How do you plan to improve your career situation?

I know some of you have scored some awesome jobs lately *cough* *cough* Everyone. Others are still seeking that sweet opportunity (my hand is raised). So what are you doing about it? What's your plan of attack? I am curious to see the different strategies out there and maybe, just maybe it might help another. And it's been proven if you put your goals in print you have a better chance of reaching them.

I have tried to keep mine simple and to the point.

Obtain the PMP 3/31
Continue to enhance my reporting skills. My job requires it so it makes sense to get better at it.
Help others out on this forum and Linkedin. Those are my two main interfaces into the WWW.

That's really it for me at this point and time. I joined PMI and started talking with some of the PM's in the local chapter so that's been helpful. I soon plan on joining one of their events when time permits. Participating on this forum sheds lights on some high-level exposure to the different technologies. That's always helpful.

So what's your plan? How do you plan to improve?

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nycid

I'm getting my certs up to date.... Positioning myself as an all around individual with where I like to go. I actually took a pay cut for my current position with the fact there is room to grow and able to get better experience and study time etc. I like my gig but know the top end pay is not where I would like to be....

I'm working a 36 month plan....

N2IT

nycid wrote: »

I'm getting my certs up to date.... Positioning myself as an all around individual with where I like to go. I actually took a pay cut for my current position with the fact there is room to grow and able to get better experience and study time etc. I like my gig but know the top end pay is not where I would like to be....

I'm working a 36 month plan....

3 years sounds like a mid range plan. Any particulars on what type of technology you are leaning towards or any study strategy you are implementing?

afcyung

I honestly have no Idea, working on my BS and CCNA currently. I am separating from the military soonish and want to be as marketable as possible.

nycid

I've always been a jack of all trades and mainly focused in the healthcare industry. I've been the road warrior to Technical account manager to project manger and every other title you could imagine but never really focused on anything. I decided to get the basic certs which I have accomplished (comptia) now working on my MCITP:EA once that is complete I hope to get into the CISCO Certs. I'm starting to get my feet wet in Cisco (always been the sonicwall guy) and hope as my current job role changes I can also gain the experience. So far so good.

If the pay is good at that time I will stay but if its not I know there is enough work in my area if your willing to wait for the right position it will come along. Not to say pay is everything but I know I am already under paid and will not be hard to get a bump in salary... Plus its always been my goal to do this anyways and now I have the chance....

rwmidl

For me, I try to use every job as a stepping stone to the next one. Right now my main goal is finish my MCITP:SA. That monkey has been on my back for 2 years now and I just want to get it done. Also because my current position is somewhat "odd" I'm beefing up my documentation skills as well as project management.

dave330i

Answer a call from a recruiter while at home taking care of sick daughter.

paul78

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Networking imho is the best way to advance ones career. It really is about who you know. I havent been on a job interview in over 25 years where I didnt know the hiring manager or someone at the firm.

N2IT

paul78 wrote: »

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Networking imho is the best way to advance ones career. It really is about who you know. I havent been on a job interview in over 25 years where I didnt know the hiring manager or someone at the firm.

It sure makes it a lot easier.

JDMurray

Todd Lammle talks about the topic of IT career improvement in this podcast interview: Show 90 – Talking Career with Todd Lammle

ptilsen

Round out my resume with a completed BS and some better certs. BS in CompSci, MCITP EA & EMA, CCNA, ITIL Foundation, SSCP, CISSP. Possible higher-level ITIL. I have the experience and the skill and even the job, but it's hard to move up salary-wise without high-level certs and a good degree. Not much to do but hunker down and study.

For N2IT, your PMP alone will be enough. You will be beating the job offers away with a stick with your PMP.

Techexams is a great resource, but I think we would both do well to study more and post less.

But really, I realize I have spent more time posting here than actually studying over the post two months, and that is a legitimate problem when it comes down to it. I spend lots of time on other distractions, so it's not unique to TE.

blargoe

I recently took my "next step up" job so I'm just biding my time for now knocking out new certifications where it makes sense, trying to get broader storage and VM experience. Also, I won't make the mistake of staying in this job for too long if it looks like I'll be stagnating in this role... by year two, I'll know whether I need to gear myself toward another move. If I move again, I'll be looking to be a Sr. Infrastructure Engineer probably with a solution provider.

I'm setting certification goals for myself in the next 18 months to get my MS certs up to date, get NetApp certified, VCAP-DCA, and an entry level Linux cert (no particular order).

I'm also trying to do a better job staying in touch with some of my previous co-workers - my networking has been slack.

N2IT

ptilsen wrote: »

Round out my resume with a completed BS and some better certs. BS in CompSci, MCITP EA & EMA, CCNA, ITIL Foundation, SSCP, CISSP. Possible higher-level ITIL. I have the experience and the skill and even the job, but it's hard to move up salary-wise without high-level certs and a good degree. Not much to do but hunker down and study.

I really like the idea of the BS in Comp Sci. Nothing against the EA or CISSP.

For N2IT, your PMP alone will be enough. You will be beating the job offers away with a stick with your PMP.

That's the plan, thanks for encouraging words.

Techexams is a great resource, but I think we would both do well to study more and post less. But really, I realize I have spent more time posting here than actually studying over the post two months, and that is a legitimate problem when it comes down to it. I spend lots of time on other distractions, so it's not unique to TE.

Agreed LMAO

odysseyelite

I moved. I was in Tampa\Orlando. Moving to Dallas got me into a higher role and 30-40% more in pay.

As for advancing getting my CCNA fielded in more admin calls.

The year coming:
VCP is my next cert as I believe working for MSPs will be the way of the future. CCNP will soon to follow.

My current staffing company was saying PMP is good to get. They have been trying to find decent PMPs with IT backgrounds. The network manager gave me the same advice as any other network guy: Get your CCIE.

Roguetadhg

I plan to improve my career skills, and get out of my financial burdens by stop playing video games (Haven't touched Skyrim since it came out... it hurts so much) by digging into Ciscoland deep and wide. I'm finding that because of TE i've discovered some disturbing study habits:
1) Tech Exams is a distraction that keeps me from reading. But it's helpful because the questions asked makes me think about problems in different ways - STP calculation, for example - which makes me better.

2) The persons on TE tend to be knowledgable about the "Experience" part of a certification. Otherwise, persons that work in the field, in that respective position. Reading posts from these persons makes me feel like what I'm doing is possible - to be able to work with people that know the subtle nuances as well as the global effects of their speciality.

Forsaken_GA

Well, considering I've managed to more than double my pay over the last two years, and I've finally landed in a position that allows me to use my skills the fullest, there's not much more to do. I plan to finish my CCIE, then start down the Juniper path. All the while, I'll be performing at a level that's already caught attention at the executive level (in a good way!) and then see if I can wrangle myself into a Principal Engineer role. That will come with the office and pay grade that I want.

After that, who knows.

Essendon

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

Well, considering I've managed to more than double my pay over the last two years, and I've finally landed in a position that allows me to use my skills the fullest

I'd love to know how bud.

YuckTheFankees

Honestly I'm so lost on what I want to do. One day I want to have a career in Linux (I've read 4 or 5 articles about how in demand Linux skills are), the next I want to do pentesting/ Computer forensic (I start my computer forensic internship this month)..or go down the Cisco path.

I'm not complaining because my current job involves Linux and networking, plus I have a CF internship (so I'm gaining experience in all of those areas)...but I don't know which way I want to go.

Having this conflict is slowing down my career because I can't decide on which cert to get or which path I want to specialize in...so I end up doing nothing but thinking about a career path..instead of actually studying.

GAngel

Stock options and lots of them. Job wise not much left that I want to do. I'll probably get completely out of the field in the next 10 years to do something that pays alot more.

Forsaken_GA

Essendon wrote: »

I'd love to know how bud.

Lot of hard work. I put in my time, volunteered for things that allowed me alot of cross training, did ALOT of self-study on other subjects. Most of what I do for fun at home are things people want to be paid for. On the other hand, I'm a damn good network guy, a very good unix admin, and I'm now pretty good with VMWare as well. Eventually, I hit a tipping point where my years of experience and my skillset qualified me for much better positions.

Making friends helps, though it's not strictly necessary. The lead from my current position came from a friend, but beyond putting me in contact with the recruiter, there was no further influence, I won the position on my own merit.

Note: Doubling my pay is also not as impressive as it sounds. 2 years ago I was woefully underpaid. A year ago, I moved to another position that was a very large pay increase, but still not near what I thought I was worth. My present role... yeah, I'm much close to what I want, but still not quite there yet. I expect that to change within a year or two though.

Forsaken_GA

YuckTheFankees wrote: »

Honestly I'm so lost on what I want to do. One day I want to have a career in Linux (I've read 4 or 5 articles about how in demand Linux skills are), the next I want to do pentesting/ Computer forensic (I start my computer forensic internship this month)..or go down the Cisco path.

I'm not complaining because my current job involves Linux and networking, plus I have a CF internship (so I'm gaining experience in all of those areas)...but I don't know which way I want to go.

Having this conflict is slowing down my career because I can't decide on which cert to get or which path I want to specialize in...so I end up doing nothing but thinking about a career path..instead of actually studying.

Just because you pick a path doesn't mean you have to sacrifice all your other interests. Indeed, multi-talented folks tend to make good employees. Even if you take a position which doesn't require those skills directly, it allows you to interface with the people who do, and that's a valuable skill for some employers. I've always been a network guy, but I took a roundabout way to get there, having to become a linux admin before I had the opportunity to break into the network side of things. Iv'e always gone where the work takes me, but I've never lost sight of what I wanted to do.

Long story short though, don't chase the market. If you try that, you will be perpetually behind the game. You can't acquire skills fast enough to catch up to the market. You're better off trying to anticipate where the market is going.

Personally, I don't have a crystal ball, so I think that's a losing proposition. I think it's better to decide what you want to be, and then go be the best you can at it. As long as you're choosing technology that's not going to be supplanted anytime soon, you'll ultimately be happier doing the job you want instead of settling for the job you can find. If you never make a decision, then settling for the job you can find is all you'll ever do.

ptilsen

YuckTheFankees wrote: »

Honestly I'm so lost on what I want to do. One day I want to have a career in Linux (I've read 4 or 5 articles about how in demand Linux skills are), the next I want to do pentesting/ Computer forensic (I start my computer forensic internship this month)..or go down the Cisco path.

I'm not complaining because my current job involves Linux and networking, plus I have a CF internship (so I'm gaining experience in all of those areas)...but I don't know which way I want to go.

Having this conflict is slowing down my career because I can't decide on which cert to get or which path I want to specialize in...so I end up doing nothing but thinking about a career path..instead of actually studying.

Take three specialized, but attainable certs -- let's say SSCP, CCNA, and Linux+. Take those three and roll a six sided die. If it's one or two, pick the first, three or four, the second, and so on.

If you don't have any of have those three, make it a choice between those exact three (sub Security+ if you don't have the experience for SSCP). All three will be of benefit to you as a generalist or specialist in any career. I don't work with Linux at all, rarely touch a switch or a router, and only have occasional security needs -- I'm a generalist, but primary a Microsoft one. I intend to sit of all three within the next year if I can.

My point is, don't waste anymore time choosing. Pick at random and go for it. You'll probably circle around to all of them anyway.

Psoasman

My plan is to continue getting experience and education. I had gotten some of my certs first, then decided it would be good to have a degree to round out the education. Getting my B.S. in IT at WGU is my current endeavor and will allow me to qualify for higher level positions. After this, perhaps a M.S. or more certs - probably Cisco.

djfunz

JDMurray wrote: »

Todd Lammle talks about the topic of IT career improvement in this podcast interview: Show 90 – Talking Career with Todd Lammle

Just finished listening to this and he seems to like VoIP, Data Center, IPv6, VMware, and Fiber. Seem like good bets to me.

*Edit

MPLS was also mentioned and I was curious how popular this is over in America? I know Frame Relay is still pretty prevalent over there right? Here, MPLS is fairly standard from what I know. It was also mentioned that VoIP was really only popular in America and it's just a phase.

zenhound

Studying, studying, studying. I'm doing Security+ then moving on to CCNA. Hopefully buying a lab soon.

My biggest challenge is networking (as in meeting people in your field, not TCP/IP). I have no idea how to do that.

odysseyelite

Going to the free events vmware, cisco, and microsoft is one way. I've meet some decent people in my vmware class at the local college.

Roguetadhg

odysseyelite wrote: »

Going to the free events vmware, cisco, and microsoft is one way. I've meet some decent people in my vmware class at the local college.

College classes are a lot of money. I've looked into going for one for CCNA to further solidify my knowledge, but gah.

WafflesAndRootbeer

College classes are not worth it in my opinion. If you want to meet real technical people, you have to go to real technical events where you can meet professionals.

msteinhilber

Going to knock out a couple certs for some tech I've been working with heavily the past couple of years to get back into the certification game again and build some confidence since the material should be pretty easy for me. Then I'm more than likely going to swallow my pride and file bankruptcy to get my debts built up from during and after my divorce reduced and work out a payment plan since I'm assuming I earn too much to file Chapter 7. Really didn't care to file bankruptcy but finances are my largest point of stress in life at the moment and trying to work with the creditors hasn't helped out any since they are demanding unreasonable payments for my current income and living situation so Chapter 13 may be the only way out. After that, hang tight at my current job as much as I would like to move on and knock out a couple other certs and projects related to those certs and begin to seriously look at other employment options.

Roguetadhg

I know this may not be an option for some people... but if you're willing to sacrifice "living" arrangements and not pay rent...

Sleep in the car.

...Yeah. I've done it. Not the proud to admit it. Im in a boat where I get paid too much for help (including food stamps), and bills are too much to live. So while I can't give up a car (Distances would be over an hour walk without any shade on a highway and no, no public transportation), I can give up the next thing - rent, cable, utility bill, and lower gas and mileage.

No, it's not fun, but when you have bills and no money to do anything, try that. It helps.

Gotta do what you gotta do

veritas_libertas

I'm going to complete the CCNA this year, and I believe that will increase my options. My area seems to be Cisco heavy.