Depressing...Can't seem to get experience

I'm having a really hard time finding any kind of work for me to do in IT. I wouldn't mind working for free but I just can't seem to find any position. I'm going to be 18 in 20 days so I'm hoping that can make some sort of a difference.

Please give me some advice. I'm a tech junky who has been working really hard on certs and hitting the books hard. I am just begging for some sort of experience in the field before I drive myself crazy.

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Silentsoul

Try churches, your local ymca ,ywca, any local tech companies for an intern ship, your local community college.

Aldur

There's been some success from people in these forums getting jobs with circuit city or best buy on their tech teams, its supposedly a crappy place to work, but it least you'd get some experience.

To bad you don't live out here, the JTAC is always hiring, and with your certs you could easily get on the firewall or SSL/VPN team.

shednik

FluxCapacitor wrote:

I'm having a really hard time finding any kind of work for me to do in IT. I wouldn't mind working for free but I just can't seem to find any position. I'm going to be 18 in 20 days so I'm hoping that can make some sort of a difference.

Please give me some advice. I'm a tech junky who has been working really hard on certs and hitting the books hard. I am just begging for some sort of experience in the field before I drive myself crazy.

Are you enrolled in any type of college? If not I'd suggest starting to work on that as well and the nice thing there is most colleges will really help you get an internship and/or full time gigs. I got an internship offer and my current full time job through my colleges career center. Something to think about...or if you get realllly desperate call dynamik and maybe you can replace him when he leaves his job.

Darthn3ss

my school offers a tech. support internship class where you go and work in the schools help desk - (this is a college btw) - may want to try something like that.

as far as the job scene, i know the feeling. been looking here for a entry level helpdesk job that doesn't require a bachelors in computer science and 4 years of experience with CCNP and MCSE preferred. lol.

hugolucky

apply at all the non-profit community aid agencys in your area, bug the crap outta them if you have to, theres a very good chance that many of them dont have enough money to intice the folks with experience, which are the folks you are competing against, use that to your advantage, find and then get the low paying job that others have passed on, deal with the bs, get your experience, and then later move on to better things if you need to

my other advise is dont get involved with Circuit City, Best Buy, or any of those other jokers, they dont want technicians nearly as much as they want salespeople that are willing to mislead their customers, keep your principles intact, keep your karma clean, and stay way from those blood suckers

good luck

Aldur

hugolucky wrote:

keep your principles intact, keep your karma clean, and stay way from those blood suckers

+1

if you can get in, get some experience, and get out without bloodying your hands to much then it might be worth it.

zen master

I took a paycut and switched jobs to get into the field and gain some experience. It can be difficult to get a job without experience, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

FluxCapacitor

Thanks guys I appreciate all the good advice.

jbaello

I'm sorry to hear this, but to be honest with you, alot of company looks at age as well, and you are a youngin... I am sure a company will see your desire to be in this field one of this days...

I heard a lot of peeps who got some gig at Best Buy etc...

filkenjitsu

Let me find a post that might help.....

TryPingingTheServer

FluxCapacitor wrote:

I'm going to be 18 in 20 days so I'm hoping that can make some sort of a difference.

Go to school.

IA-Daigakusei

FluxCapacitor,

I can understand what you're going through. I'm in the situation where I need to get experience, but it's hard to find a position. I'm finishing my degree, but I am wondering if I'll be able to find a job once I obtain it. I'd like to have some experience behind me to back up my resume. It's sort of like a cycle.. You need experience to get the job.. but you need the job to get experience... and you feel like something's gotta give.. Well, that's how I feel..

Hell, I'd be happy with just a help desk position right now.. At least that would get my feet wet.. then they'd see my degree and could try me out in other places like networking..

If you can, like the other say, try non-profit volunteering that you might be able to get into.. Try your school district, try a local college, or even the YMCA.. someone has to have a network that they won't mind teaching you, mentoring you or letting you work with them. The best of luck to you in finding a place!

Crunchyhippo

FluxCapacitor wrote:

I'm having a really hard time finding any kind of work for me to do in IT. I wouldn't mind working for free but I just can't seem to find any position. I'm going to be 18 in 20 days so I'm hoping that can make some sort of a difference.

Please give me some advice. I'm a tech junky who has been working really hard on certs and hitting the books hard. I am just begging for some sort of experience in the field before I drive myself crazy.

Yeah, it's tough; what other field - after studying your butt off - requires you to work for free before a job can be had? I guess that's the sad facts. One way or another you're going to have to get some experience to go with your certs. You have time in front of you, however. Somethings bound to come your way eventually.

Good luck!

nel

i left school at 16 mate! got an IT job and eventually studied a degree part time. so dont worry too much haha!

go to uni and get your degree and get certs on the way! and the chance will come

oo_snoopy

Darthn3ss wrote:

my school offers a tech. support internship class where you go and work in the schools help desk - (this is a college btw) - may want to try something like that.

as far as the job scene, i know the feeling. been looking here for a entry level helpdesk job that doesn't require a bachelors in computer science and 4 years of experience with CCNP and MCSE preferred. lol.

Really? I have 4 years experience, a bachelors, and a CCNP and it seems everyone wants 7+ years, and a CCIE.

I will concur that many entry level networking jobs don't exist. People don't want inexperienced hands touching there network, but hey you have to get experience some way

oo_snoopy

Crunchyhippo wrote:

FluxCapacitor wrote:

I'm having a really hard time finding any kind of work for me to do in IT. I wouldn't mind working for free but I just can't seem to find any position. I'm going to be 18 in 20 days so I'm hoping that can make some sort of a difference.

Please give me some advice. I'm a tech junky who has been working really hard on certs and hitting the books hard. I am just begging for some sort of experience in the field before I drive myself crazy.

Yeah, it's tough; what other field - after studying your butt off - requires you to work for free before a job can be had? I guess that's the sad facts. One way or another you're going to have to get some experience to go with your certs. You have time in front of you, however. Somethings bound to come your way eventually.

Good luck!

Go to school, it's the best way to get your foot in the door. IT is not longer the easy money field like it was in the 90's.

Daniel333

Great and amazing set of certifications for 18 years old! You are on the right track. But IT isn't as easy to get into as it was. As much as CEO's complain, there is not really a shortage of IT people.

School at your age is a must, even if you are not interested in school. At least you will sound motivated in interviews. Plus, school opens up summer internships! If you don't like the normal school options, check out distant education programs from the major schools in your area. Avoid online schools if you can.

Geek Squad was a good experience for me, in less than a year I was promoted and working for $15 /hr fixing computers at 6am working by myself, by year end I was setting up Small Business Server and wifi in SOHOs. I can't complain. They also offer a nice tuition reimbursement program of about $2,500 which is great for certs and school.

Being a salesman is important there too, but don't think of it too negatively. You'll be selling yourself at interviews soon enough. And the skills it takes to sell a car/washer/insurance is shockingly little different than explaining to a user their data is lost.

Being great at IT is about dealing with problems when they are at the worst.

A good entry level IT resume is going to have at least two volunteer work entries and a couple certifications as well, here is a quick recommendation.

Volunteer Work -
Thrift/Second Hand Stores
Libraries
Senior Centers
Hospitals
Open Source Projects
Local political campaign (don't do national ones!)
Above all else, leave your volunteer work with a letter of recommendation

Entry Level Certifications You still need -
CCNA
MCSA
Linux+
Having general knowledge is great, don't over certify. Certifications without experience looks very poor in the eyes of employers.

Social Network -
Who are you IT friends?
Join a Linux users group in your area
Be active on popular message boards like this one
Most of your jobs are going to be through friends. Most of the people you will some day hire, will be through friends. So make sure you have IT friends!!

Over all 18 is young, 21 is young too. No one is going to trust you with their data right now. Your resume won't even make it past most HR screening right now. Once you hit about 23-24 years old the doors start swinging open. At this point in your life, the only way to overcome your age being a factor is to do it through your social network.

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IA-Daigakusei

I replied before to this post.. I'd keep it up and keep looking. I'm 26 going on 27 and I still haven't found a position. I've applied to numerous positions. Then again, the company, CSC, isn't that great an employer. They seem to hold many contracts out here. Yet, I will work with them to get my foot in the door though. I'm finishing my degree and trying to put together a few certifications to show employers. It'll come.. don't worry. Just enter college, start working towards your degree and you'll see things start to come your way.

Crunchyhippo

oo_snoopy wrote:

Crunchyhippo wrote:

FluxCapacitor wrote:

I'm having a really hard time finding any kind of work for me to do in IT. I wouldn't mind working for free but I just can't seem to find any position. I'm going to be 18 in 20 days so I'm hoping that can make some sort of a difference.

Please give me some advice. I'm a tech junky who has been working really hard on certs and hitting the books hard. I am just begging for some sort of experience in the field before I drive myself crazy.

Yeah, it's tough; what other field - after studying your butt off - requires you to work for free before a job can be had? I guess that's the sad facts. One way or another you're going to have to get some experience to go with your certs. You have time in front of you, however. Somethings bound to come your way eventually.

Good luck!

Go to school, it's the best way to get your foot in the door. IT is not longer the easy money field like it was in the 90's.

Hmm. Well, I have a bachelors degree, finished the Cisco Networking Academy, have a CCNA and a Security+, and have passed one of the CCVP tests. If this can't get me a job in networking, then it's time to switch fields. I don't care to work for free either, after all the work and study I've put in. Besides, with a FT job, a wife, and three children - one being a newborn - I dont have time for a second job. But if you're single or have few responsibilities - yeah, do the volunteer thing.

Cingular

You may want to try looking for a IT support kind of role within a private school?

Once I finished school, I was planning to take a year off and just relax...turns out I was lucky enough to snag a trainee IT Technician role within a private school (Caulfield Grammar School, for those of you in Victoria

)

That turned out to be some valuable exp as I was working with 2 other technicians and the Network Admin for all campuses.

I was planning to go to uni, but after seeing what I can do in terms of industry certifications and exp I decided not to.

Working in schools is a good place to start off in my opinion, as you can screw up here and there and get off lightly, and let's face it... we all make mistakes!

*I do recommend private schools, because coming from a public school I would need to shower 5 times a day to work at one.

zen master

Is it just me or does 18 seem a bit early to enter the working world? If you can, go out there and enjoy university life. If you have to enter the world of work, well, it will definitely be tough going landing a job at any age in these tough economic times.

Silentsoul

I was working part time at 16 and Full time and some more by the time I hit 18 years old. If you want something you gotta go for it.

zen master

Silentsoul wrote:

I was working part time at 16 and Full time and some more by the time I hit 18 years old. If you want something you gotta go for it.

But, there's more to life than just work. University years are supposed to be the best years of your life, I would hate to have given mine up for a few extra dollars.

Mishra

I started working when I was 14. I loved getting my first job more than I did my first car.

Making money and success is something that really makes me happy.

It all depends on the individual.

Silentsoul

A lot of time it is not a choice college is expensive. I almost went if I had I would have been a few thousand dollars in debt, and probably not in the place I am now. And I am doing quite well for myself I like to think.

famosbrown

You are young...go to college and study hard to get good grades, and pick up some certs while in college if you are motivated. There are so many intern programs for college students and so many entry-level internship/Leadership/Management positions for those after graduating college. Find your niche...you might find that you may want to go into Robotics, or programming, or Database Administration (Oracle)...just don't settle for HelpDesk/Network/Systems Administration. I.T. is so LARGE and there is so many opportunites and fields of I.T.

Without my college degree, I wouldn't have gotten my first entry-level high paying programming job, I wouldn't have gotten my first management job on a Tier 2 Desktop Support Team, and I wouldn't be where I am now...the certs are just an indication of the niche I have chosen...I could have stuck with programming, but I found my niche and the certifications were the way into it. Because of my degree and my continuing certification and Masters degree study, I'm enroute to a management position before age 30 making over 100K...

In short...you are young and looks like you are very motivated. Times are changing and the importance of a 4 year degree is becoming as important as just a high school diploma in the workplace. Get all of the knowledge you can through school and have fun with it. Afterward, keep applying and interviewing and someone will give you a shot...I always say it...more and more hiring managers are hiring inexperience personnel because they can start them off more inexpensively, they bring fresh ideas, and the hiring manager remembers that someone gave them a chance...no one is born with the necessary experience...someone has to give you an opportunity.

zen master

famosbrown wrote:

You are young...go to college and study hard to get good grades, and pick up some certs while in college if you are motivated. There are so many intern programs for college students and so many entry-level internship/Leadership/Management positions for those after graduating college. Find your niche...you might find that you may want to go into Robotics, or programming, or Database Administration (Oracle)...just don't settle for HelpDesk/Network/Systems Administration. I.T. is so LARGE and there is so many opportunites and fields of I.T.

Without my college degree, I wouldn't have gotten my first entry-level high paying programming job, I wouldn't have gotten my first management job on a Tier 2 Desktop Support Team, and I wouldn't be where I am now...the certs are just an indication of the niche I have chosen...I could have stuck with programming, but I found my niche and the certifications were the way into it. Because of my degree and my continuing certification and Masters degree study, I'm enroute to a management position before age 30 making over 100K...

In short...you are young and looks like you are very motivated. Times are changing and the importance of a 4 year degree is becoming as important as just a high school diploma in the workplace. Get all of the knowledge you can through school and have fun with it. Afterward, keep applying and interviewing and someone will give you a shot...I always say it...more and more hiring managers are hiring inexperience personnel because they can start them off more inexpensively, they bring fresh ideas, and the hiring manager remembers that someone gave them a chance...no one is born with the necessary experience...someone has to give you an opportunity.

Excellent post famosbrown.