Unmotivated to study/obtain cert due to lack of experience

Hey everyone just looking for some general input, this is my first post.

I spent the majority of last year searching for an IT job with my A+ cert alone. I finally was able to find a help desk job and began at the start of this year. Unfortunately 9 months in i was laid off. Ive been shooting out resumes for the past 2 months, just looking to get back into help desk with the same salary, just looking to pad the resume with time. With only 9 months on my resume i feel getting any type of cert at this point is a waste of time because im destined for help desk again. If i go for the ccent or mcsa i really dont think it will provide a better job opportunity when the HR person see's 9 months. When the job posting for non help desk is already requesting 3-5 years of experience. The only upside i can see to this, is that the cert last 3 years, and after 2 years i could jump ship from help desk and i already have my cert to pursue a promotion lol.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

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Comments

networker050184

Well, with that attitude no one would ever move up quickly. I've been given all of my opportunities by showing I'm motivated and eager to learn not so much that I already have years experience doing the job. With about a year under your belt, a nice resume, a cert or two and some good interviewing skills I don't see why you can't at least take a bit of a step up. Self motivate because no one else cares about your career.

jamesleecoleman

I agree with networker050184. You gotta just keep at it and see what you can get into. If you have a job now and you're not in IT then talk to the IT people about different subjects so that they know that someone on staff is interested in IT. You might not even get back in IT for a while or you could get something in a few days. It's crazy like that.

You could pad your resume by volunteering. Check out Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed.com for jobs.

A lot of people are gonna be looking out for themselves first because they need to survive and they have goals. You gotta find a reason to motivate yourself. You surviving and trying to make it back into IT should be two good reasons to study.

markulous

You can't just look at how something benefits you now. You have to look at the future also. Maybe a CCNA or MCSA isn't going to get you a network/sys admin position at double what you were making right away, but it's a step in the right direction at learning more, improving your resume, and setting yourself up for success in the future.

You also never know what kind of opportunities will pop up. Companies are much more willing to take a shot on a guy that is self-motivated, trying to learn everything he can, has long-term goals, but lacks a ton of experience over someone that has a few years experience and none of that.

kohr-ah

First welcome to the forum.

You need to change your thought ration or you are doomed to fail.
You are 1 person in 7 billion. What makes you special if I interview you? I can find tons of people with an A+. You need to stand out. Show your eagerness to learn and passion for what you do and willingness to further yourself. You dont have to get the cert right away but the experience you get from the cert is worth it to show that you are willing to further yourself.

No one will hand you the world. Oddly enough, I think the movie Rocky described it best.

You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.

danny069

In this field only the motivated stay ahead kid. You have to want it. Nobody is going to promote you unless you're a hard worker or a kiss ass, and who wants to be a kiss ass? Sure you don't need certifications, but if I were hiring someone I would like to see that person actively working towards a goal such as a certification or degree, etc. Stone Cold Steve Austin once said, "if you're not here to be champion then why you are you here?"

fmitawaps

First, there aren't that many promotions in IT jobs, You get to a higher level job by applying for it at other companies. Second, it's good that you at least have the A+, but it is ONLY an A+. And 3 years of help desk is no better than 1 year of help desk.

Look for Desktop Support jobs. No more help desk jobs. Help Desk is like the janitor job of IT. Do you want to be a janitor forever? Desktop support is the IT people who receive new computers into a company, image them, get them all ready, and set them up for the employees and then take the old computers away. And while you're doing that, be talking to your supervisor and the network admin if there is one and find out what skills and training and certifications they got and how they got them.

I did 3 years of desktop support jobs with no certifications. It didn't take me long to move into better desktop support jobs, but employment opportunities were always limited by having no certifications. I didn't get interviews for jobs I knew I could do, and had already done in other places because of having no certs. I have my Cisco CCT now and will be taking my CCENT test in a couple weeks.

At my current job, I am on the border between desktop support and Jr. Network Admin. I work a lot with the network administrator, setting up racks, installing switchgear, running Ethernet and fiber lines to the switches, etc. And we have a few hundred computers to image yet for the new network. But I take advantage of the time with the network admin to ask questions and learn. We had 40 of the 3750 switches we took out when the new 3850s were put in, and he had me clear all the user names and passwords out of the 3750s, and now I use a few in my spare time to make switch configurations for practice. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know. And there's only one way to get through it and move on to higher level jobs - LEARN!!!

Start working on your CCENT. No more help desk jobs. Look for desktop support. Push hard for it, because if you don't try, you will get nowhere.

I have my current job down. I'm not worried about doing it more or better. I am focused on learning as much as I can now, so when this contract assignment ends in a few months, I will be more qualified for the next, higher level IT job.

markulous

I wouldn't say to avoid help desks at all costs. You can get some good experience at some and it's better than not having a job.

kohr-ah

markulous wrote: »

I wouldn't say to avoid help desks at all costs. You can get some good experience at some and it's better than not having a job.

Also my friend just went to networking from help desk as he got certified while doing it and showing how much he loves it. It took him a year and a half but the joy he shows for it is worth it (he got his CCNA via the 2 test method)

E Double U

danny069 wrote: »

Stone Cold Steve Austin once said, "if you're not here to be champion then why you are you here?"

He also said, "What?".