Newbie asking for abit of career advice

yorkshire-lad · August 2013

Hi All,
Found this website when I was looking to study for my CCNA, been a lurker ever since.
I am currently looking for abit of advice of where to go for my next step.

I have been working on the service desk for 2 years now doing 1st and 2nd line support. I passed my CCNA back in April time as networking is the area what i am interested in most and it was part of initial contract to pass this.
However, in my current company, there is no chance of ever getting exposure to switches or routers, the routers are managed the service provider and all of the switches are in and working (and they never break

)
I have been looking around for my first networking job but as many know it is pretty much impossible.
My question is, should i stay with my current company and carry on looking;waiting for a networking job to come up, or should i look to move elsewhere to a similar role and hope to progress there?
At the moment, I am labbing quite alot at home to keep it all fresh in my mind.
Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
YL

CDRichards · August 2013

Hi yorkshire-lad. Congrats on your CCNA, that's what I'm aiming for this year.

As for getting a new job, have you contacted recruitment firms like CVBay, Concept, Manpower etc? Whack your CV on their sites and I'm sure they'd phone back pretty quick for a chat and then they'll do the legwork for you, it's their job and they get paid to do it. Also, they have contacts in firms so should know who's looking for what.

Hope this help.

Moon Child · August 2013

With how bad the economy is now and a lot of people out of work I think you should stay with your current company. Speaking from experience having just 2 years of experience on your resume doesn't even cut if for a lot of entry level jobs these days and IT has one of the highest unemployment rates. Their was an IT job I applied for recently and the hiring manager said they gave the entry level job to a guy with over 10 years of experience in IT. He also mentioned to me over the phone a lot of experienced IT guys who are out of work are applying for entry level jobs now. IT guys with a few years of experience in IT, bachelor degrees, and certs are having a hard time getting hired for even entry level positions. IT positions are the first companies seem to cut. A hospital in my local area recently cut 2/3 of their IT staff. A newspaper that is going out of business recently fired almost all their IT staff. With just 2 years of experience in this economy leaving your current position to elsewhere I think is risky business. If I were you I would stay with your current company and carry on looking

Polynomial · August 2013

Removed unnecessary quote****

Do you have anything besides anecdotal evidence to support any of this?

Chitownjedi · August 2013

Moon Child wrote:

With how bad the economy is now and a lot of people out of work I think....snip

I must say, I have not seen or heard anything that supports this in the last 3 years in my area. And actually my wife is switching into IT and has no certifications and no technical experience on her resume, she's landed 5 interviews in the last month. And more than anything it was her lack of communication skills that didn't seal the deal for the jobs she interviewed for. She needs work on speaking with confidence and selling her "expertise"/skillset. But I am in Chicagoland, and there are tons of entry level jobs that are actually looking for people with less than 1 years of experience. I do agree that many entry level jobs are bs'ing about the amount of years of experience they want/need. However, your information seems very swayed to the extreme as the norm, (In regards to 10 years of experience being needed for entry level gigs,) versus an anomaly.

yorkshire-ladI suggest you keep your current job (It helps to have a job to leverage your next job against, plus getting paid is what it's all about$$$) but keep looking and refining your skills and increasing your brand to be more appealing. Keep expanding your network and stay prepared... a lot of breaking into Networking is luck, but you may be able to go from Service Desk>System Admin> Network Admin, as a way to keep moving forward while waiting for your break. GL!

Polynomial · August 2013

Chitownjedi wrote: »

And more than anything it was her lack of communication skills that didn't seal the deal for the jobs she interviewed for.

That stuff is actually some of the most important aspects of IT.

Ismaeljrp · August 2013

Moon Child wrote:

With how bad the economy is now and a lot of people out of work I think ....snip

In the US in most markets this isn't the case. I can definitely say, that this is what happens where I live, Puerto Rico. That's why I am relocating once I finish my bachelor's. Comparing PR ( and markets similar ) vs say.. Boston, or Atlanta, getting a job is a cake walk. Here it is extremely rare to break into ANY career. Then again, it is also extremely rare to find people with skills and talent, so there is some trade off.

But like others have said, this is a type of situation that only happens in some of the worst markets.

yorkshire-lad · August 2013

great stuff.

Thanks alot for the responses, I have read them all:D

Think I will stick with my current role for now but still keep an eye out for the opportunity.
I have recently completed my MCSA: windows 7 which was a walk in the park compared to 18 months studying for my ccna.
I certainly will keep posting and be an active member now I have posted the first time

Ismaeljrp · August 2013

Chitownjedi wrote: »

I must say, I have not seen or heard anything that supports this in the last 3 years in my area. And actually my wife is switching into IT and has no certifications and no technical experience on her resume, she's landed 5 interviews in the last month.

These types of stories literally baffles me. Time and again I see stories of people with no experience and barely any cualifications actually get in the field. If I were to attempt to claim this type of story where I'm from people will immediately laugh hysterically and call me a liar. Can't wait to go back to the states. I can understand what Moon Child is talking about. Some guys don't even get promotions until they're like 5-6 yrs in level 1 and 2 type positions, it's depressing.

lawrence_of_arabia · August 2013

What is so baffling about that? I started working at Comcast, did it for five months. The Tier 1 help desk position I interviewed for after that liked that I knew how to speak to end users on the phone. I worked my ass off on that contract for 10 months and got promoted to Tier 2. Six months later, I filled out 63 applications, went on several interviews, and got hired as a systems administrator within three weeks of pursuit. In about two years, i have tripled my income. I have no degree, two CompTIA certifications and the aforementioned experience. The Red Hot Chili Peppers put it well- Fight like a brave, don't be a slave, no one can tell you you've got to be afraid! But seriously, you are a Cisco Certified Network Associate. Take pride in your accomplishments and be assertive. You possess the required training to work as a networking professional, so hang up that phone and go log into a router.

gadav478 · August 2013

Moon Child wrote:

With how bad the economy is now and a lot of people out of work I think...snip.

If all you are saying is to stay put until the OP secures a better gig, then I totally agree. Don't jump ship unless you know you are going to land in another. To add, I would not let yourself become complacent. Not using skills learned while achieving certifications will bite you in the butt. I'm studying for ICND2 right now after taking a break to tackle Calculus 1 and 2 for my CS degree and it's been interesting trying to get it all back. You can't control whose gonna take a chance on you, but you are not helping yourself by earning certs without using the information. Just my opinion. Shoot for it!

filkenjitsu · August 2013

There are tons of jobs in bigger cities. Chicago is loaded, Houston, Dallas, etc.

Moon Child · August 2013

@=Chitownjedi

Well all I know is I have previous work experience in IT, a bachelors in IT and a masters degree, I am A+ certified with Microsoft certs and will soon be Network+ certified after this Wednesday. I have been on interviews with ManPower and many IT recruiting agencies, they all have denied me even a chance for an entry level job. Reason they stated was lack of experience, I have 3+ previous years of experience. Best Buy even rejected my application for an entry level Geek Squad position. I might try for the CCNA after this and if after the CCNA cert they still won't hire me for an entry level position I have had it with IT! I am staying in my current job as a teacher.

instant000 · August 2013

Moon Child, if I might interject:

You are already a teacher. You want to do IT.

Have you considered Instructional Technology?

You could leverage your teaching experience and angle into IT work that way. Since you already understand the IT issues that teachers face, you would be in optimal position to make things better. You would understand your customer in a way that someone like me never would.

I may sound like a broken record, but I always try to recommend that people angle into IT from the perspective of what they currently are doing.

Hope this helps.

Moon Child · August 2013

Instructional Technology is another 2 year masters program followed by passing state certification that I just don't have the money or the time for. In my area the number of openings in that field are very few and hard to come by. I have thought about that option before many times, but after talking to people in that field and discovering how easy it is for schools to get rid of a technology instructor when budgets get tight... nah. Its like any other special like music, gym, or art , schools don't need these teachers and often get rid of them during budget cuts. Now teaching at the college level Instructional Technology ... maybe, but I would need to get some more work experience in IT before a community college would even consider me for that type of position.

Newbie asking for abit of career advice

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