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hi i am college graduate with a bach degree in computer information systems and the fact is that i researched and applied to so many jobs but i havent hear back response from the companies because of lack of experience. So i had read on tech books like a+ ,sql server, etc and i never get a chance to actually go back to the book. So now i learn that the only way a person to get an entry level it job like a helpdesk or programmer by certifications. What certifications should i go for as to make myself marketable like i want to learn more about database, web development, and/or software development

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olaHalo

I am really surprised you cannot get a job with just your degree. Did you do any internships while you were in school? Or work on any projects? if so don't be afraid to mention them on a resume.
In my opinion your bs degree will outweigh any low level certs. They won't hurt but experience is most important. Try and get a short internship is my best advice and use that as your experience. And keep applying

programmer24

actually i did some internship while i was in school here is my resume

OBJECTIVE:
To obtain a position that will allow me to utilize my strong organizational skills, educational background, and ability to work well with others in a team setting

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Good organization skills, able to work with an independently and as with a team, people skills, flexibility, work well under pressure, mathematical skills and aptitude.

TECHINICAL SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS
· Programming Languages: Java, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, JQuery, C/C++, C#, Visual Basic, ASP, J2ee
· Software Applications: Eclipse, Dreamweaver, WebMatrix, Visual Studio, Microsoft Office, Textpad
· Database Management: SQL, MySQL, SQL Server
· Operating Systems: Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Unix, Linux
· Other Technical Skills: System Analysis & Design, PC Imaging, Basic Networking Concepts, Troubleshooting

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE
NJ Community Development Corporation Paterson, NJ
IT Assistant 3/2012 to 5/2012
· Organized the Paterson Family Center (PFC) Database by exporting the database from an Excel spreadsheet to an Access database.
· Planned and designed the PFC Database by using the database normalization techniques and query wizard/SQL commands in Access to create new tables for the database.
· Imported the new PFC database data from Access to Excel (Was this from Excel to Access?)
· Updated the data in the new PFC database
· Used software applications: Access, Excel

Bloomfield College Bloomfield NJ
Student -Database Project 1/2012 to 5/2012

Planned, analyzed and designed a phonebook application for the web
Coded, tested, and debugged the web application
Performed maintenance on the phonebook application and presented to the class
Used programming languages: JavaScript, PHP, HTML, CSS, MySQL
Used software applications: WebMatrix , Dreamweaver

Bloomfield College Bloomfield, NJ
Student-Computer Project 9/2011 to 12/2011
· Worked with a team to create a school registration application for Bloomfield College
· Worked with a team to write the requirements, use cases documents, Gantt Chart, and business documents for school registration application
· Planned, analyzed, and designed a school registration application
· Implemented and tested the application program to see if the program works or if there were bugs or crashes that needed to be fixed.
· Performed maintenance on the school registration application and presented it to the audience
· Used programming languages: Java and SQL
· Used Software applications: Textpad and MS Access

Bloomfield College Bloomfield, NJ
IT Assistant 5/2011 to 8/2011
· Organized the IT room to make sure equipment are properly placed neatly
· Assisted the IT technician with setting up the computers around different buildings
· Learned Ethernet slicing, repairing computers and printers, and basic networking
· Learned PC Cloning

WORK EXPERIENCE
McCarter & English LLP, Newark, NJ
Operations/Mailroom Clerk 6/2008 – present
· *Process outgoing first class mail, FedEx, UPS, Eastern Connection packages, Express Mail
· Sort incoming mail and interoffice mail for distribution to attorneys and paralegals
· Assist attorneys and paralegals with their packages
· Replenished water bottles and supplies for the copy rooms and conference rooms
· Sending and receiving faxes and photocopying and doing computer data entry
· Perform other duties as necessary.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science, December 2012, Bloomfield College, Bloomfield NJ
Major: Computer Information Systems

DoubleNNs

I'll admit, I didn't read thru the entire resume. Besides, I'm too entry level (under you) to give valuable constructive criticism.

However, you used organizational skills twice in the 1st 2 sentences of your resume. It was a put off to me. You're trying to apply for an IT job, right? Soemthing possibly technical-oriented? Not trying to organize things for people, I'm sure.

kurosaki00

Im really surprised that with those programming languages you havent heard back from ppl

Have you applied to front end web programming jobs?
Actually programmers are very needed in most places. So its weird you havent got replies.

About the resume I dont think you need both summary and objective, lose the objective (IMO).
You shouldnt have related work experience and work experience
Just one work section
I would start with work experience, then studies then technical qualifications

Thats my advice, Im not that experienced, some of the guys here have more knowledge about resumes.

olaHalo

thanks for posting your resume
I am a student seeking my CS degree, so software is my thing too
I was able to get an entry level job doing web design with no Certs and just an AS in Computer Science.
With your BS and impressive resume I would think it would be much easier for you to at least find a temporary entry level job.

where are you located?

programmer24

i live in new jersey

kurosaki00

I dont see how certifications benefit programmers more than actually knowing languages/scripts/engines

I would rather hire someone that his resume says: JQuery, AJAX, CSS,Perl, PHP,JSON (and of course, explain how you have used this languages and what you have achieved)

Than someone that says : CSS, Java, etc and MCITP, A+ and so on

if you want to get into programming you need to list your achievements as a programmer, worked in a backbone made of? made scripts that did what? stuff like that

IT/Systems is a whole other stories

programmer24

basically i dont need certifications for it/systems what about software certs

DoubleNNs

Maybe you need to just keep applying. And possibly consider relocation.

Networking and meeting people in the feild who can mentor you and/or give you a way in might be better than getting certified. However, there are plenty of Software development certs out there. But I think a majority of the people in this forum are more versed in IT/systems than Comp Sci/Programming/Dev, at least from a certification standpoint.

Your resume also needs a little bit of work. Maybe less about what to put on it, than more how you market the experience you already have.

I also live in NJ, and it's been seeming impossible to get my 1st entry level job as well. =/ it sucks.

Do you still have contact info for some of your professors from college? Maybe you could do an informational interview w/ one of them as well. Your school should also have career services that should help you get your 1st job.

programmer24

yes i been working with my school

JayTheCracker

SAS 9 certs & Zend 5.3 are the most reputable ones for programming world

kgb

I personally don't think having a programmer cert is needed and many programmers place little to zero value in them. There are some big companies that like to see certifications though. I'm a member of the, "it can't hurt, but you better know your stuff if you list it on your resume" camp.

If you are set on getting a certification. Pick one and run with it, whether it's Java, .NET, Ruby, etc.

lsud00d

The resume is full of grammatical errors...just wondering but is English not your native language?

The experience section is written in an elementary way. Again this might be because you're ESL but it is difficult to read through and I would toss it out pretty fast...

Also I would list some other projects you did during undergrad that backup your listed skill set...hot dev positions currently are java, .net, html5, ruby, mostly front end technologies and web rendering.

kgb

lsud00d wrote: »

...Also I would list some other projects you did during undergrad that backup your listed skill set...

Just got done reading a book on hiring developers. When the author reviews resumes, if there's no proof of a technology being used (via project/etc in work history) he totally ignores it. He personally isn't a fan of the technology soup most resumes list. I agree with him, but at the same time there's blame to be had on the side of the majority of the job ads being listed. Since a majority of them, just contain a long list of technologies.

NotHackingYou

I would move your degree up near the top

paul78

@OP - a couple of thoughts on your resume. I would tend to agree with lsud00d - it does read a bit like it was written by someone where English is a second language - not that it's bad; perhaps it just need a little more work.

A few things came to mind:

I would suggest getting rid of the objective section. It doesn't really serve a purpose on your resume.
Replace Summary of Qualifications with just Summary. You list mostly soft-skills and soft-skills while desirable are very intangible and subjective; and do not necessarily mean you are qualified for a particular role.
Remove JavaScript, HTML, CSS, JQuery from programming languages. Those are not programming languages.
Programming Languages - I would remove Visual Basic unless you meant VB.NET.
Programming Languages - do you really know J2EE. You list it as J2ee. It's actually J2EE - note the capitalization.
Database Management - don't list SQL. That's a language not a dbms.
Operating Systems - do you actually know the nuances between Vista, Win7, etc.? If not, just list Windows otherwise it looks like unnecessary padding.
Your bullets in each job sometimes are missing periods after the sentence.

Start with these above - there's probably a few more things that could be tighten up in the writing style.

programmer24

heres a version of my resume TECHINICAL SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS
Programming Languages: Java, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, JQuery, C/C++, C#, VB.Net, SQL
Software Applications: Eclipse, Dreamweaver, WebMatrix, Visual Studio, Microsoft Office, Textpad, Crystal Reports
Database Management: MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle
Operating Systems: Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Ubuntu
Other Technical Skills: System Analysis & Design concepts, PC Imaging, Basic Networking Concepts, Basic Troubleshooting
RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE
NJ Community Development Corporation Paterson, NJ
IT Assistant 3/2012 to 5/2012
Organized the Paterson Family Center (PFC) Database by exporting the database from Excel to Access
Planned, designed, and updated the PFC Database by using the database normalization techniques and query wizard/SQL commands in Access to create new tables
Bloomfield College Bloomfield, NJ
Student -Database Project 1/2012 to 5/2012
Planned, analyzed and designed a web phonebook application
Coded, tested, and debugged the web application
Performed maintenance on the web phonebook application and presented to the class
Bloomfield College Bloomfield, NJ
Student-Applied Systems Development Project 9/2011 to 12/2011
Worked with a team to create a school registration application for Bloomfield College including writing the requirements and using cases documents, Gantt Chart, and business documents to design and analyze it
Implemented and tested the application program to see if the program ran without any issues
Performed maintenance on the school registration application and presented it to the audience
Bloomfield College Bloomfield, NJ
IT Assistant 5/2011 to 8/2011
Organized the IT room to make sure equipment was properly placed
Assisted the IT technician with setting up the computers around different buildings
Learned about Ethernet slicing, repairing computers and printers, and basic networking and PC imaging
WORK EXPERIENCE
McCarter & English LLP, 　Newark, NJ
Operations/Mailroom Clerk 6/2008 – Present
Process and sort incoming and outgoing first class mail, FedEx, UPS, Eastern Connection packages, and Express Mail for attorneys
Perform office duties including checking supplies for office and photocopying and faxing documents
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science, December 2012, Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, NJ
Major: Computer Information Systems

programmer24

yes I know the nuances between xp vista win7

Remedymp

Personally, I could care less about the grammatical errors on your resume. But your roles at the NJ Community Dev Corp and DB project at Bloomfield would lead to believe that you would make a great candidate for QA Analysis at a financial institution. We have resources like you come in all the time for 1-2 years and to correct errors and databases, test and deploy projects. Usually the pay is around $18 starting.

I would suggest that you register an account on meetup.com, and join some of the tech meetup's in your area. There should be a SQL users group or android developers users groups(etc) in your area. Make contacts and network with the people. You'd be surprised who may be looking for some help for positions that haven't been posted to the web yet and the knowledge is free (plus food!)

I would also look to pay $50 or so to get a professional to clean up the resume.

Check out the MySQL certification. You should be able to obtain the associate cert with your experience and some studying.

programmer24

would being a qa/data analyst at a junior level would lead me to a career in dba

Remedymp

programmer24 wrote: »

would being a qa/data analyst at a junior level would lead me to a career in dba

It would either lead you to an DB Admin or Developer, but those are positions that usually appointed from within that comes with time and experience.

programmer24

so I should just try to find entry level/junior qa/data analysts

Remedymp

programmer24 wrote: »

so I should just try to find entry level/junior qa/data analysts

Yes, look on craigslist for your area. There are quite a few Jr. SQL admin positions in your area. Get a professional to clean up your resume and I bet they'll email you back for an interview (over the phone atleast).

Remedymp

Here is an example of a recent position posted in your area.

Associate SQL Computer Programmer (Wilton, CT)

Associate SQL Computer Programmer -- Business Analyst (Healthcare)
Job Description
Connolly is seeking an Associate Computer Programmer to join their healthcare audit team. We are the recovery audit experts making healthcare more affordable by identifying errors and addressing their root cause. The Associate Computer Programmer is a vital team member working closely with the audit team to develop and deliver custom built audit tools and reports. This is a great opportunity for a Computer Programmer with business analyst experience to build an exciting career while working with cutting edge technology in a collaborative environment. Our ideal candidate will have business expertise and experience with SQL Server, SQL Queries, Access and VBA in the healthcare industry.

Job Responsibilities
As a Associate Computer Programmer you will support the onsite audit team developing tools that facilitate advanced data mining and provide our auditors with a competitive advantage in the marketplace. You must balance your time between writing complex SQL stored procedures, formatting and manipulating data, and interfacing with our audit teams to provide quality analysis reports and audit tools.
Additional responsibilities:
• Developing and delivering custom built audit tools and reports using Access and VBA
• Writing, updating, and maintaining computer programs or software packages to handle specific jobs such as tracking inventory, storing and/or retrieving data
• Managing time appropriately and organizing work
• Communicating with both technical and non-technical end users
Job Requirements
This role requires a professional Computer Programmer with strong technical skills, excellent communication skills, and business acumen. Experience with PowerShell and healthcare data is a plus.
Additional requirements:
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent related experience
• Strong SQL Server skills (SQL Server 2012)
• Experience in Transact SQL, Index Management, Performance Management with large datasets, Data Warehouse/Data Mining
• Strong VB, VB Script and VBA Skills (or other object oriented programming)
• Advanced Microsoft Access skills (MS Office 2010)
• Report writing experience (Access, Crystal, SSRS)
• Understanding of ETL process best practices
• Strong analytical/problem solving skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
CB*IT
Compensation: $60000-$70000

That should give you an example of what you need to bring to the table.

programmer24

nice thank you on that post now I can focus more on learning database skills and report writing thanks guys it made me realize that this is the career I want to be good at and do well in. Plus I heard its a stable career unlike software developer/engineer where you have to write code all day and most likely you would be working projects as a contractor for like 6 months and I was like ugh that's crazy and besides I had trouble writing programs using JAVA, PHP, C#, VB.Net(btw I learned those languages through school) and its gets boring sitting 8 hours of day

programmer24

i feel that vb, sql and php is good for me because i know the basics and i can practice and build on that where as if i think of trying to create my own programs and stuff like that, i would have hard time with it so i figure maybe software development is not good for me because i cant imagining of sitting on the computer 8 hours of day

programmer24

who i can go to review my resume and i did most of the editing my self and this is the updated current resume. The previous one that was at the beginning of the post was shitty excuse my language. however the current one can be reworked to make it sound better and professional

Remedymp

programmer24 wrote: »

who i can go to review my resume and i did most of the editing my self and this is the updated current resume. The previous one that was at the beginning of the post was shitty excuse my language. however the current one can be reworked to make it sound better and professional

You can go back to your college and speak with your career adviser about cleaning up your resume.

knownhero

Remedymp wrote: »

Here is an example of a recent position posted in your area.

That should give you an example of what you need to bring to the table.

I do a slightly watered down version of this now. Might have to ask for a pay rise.

programmer24

oh nice how the job market in uk thanks for advice everyone I know what to do now