MIS Degree Looking for advice in IT

Hello everybody!

I am a recent graduate (2012) and currently looking for a job in the IT industry. I never had any experience working in the IT world before. Most of what I learned about computer were through self-taught, friend, or school teaching. I have an MIS degree. To be quite honestly, I don't even know what the usefulness of that degree in relation to my job. To speak frankly, I was a Computer Science guy but switch to MIS.

Now, I would love people in here to advise me and analyze if my skills can land me a job (in ANYTHING, even non-paid job) so I can advance in IT industry.

- I have some programming knowledge in Java, C++, Visual Basic (Quite honestly, I can't code to save my life as I forgot how. But if I review, I might be able to remember a few thing or two)

- I can assembling my own computer. Basically building a new computer/server without much problem. I did that a few time. Trouble is I don't know if this skill is useful when employer knowing this?

- I have my own website that I managed (I was owner/admin). It's similar to this site, except it specialized in different area of interest).

- I'm suck with social skill or interpersonal relationship. That's the main reason why I want to do computer IT work rather than dealing with customer/co-employee.

Beside those areas, I absolutely know nothing about IT or have any experience working in the IT world. After graduating in 2012, I took a year off of basically doing nothing but maintaining my community website and doing part-time job (non-related to IT field). Embarrassingly, I don't even want to talk about this non-related IT job but it helps me get through life a bit. I didn't even bother put this non-IT job in my resume as an experience. In fact, I felt better putting my Office Assistant work I've done during college as work-study than this. Now, I have decided to start my career up. I'm 28 now (perhaps too late to compete?).

Tomorrow, I will have an interview for a non-paid internship (A computer technician/IT job) which I don't know if I'm ready to take nor do I want because it's non-paid. But to get experience and if they offer, I guess I will gladly accept for the time being. Please help me or advice how to advance into the IT world with my situation outlined above.

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Comments

t3ch_guru

Hi and welcome to the forum. I graduated with the same degree as yourself. Judging by your skill-set, I would definitely recommend trying to get either a help desk or a pc technician type of job to get your feet wet. You should probably go to the college you graduated from and talk to the career services department. They can probably help you land an entry level position in IT. I would recommend that you start working on your certs like A+ and Network+. Obtaining those entry level certs will definitely help you get interviews. It is definitely possible to get an entry level position without certs, but it will help you chances.

When I was in college, I interned for a company and they ended up hiring me after I graduated. It was a paid internship. I was able to get the internship from the career services department at the university. Maybe you can do the non-paid internship for now until you can find a position that pays. It will be experience and help you land a better job in the future.

You are still young and it's never too late to compete.

Cisco Inferno

I would say that you get your A+ (should be a breeze for you if you set up computers and servers). Then get your Network+. everything in IT is on a network. These two certs should help you get an interview and give you enough foundation knowledge to analyze and troubleshoot things in the right way. I got my first job with these certs.

28 years old is not bad. But at that age, it should be expected that you are able to communicate and speak clearly to others. You wont be selling anything or begging people of things. Instead, everyone's professional and knows who you are and what you are doing. In the enterprise, there is much respect. Think of it as talking to some cool friends and or chill professors instead of strangers/ your gf's dad.

In any role, either entry or senior, you will be talking to people. Even more at an entry level. You DO have friends right? Haven't you talked to them?
One tip, smile, be happy and show determination. People including your managers will like that. Your ambitions will take you further than you think.

Where did you go to school?

ITdev

I just got home and finished my interview 15mins ago. I was NERVOUS as hell before the meeting but current the interview, I feel somewhat okay but VERY awkward. The lady who interview me doesn't seem to know anything about computer. Supposedly the guy who was suppose to supervise me and consider the firm "computer guy" wasn't there. He's out, which mean I have to see and talk with him. From the aspect of what I've gathered so far, the job seems easy and doesn't have require time. I mean she said to update software, work on some hardware, do some telephone managing and configuring the telephone system. It seems like I wouldn't be too useful. Consider this is a non-paid internship, I am really not sure if I should be wasting my time doing this job? Can anybody recommend/advice me if it is worth doing this job? She did mentioned I would gain experience being under the guidance of Jim and would obtain a "Letter of Recommendation" when finished my internship. Does employer really care and look into the letter of recommendation for potential employee prospect?

Please help me!

@to Cisco Inferno, I went to California State of Long Beach University.

ITdev

Me again.

I just got home and finished my interview 15mins ago. I was NERVOUS as hell before the meeting. But once the interview happened it subsided somewhat but still felt VERY awkward during the interviewing process. The person who was interview me wasn't a computer person. She seems to be a legal representation and have no understanding of computer. The firm "computer guy", Jim, was out at the time. He's not available, which mean I have to re-appoint and have another meeting with him. She said she will call back on Monday and let me know.

As for what happen during the interview, she walked me around the firm building, showing how computer setup and various phone system. She said I would be working/helping under Jim. From my observation, the job doesn't seem difficult. She claimed I would be help with updating some software, managing phone line (mostly), repairing and fixing some hardware stuff, and networking. All doesn't seem that difficult that require real worker. This is why she told me this isn't a "real job" but more of a learning and gaining experience type of job through the guidance of Jim, my expect supervisor.

Now, I seriously don't know if it worth my time to be doing these types of job. Are these consider real IT works? Do you guys recommend working a non-paid internship? I heard with non-paid internship, the employer don't take you serious and wouldn't assign anything meaningful. She did mentioned that after the internship, I would be able to gain experience and obtain a "Letter of Recommendation" for future job prospect. My question is does the letter of recommendation really important in determining future employer hiring? Does employer care about the letter of recommendation during interviewing process? That I really wish to know..

Anyway, thank for advice. I don't know if I should be getting a certificated. From my previous experience, getting interview call doesn't seem that difficult. It's the actual interview process that I often fail to capitalizing employer attention. I'm just suck with this. I am hopeless!

To Cisco_Inferno - I went to California State Long Beach University. When I was there, honestly I didn't really pay attention or learn much of anything in class. What I've learn mainly from what I gathered myself.

Polynomial

I don't recommend it post-degree. That seems a little late in the game.

But if you don't have any real world IT experience then it might be worth your time if you have minimal expenses.

What you could do is if the internship is offered label it as a "Summer" internship on your resume and then find a paid job elsewhere in the fall. No one will ask questions about a "summer" internship ending. Its a little circuitous, but could work.

NetworkVeteran

ITdev wrote: »

Hello everybody!

I never had any experience working in the IT world before.

To speak frankly, I was a Computer Science guy but switch to MIS. I don't even know what the usefulness of that degree

Now, I would love people in here to advise me and analyze if my skills can land me a job (in ANYTHING, even non-paid job) so I can advance in IT industry.

I can't code to save my life as I forgot how.

- I'm suck with social skill or interpersonal relationship.

After graduating in 2012, I took a... part-time job (non-related to IT field).

Well, obviously it would've helped if you'd completed your CS degree, taken an IT-related job when what you learned from college was fresh, and worked towards some certification as you only worked part-time. But, let's focus on now.

You say you have an opportunity for an unpaid IT internship and you're wondering if it would help. Of course! You say you wonder if certification would help. Of course! These opportunities could help put you back on-track towards a solid career in IT. You could, of course, pursue those in parallel if you set a goal and put aside 30 min/day for studying.

You ask if you should bother with an unpaid IT internship. Do you have a better alternative, such as paid IT work? If so, take that. In the meantime, take this. Every little bit you can do to improve yourself helps.

NetworkVeteran

Are these consider real IT works?

By definition, it's work. It's a step up from non-IT work, and a step down from paid IT work.

Do you guys recommend working a non-paid internship?

You said you wanted to break into IT at all costs, so if this is your best opportunity, then it's worth taking.

I heard with non-paid internship, the employer don't take you serious and wouldn't assign anything meaningful.

That's true of most entry-level work.

My question is does the letter of recommendation really important in determining future employer hiring?

Really important? No. Better than no recommendation? Absolutely!

Does employer care about the letter of recommendation during interviewing process?

Sure, if you pass the technical questions, opinions of previous employers become relevant.

ITdev

Thank for helping!

May I ask what is A+ and Network+ certification? I'm new to this certification stuff and would like to know how to obtain them and what exactly it is? Does it mean I have to take a course (3 months of technical school) and get these certification? Thanks

NetworkVeteran

A+ and Network+ are entry-level certifications. You can get a book for them, study, and pass a test within a week or a month--depending on how much time you dedicated and your technical aptitude. The A+ is more on computer repair. The Network+ is more on how computers use networks. These would be good if that's where your aiming to get your foot wet in the industry.

ITdev

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

A+ and Network+ are entry-level certifications. You can get a book for them, study, and pass a test within a week or a month--depending on how much time you dedicated and your technical aptitude. The A+ is more on computer repair. The Network+ is more on how computers use networks. These would be good if that's where your aiming to get your foot wet in the industry.

Do you have any A+ and Network+ book for recommendation to study? Thanks

Michael2

I can't help but wonder why you changed from CS to MIS since they are not at all similar. Other than recommending you go back and get a degree that has more to do with computers, I suggest you get certified. I don't know what level of knowledge you have as far as computers go so I have no idea how long it would take you to study and pass. As far as books, anything by Mike Myers or Todd Lammie is good. Just make sure you get the most recent editions and not old ones because those won't help at all.

Cisco Inferno

ITdev wrote: »

Do you have any A+ and Network+ book for recommendation to study? Thanks

Like the above poster said, A+ consists of two exams that cover basic hardware and operating systems including how to perform troubleshooting on both.

I recommend either of these two books for the A+.
1) Darril Gibson's A+ Study Guide. It covers both exams and has a lot of pages. It is a little more costlier at around 40 bucks BUT is written by a very well known author who writes the best rated book for the Security+ exam(its a higher level exam on network security). I highly recommend him as I am currently using his Security+ book. He also has great books for other higher end exams including Microsoft Server network infrastructure. You know he brings plenty of knowledge to the table. He writes very well and uses many real world examples. Very fluid writing style. He also is a regular poster on this message board, has a cool certification blog and will get you to pass your first certification. This version was printed very recently and is the official Microsoft press book.

2. Mike Meyer's A+ Study Guide This series has been the top dog for the A+ exams for a while. (Darril just released his) This and previous versions are one of the most recognizable and best selling books for PC's. This is a solid cert guide and is a tad cheaper.

Networking is a section of the A+ exam and goes into full detail for the Network+ exam. It is one exam in the same format as the A+.
These are two books I can recommend.

1) Todd Lammle's Network+ Study Guide Let me start off by saying that this is the book I so confidently used. Its adequately priced below $30.
I'll start by saying that the gear the internet and huge networks run on is made by Cisco. Todd Lammle is a best selling Cisco guru. He is so damn respected in the Cisco World and is one of the best Cisco authors out there. This book WILL make you pass. He also has great writing style and uses great relevant examples. You can trust anything Todd writes if youre looking to enter the networking world. Highly recommended.

2) Mike Meyer's Network+ Study Guide Mike Meyer's has another book for the Network+. Its a little more costlier, and I havent read it.

For what its worth, I would recommend buying the A+ book from Darril Gibson and the N+ book from Todd Lammle. Both are very high in their fields and have written very in depth professional level books whereas Mike Meyers has not.

Along with your studies, make sure to watch some free videos to better solidify the concepts you learn from the texts.
Here is a GREAT, FREE video series you can use. Everyone including myself would recommend this man.
Professor Messer's Free A+ and Network+ Video Course
Good luck in your studies.

Tritium

I graduated with an undergraduate MIS degree. In my own experience, I thought it was a great degree as it exposed me to a small amount of all aspects of IT.(Database, Programming, Network, etc) The only problem is while you have experience in small amounts of everything, yet it doesn't make you an expert in anything.

I would focus on whatever aspect of IT you find the most intriguing and hit the certifications for that area. As stated above, you can't go wrong with A+ and Net +. With the amount of competition in the work force right now, the more certs you have, the better. Out of most the people that I know that graduated in my class, most are analysts of some type, and one is a programmer. I got into networking by total accident....and glad I did!

I tried to get a few unpaid internships for the experience and even those were difficult to come by at the time...I say go for it if you have nothing else goin on, you never know, some good might come from it!

Good luck!

ITdev

Michael2 wrote: »

I can't help but wonder why you changed from CS to MIS since they are not at all similar. Other than recommending you go back and get a degree that has more to do with computers, I suggest you get certified. I don't know what level of knowledge you have as far as computers go so I have no idea how long it would take you to study and pass. As far as books, anything by Mike Myers or Todd Lammie is good. Just make sure you get the most recent editions and not old ones because those won't help at all.

Hello, please allow me to explain my situation in detail.

Initially, like back in HS, my inspiration is to be a video game designer. Thus when I was in college, I went to major in CS. I did that for about 3 years or so basically doing programming, coding, testing, debugging, blah blah. It was very boring. I spent so much time doing that and find it boring. But the one influential aspect that caused me to change my mind is my friend. They all went into IT. At the time, IT was good. Many future job opportunities, so I heard. Then I decided to switch to IT and spent 4 years doing it. I guess you can say I didn't really have good advice from my academic adviser. I understand the CS is more software and IT is more hardware. The thing our IT department put me into MIS when I don't particularly know what it is. I just took the courses and finished and graduated. Perhaps now, my real goal is to be a system administrator. I like this job description, managing server network, and user, similar to how I did as a website webmaster. So, I guess I would do whatever it takes in entry level stuff and hopefully my future takes me into becoming a system administrator.

As for my level of knowledge in computers.. I have to say I'm quite knowledgeable in the hardware aspect. Like I said, I've built my computer and customized them. I built computer for family and friends. From my experience with computer setup, I would have 1 SSD drive for Window server and another 1 SSD (main OS Window

, 2 regular hard disks in RAID0 for application installation, and 1 hard disk for backup. That's basically how I have in my current computer. In the software aspect, being a past CS major, I'm okay in this area as well. I know XP, Window 2000, Vista, 7, and 8. I have no clue about MacX though. Never really interest in them. I heard they are important now with Ipad/Macbook. That's why I want to get a Mac just to experience the OS with it. I'm a Window guy, as you might have guess.

Now as far as real-world experience, I have NONE. Absolutely zero! I mean if there are issues with computer (virus or hardware failure), and judge from my experience, I would try kill the virus with software and stuff. And if it doesn't fix, I would use the bomb method (basically save important file data and formatting everything). In case of hardware failure, there is nothing I can do but replace it. Like I said, I don't know if this is how IT guy would have done in the real world. Since I have very little to NO EXPERIENCE, I don't know the correct guideline to deal with these problems.

I have research on the A+ and Network+ as recommended. From reading the objective of A+ exam, it doesn't seem that hard. The stuff, I guess you can say, I'm already familiar and know about from experiencing with building my computer. I mean the only challenging part about computer hardware is knowing compatible component. For Network+, some objective I've learned in class. Things like IP/TCP, router/switch, security. In class, I took courses on local area network (setting up server, doing system administration stuff), network security, wireless (basically an Android Development Class. Yes we developed Android Apps). But all these courses are done with theory and no practical real-world stuff. Once again, I have no clue if that's how real IT people do it.

Due to my lack of real world experience, that is why I'm trying to do internship to gain the experience. Currently, I have an opportunity to do non-paid internship, so I guess I will do that to gain experience.

I have ordered the Mike Meyer's Network+ Study Guide so I can study it more carefully. Perhaps a review before I will take the CompTIA Network test. I will do the A+ later as it seems easier for me to pass. As recommended by people in here, I will try to obtain the A+ and Network+ just to prove that I have the knowledge of computer during interview. Other than that, I know pretty much by course teaching and self-taught beforehand.

I don't know my situation helps anything in analyzing my skill whether I can get into IT industry. I hope it does. I want to be IT guy. Like I said, I'm very bad at demonstrating my capability during interview. I have technical know-how but lack the confidence to tell them that since I have no previous experience to prove it.

NetworkVeteran

ITdev wrote: »

I understand the CS is more software and IT is more hardware. I mean the only challenging part about computer hardware is knowing compatible component. I didn't really have good advice from my academic adviser.

It's too bad your advisor didn't help you out. There's so much more to hardware than that! Most I know who transfer from CS to MIS do so because they struggle with upper-level classes. If you expressed a love of hardware, they should've pointed out that a CS degree usually covers it in more depth than an MIS, and EE is the king if that's truly your passion.

I'm fascinated by the pace at which network hardware is currently evolving!

Good luck with your A+ and Network+ studies. May they help set in motion an enjoyable and profitable career.