How to get into IT in a bad job Market?

Being in Puerto Rico, employers here are ridiculous in there hiring methods...one example was I saw a help desk position, but they required 7 yrs experience, a bachelors, various Certs, and that is normal to see over here. You will never see an 18-20 yr old working a helpdesk/desktop support, or any entry level IT job...you see them at Mcdonald's...it's pitiful.

I am doing a BS in Computer Science with a focus on Systems and Network administration. I'm in my 3rd year. And I'm going to take the Cisco ICND 1 test December 7th, and I plan on getting CCNA in March. Right now I stand to graduate top 2 in my class, the other person is a friend of mine, and he is a Network/System Admin in a small school with about 50 users, so he has the work experience over me.
My only job experience is as a PC technician, self employed btw, that's just how bad it is here in PR. Shops are really small with 1 or 2 techs, and they are actually the owners of the shop, they can't afford to hire more techs.

My plan is to move back to hometown New Haven, Connecticut. Some people in the USA just don't realize how easy they got it in terms of job oportunities. Thing is, I need experience badly before moving. How do I get it? Most people say: " You'll need to get a helpdesk role " , but in what way will that get me networking experience? How did you guy's do it?

I'm mostly looking for feedback from people that live in really bad markets for jobs. But any comments from anyone could help. I'm looking for career wisdom

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Comments

WafflesAndRootbeer

I'd say leave. There are reasons why most Puerto Rican citizens leave Puerto Rico and the economy is among them.

Iristheangel

I would say to relocate as well. If you can't get a job, relocate to a place where you can

Ismaeljrp

I'll definately be leaving, I'm just concerned with finishing my bachelor's I graduate in May 2014, also, they give me an internship. I'm gunning for an Internship with Hewlett Packard locally. Thanks for the replies though, being a part of this forum has made me come to realize how important location is, and how much it can impact.

Ismaeljrp

WafflesAndRootbeer wrote: »

I'd say leave. There are reasons why most Puerto Rican citizens leave Puerto Rico and the economy is among them.

Yeah no kidding. It's really bad here, I'm going back home to Connecticut in after graduating. And I'm gonna try to get what I can in the meantime, on the plus side it's really hard to find talent in PR as well. That's what I'll have to sell myself on.

Ivanjam

Ismaeljrp - your plans look solid to me: (1) completing your BS (2) getting your CCENT/CCNA (3) getting an internship at HP and (4) relocating to CT. The only thing I would add to the mix is an MS cert - possibly MCTS Win 7 or the MCSA if you have the time to study for it.

kurosaki00

Hello Ismael

I'm from PR too
I just relocated like 3 months and a half ago
Only a handful of states in US have things as bad as in PR.

I agree with others, relocate
My first advice is dont relocate without CCNA
I relocated with ccent and no one knew what ccent was
Actually if somehow you can get ccna and lets say MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 (680 and 686)
It would give you a great headstart to be considered for most basic positions

Basic positions in US, at least here in indy pay as much as advance positions in PR (depends on where you live though)

Try to leave with a couple of certs and practice a lot that conversational english
You may think your fluent in english but speak with a native about IT stuff
and youll see most of us do a lot of "eeh, umm, like" pausing
believe it or not it affects in the interviews

Michael2

Having some certifications would definitely help you. Once you do get some, you'll probably find it easier to get a career.

Ismaeljrp

Thank you for the tip. Yes I've thought about getting an MCTS or 2 because it would I know it would help starting my career. I definately have time for it, gotta plan it right though.

Ismaeljrp

kurosaki00 wrote: »

Hello Ismael

I'm from PR too
I just relocated like 3 months and a half ago
Only a handful of states in US have things as bad as in PR.

I agree with others, relocate
My first advice is dont relocate without CCNA
I relocated with ccent and no one knew what ccent was
Actually if somehow you can get ccna and lets say MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 (680 and 686)
It would give you a great headstart to be considered for most basic positions

Basic positions in US, at least here in indy pay as much as advance positions in PR (depends on where you live though)

Try to leave with a couple of certs and practice a lot that conversational english
You may think your fluent in english but speak with a native about IT stuff
and youll see most of us do a lot of "eeh, umm, like" pausing
believe it or not it affects in the interviews

Luckily english is my first language. Didn't really even begin spanish till I was 10 yrs old. Thanks a mil for the advice, especially since I know you understand how it is over here. I've definately considered going for some systems side certs, although I really would like to eventually specialize either in Network Engineering or Virtualization. I understand I still need to get those entry positions first, and most are support and systems related.

Kaii

Ivanjam wrote: »

Ismaeljrp - your plans look solid to me: (1) completing your BS (2) getting your CCENT/CCNA (3) getting an internship at HP and (4) relocating to CT. The only thing I would add to the mix is an MS cert - possibly MCTS Win 7 or the MCSA if you have the time to study for it.

agreed as the best way is to relocate yourself to much more competitive environment that will fully give you back what you deserves mate.

kurosaki00

How much time left do you have in your University?
Most universities over there offer job+study programs

work in IT for the university, if not, work in the closest thing to it
Like, handling IT labs for a class or something

Try NOT to graduate without any experience
this is very critical!
When in college is way easier to land your first job than when outside of college.

Graduating with a couple of certs and 1 year of experience in w/e, sounds way better than no experience.

sratakhin

Don't go for MCITP in Windows 7, unless you want to be stuck in helpdesk or desktop support positions. Better to spend time to get MCSA in Server 2003 or 2008.

cyberguypr

Even though I was working for a very nice company as a pc tech I left PR 7 years ago and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made. At the time I only had Network+ and MCDST and was slowly working on my degree. After a couple of interviews in Chicago I took a position doing basically the same I was doing in PR for 37% more pay. I worked hard and moved from tech to Sr, to Lead in a couple of years. While that happened I worked on my MCITP:SA and EA and eventually moved to a Sys Admin position.

Things over there are definitely bad and I am convinced they will never change. Do your homework, work hard, and you will prevail.

Ismaeljrp

kurosaki00 wrote: »

How much time left do you have in your University?
Most universities over there offer job+study programs

work in IT for the university, if not, work in the closest thing to it
Like, handling IT labs for a class or something

Try NOT to graduate without any experience
this is very critical!
When in college is way easier to land your first job than when outside of college.

Graduating with a couple of certs and 1 year of experience in w/e, sounds way better than no experience.

I comepletely agree. Right now I'm using most of my spare time studying for CCNA, but once I've got that I'm starting serious job hunting, even if that means being underpaid for a while. In the meantime, I'll continue to at least look on the brightside and use all that extra time to study and train.

Ismaeljrp

sratakhin wrote: »

Don't go for MCITP in Windows 7, unless you want to be stuck in helpdesk or desktop support positions. Better to spend time to get MCSA in Server 2003 or 2008.

I'm thinking of going for the MCTS on AD. I know I'll have to at least, start as a helpdesk/desktop , so that's the reasoning for a basic MCTS Windows 7 related. It's more for the short term, next 1-2yrs ( until I graduate ) and at the same time training up for higher certs mostly Network related, but if I really get into the systems side I am attracted to virtualization technologies. Finding a job based on my skill set should make it easier in PR at the least, since, honestly most students here are slackers or seriously lack enough motivation and proper direction as to how to kickstart their career.

sratakhin

MCTS in AD is fine, as it leads to MCSA in Server 2008. However, if you are more comfortable with networking, start with 642 first.

Ismaeljrp

stratakhin - I never thought about it like that, I always thought there was a specific order to taking the server related tests. Yeah I am more comfortable with networking ( because of my focus on Cisco ) , I mean, I had an entire semester on AD about a year ago, but I haven't fiddled with it since, so I have skill fade. I guess I'll check out the topics covered on the 642