USD after 1 year. Small company ~50 employees. 2 IT people, I'm the lower of the 2.

NetworkingStudent

the_Grinch wrote: »

US Market is somewhat close to that, pay varies depending on where you live, but those numbers seem about right for the job titles. Companies know that with the economy being what it is, they can ask for the world and pay crap to get it. I see job postings asking for CCNP (and even CCIE preferred) for first line tech support jobs. But something you should realize is that sometimes HR just throws certs in there. If I were you, I'd apply anyway, you already don't have a job so you lose nothing by trying. I believe many members would agree that you should apply and many have gotten jobs they didn't believe they were qualified for (or at least on paper didn't appear to be). Wage wise, IT does take skill, but is always looked at as an expense. We are picking up customers all the time who layoff their IT staff and bring us on. They don't pay retirement and health benefits for the MSP, plus they get experts in various technologies. I won't lie that I do feel bad about people losing their jobs because of my company. So I would keep pumping out resumes and I figure with certs and your soft skills you'll find something. Let them tell you no, don't assume! Good luck!

I’m looking for an entry level help desk or support role in the USA, and I can tell you its tough here too. There are a few people on TE that have moved, or had to move to another state in the USA just to get a job. It’s not easy to get an entry level IT job. The biggest problem that I have found is that a company can say a position is entry level, but they can require a minimum of 2 years of experience. I’m not really sure how someone gets two years of experience, when they just graduated from college. I’m not sure what the secret is except apply, apply, and apply. Have you tried volunteering for any non profits in the UK? I volunteer and it does help me gain some experience.

Rustomen123

Sales jobs in tech don't really need you to be an expert developer, much like any other sales job it needs you to be a 'Good Salesman', meaning to know how to get clients and sell to them, as well as to have some level of tech knowledge, you can check different sales jobs offers and get a general idea of what they usually ask for in a candidate, check out this website Joblang.com and see what you can find !

Jon_Cisco

I find job ads discouraging. I don' t like to over sell myself and the job demands make you. At least to get into the interview. Once your in the interview you have a much better chance of making your case.

As to pay it seems to range all over the place. If you watch online ads long enough you will see the same companies looking for dirt cheap labor. There business model is probably to fill the seats for 6-12 months and accept the turnover. Sad as that might be it could be valuable training if you can afford it. I'm pretty close to making a career change to full time IT work. If I need to I will take a few short contract jobs or worst case one of these high turnover jobs to get the experience and get my foot in the door somewhere. I could not do that for more then a year or two since we all have bills to pay.