In a dilemma over work history...

IT69 · April 2013

I have been studying for certs a decent amount of time......I did not think I would enjoy it as much as I do but am really surprised that I find all the topics really interesting and love learning more. So far I have passed the A+,N+ and S+ exams and after finishing them I find myself really interested in InfoSec and Networking.

My dilemma is that at 23 I have no work experience and no degrees/education to speak of.....I played poker professionally from the ages of 18-22 and this has obviously left me in a not so good spot career wise. Online poker was effectively banned in the US on April 15th,2011 and since then the game has really dried up....I have considered relocating multiple times to play on the big sites but the edges from 2007-2010 are not existent today,also many other factors come into play that make the game not nearly as profitable as it was just a few years ago, I decided not too long ago too put my energy into something else.

Thanks to savings I do have a good amount of time to study and can pay for tests when needed, I am working on CCNA at the moment and will be going for CCNA:Security afterwards(Both will finished before end of august), ultimately I would really like to get the CISSP and will be working towards that with time. I havent started looking for an entry level job yet but am really worried about it as I will likely start looking for something once I get the CCNA..... I will have a decent lineup of certs(I think) and I do know the material very well, but will effectively showing up with a blank slate in regards to work history, I am sure many employers will not even take Poker seriously on a resume......I am really in a dilemma in whether I should even put it on the resume as I know there may be stigma attached to the game for some people,I know there are a lot of intelligent people on this board and wondering what they might do in my situation, or just any general advice from people in the field would help a lot.

olaHalo · April 2013

You could land an entry level job or internship with your CompTIA certs already. and the CCNA will only open more doors.
I am not sure how to put your Poker playing on your resume, maybe others can help with that.
But for an entry level job it may not matter.

Qord · April 2013

IT69 wrote: »

I am sure many employers will not even take Poker seriously on a resume......

Have you thought about spinning it differently? Something like "independently employed in the gambling/gaming industry"? That's the best I can come up with, and honestly I would probably leave it off unless I heard a better idea or way to twist it. Most employers understand that folks applying for entry-level jobs will have minimal, if any, professional experience. Unfortunately some geographic areas are saturated with prospective employees, which gives people in your position the lower hand and employers get the pick of the litter. How's the job market look in your area?

IT69 · April 2013

Qord wrote: »

Have you thought about spinning it differently? Something like "independently employed in the gambling/gaming industry"? That's the best I can come up with, and honestly I would probably leave it off unless I heard a better idea or way to twist it. Most employers understand that folks applying for entry-level jobs will have minimal, if any, professional experience. Unfortunately some geographic areas are saturated with prospective employees, which gives people in your position the lower hand and employers get the pick of the litter. How's the job market look in your area?

As much as ive been thinking to leave it off the resume, I will most likely just put it on the resume and hope for the best,I would rather be upfront from the start than trying to reword or spinning it around.....In my eyes it is not such a big deal as I know there are plenty of people making a living playing poker,im sure that the IT world is a little different but hopefully someone will give me a chance. The job market in my area is pretty good I would say, I live very close to a lot of major cities(Cali) and know there is a lot of opportunity close by once I get more certs and knowledge under my belt.

snunez889 · April 2013

I live in cali too. close to a bunch of major cities as well. I would leave it off the resume and be honest about it i interviews. They might find it pretty interesting.

Krones · April 2013

olaHalo wrote: »

You could land an entry level job or internship with your CompTIA certs already. and the CCNA will only open more doors.
I am not sure how to put your Poker playing on your resume, maybe others can help with that.
But for an entry level job it may not matter.

This is sound advice. I am older and trying to transition into an IT career. I left out all non-related experience and no one has questioned my age or the gap in employment. I have been offered four jobs over the past year. None with great salary, but a start is a start. I do get some surprising looks when I tell people I am in college, but meh.

Xyro · April 2013

"What have you been doing for 2 years?", is the question that comes to my mind.

I hope you have something (work/school) to fill in that gap because while some may be ok with you having made a living off of playing poker, I don't think "gambler + 2 year gap" will go over too well.

I would advise you to start working ASAP if you are not already doing so.

NetworkVeteran · April 2013

I am really in a dilemma in whether I should even put it on the resume as I know there may be stigma attached to the game for some people,I know there are a lot of intelligent people on this board and wondering what they might do in my situation

I would omit it because it has little to no relevance to an IT job. You have a potential downside, with no potential upside. I would aim to get a part-time job while you work on those certifications so you have some employer-employee work experience.

However, be completely honest if anyone asks how you've been surviving these past few years.

TBRAYS · April 2013

If the CISSP is your long term goal, and since you are relatively young, I would start out doing some security work, not infosec but Security Guard work. I'm not making a joke just listen. Doing security guard work will start gaining you experience in one of the CISSP CBK domains which is Physical Security. I would do that at night or part time get some income and enroll in a technical school. 40% of people your age are still in some type of college so you are in a very good position rite now because age is on your side. See if you can volunteer or seek a mentor, this works alot for some people or getting a basic job like inventory specialist at a company and while you're doing that, go to school and get in good with some people in the IT department because if you have that job most likely you come in contact with them very frequently especially delivering computer/network equipment to them. Since alot of companies like to post jobs internally first, start at the help desk and work yourself up to get where you need to be while still going to school so you can apply theory to practice. I hope that helps.

IT69 · April 2013

Xyro wrote: »

"What have you been doing for 2 years?", is the question that comes to my mind.

I hope you have something (work/school) to fill in that gap because while some may be ok with you having made a living off of playing poker, I don't think "gambler + 2 year gap" will go over too well.

I would advise you to start working ASAP if you are not already doing so.

When I said that poker was "effectively banned", the online game itself was not banned and there are still a handful of sites American players can play on(very small player pools and difficulties with cashouts,recently one of the major players in the US market has went under and is not paying players at all.....),also there is plenty of live poker action in California, it is not difficult to make money and I have still been playing post-April 15th 2011, long term though I believe it more +EV for me to pursue other things.

IT69 · April 2013

I did have one question for anybody knowledgeable who might be reading this, I did say I have an interest in the InfoSec field and was wondering.....I have dabbled with some Web Development and Design and manage a couple websites, I am good with HTML/CSS and wondering what programming/scripting languages would be valuable in the InfoSec or even networking field? PHP,JavaScript and Ruby On Rails I have learned on a basic level and wondering if they help at all in these fields...if not what are the languages that would and are most valuable?

In a dilemma over work history...

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