confused about the job title, need some help & suggestion what to do next

I got a call back from the guy who were hiring a potential employee for the company.
Few days before, I went for the interview, I have written in my resume that I have got A+, Sec+, and will be taking CCNA cert test in about few months later before I am going to graduate from my bachelor degree this year. I explained everything I know about PC troubleshooting stuff, Security, and networking. However, I especially emphasize on getting networking job , because I'd like to configure router & switch, doing stuff that mostly revolving around network.

So when the guy called me, he told me I got hired for IT security jobs. I wasn't thinking straight when he said that, I was just happy I got accepted, and all I need to do is just waiting until he call me back on monday to talk about drug screening test.

So, yeah I know I have got a chance to talk in further detail about my job description on monday. However, I just want to know from you guys. Is IT security job deals with cisco router&switch mostly? or is it different from networking job that I had intended to get? Because I know security has its different certification and different specialization. I don't want to make a wrong choice here, because while I have got my Sec+ certs, it doesn't mean that I'd like to delve deeper into that area.

When he call me back later, is it appropriate for me to kinda discuss the job description to him? and if it turned out different than what I expected, is it possible / appropriate to ask him to place me into the networking job?

Any thoughts and suggestion are appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments

NetworkVeteran

he told me I got hired for IT security jobs.

That can mean all sorts of things.

is it appropriate for me to kinda discuss the job description to him?

Did you already accept the job?

If yes, the most appropriate thing is to call him back a.s.a.p. to get whatever details you need to be certain this is what you want to do in the immediate future before they waste too much time on you.

If no, I'd clarify the next time you speak with him.

if it turned out different than what I expected, is it possible / appropriate to ask him to place me into the networking job?

It's totally acceptable to turn down a job offer because it's not what you want to be doing.

Don't take the security job, though, expecting they will transfer you if you're unhappy in it. Also, don't expect that aftet turning down the security job, that they'll necessarily offer you the networking job.

galaxyexpress

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

That can mean all sorts of things.

Did you already accept the job?

If yes, the most appropriate thing is to call him back a.s.a.p. to get whatever details you need to be certain this is what you want to do in the immediate future before they waste too much time on you.

If no, I'd clarify the next time you speak with him.

It's totally acceptable to turn down a job offer because it's not what you want to be doing.

Don't take the security job, though, expecting they will transfer you if you're unhappy in it. Also, don't expect that aftet turning down the security job, that they'll necessarily offer you the networking job.

Thanks for the reply.
I did not specifically said yes to him on the phone. All I did was telling him that I would be available on monday for him to call.

Yeah, I will clarify the job specification to him in furthest detail on monday. However, if it turns out to be a security job, do I just have to turn down the job down right away , or can I bargain the networking job to him? I was wondering whether it is OK for me to "talk back" to him.

NetworkVeteran

galaxyexpress wrote: »

However, if it turns out to be a security job, do I just have to turn down the job down right away , or can I bargain the networking job to him? I was wondering whether it is OK for me to "talk back" to him.

You already applied for and showed interest in a networking position and he offered you a security position, right? There's nothing wrong with negotiating, e.g. "If I accept $3/hr less, would the networking job be open?" or "I'm not open to a security position. It's the networking job or nothing." However, unless you offer something new, there's little that indicates success.

Are you sure you don't want an IT security position until you finish school? Certainly, if you got a respectable degree, it will change your options. And any IT experience will look better on a resume than the alternative!

Priston

galaxyexpress wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.
I did not specifically said yes to him on the phone. All I did was telling him that I would be available on monday for him to call.

Yeah, I will clarify the job specification to him in furthest detail on monday. However, if it turns out to be a security job, do I just have to turn down the job down right away , or can I bargain the networking job to him? I was wondering whether it is OK for me to "talk back" to him.

I'm confused, is the position you applied for a networking position or did they just find your resume and tell you they have an open position?

galaxyexpress

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

You already applied for and showed interest in a networking position and he offered you a security position, right? There's nothing wrong with negotiating, e.g. "If I accept $3/hr less, would the networking job be open?" or "I'm not open to a security position. It's the networking job or nothing." However, unless you offer something new, there's little that indicates success.

Are you sure you don't want an IT security position until you finish school? Certainly, if you got a respectable degree, it will change your options. And any IT experience will look better on a resume than the alternative!

yeah, here's the thing, I am taking double degree , and im in the tight schedule to quickly getting it done , and i have stated on my resume that i will graduate in December. So there's no way I can get the job now, or in the summer because i'm taking classes in the summer semester. That security+ is just an add for the main menu , which is CCNA. Thanks for the reply , i would ask him the way you told me.

galaxyexpress

Priston wrote: »

I'm confused, is the position you applied for a networking position or did they just find your resume and tell you they have an open position?

I wrote in my resume that I wanted to work in network management position , and attached that to my email, and a lot of managers have the copy for each resumes from every applicant. They interviewed me, and then the next few days, one of the recruiting manager called me that they hired me for IT security position job.

Thats what I am afraid of, getting job that has nothing to do with networking. I am already dead set to be network engineer and craving my path to CCIE R&S certs.

W Stewart

If you don't have any IT experience then just take the job until something better comes along. It doesn't seem like a bad job and it can set you up for a decent networking position somewhere down the road. Your chances of someone giving you full access to a companies routers and switches with just a degree and no networking experience are slim and you may find yourself working in various other low-level roles before you actually get the networking role that you're looking for. You're not signing a year long lease with a property owner and you can quit anytime you want to if it's not working out but you have more to gain in terms of learning how the IT field works by accepting the position not to mention getting a paycheck while you're learning.

Xyro

Priston wrote: »

I'm confused, is the position you applied for a networking position or did they just find your resume and tell you they have an open position?

galaxyexpress wrote: »

I wrote in my resume that I wanted to work in network management position , and attached that to my email, and a lot of managers have the copy for each resumes from every applicant. They interviewed me, and then the next few days, one of the recruiting manager called me that they hired me for IT security position job.

Thats what I am afraid of, getting job that has nothing to do with networking. I am already dead set to be network engineer and craving my path to CCIE R&S certs.

I'm still confused.

Which position did you originally apply for? I'm not talking about what you put on your resume but what was the title of the position you originally submitted for?

Are you trying to tell us that you applied for a networking position and they offered you a security position?

Also, what is this item about you not being able to work until after you graduate? Then why did you apply for a job??

If I were you, I would just take this opportunity that you've been lucky enough to get.

jibbajabba

galaxyexpress wrote: »

is it appropriate for me to kinda discuss the job description to him?

It is your job / life - not his - I would certainly discuss this .. but I am also confused - even when you go through an agency - aren't there always interviews with the actual company you are being hired for?

Surely at least then you should be able to discuss the role ..

Xyro wrote: »

I would just take this opportunity that you've been lucky enough to get.

Even just for the sake of the resume entry

galaxyexpress

Xyro wrote: »

I'm still confused.

Which position did you originally apply for? I'm not talking about what you put on your resume but what was the title of the position you originally submitted for?

Are you trying to tell us that you applied for a networking position and they offered you a security position?

Also, what is this item about you not being able to work until after you graduate? Then why did you apply for a job??

If I were you, I would just take this opportunity that you've been lucky enough to get.

there are no specific criteria for the job, its one of those big companies that are currently hiring a lot of people (networking position, system analyst , database, security, sales person, etc)

What I wrote in my resume was : network management position . I did not specifically said :" network (engineer/administration) here, at that time, I did not know that was the proper name for the job that I was actually looking for, I thought network engineer is the job title for people who actually already had their CCIE certs , but I recently read in the forum somewhere that someone actually got that position on entry level (CCNA). So partly it was my fault for not understanding the job title, but even if thats the case, they should have known that I wanted networking position as I have stated multiple times while I was on the interview session to at least 4 managers ( it was a semi-open interview with a lot of applicants there).

I am international student, so I have got a tight schedule here because my OPT (Optional Practical Training) has its expiration time ( about a year after I graduate) , if I can't get a job during that period, I would be messed up pretty bad. I was trying to secure my place for the job , so If I got accepted now, I dont have to worry about getting the job after I graduate because it will waste my OPT time.

galaxyexpress

jibbajabba wrote: »

It is your job / life - not his - I would certainly discuss this .. but I am also confused - even when you go through an agency - aren't there always interviews with the actual company you are being hired for?

Surely at least then you should be able to discuss the role ..

Even just for the sake of the resume entry

Thanks. Yes, I did an actual interview with them before , please read my above post reply. I didn't go through agency, I just email the company straight away, and one of their HR managers contacted me back.

galaxyexpress

W Stewart wrote: »

If you don't have any IT experience then just take the job until something better comes along. It doesn't seem like a bad job and it can set you up for a decent networking position somewhere down the road. Your chances of someone giving you full access to a companies routers and switches with just a degree and no networking experience are slim and you may find yourself working in various other low-level roles before you actually get the networking role that you're looking for. You're not signing a year long lease with a property owner and you can quit anytime you want to if it's not working out but you have more to gain in terms of learning how the IT field works by accepting the position not to mention getting a paycheck while you're learning.

I did have a year experience doing IT job (I was a computer technician back then in my country) , doing troubleshooting, and just basic networking stuff there.
True, its hard , but I do think it will create a good technical experience for me if I actually get a job that deals mostly with network stuff. If I took unrelated job, i would be wasting my time getting unrelated experience that I don't particularly interested too(programming, database, server, security, helpdesk)

Xyro

I understand better now, thank you.

The job you're being hired for is "IT security". It's not impossible that the position is actually network security and if so then this technically is a "networking position".

Either way, I suggest you grab it.

If you see something better afterward, you can always change.

ptilsen

Take a look at the job details once you get them. Unless it's truly outside the real of what you want to do, take it. I'm betting it will at least involve light networking, but it could well be a network security positions as Xyro suggested. While that might not be the core R&S and you're currently interested in, it's not exactly unrelated and it's not going to detract from your career. In comparison, if they hired you to be a Windows admin, that may well detract from your career. Hiring you to administer or configure security on switches, routers, and/or firewalls is definitely going to be relevant to your goals.