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Minors and Certs
xwesleyxwillisx
Member Posts: 158
Does anyone here think it's worthwhile for minors to pursue certifications? Being one myself I have mixed feelings 
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For the past 2 years I have been studying and taking tests (4 so far) and obtained several certs. Although, no employment oppurtunities have arisen. It seems the average person knows nothing of them and the IT companies are uninterested in someone of my age and experience.
Preparing for the exams has given me tons of knowledge I know I could put to better use then fixing up my own PC's and playing with my Cisco switch and Windows 2003 server at home.
At time it feels that even though I have accomplished my goals I set for myself I haven't reaped the true "fruits of my labor".
Two of my friends received internships through our Cisco academy. The company annually gives two internships at the school. Candidates were required to be 18 by June ?? and I missed that mark by a few months. I was unable to even interview with the company.
My friends definately deserved the internships... but I felt so cheated. They are both very talented and A+ certified so no doubt they were qualified. But as a CCNA and N+ I felt even more qualified for an IT internship.
About a month later I interviewed with Dimension Data (you may have heard of them?). Global company with services in VOIP, security, and the whole Cisco deal. The guy really liked me and said the internship was mine for the summer. Unfortunately, his boss wouldn't approve the internship and I was sunk.
I guess this is sort of a rant but I have to let it out... it's such a bummer to surpass your peers but be held back because of your age
.
.For the past 2 years I have been studying and taking tests (4 so far) and obtained several certs. Although, no employment oppurtunities have arisen. It seems the average person knows nothing of them and the IT companies are uninterested in someone of my age and experience.
Preparing for the exams has given me tons of knowledge I know I could put to better use then fixing up my own PC's and playing with my Cisco switch and Windows 2003 server at home.
At time it feels that even though I have accomplished my goals I set for myself I haven't reaped the true "fruits of my labor".
Two of my friends received internships through our Cisco academy. The company annually gives two internships at the school. Candidates were required to be 18 by June ?? and I missed that mark by a few months. I was unable to even interview with the company.
My friends definately deserved the internships... but I felt so cheated. They are both very talented and A+ certified so no doubt they were qualified. But as a CCNA and N+ I felt even more qualified for an IT internship.
About a month later I interviewed with Dimension Data (you may have heard of them?). Global company with services in VOIP, security, and the whole Cisco deal. The guy really liked me and said the internship was mine for the summer. Unfortunately, his boss wouldn't approve the internship and I was sunk.
I guess this is sort of a rant but I have to let it out... it's such a bummer to surpass your peers but be held back because of your age
. Comments
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johnnynodough
Member Posts: 634
Keep at at, I didnt land my first tech job until I was 18, and it was an internship making 4 bucks an hour making thousands of patch cables and networking Mac's at my old school. Had three gigs like those until I started making an earning at 20. I was only A+ at the time.Go Hawks - 7 and 2
2 games againts San Fran coming up, oh yeah baby, why even play? just put then in the win category and call it good
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Optionsjohnnynodough
Member Posts: 634
And if you stick with it, what you will really get a kick out off, is when you are making as much if not more money than your coworkers who are 10-20 years older than you. But they can hit the bar after a hard day
Go Hawks - 7 and 2
2 games againts San Fran coming up, oh yeah baby, why even play? just put then in the win category and call it good -
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keenon
Member Posts: 1,922 ■■■■□□□□□□
i've done work for dimension data, if they don't hire you locate one of their subs and they will get you on with them and still get the experience. the only other thing i can suggest is trying to market yourself to smaller companies tha only may need certain tasks done and are willing to pay you (you have to start a money trail) other than that it will take a few months to land your first gig. put your resume(although limited ) on job boards and email any postings for anything close to your skill set...
you know i should create a thread for breaking into the IT market
blue or red pill... make it quick i don't have all dayBecome the stainless steel sharp knife in a drawer full of rusty spoons