Need Career Advice. I am lost.

Profile:
-6 months unemployed after graduation
-Graduated in 2009 in IT management and also have a Business diploma
-Work experience includes: supermarket (2 years), internet marketing (4 months), and computer teaching assistant (4 months).

I am very confused and lost. Intially, my dream job was to become a systems analyst right after graduation. I realized that this was impossible without experience. I started to aim at the low-end jobs, help desk analyst, technical support, technicians, IT call center and you name it all. I had several interviews for these roles. I can't answer the basic IT interview questions like what could be the reason why a computer is slow? how to troubleshoot this or that if this happens. I feel that I don't have the talents in tech support at all. I don't know what it is. I looked at higher end jobs like data analyst and better roles but they all require some form of experience. I feel trapped or something. I didn't study a pure tehnical program in University. It's 50% IT and 50% Business material. It's to apply IT skills/knowledge to improve the business.

I just don't know what I want to do. When I apply for higher end jobs, I don't get a reply. If I apply low-end jobs, they don't seem suitable for me. I was told that my program "IT management" is suppose to be the person who manages the IT tech geeks and not to work in tech roles. Then, some of my profs said this program is for someone who is the middle person between IT and Business.

Any experts out there can provide professional advice? Does IT support really need special talents? or can it be learned through the job? I dont know what to do in life. I don't know what jobs to look for.

Confused.

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Comments

Devilsbane

laptop wrote: »

my dream job was to become a systems analyst right after graduation.

Failed yourself from the start. Just like most dieters do.

I can't answer the basic IT interview questions like what could be the reason why a computer is slow? how to troubleshoot this or that if this happens.

Why don't you learn it now?

You can't get the higher end jobs without having the lower end jobs. I'm sure someone has done it, but they probably knew somebody.

I think even a IT manager should have worked in IT. I don't know that that is always the case, but it should be.

Why don't you start studying for A+? Find out why computers get slow and how to fix them. Seems like a good place to start for me.

Essendon

Good advice by Devilsbane. Another suggestion is to take your degree off the resume. You see you are in a bit of a spot, for higher-end jobs you need to have experience and for the lower-end jobs the degree might put you in the over-qualified category. Heck, an HR dumba$$ saw your IT Mgmt degree and Business diploma they certainly are most likely going to say what you heard. HR pricks didnt seem to comprehend that someone with a IT Mgmt degree and starting out would need to work with techies first to be able to manage them later. Damn HR, I absolutely detest them.

I learnt this when I didnt have any IT experience 4-5 years ago. Take the advice and take the degree off till you have 1-2 years of experience under your belt.

Essendon

And start working on some certs, the A+ or an MCTS/MCP would be a good idea.

rurouni_song

I agree, you should research about the questions they commonly ask you in interviews and learn about the answers. Also it seems to me that you don't really know all that much about computers. You should try to at least get a solid foundation by doing getting your comptia A+ certification.

Michael.J.Palmer

It's been said, but the more people you get pointing you in that direction the more likely I see you doing it, and we're all about helping each other succeed here.

Do the certs, they're good resume boosters and you'll get that knowledge you didn't get in college with your broad diploma and degree programs. It's almost insane to say it, but setting a certification path and following it can almost get you as far if not further than a degree by itself, the certs not only give you a reason to study more material but when you do pass the exams then you have a piece of paper from the manufacturer of that product (for vendor specific exams of course) telling your employers that you know that product, no general degree is going to give that same standing, so certifications plus your current accomplishments should be enough to get you a headstart.

But like another guy said, you'll have to start off at the low end and work your way up. We're all doing it, right now I'm trying to find a good entry level job myself and I've got 10 years+ worth of experience as a freelance DST.

sambuca69

laptop wrote: »

I can't answer the basic IT interview questions like what could be the reason why a computer is slow? how to troubleshoot this or that if this happens. I feel that I don't have the talents in tech support at all. I don't know what it is. I looked at higher end jobs like data analyst and better roles but they all require some form of experience.

I'm not trying to sound like an ass, but would you hire someone for an IT job if they couldn't even answer (or toss out some stuff) why a machine might be slow?

You've got a degree, which is great. I know you want to do the "fun" stuff and start off near the top, but unless you know someone, I'm sorry to tell you it's not going to happen. Odds are you are going to start out with Helpdesk or Desktop support and work your way up.

Do you have A+/N+ knowledge? Start there like others have said before... go for the desktop certs as well.

Does your school do any sort of interview coaching? I think you are probably your own worst enemy on these interviews.

Johnta20

I hope I'm not coming off as rude. But you have a BA in IT and you cant even answer some of the technical questions for an entry level job? And you think you should start out in management?

neocybe

I'm always amused by the college kids who think they are going to pull down six figures with there little degrees but couldn't find the working end of a screwdriver to save their lives.

yeah, like everyone else said, get some certs and real world knowledge and you'll be golden.

networker050184

Johnta20 wrote: »

I hope I'm not coming off as rude. But you have a BA in IT and you cant even answer some of the technical questions for an entry level job? And you think you should start out in management?

That actually makes him a perfect fit from what I've seen from most managers

On a serious note, if you are looking to get more into the business side of things you are probably asking the wrong people for advice. Most people here are working in the technical side of the house. An A+ and some low level tech troubleshooting skills aren't going to help you get those kind of jobs. What will? I have no idea.

Devilsbane

neocybe wrote: »

I'm always amused by the college kids who think they are going to pull down six figures with there little degrees but couldn't find the working end of a screwdriver to save their lives.

I completely agree, thats why I'm shooting for 7 figures!

thenjduke

Devilsbane wrote: »

I completely agree, thats why I'm shooting for 7 figures!

I am shooting for 7 numbers

so I figure 80000.00 should be good.

N2IT

laptop wrote: »

Profile:
-6 months unemployed after graduation
-Graduated in 2009 in IT management and also have a Business diploma
-Work experience includes: supermarket (2 years), internet marketing (4 months), and computer teaching assistant (4 months).

I am very confused and lost. Intially, my dream job was to become a systems analyst right after graduation. I realized that this was impossible without experience. I started to aim at the low-end jobs, help desk analyst, technical support, technicians, IT call center and you name it all. I had several interviews for these roles. I can't answer the basic IT interview questions like what could be the reason why a computer is slow? how to troubleshoot this or that if this happens. I feel that I don't have the talents in tech support at all. I don't know what it is. I looked at higher end jobs like data analyst and better roles but they all require some form of experience. I feel trapped or something. I didn't study a pure tehnical program in University. It's 50% IT and 50% Business material. It's to apply IT skills/knowledge to improve the business.

I just don't know what I want to do. When I apply for higher end jobs, I don't get a reply. If I apply low-end jobs, they don't seem suitable for me. I was told that my program "IT management" is suppose to be the person who manages the IT tech geeks and not to work in tech roles. Then, some of my profs said this program is for someone who is the middle person between IT and Business.

Any experts out there can provide professional advice? Does IT support really need special talents? or can it be learned through the job? I dont know what to do in life. I don't know what jobs to look for.

Confused.

You have a nice degree, use it to your advantage. Leverage that with your skills. Do you have good skills using Excel 2003 or 2007? Look for positions with that. Do a job search on Dice.com or any job site and use keywords. I am assuming you had to do reporting and spreadsheets in your major. Look for low level report writing jobs or junior positions. Look into ITIL V3 certification. With your business knowledge you could really understand and utilize the ITIL foundation V3 material. It might open some doors and there are a lot of companies that require employees to have at least basic knowledge of ITIL.

Don't look at the negatives look at the positives. So what you don't know anything about tech support, to be honest who cares. Keep looking and knocking on doors you will get one to open. Remember play to your strengths and research your interest.

You never know one day you could be a business analyst.

phantasm

neocybe wrote: »

I'm always amused by the college kids who think they are going to pull down six figures with there little degrees but couldn't find the working end of a screwdriver to save their lives.

yeah, like everyone else said, get some certs and real world knowledge and you'll be golden.

Come on now... we're not all like that. I've done more hard work than most will throughout their lives (in my generation).

veritas_libertas

N2IT wrote: »

You have a nice degree, use it to your advantage. Leverage that with your skills. Do you have good skills using Excel 2003 or 2007? Look for positions with that. Do a job search on Dice.com or any job site and use keywords. I am assuming you had to do reporting and spreadsheets in your major. Look for low level report writing jobs or junior positions. Look into ITIL V3 certification. With your business knowledge you could really understand and utilize the ITIL foundation V3 material. It might open some doors and there are a lot of companies that require employees to have at least basic knowledge of ITIL.

Don't look at the negatives look at the positives. So what you don't know anything about tech support, to be honest who cares. Keep looking and knocking on doors you will get one to open. Remember play to your strengths and research your interest.

You never know one day you could be a business analyst.

+1, what you are looking for is the non-techie side of things. Pursue these and maybe the CAPM?

Deesiel

Consider joining the military. With a Bachelors degree, you would qualify for Officer Candidate School. In the Army, signal officers (MOS 25A) are the ones who help plan the networks, which could be great experience leading into a career as a System Analyst. The Army will train you, so no worries about not knowing basic 'techie' stuff.

networker050184

Deesiel wrote: »

Consider joining the military. With a Bachelors degree, you would qualify for Officer Candidate School. In the Army, signal officers (MOS 25A) are the ones who help plan the networks, which could be great experience leading into a career as a System Analyst. The Army will train you, so no worries about not knowing basic 'techie' stuff.

Blahhahaha. Officers plan the network? You must have never served. More like ask the enlisted guys what to say when they go into a meeting. And then you just hope they don't say the wrong thing.

JockVSJock

Not his/her fault. Colleges pump people up with talk like, "get this degree and you'll start out in low six figures." It happened to me as well...

neocybe wrote: »

I'm always amused by the college kids who think they are going to pull down six figures with there little degrees but couldn't find the working end of a screwdriver to save their lives.

yeah, like everyone else said, get some certs and real world knowledge and you'll be golden.

Deesiel

networker050184 wrote: »

Blahhahaha. Officers plan the network? You must have never served. More like ask the enlisted guys what to say when they go into a meeting. And then you just hope they don't say the wrong thing.

4 years active duty signal corp...

signal officers (MOS 25A) are the ones who help plan the networks, ...

Officers help plan the networks (with enlisted/nco input of course

)... They certainly don't do much/any hands-on...

2ndchance

We cannot beat the dead horse enough. Get to work on that A+ so that you can confidently answer general questions such as reasons why a computer slows down over time. Really learn this stuff; don't practice the art of bluffing your way through an interview. We recently released someone who fooled us in the interview. He dreamed of being a script-writing systems admin but he couldn't map a network drive and didn't know that 127.0.0.1 is the loopback address...