I don't know if i am ready for an IT job...

I am in an IT training school right now and i have been working hard on my MCSA certification. so far I have completed A+, N+ and I am MCP (wink) certifications and in 3 or 4 more weeks I will take the Microsoft 70-215 exam. The thing guys is that i was working for Directv, which is a cable provider in the US until yesterday... they gave us lay off...

So Im applying to any call center or store that i could find because i need to pay my rent and bills, but my question is: should i try also to get an IT job? because I don't know if i am ready for it. All the adds posted by employers on the internet are looking for people with college degrees or equivalent years of experience. with knowledge on Solaris, veritas, Cisco, c++, Novell, sql, win nt 4.0, win nt 4.0 servers, Linux... god! I feel like they were asking for a robot instead of an IT worker.

And i have another question: I don't know if i should stay 1 more year in my IT school to get my MCSE:Security and my CCNP, or go back to college to get an associate degree in Unix, or network administration. I have plans to go back to college, but i don't know if I should wait to get my MCSE first and then an associate degree...

I so confused... I love IT, but i don't know if is for me anymore... with people with so much experience and talent I don't know if i ever would have a chance to find a job.

Peace and Love

Alienito

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Comments

janmike

Yep, if you want to do IT, you have to have some experience. You're probably as ready for and IT job as a lot of others who have them, but if you want to work in IT you have to "pay your dues" and get your hands dirty to start with--troubleshooting, cable tracing, etc. Gradually you will become experienced.

If you want to do IT stay with the education and certs. The more on the resume to go with the experience, the better your chances of getting a job.

Good Luck!!

Webmaster

I guess there is only one way to find out so just give it a try. As Janmike mentioned, experience is most important. My advice is to take as many short contracts/jobs as possible for 6 months to a couple of years, just to build up a resume. Once you have a couple of jobs listed as experience and the certs to go with it, it should become a lot easier to get your hands on more challenging job.

jobber

The best place to start in IT is Helpdesk. You'll have to work your way up. I've never heard of anyone jumping straight into a Network Admin job without some helpdesk/desktop support first.

halflife78

I got lucky, 3 years ago a call center decided to locate a site in our small town. I had been doing some satellite with my dad for about 6 months and I decided to apply for the network/telecom job. Well...I was the ONLY person who showed up for an interview, so my soon to be boss brings me back to the temporary datacenter (temp site till new one built). I look at this stack of Nortel 450-24T switches (16 of them at the time), Nortel Backbone Link Node, and Avaya G3R and I tell him I have no idea wtf any of this is. He's like "great, you start tomorrow".

So I come into work and I get partially trained for 3 days and my boss leaves the site saying "goodluck". We have over 100 people going live on the call floor and I have no idea what I am doing. So for the first month I squeak by, the only thing that kept me going was my enthusiasm for the work (after the first week I decided I had found my calling).

It's been 3 years and I went from 0 experience and with one lucky break I now run 33 Nortel 450-24T's, 1 BLN Router, 1 Avaya G3R and various other things for a 800 seat building. 3 months ago I got a partial promotion to working on my companies Cisco MGX and IGX ATM junk because I took the Cisco CCNA classes at a local college. This Friday I will be taking my CCNA test which will be my first ever certification if I pass the test.

I guess my point is besides me being extremely lucky getting my foot in the door and almost coming upon my 4 year of experience is don't be afraid to take a risk and try to get an IT job, you may never know and get that lucky break I got.

Alienito

Thank you halflife78 for share your experience with me. Like webmaster said, the only way to find it out is to apply for that job... Its only that... I think I lost my confidence...

See, this is my story: I was working for a company, a call center. And there was this guy, a STUPID supervisor with no idea of what he was doing with the computers. So my department, Sales, was having troubles with sharing a printer, just basic stuff. The thing is that the guy messed up the computers, he installed like 10 different printers on each computer (because he didnt know how to share it). he messed up the IP addresses so computers in my segment were unable to see each other, and since all were part of a workgroup the computers were unable to share the printer device.
Well, I fixed it in 2 hours the mess this guy create 3 months before.
Guess what?... It may sound extrange but nobody ever thank me for that, they only ask me how did i fix it. They dont even pay me regular time for work after hours.
And when there was a problem with the bosses computers they always call the other guy, who by the way only used dowload utilities from kazaa to "repair" the machines, and who did not possesed any experience fixing networks or certifications.

In one occasion there was a problem with one particular computer, i knew how to fix it and they call him instead, i watched him triying to repair the computer and stating that there was a hacker and the computer had a virus. i couldn't beleive it. what a liar!! i checked the computer later that nigth, the problem was the antivirus software (that he never configured by the way) was running in the background at random startup times. Decreasing the computer performance.
I told my boss about the insident but he didn't say anything.

The thing is that this guy was the "congenial" kind and everybody seems to like him. (the bosses) And in contrast i am a really shy person, i don't speak to much. But I think i was better prepare for the job than him. definitely!

they never gave me an opportunity or anything and i don't understand why. I don't know if is my attitude, or my personality. The fact that i am so shy or that i speak with an accent or what.

Honestly speaking, sometimes i don't know if i should continued study so hard at school... see, if somebody else act "cool" and said a couple of stupid jokes maybe he will have the job and not me...

God i think I need therapy! ha ha ha ha... but seriously, this experience was really frustrating for me.

Any comments from all of you will be highly appreciated

love,

Alienito

kicker22

ok.. yes you do have a problem.
your problem is.. you dont fight for your rights which you deserve.
if I was in your place.. i would say **** IT! and just go and tell or email the chairman or the president of the company what you think..
and if you dont get any response... try to look for a different job.. and from your own computer... screw up the whole network.. slight damages.. but enough damages that the other guy cannot fix... and they will have to call you or someone from outside...
anyway, when they have the problem... make sure you tell them you can fix it! and FOR FREE!

now i know that is not ethical..but they need to listen..

and still..keep looking for a different job...

blackguymd

Im exactly like you. JUst work on your assertiveness like I did. I was always shy and held back feelings on things just so people would like me. However you'll never improve if you cant step up and express yourself and your opinions. Even if people dont liek you...You'll be the man in charge making more money too.

learningIT

Perhaps vengence isn't the solution. Being assertive is not getting revenge on your coworkers, which could get you in much more trouble. Sometimes it isn't just your abilities and skills, it is the NOISE that you make and like someone said, how well that person was liked (or just recognized). Maybe you could try some strategy. NOISE equals making yourself known. Reporting the progress and your accomplishments to your supervisor or boss would be more effective than going back to your cubicle after fixing a big problem and being quiet about it. Make some NOISE, make people notice you, they will, and people will speak highly of you (they have to like you too). It works. Though you may be shy, it doesn't take much to let it be known to your superiors. Just a swing by their office and a little "I fixed the problem you had with the printer, now it should work fine. etc etc..." on your way to the bathroom after fixing the problem would do. I'm no psychologist, but newspaper columns do have good advice. I tell my teacher every day of my progress, it works. I'm like the #1 trusted & capable student.

I made some NOISE. Other staff hear about me... etc. Sometimes you just have to approach and ask if they need some help.

As for your IT motivations...don't give up. lol, you're already pretty far!