Where should I start? Entry-level jobs or get certs?

OK, so I have a BA degree unrelated to IT/CS. I have three years of experience as a sales associate and PC technician at Circuit City (ended up being lead tech). One year of experience as a Product Rep at Best Buy (this would just be customer service type experience). No certifications. Several years experience with web design (HTML/CSS/Drupal/running my own Linux VPS). All of my skills are self-taught.

Where does that put me? Am I even ready for entry level help desk or desktop support?

At my Circuit City job I could fix practically any problem with XP->Windows 7 without resorting to an OS reinstall. But I have zero experience or knowledge with Exchange/ActiveDirectory/Windows Server, etc. The couple experiences I've had with ActiveDirectory was a friend's/relative's business who said, "Hey, this isn't working, your're good with computers, take a look!" Both times I was able to fix it pretty easily just through general troubleshooting and Google searches. But that's it. I've picked up some Linux admin stuff pretty easily, as it relates to web hosting, and I've heard that Windows Server is a bit more GUI-centric?

The couple coworkers I had at Circuit City DID have degrees and certs (ITT tech grad) and they didn't know a thing about computers or troubleshooting. One was fresh from school, the other came from another IT job. One of the first questions they asked me was, "Where does the hard drive go?" This was in a regular old desktop PC. Another time, "Can you help me out? This router is acting up, it won't install with the CD. Do you know any other way to install it?" So that left a bad taste in my mouth, of course, and I never pursued any certs or ITT type schooling. Not to offend any knowledgeable ITT grads here, I'm sure it depends on the person.

So I guess my question is, should I even be applying to entry-level jobs yet? I feel pretty confident in my troubleshooting skills and I feel like I'm a fast learner, but I'm totally unfamiliar with all the corporate stuff. Or should I instead hold off and concentrate on certs and/or getting some sort of degree?

This forum is a fantastic resource by the way, I've been browsing and reading for about a week now.

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Comments

jamesleecoleman

Apply for an entry-level job and get certs. Maybe start with the A+? I'm not sure about the IT/CS degree. You have experience that is very helpful to get an entry level job.

N2IT

abnet wrote: »

OK, so I have a BA degree unrelated to IT/CS. I have three years of experience as a sales associate and PC technician at Circuit City (ended up being lead tech). One year of experience as a Product Rep at Best Buy (this would just be customer service type experience). No certifications. Several years experience with web design (HTML/CSS/Drupal/running my own Linux VPS). All of my skills are self-taught.

Where does that put me? Am I even ready for entry level help desk or desktop support?

At my Circuit City job I could fix practically any problem with XP->Windows 7 without resorting to an OS reinstall. But I have zero experience or knowledge with Exchange/ActiveDirectory/Windows Server, etc. The couple experiences I've had with ActiveDirectory was a friend's/relative's business who said, "Hey, this isn't working, your're good with computers, take a look!" Both times I was able to fix it pretty easily just through general troubleshooting and Google searches. But that's it. I've picked up some Linux admin stuff pretty easily, as it relates to web hosting, and I've heard that Windows Server is a bit more GUI-centric?

The couple coworkers I had at Circuit City DID have degrees and certs (ITT tech grad) and they didn't know a thing about computers or troubleshooting. One was fresh from school, the other came from another IT job. One of the first questions they asked me was, "Where does the hard drive go?" This was in a regular old desktop PC. Another time, "Can you help me out? This router is acting up, it won't install with the CD. Do you know any other way to install it?" So that left a bad taste in my mouth, of course, and I never pursued any certs or ITT type schooling. Not to offend any knowledgeable ITT grads here, I'm sure it depends on the person.

So I guess my question is, should I even be applying to entry-level jobs yet? I feel pretty confident in my troubleshooting skills and I feel like I'm a fast learner, but I'm totally unfamiliar with all the corporate stuff. Or should I instead hold off and concentrate on certs and/or getting some sort of degree?

This forum is a fantastic resource by the way, I've been browsing and reading for about a week now.

If there is one thing I know it's this part of the journey because I have a non related IT degree and when I started off I had no certifications. Personally if I were you I would first get your resume in order and start applying for helpdesk position and/or software sales positions. With your sales experience you can get into the industry. That's just my opinion but it's something to consider and it can pay very lucrative. Some of my richest friends are sales guys, one is a director of sales for Cisco in one of the regions. Needless to say he earns nice coin.

Anyway if you are dead set on the technical aspect then go help desk for sure. Most help desk techs have maybe 1 certification. I think with your IT knowledge you are a prime candidate for one of those jobs. You will learn on the job, that's a great return on investment. You get paid to learn, nothing beats that.

Like Turgon said in a previous post, if you are going to work the career ladder you have to be willing to extend yourself, (move outside your comfort zone).

earweed

You do sales right now so your best bet is to write a resume and cover letter that sell yourself. You should be applying for helpdesk and desktop support jobs as I can tell by what you've done already that you have the skills to do either job. While you're hunting look into the MCDST or the windows 7 version MCITP:EDA.
I think with your current skills the A+ would also be an easy cert for you.

rogue2shadow

Your story literally mirrors mine minus the web stuff (I suck at coding..for now lol). I was with Firedog for about 2 years and worked at BB for a year in comps then moved on to helpdesk and soon I am probably starting in InfoSec. As much as it may or may not suck, the helpdesk is going to be your best bet. It's more about getting your foot in the door vs. a requirement for all IT professionals. Helpdesk is an invaluable tool in building character, assessing troubleshooting ability (if taken seriously/done properly), and helping you understand the development cycle (if its a software company). The best combination would be to do a couple classes at the time while working; this may not work for everyone but if its within your schedule/ability, you're killing two birds with one stone.

Getting some certs like the CompTIA triad (A+/Net+/Sec+) will give you fundamental knowledge in several disciplines as well as ring home to you in terms of your previous work experience (A+). If you do get At some point, sooner than later, definitely work on a degree. It will round you out in terms of overall study habits as well as help you meet the requirements for higher level jobs.

Start planning in terms of what you want to be in the future, this plan will help determine a cert path for you and the people of this forum would be more than happy to give you real world advice as to how they went about getting where they are.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Welcome to TE

abnet

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies everyone.

N2IT wrote: »

Personally if I were you I would first get your resume in order and start applying for helpdesk position and/or software sales positions. With your sales experience you can get into the industry.

I appreciate the advice and I was decent enough at sales, but I really hate it, haha. Still, I suppose I should consider it.

N2IT wrote: »

Anyway if you are dead set on the technical aspect then go help desk for sure. Most help desk techs have maybe 1 certification. I think with your IT knowledge you are a prime candidate for one of those jobs. You will learn on the job, that's a great return on investment. You get paid to learn, nothing beats that.

I'm glad you say that because I was concerned I wouldn't be able to properly do the job if I wasn't familiar with all the MS corporate stuff. And getting paid to learn is exactly what I'm looking to do now.

rogue2shadow wrote: »

As much as it may or may not suck, the helpdesk is going to be your best bet.

Help desk is what I've been aiming for, hopefully it doesn't suck too much, haha, but I'm certainly not viewing anything entry-level like that as below me.

So thanks, this has been very encouraging and will help ease my concerns with applying to these kind of jobs. I've already applied for about 10 in the past two weeks but I haven't heard anything back. I'm guessing it's my (really crappy) resume. I'll try to rework it with tips from this board and then maybe post the reworked one for a critique, since I'm sure you'd just gut my current one anyways.

abnet

rogue2shadow wrote: »

I was with Firedog for about 2 years...

OT: Oh god, Firedog, haha. Were you there when it was IQ Crew? And before that, "PC Services"?

rogue2shadow

abnet wrote: »

OT: Oh god, Firedog, haha. Were you there when it was IQ Crew? And before that, "PC Services"?

I could have joined Geek Squad but I left BB just as they were transitioning into Firedog haha. For a good month it was "PC Services". When you post your resumé make sure the information is anonymous (aka. Resume Title: John Smith etc.)

it_consultant

You should definitely highlight your customer service skills (which are lacking in this industry) and pursue an entry level job. Very quickly though, you should certify (MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician) and continue up the path as you get better at your work.

A lot of people suggest A+, which is not a bad idea. I say MCITP because the worsktation test (7 or Vista) can be used against your future MCITP:EA. Its your choice though, A+ has lots of name recognition and MCITP:ESDT is a mouthful to say.

abnet

Well, since my existing resume is pretty complete and is honest maybe I should just post the existing one to get some feedback since I'm not totally sure how to best implement some of your suggestions.

This will be embarrassing, but here goes anyways:
http://drop.io/7hpbmkt/asset/generic-resume-rtf

Password is techexams.

This was originally a PDF so some formatting might not be right but I figured an RTF would be easier to look at and still preserve most formatting. You can view it on the site or download it.

Thanks again!

EDIT: The document looks worse than I thought it would. The lines should be above and below the headings like "Summary of Qualifications" and "Education." And it's really two pages, not three.