Career advice needed severely...

Hoping to see if anyone can give me some advice on what to do here. Point me in the right direction. I feel like I'm stuck in a freaking rut.

Just for some background, I'm 23 years old - my career hasn't even began yet... I've been working retail for the past 6 years (1+ year as a manager), earned an associates degree, and did an internship at a help desk. When the economy went to the toilet I essentially slacked off for a year or two, lost all confidence in my degree and my skillset.... I started at WGU earlier this year, and other than a brief lazy stretch over the summer (way too hot in my apartment in july), it's going quite well. I've now got my CCNA and Security+, something I did not think I would be able to do when I got my degree. Most importantly, I feel as if I could do well in any entry level situation (with the exception of programming) and probably beyond that in some cases...

I'm going to get my resume finished up this evening (hopefully), and apply pretty much all over the freaking country.

I guess my question here is are there specific things that I should be looking for in my hunt? Any companies/industries that are easier to get into (or have more need), cities, job titles... anything that I should seek out specifically? Would it be a good idea to apply with staffing firms like Robert Half/Tek Systems? I live in an area that's fairly desolate when it comes to IT jobs, especially those of the entry-level variety.

This post is a bit verbose and kinda goes all over the place, so thanks to anyone who actually makes it this far.

One last thing, might be relevant, might not: My hope is that I can land something that's not help desk. Supporting end users like that just does not interest me at all. That's not to say that I won't do it, or I won't be applying for every position i can find... Just that I did not get into this to troubleshoot outlook or monitors that didn't get turned on in the morning. Something in a datacenter would rustle my jimmies the right way, though....

TL;DR:

- Need to start career
- Job advice
- Don't want to spend my life working help desk.

Again, thanks to anyone who put up with this mess of a post.

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Comments

Bokeh

Ill chime in with my two cents worth. Are you able to relocate to find a job (ie do you have the means to support yourself prior to finding a position?). Usually it is easier to find something in the city you are living in or near, especially when first starting out. Where do you want to live? Cold weather, hot? Mountains, ocean?

Do some searching on Indeed.com, Monster, Dice, etc for CCNA in prospective cities you have an interest in. See what comes up.

Staffing agencies can be a good start, get your foot in the door. However, make sure they do not want you to be exclusive. Make sure they are "no fee" to you.

Network. Talk to family, friends, anyone who might know someone who knows someone. Build your profile on LinkedIn.

Ismaeljrp

At least you're starting young. I can't help you much as I am actually doing my bachelor's and CCNA , haven't had the opportunity in IT work yet. I served honorably in the Marine Corps so I'm a little fresh.

But I do want to wish you good luck. Also, your certification goals are kinda all over the place. I don't even understand what your ultimate career goal is. What part of IT interests you the most? I think the answer to that would help others help you.

Jackace

For me I went right into the Help Desk after college. It was a pretty good paying help desk job, but had no path out. I just recently changed jobs and I'm now working for a Service Provider and I have learned more in the 6 weeks I have been here than I did in 4 years at school. Working at a Service Provider gives me exposure to a ton of stuff I had never seen or touched studying for my degree, CCNA, CCNA Security, and CCNP. The technology isn't tough to learn, but there are just so many things to learn it is pretty crazy.

My recommendation for networking people is try and get on with a service provider. You will learn a lot and gain a lot of experience. Just as an example I have configured and deployed probably 8 new switches/routers in 6 weeks and made countless changes to our existing MPLS and SONET/DWDM networks.

lordy

Congratulations on Sec+ and your CCNA!

I have done both myself and know they aren't easy to get. This shows you have the right mindset and you are ready to start a real career in this.

If your area doesn't offer any jobs you should try the staffing agencies you mentioned. They can be a real help and they are always looking for qualified personal they can sell to their clients. Aside from this check the usual career sites like Stepstone, Dice, Monster, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn and the likes. You might have to move but I think it would be worth it. Good luck!

Darthn3ss

Bokeh wrote: »

Ill chime in with my two cents worth. Are you able to relocate to find a job (ie do you have the means to support yourself prior to finding a position?). Usually it is easier to find something in the city you are living in or near, especially when first starting out. Where do you want to live? Cold weather, hot? Mountains, ocean?

I'm hoping to end up in the north west (oregon/washington) in the future, but right now I'm mostly looking at places that are closer to me.. Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, maybe DC (don't really want to live there, though) in hopes of finding something without taking the risk of moving first. Fortunately i have nothing here holding me back. No kids/family, no lease or mortgage.

But I do want to wish you good luck. Also, your certification goals are kinda all over the place. I don't even understand what your ultimate career goal is. What part of IT interests you the most? I think the answer to that would help others help you.

My ultimate career goal is probably network/systems administration. My certification goals/list is going to look a little funny because I'm working towards a bachelors at WGU - a good program for the most of it, but there are a few certifications/classes that are a little out of place (IMO)

Iristheangel

I don't know how mobile you are but the first thing I would say is to move to where the jobs are. Depending on where you are, that could be a 50 mile or 500 mile move but that's the first thing that'll help you get a job.

As far as not wanting to get into a help desk position, I could understand that but that might be what you have to do to pay the bills while you look for your first lucky break. Even if you start there, you don't have to end there. If you end up having to do it, make a commitment to yourself that you will seek new employment if you are not promoted or transferred out of there within X amount of time (2 years at the long imho). Jumping ship is sometimes the easiest way to find a new title and payscale.
If you're lucky, you can get a NOC job or desktop support for your first job right off the bat but without experience, you might want to lower your expectations. I like to tell people to not expect to be making good money of any kind of their first year of IT. Usually the first year of IT is grueling with entry-level pay regardless of certifications and that's fine. Even doctors get paid crap when they are entry level residents so it's to be expected in any field.

As far as companies to get into, definitely check the usual ones: Robert Half, Teksystems, Insight Global, etc. As far as cities, if you're going to be entry-level and relocating, check for places with low cost of living and decent median salaries for IT (Austin, Portland, North Carolina, etc). I wouldn't recommend relocating to somewhere like Los Angeles or San Jose unless you have a lot of savings and ready to compete against the "big boys" so to speak.

Good luck!

emerald_octane

Alot of people in IT start out in help desk and find their way into the server rooms and data centers by showing an interest and getting picked up by someone from the IT team. You may not work with the ultimate end users directly but you will probably have the easiest time just doing help desk or working in a NOC (monitoring only) . It's good you know what you want but you have to be realistic about what you'll be able to get. Do you have money saved up? Not very many companies across the nation are going to pluck someone up from south to do help desk/entry level gigs which is realistic much of what will be available if your only IT experience is the help desk internship. Keep in mind that i'm young much like you however I volunteered for two years in high school running a small lab which exposed me to alot of things. That experience , references and knowledge that I gained from that gig opened many many doors.

Good luck in your endeavors.

tprice5

Iristheangel wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend relocating to somewhere like Los Angeles or San Jose unless you have a lot of savings and ready to compete against the "big boys" so to speak.

This terrifies me!

WiseWun

No one likes helpdesk but you gotta start somewhere and pay your dues. Try applying for NOC positions if there are any since you got the CCNA.

Teacher2013

I agree with Jackace, helpdesk is hard to get out of and that's not what you really got your degree to do. I'm here in the SF bay area and read this article discussing the Future of the Silicon Valley Jobs Market with Year Up. Maybe contact Idelle Delapena with Year Up Bay Area (85

888-0983 to get more info.

Good Luck!

Teacher2013

Oh yeah, definitely register with Robert Half. Just let them know your goal is to do more than help desk. They pay decent and have lots of positions open, so that could be a start to something new

Darthn3ss

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b3owufiqpeb74va/Resume_Clean.pdf

^ i require halp.