How can I can't get a entry level just with a A+?

Main Event

Isn't it supposed to get you "into" IT? What's the issue? Why can I get "in"?

So what cert will help this? I'm 38 so I'm kinda at the end of my rope, should I just give up, drive a bus and just move on with life? I don't have the resources to move away from South Florida right now.

Iristheangel

Even in a good "IT" area, it's going to be hard to get an entry-level job with just an A+. I would suggest expanding on the A+ with maybe the CCENT and the MCTS to get the basics down. That should give you an "entry-level" understanding of OS and network troubleshooting to get yourself a food in the door for an IT helpdesk job and from there, you can decide what you want to do.

Ivanjam

There is definitely no magic prescription to get into IT. I can certainly attest to that as I too have an A+, a Net+ and a Sec+ and I could not land an entry-level IT job in the NYC area after sending out a dozen or so applications. I am still outside the IT world but I have slowed down on the certs and instead focused on getting an IT degree from WGU. I work for a community college and the head of networking recently told me to bring him some paperwork from WGU and he would start me on an internship at the college.

The moral of this story is that you should continue to persevere if you truly desire to get into IT. If it means detouring and doing the bus driving gig for some time, so be it! Continue to get those certs, try getting some college credits, get an internship... In short, don't give up now! By the way, I am older than you by 8 years.

YFZblu

I agree with Iris, I think picking up a lower-hanging Microsoft certification would help quite a bit. It may even push you into a Desktop Support role. Circumventing the helpdesk would be nice.

sratakhin

You are in Florida. That's where people retire or go to vacations. Move to another area and you'll find something.

Reseven

A+ used to be enough to get you into the back of a mom 'n pop computer shop repairing computers. Not the case anymore. Now they usually want a few more certs along with at least one MS cert.

Main Event

I don't have the resources to leave until maybe late 2013... My lease is up in August and I can plan from there and move forward.

I'm working on the ccent, learning subnetting... should I switch to a lower level MS cert and continue CCENT after I at least get back into the field? If so what cert do you recommend?

ajs1976

If you want to get into helpdesk work, then an MS cert would be better. check the Windows 7 one (70-680?)

Certs are only part of the equation to getting a job.

Do you have any experience? Volunteering, working on friends PCs? Try to get some even if it is not formal job experience.

Do you have a formal education? Associates, Bachelors, etc. If you do in what field? If nothing in CS, maybe look at a local CC. sometimes with a couple of classes you can pick up some type of certificate in a computer area.

What does your resume look like? Could it use some work?

Where are you applying? what type of jobs?

do you know anyone in the computer field? do they have any leads for you?

Ivanjam

@Main Event - get the CCENT then you can decide whether to finish the full CCNA or get the MS cert in between - the consensus cert is likely to be the 70-680 (MCTS Windows 7 Config).

Main Event

ajs1976 wrote: »

If you want to get into helpdesk work, then an MS cert would be better. check the Windows 7 one (70-680?)

Certs are only part of the equation to getting a job.

Do you have any experience? Volunteering, working on friends PCs? Try to get some even if it is not formal job experience.

Do you have a formal education? Associates, Bachelors, etc. If you do in what field? If nothing in CS, maybe look at a local CC. sometimes with a couple of classes you can pick up some type of certificate in a computer area.

What does your resume look like? Could it use some work?

Where are you applying? what type of jobs?

do you know anyone in the computer field? do they have any leads for you?

associates degree in network from a for profit school, worked 2 temps job totalling about 6 months total... mainly set up and teardown.

I'm gonna finish the CCENT first.

kurosaki00

Ivanjam wrote: »

There is definitely no magic prescription to get into IT.

There is no magic prescription to get a Job period.
A+ will get you interviews, it wont get you jobs. YOU need to do that.
Some areas have a high density of tech/service professionals
You need to stickout as much as you can!

Get A+, Get Network+, Get Security+, get CCNA, get some MS certs
While you get certs, apply, get a new cert? Update resume and apply
A NICE RESUME
And keep trying always and applying always
go to interviews, go to more interviews
You need to persevere

petedude

kurosaki00 wrote: »

. . .
Get A+, Get Network+, Get Security+, get CCNA, get some MS certs
While you get certs, apply, get a new cert? Update resume and apply
A NICE RESUME
And keep trying always and applying always
go to interviews, go to more interviews
You need to persevere

+1 for this.

gunbunnysoulja

Main Event wrote: »

Isn't it supposed to get you "into" IT? What's the issue? Why can I get "in"?

So what cert will help this? I'm 38 so I'm kinda at the end of my rope, should I just give up, drive a bus and just move on with life? I don't have the resources to move away from South Florida right now.

While it's great to get more certs/education, don't wait to try to get a job NOW. No amount of certs will get you in to IT by itself. Certs don't get a job. The person gets the job. In my opinion it comes down to personality/customer service. For my first IT job that happened to be with a DoD contractor, with just A+ I beat out 150 other applicants. I attribute this to being able to sell myself in a professional manner with good customer service. It's not about what you know at this stage (since entry level you don't know much), but your ability to be resourceful. If you get an interview, dress professionally. If it's a phone screening, don't be nervous, and be confident. If you don't know something, explain the steps that you would take to figure it out.

What I recommend for getting into IT, would be to have a good looking resume, excellent people skills, apply for everything you can find... A job won't find you. Be persistent. Go to local businesses vs. just sending an e-mail. You can also volunteer if you don't have much experience.

In regards to living in FL, there are a TON of IT jobs here. There are IT jobs everywhere. Every business needs IT. And consumers need IT repair shops. While DC/MD/VA might have better IT jobs, there also comes MUCH higher cost of living.

There is no amount of money that could get me to leave Florida.

W Stewart

I agree with what people have said here. An A+ can get you into IT when you combine it with hard work, fast learning, soft skills and a willingness to take whatever low paying opportunity becomes available to you in hopes of getting something better in the future.

Also if you're anywhere around the Tampa area, try stream global. They're always hiring but I'm sure there are call centers like that all around Florida that can help you get your foot in the door. You've just got to be willing to take the crap job and while your at it, post your resume on this site as well. People here can give you some good advice and a good resume is the key to getting a call back.

newb

Hey I'm in South Florida too and I'm in a similar position trying to break into IT and don't have the resources to move. Feel free to PM me and maybe we can discuss some leads or ideas about the local job market...

N2IT

I'm in the minority but I think A+ is enough as long as you have the skills to back it up in the interview.

From the way I see it you have three main options. Service Desk, Deskside Support or Network Operations- all three will require some knowledge to pass the interviews. Here are a couple of tips. I have managed both sets of techs and analyst in my career so I would like to think I have some solid knowledge in this area. (I've never provided management over a NOC but have performed NOC level 1 work)

Make sure your appearance is good. Tucked in shirt, combed hair, decent shoes, dental work, groomed facial hair or none, belt, irons clothes. (All very critical)

Solid resume is CRITICAL. Take your time and posted it if you feel comfortable. This is so critical to get a job. If HR or the reviewer sees a trashy resume it's over before it began.

Make sure to understand the concept of Incident Management (ITIL). A lot of service desk are focused more on customer service and urgency over technical knowledge. Incidents come in all three positions as well so it's good to know the term.

If you are looking more for a hands on job like deskside or building machines and deploying them desktop I would consider just making sure your break fix skills are solid (laptops and desktops) and you have a really good understanding of the Windows operating system (Windows 7 and XP). Professor Messer has some great videos around Windows 70-680 is the exam number.

GeeLo

Main Event wrote: »

Isn't it supposed to get you "into" IT? What's the issue? Why can I get "in"?

So what cert will help this? I'm 38 so I'm kinda at the end of my rope, should I just give up, drive a bus and just move on with life? I don't have the resources to move away from South Florida right now.

Hey Hi

Hit up the job sites out there and look up jobs that fit A+ (desktop support / Computer Technician / Help Desk Support ECT), you are bound to find some job recruiters out there that will "refer" companies to you. Sometimes they are a necessary evil. Worst case scenario, look for retail chains that have a computer support department.. if your getting desperate, reason being it accomplishes 3 things. Pay Check, "Real World" experience and also "More Time" to be searching for a better job. Once you get in a I.T. job, and get more real world experience, then you can start getting involved into more IT Fields like networking and security. Another idea to see if there is computer cleaning companies out there. Also, try contacting some of the large vendors out there, like HP and Dell... may be a mix of server and desktop support.

One important thing to let you know.. you will hear a lot of advice on certifications and what your next field may be in I.T. that you'll make more money. However, the one main skill set that you will fall back on time and time again is what you learn being a A+ certificated desktop / help desk technician. I have seen so many folks in I.T., that have many years of training and many certifications in this or that field, but still can not trouble shoot "anything" in regards to hardware or software. One last thing.. don't go "full on" trying to learn and take all of these certs that people are suggesting. I would probably "study" basic networking and I.T. security in the background (you may already have that experience).. get a job in a desktop or help desk support role, THEN think about getting a MCTS / sham-a-lama, ding-dong cert at some point.

instant000

GeeLo wrote: »

I have seen so many folks in I.T., that have many years of training and many certifications in this or that field, but still can not trouble shoot "anything" in regards to hardware or software.

True. There's more to how a system works than what it displays on-screen.

One last thing.. don't go "full on" trying to learn and take all of these certs that people are suggesting. I would probably "study" basic networking and I.T. security in the background (you may already have that experience).. get a job in a desktop or help desk support role, THEN think about getting a MCTS / sham-a-lama, ding-dong cert at some point.

Whatever you're learning, if you can't find some way to continue applying it, would be a waste of time.

One smart approach would be to try to figure out what a lot of people struggle with, and make sure that you know how to do that.

You mentioned that you have an Associate's degree in networking, and are currently studying for the CCENT. To me, that kind of shows where your interest is already. I believe that you might be most effective, long-term, if you pursue your interest.

I still agree with other posters who said that it doesn't hurt to do "anything" even volunteer work, until you get built up more, then strike out for better opportunities in what you "really want to do".

Heck, work in the call center today, and by this time next year, you might be a VOIP engineer. (Based on a true story.)

Hypntick

I got my first IT job with no certs and no technical experience, aside from a brief stint in a CS degree. What landed me the job was working in a call center for a couple of year, I could take calls, and I could meet metrics. Since this was a large company, little troubleshooting was needed, it was more important to take the call and process the ticket, all of which I had done previously. While starting out that way isn't exactly fun, it's another avenue of pursuit to get your foot in the door.

Claymoore

I would start with a good proofreading pass of your resume to determine WHY you CANNOT get AN entry level position with just AN A+.

Are you submitting your resume for positions and not getting any responses? Are you getting phone interviews from recruiters, but no in-person or technical interviews? Are you getting in-person interviews or technical interviews but no job offers? Examining where the process is breaking down should tell you what areas need work - resume, interviewing skills, or technical skills.

I had to fill in and interview someone for a helpdesk position a few years back and he was detailing some of his experience building computers from scratch for his family and friends. I told him that was great and all, but you won't be doing any of that here. Our systems are pre-built and under warranty. Our deployment method is automated - from time to time you may have to press F12 or enter a computer name - so loading an OS from disk is not required here. I don't need you to be able to replace 15 hard drives in a day, I need someone who can track 15 repair tickets with Dell to make sure our systems are being repaired. We - and likely most of the places you are applying - need someone organized enough to handle that, not just handy with a screwdriver.

Age is another concern, so you need to turn that into a positive. At 38 you will be older than your team lead, and perhaps older than your manager. Will you be able to take direction from someone younger? Some may not feel comfortable managing someone older than them, but that is their problem and there is nothing you can do about it. Are you coming across as a 40 year old burnout? Someone straight out of school may be more excited about the position and opportunity to learn, so you need to match that enthusiasm. Talk about why you decided to switch to IT and how excited you are about the new career. Perhaps even mention that your age is closer to the employees and managers in the other business units. This can allow you to communicate with them as a peer, rather than putting them on the defensive if they think they are talking to some smart-aleck kid.

Your join date is April 2004, yet you only have an A+ and 105 posts in 9 years. Did you get your A+ 9 years ago? Your old A+ may be good for life, but if you have not updated your skills in 9 years, the knowledge required for the A+ then is not very useful today. If you recently passed it, then first congratulations, second what took you so long? Did something change to finally make you seriously consider IT as a career? If your A+ is 9 years old, then a recent cert like the Win7 MCTS would not hurt. However, it will not help if you do not have the soft skills - resume, interviewing, organization, customer service.

Main Event

Claymoore wrote: »

I would start with a good proofreading pass of your resume to determine WHY you CANNOT get AN entry level position with just AN A+.

Are you submitting your resume for positions and not getting any responses? Are you getting phone interviews from recruiters, but no in-person or technical interviews? Are you getting in-person interviews or technical interviews but no job offers? Examining where the process is breaking down should tell you what areas need work - resume, interviewing skills, or technical skills.

I had to fill in and interview someone for a helpdesk position a few years back and he was detailing some of his experience building computers from scratch for his family and friends. I told him that was great and all, but you won't be doing any of that here. Our systems are pre-built and under warranty. Our deployment method is automated - from time to time you may have to press F12 or enter a computer name - so loading an OS from disk is not required here. I don't need you to be able to replace 15 hard drives in a day, I need someone who can track 15 repair tickets with Dell to make sure our systems are being repaired. We - and likely most of the places you are applying - need someone organized enough to handle that, not just handy with a screwdriver.

Age is another concern, so you need to turn that into a positive. At 38 you will be older than your team lead, and perhaps older than your manager. Will you be able to take direction from someone younger? Some may not feel comfortable managing someone older than them, but that is their problem and there is nothing you can do about it. Are you coming across as a 40 year old burnout? Someone straight out of school may be more excited about the position and opportunity to learn, so you need to match that enthusiasm. Talk about why you decided to switch to IT and how excited you are about the new career. Perhaps even mention that your age is closer to the employees and managers in the other business units. This can allow you to communicate with them as a peer, rather than putting them on the defensive if they think they are talking to some smart-aleck kid.

Your join date is April 2004, yet you only have an A+ and 105 posts in 9 years. Did you get your A+ 9 years ago? Your old A+ may be good for life, but if you have not updated your skills in 9 years, the knowledge required for the A+ then is not very useful today. If you recently passed it, then first congratulations, second what took you so long? Did something change to finally make you seriously consider IT as a career? If your A+ is 9 years old, then a recent cert like the Win7 MCTS would not hurt. However, it will not help if you do not have the soft skills - resume, interviewing, organization, customer service.

I'm contemplating giving up and doing something else in a sense, I'm aware of my age and I'm aware of my limited experience. I know my prospects aren't good and I"m single and I'm relatively poor for someone of my age so yes it doesn't look too good at all. My old jobs are careers, just jobs... I had a account on here before and I had it deleted and it may happen to this one as well.

Honestly I don't know what to do, I don't even know what to get into for a man at my age that will provide at least a liveable wage. I got the A+ in 2007 and I had other issues I had to address so I didn't focus on certifications for a while and I'm trying to get it together now.

I don't really know what to say, I don't have much answers, getting a internship at 38 isn't really a good look but that's probably what's gonna happen or a low wage help desk job.

I'm basically gonna start over.

paul78

I don't wish to sound rude or harsh. But your profile implied your joined TE in 2004 and you said that you earned your A+ in 2007. What have you been doing to get an IT job in the last 8-9 years? Having an A+ doesn't get you into IT anymore than having a drivers license gets you into a union to be a bus driver.

There are plenty of people here on TE with no degree or certs that started in IT and made a successful career of it.

Main Event

paul78 wrote: »

I don't wish to sound rude or harsh. But your profile implied your joined TE in 2004 and you said that you earned your A+ in 2007. What have you been doing to get an IT job in the last 8-9 years? Having an A+ doesn't get you into IT anymore than having a drivers license gets you into a union to be a bus driver.

There are plenty of people here on TE with no degree or certs that started in IT and made a successful career of it.

Worked 1 contract job for the Supervisor of Elections covering the 2008 Election as a "Help-desk Technician" Working of voting machine that run of XP and printers designed for heavy load.

5 months total, besides that I was a Security Guard and I'm a Document Scanner right now.

paul78

How many resumes do you send out a week? When I first started out (granted that was 25 years ago), I sent out probably about 20-30 resumes a week for about 6 weeks to land about 2-3 interviews.

Or are there just no IT jobs in your part of Florida? It sounds like you have some IT experience so that's good news.

Main Event

maybe 20, as the other guy said I'm a little old so I have to take that into consideration.

I have to go to sleep because I'm getting a little down thinking about it, I will answer tomorrow.

Complete_IT_Professional

I think you could use your age as an advantage. I'm sure you have skills that you can use that younger people don't. Skills from your other life experiences and other roles, seniority, people skills, maturity, work ethic, all kinds of things. So I don't think it's a disadvantage at all.

Regarding your certification - I do think you need more than the A+ to get a job in the industry. Look at some of the certifications that the others have mentioned. You could also work backwards - look at the job offers and see what certifications they ask for.

Good luck - I hope this helps!

dcren21

Honestly you shouldn't get too down on yourself. Like another poster suggested you have to try for a lower end job (i.e. call center rep.), the reason being is some companies won't hire you straight off the street with just an A+. However if you already work there then it would be a lot easier to do an internal transfer if your work habits are up to par. I work for a major ISP and for the most part they will not direct hire anyone in a starting technical support role without throwing you on the phones or in some type of service setup. They want to be sure you can actually troubleshoot, before they give you a position that requires network deployments and the like. Just my 2 cents. Honestly don't give up and make a plan for yourself and stick to it. If you don't have a plan and just a jumble of ideas then it's easy to get discouraged.

kremit

Complete_IT_Professional wrote: »

I think you could use your age as an advantage. I'm sure you have skills that you can use that younger people don't. Skills from your other life experiences and other roles, seniority, people skills, maturity, work ethic, all kinds of things. So I don't think it's a disadvantage at all.

Regarding your certification - I do think you need more than the A+ to get a job in the industry. Look at some of the certifications that the others have mentioned. You could also work backwards - look at the job offers and see what certifications they ask for.

Good luck - I hope this helps!

Op. if you want in the field. Go find a consulting company willing to use you for what you certified in. My family's experience says people don't give a damn about your certifications, age, or nearly homeless, if you have no experience. Go 6 months to a year with a consulting company to utilize what you've learned with certs and people will hire you. I work for two companies that move at the pace of molasses in the winter. Certs don't help either. It's really only applies when you rely on others, when you have no experience.


I know a lot of people here would disagree with me. But my father has 30+ years of management. Got an a+, n+,server+,mcse, but no calls. Worked for a consulting company for 6 months, boom, lots of calls. Now he is an IT director with no further certifications.

kremit

Complete_IT_Professional wrote: »

I think you could use your age as an advantage. I'm sure you have skills that you can use that younger people don't. Skills from your other life experiences and other roles, seniority, people skills, maturity, work ethic, all kinds of things. So I don't think it's a disadvantage at all.

Regarding your certification - I do think you need more than the A+ to get a job in the industry. Look at some of the certifications that the others have mentioned. You could also work backwards - look at the job offers and see what certifications they ask for.

Good luck - I hope this helps!

Op. if you want in the field. Go find a consulting company willing to use you for what you certified in. My family's experience says people don't give a damn about your certifications, age, or nearly homeless, if you have no experience. Go 6 months to a year with consulting company to utilize what you learned with certs and people will hire you. I work for two companies that move at the pace of molasses in the winter. Certs don't help either. It's really like when you rely on others when you have no experience.


I know a lot of people here would disagree with me. But my father has 30+ years of management. Got an a+, n+,server+,mcse, but no calls. Worked for a consulting company for 6 months, boom, lots of calls. Now he is an IT director with no further certifications.

My own experience is I can't move anywhere unless I follow my own advise with the consulting company. My problem is I'm addicted to providing my family health benefits.