Who can be my mentor?

Dear members,

I would like to get in touch with a Network Engineer or Sys Admin to receive some guidance.

At the actual stage I am out of work to invest my time to complete a certification path to land a first line support role.

I am wondering if I can get in touch with somebody who knows the UK market, possibly London, in order to have a more realistic expectation and work out a plan to improve my chances of getting a job.

Of course I want to pay you for the time. I would be happy to spend half an hour on Skype to discuss my current situation and get a friendly advice.
I have already paid a consulting firm to receive a similar support but they had no clue about the IT sector.

I look forward to hearing from you.

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Comments

SeekBytes

Dear members.

Is there any reply? Unfortunately I received very poor feedback from other professionals.

I would like to have an advice.

Kind Regards.

Jon_Cisco

I think forums like this are usually made up of individuals that are working on self study and come here for support and collaboration.
Mentoring in my opinion is not simply about advice and so it is hard to recruit a mentor from a forum.

I would suggest looking into local organizations that might meet. These are usually filled with the type of people that are willing to work on personal bonds. Express your interest in mentors when you meet people you feel compatible with. I have heard that some corporate environments set up official mentor programs but I have never worked at such a place.

Good Luck!

SeekBytes

Hello Jon_Cisco, thank you for replying.

I tried to get some support from two companies that offer a mentoring service. Sort of companies that provide cv rewriting, cover letters, career advice and mock interviews.

To be honest I felt that the two advisers I talked to were totally unprepared about the IT sector. The only thing they advised me to do was to look at jobs ads for the certifications required, to take the certs and apply for work.

I am actually self studying to take the certifications required, but I would like to talk with other people that made a career change or started out in IT to share information about the job role. I would like to know what to expect, even if there is not a definitive answer, every company is different.

I am planning to subscribe to LinkedIn Plus, I might be able to contact Sys Admin and Network Engineers to ask for some information.

Thank you again for replying.

Kind Regards.

[Deleted User]

Depends on what you mean by first line support. First line is usually helpdesk. If helpdesk is your alley, pursue CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+. If you want more Network Administrator/Engineer look at Cisco CCNA/NP. For SysAdmin look at Microsoft Server or Redhat certs. Security look at CISSP.Also learn some coding like Python or Bash for starters. I hope this kinda helps a bit on direction.

NetworkNewb

SeekBytes wrote: »

To be honest I felt that the two advisers I talked to were totally unprepared about the IT sector. The only thing they advised me to do was to look at jobs ads for the certifications required, to take the certs and apply for work.

Thats pretty much what you have to do... Not sure what else your expecting. It isn't a secret how to succeed in IT.

Have you got any certifications to help you get a job yet? If you haven't even done that there isn't much anyone can do for you.

SeekBytes

I took the CCNA and I am finishing the A+. By looking at job ads for any Help Desk position, it seems that companies require me to have those certs or equivalent knowledge: A+, CCNA, MCSE, Exchange and Virtualization.

IT Helpdesk Support - Schools - Croydon - £23k - Totaljobs.com

Helpdesk Analyst / 1st Line Support - Totaljobs.com

Support Analyst, Support Engineer, Help Desk Support - Totaljobs.com

Looking forward to hearing your opinions.

Kind Regards.

iBrokeIT

Build a home lab, self study for certs, visit techexams, learn to Google and fake it until you make it. No mentor needed.

SeekBytes

iBrokeIT wrote: »

Build a home lab, self study for certs, visit techexams, learn to Google and fake it until you make it. No mentor needed.

Thank you for encouraging.

Any feedback about the job ads I posted?

IIIMaster

Are you promise this job ? Being hung on one job unless it is guranteed I do not understand. Just apply for it and see what happens. It seem as if they want someone with net+ knowledge who is familiar with Microsoft and two virtualization software but may give someone preferable treatment if they have experience with Apple Integration.

techfiend

Second job listing looks like an a+ working on other certs to prove the desire to learn. The other 2 are looking for experienced help desk.

Are you a+ certified? That's a logical first step.

UnixGuy

I'd happily help but I'm not in the UK, and personally I don't like IT any more and I need a mentor myself sometimes - sorry.