Switching careers and switching countries
Blafasl
Registered Users Posts: 4 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hi there,
after 6 years in the wrong job sector i want to switch where my heart really is - the world of IT.
My current status is this:
- 26 years old, living in germany, sadly currently unemployed.
- trained electrician with 2 years of experience, but the truth is that this was the biggest mistake of my life, even though i like everything where current is flowing, it is not something i would like to do for the rest of my life.
- IT is a passion of mine. I install various GNU/Linux Distributions just for fun, have a Xen virtualized PC where Linux and Windows runs at the same time but with different Keyboards/Mouse/GPUs/Displays. My Netbook is a quad-boot system because i can and i get sparkling eyes when i get my hands on a server.
- From August 2012 to May 2013 I was self employed with a little company that hosted Virtual Servers which was a tremendous amount of fun but i had to close it because my parents got very sick and i had to take care of them and where they live there is only dial-up 56k Internet available. But it would mean that i have somewhat an experience in being an admin.
- Now, where my parents get better and can live independently on their own again, a friend and myself want to go to UK by march 2014 with a backpack and no actual route, just to see where we land and maybe find work.
In UK i want to make the switch to work as a sysadmin in full time. Preferably in a Linux environment but i am okay with Windows too, if it brings a job. But with no formal education i don't think that i could land a job so here is my plan for the following months:
1. Getting the RHCSA. With my current velocity as i go through the books i should be ready to take the exam in early December. Being unemployed has the upside that i can devote a big part of my time into learning the stuff for it while i am looking for a job around here for the next 4 months. As far as i know the RHCSA is a practical exam which should be scored higher by employers.
2. Getting the CCNA. I hope that can go through the stuff in around 2 months if i devote most of my time into it. I am a pretty fast learner and understand technical stuff very fast, thats why i think it could work out. The cert would be helpful to prove that i understand networks.
3. Get a third cert. If time allows i would do a third cert, but don't know yet which one. Maybe a entry level windows cert to cover every topic so i could apply at everything but i am open to suggestions. And now the third part of this post, my questions:
- Would my plan be enough to score a entry level job as a sysadmin? Nothing too fancy, it should just pay enough so i can live over there and further build up my IT career
- Are there any jobs as a linux admin in the UK, or would be better to switch completely to the dark.... eh... Windows side of things? Which would mean to scrap the RHCSA exam and put the money into Microsoft stuff.
As always i am very open for your thoughts, advice and suggestions and i would be very grateful if someone could help me with my situation.
Cheers,
Dennis
after 6 years in the wrong job sector i want to switch where my heart really is - the world of IT.
My current status is this:
- 26 years old, living in germany, sadly currently unemployed.
- trained electrician with 2 years of experience, but the truth is that this was the biggest mistake of my life, even though i like everything where current is flowing, it is not something i would like to do for the rest of my life.
- IT is a passion of mine. I install various GNU/Linux Distributions just for fun, have a Xen virtualized PC where Linux and Windows runs at the same time but with different Keyboards/Mouse/GPUs/Displays. My Netbook is a quad-boot system because i can and i get sparkling eyes when i get my hands on a server.
- From August 2012 to May 2013 I was self employed with a little company that hosted Virtual Servers which was a tremendous amount of fun but i had to close it because my parents got very sick and i had to take care of them and where they live there is only dial-up 56k Internet available. But it would mean that i have somewhat an experience in being an admin.
- Now, where my parents get better and can live independently on their own again, a friend and myself want to go to UK by march 2014 with a backpack and no actual route, just to see where we land and maybe find work.
In UK i want to make the switch to work as a sysadmin in full time. Preferably in a Linux environment but i am okay with Windows too, if it brings a job. But with no formal education i don't think that i could land a job so here is my plan for the following months:
1. Getting the RHCSA. With my current velocity as i go through the books i should be ready to take the exam in early December. Being unemployed has the upside that i can devote a big part of my time into learning the stuff for it while i am looking for a job around here for the next 4 months. As far as i know the RHCSA is a practical exam which should be scored higher by employers.
2. Getting the CCNA. I hope that can go through the stuff in around 2 months if i devote most of my time into it. I am a pretty fast learner and understand technical stuff very fast, thats why i think it could work out. The cert would be helpful to prove that i understand networks.
3. Get a third cert. If time allows i would do a third cert, but don't know yet which one. Maybe a entry level windows cert to cover every topic so i could apply at everything but i am open to suggestions. And now the third part of this post, my questions:
- Would my plan be enough to score a entry level job as a sysadmin? Nothing too fancy, it should just pay enough so i can live over there and further build up my IT career
- Are there any jobs as a linux admin in the UK, or would be better to switch completely to the dark.... eh... Windows side of things? Which would mean to scrap the RHCSA exam and put the money into Microsoft stuff.
As always i am very open for your thoughts, advice and suggestions and i would be very grateful if someone could help me with my situation.
Cheers,
Dennis
Comments
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RouteMyPacket
Member Posts: 1,104
You are in a tough spot, you have no experience and getting the certs while ok is kind of a cart before the horse situation.
Do you hold a German passport? Crossing over without real experience will make it tough as wellModularity and Design Simplicity:
Think of the 2:00 a.m. test—if you were awakened in the
middle of the night because of a network problem and had to figure out the
traffic flows in your network while you were half asleep, could you do it? -
Blafasl
Registered Users Posts: 4 ■□□□□□□□□□
Yes, i do have a passport, i am a native german citizen. The nice part about being in the EU is that i dont need anything to work in other countries, be it UK, Spain, French or even Iceland. I can work anywhere without restrictions.
My plan was to get around anywhere, from wales to London and up to Scotland to ask if someone needs an eager junior admin who wants to work hard and loves what he does.
I hoped that my 9 months as a hoster would be something of worth and the cert would be proof that i can get things done. -
Santa_
Member Posts: 131 ■■■□□□□□□□
I firmly believe you can achieve what you set yourself to do. Before making the move I would look at job postings in those area for positions that you're interested in landing. Doing so will give you a better idea of what the job market is and what skills are being asked. From that you can assess more or less the best route to take.
From my understanding the RHCSA and the CCNA should give you a good foot in the door, but without any experience related work to back up the certs, except for maybe the hosting, I wouldn't expect anything more than a jr or entry level position.
Best of luck with your future endeavors! -
Blafasl
Registered Users Posts: 4 ■□□□□□□□□□
Thanks Santa! An entry level position would be totally okay with me, as long as it pays a small room to live in and covers basic expenses. From that i want to work my way and do other certs like RHCE, CCIE, maybe even the RHCA in a far future. Normally i hate studying, but isee when i am learning for the RHCSA it makes a lot of fun to do the stuff Hands-on on different VMs. It would be my greatest wish to find something over there.