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Home > Archive > CCNA > December 2000 > Sharing some of the real life!
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Sharing some of the real life!
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| Since all of us on here are on here for one reason maybe we can share alittle bit about ourselves. Just things like education or different certs you've attained, type of job in the field and pay range so that ones wanting in the field get an idea of what really to expect. I for example here so much crap it's hard to know whats true and not true.
Thanks again
Viper
Oh I trying to get in the field I am taking the ccna for the second next week and hopefully all will go well. | |
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| Age: 24
Title: Senior System Architect
IT Job Experience: 2 1/2 years
Salary: US$65,000/yr + Bonus
Certs: A+ Certified Hardware Technician
Education: Some college (dropped out in Senior year)
Major: Information Systems
Minor: Music
Other: 3 years of Russian, 2 years of Italian
Operating Systems:
Solaris, OpenBSD, Linux, DOS, Win3.1/95/98/NT, Win2K Professional & Advanced Server
Enterprise Solutions:
Exchange Server 5.5, Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server, SMS 1.2, Enterprise Administrator, Remedy, Quintus
Hardware Supported:
HP NetServer, Dell PowerVault, Compaq Proliant servers, Compaq Deskpro & Armada, Dell Precision & Optiplex GXPro workstations, Latitude CPi laptops, HP Vectra workstations, HP LaserJet Printers
Applications Software Supported:
MSOffice97/98/2000 with specialty in Outlook
Programming Languages:
VB6, Perl5 w/CGI, VBScript, JavaScript, HTML, Pascal, C++
Anybody looking for a systems engineer? Have car, will travel. 
Skip | |
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| Skip, how in the Heck did you get the title of Senior Systems Architect with only 2 years experience!!!! Here in So Cali you have to have at least 6 plus years to get that title and a bunch of Certs, not just A+. Share the knowledge. | |
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| My previous job title was Assistant Vice President, Enterprise Technology Services.
Ok... So I'm a bit of an oddball.
Part of the reason I don't have more certs is because I'm too busy to take the exams. I keep having to reschedule them, so I end up cancelling them altogether. One of the occupational hazards of being in demand. I'm fully competent in the NT 4 MCSE track; I simply never took the time to take the exams. That, and I don't think I need a piece of paper to confirm what my peers and customers already know about me.
The secret to my success so far:
Do your job well, with a smile, and do your utmost to make your customers look good. By customers, I mean anyone who contributes to your paycheck, be it your boss or the clients you support.
Let your style, attitude and work ethic set you apart from the crowd. You will be noticed by the right people eventually.
Some of the books that have directly contributed to my success:
How the Real World Really Works: Graduating into the Rest of Your Life, by Michael A. Goldstein
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, by Napoleon Hill
Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service, by Kenneth H. Blanchard
The Bible (as read to me by my mother when I was a child)
Self Reliance and Other Essays, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
These have done more to shape my character and make me who I am today than all of the rest of my education and training combined.
By the way... I only took the A+ exam because it was required by the company I was working for at the time in order for them to maintain their status with CompTIA. It really does little good on my resume at this stage in my career. 
Skip
[This message has been edited by TheSkipster (edited 10-21-2000).] | |
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| Yea I would say the A+ has little meaning in your life right now. I teach it for National University right now and its boring for me. I also have my A+, my MCSE, and am working on my Cisco stuff.
I am currently a Systems Administrator for a large Architech firm in San Diego. I've been doing the networking stuff a year this December.
I know what you mean about being to busy to take the tests. As the main Systems Admin for my company I do all the work and am on call all the time. The main reason I am studying for my certs is to get a better job. I'm not complaining on what I am getting paid, its pretty well for my age, but I spend have of my time doing help desk stuff and thats not what I want to do. So it gets old. Here is seems no one will even look at you unless you have certs to back it up. I am trying to get with a Engineering company doing contractor work and they said once I have my CCNP they would hire me. So I spend what free time I have studying. I hardly see my wife, never go out, and sit at home all day studying. Take about a hermet. But I have a cause, so its driving me.
The funny thing about this industry is I see a lot of students come into my A+ class because they think they can make easy money fast and not have to go to college for it, in other words a easy way out. But I have studied harder and longer for some of my certs than any college class I have taken. It sure isn't a easy way out, but I think about it as a fun way to work.
Thanks for the info. | |
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| Skipster,
Are you also the same Skipster in the Techmindworks forum?
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| That's me! Small world, isn't it?
Skip | |
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| Age 46:
Title: More or less Network/Sys Admin but I think it's "The Computer Guy" as in "I gotta go, the computer guy is here."
Anyway, I'm one of those aging hippies who did customer service for years out of laziness and decided to actually try a career this year. Did the MCSE thang, starting in February. During that time, the IT fellow at my job, who is one of my mentors, was made an offer to totally revamp the network of a midsize garment firm--he would be at their NJ warehouse, and needed someone in NYC where all the sales offices are. He asked me if I'd be interested, which of course, I was. (By this time I'd learned that the usual entry level was at help desk.)
Gradually becoming less of a paper MCSE--I'm at least an oaktag one now, maybe even cardboard.
Started doing the CCNA simply because I was tired of studying MS type things. When I finish it, which is taking awhile since it seems the year of studying has burned me out, not to mention that like the Skipster, work makes one too busy to study, I'll probably go on to Win2k.
No programming skills to speak of--I think I'm too hyper to make a good programmer, some Linux and AIX, HTML, photoshop, the usual...
I'm also fluent in Japanese which might come in handy when I look for the next job. In NYC at least, while there are a lot of MCSE's, there aren't that many American ones who can speak Japanese.
Scott
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| age:31
Job title: Technical specalist, Professional services Telecom NZ
salary: $60,000 NZ (buying power equiv to about $50,000 us)
Job: Managing delivery of customer networks, includes project work,network analysis, service optimisation, configuration, special projects, technical currency, managing 3rd party vendors etc etc.
Best job I had was working as a consultant for Newbridge networks(now Alcatel) I did nothing for 3 months and got paid $3,600 US a week mmmm.....money
Im off overseas again soon to earn some more filthy money
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| Skipster: Question for you:
How much computer experience do you *really* have in each area? I mean, how long have you known how to use each one...I'm guessing you are self-taught? I am hoping to be that way, myself. I'm starting late (not in my teens), but figure it's never too late. Trying to learn everything, but don't know how to do it any faster. Total 180 degrees in the job area...hahaha...any advice will help!! | |
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| I think that's a fair question.
Here is the actual time I have spent with each technology, as well as my skill level on a scale of 1 to 5 as follows:
1=I know what it does
2=I know enough to get by
3=Average user
4=Better than average
5=Self-Proclaimed Guru
--------------------------
Solaris: 3 (3.5 years of casual use in college)
OpenBSD: 4 (6 months of development & support)
Linux: 3 (1 year of casual use at home)
DOS: 5 (10 years of everyday use & support)
95/98: 5 (2 years of technical support experience)
NT: 5 (1.5 years of enterprise support experience)
Win2K Professional & Advanced Server: 3 (3 months of everyday support)
Exchange Server 5.5: 4 (1.5 years of support experience)
Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server: 3 (6 months of pilot project experience)
SMS 1.2: 4 (1 year of day-to-day use)
Enterprise Administrator: 5 (1 year of day-to-day use)
Remedy: 4 (1 year of day-to-day use)
Quintus: 2 (6 months of casual use)
HP NetServer, Dell PowerVault, Compaq Proliant servers, Compaq Deskpro & Armada, Dell Precision & Optiplex GXPro workstations, Latitude CPi laptops, HP Vectra workstations, HP LaserJet Printers: 5 (2.5 years handling all kinds of hardware support issues, including new server configuration, from shipping crate to rack)
MSOffice97/98/2000 with specialty in Outlook: 5 ('nuff said)
VB6: 4 (1 year development use)
Perl5 w/CGI: 4 (6 months day-to-day development & support)
vbscript : 3 (1 year day-to-day use)
java script: 3 (6 months day-to-day use)
HTML: 5 (3 years development and support experience)
Pascal: 5 (8 years of development and support experience, staring from High School)
C++: 2 (took a class in college but have not used it much since)
Now... What have I done with it?
In a little over two years, I have tripled my pay since my first IT job. Am I ripping off my employer? Hardly. My company bills me out to their customers at about US$100/hr, which comes to about US$200,000/yr. Apparently my services are worth quite some money to some people.
What do I currently do on a daily basis? I am a consultant. I make recommendations on operational best practices. I keep people's enterprise systems from collapsing by giving them a custom-tailored, structured approach to preventative maintenance and performance monitoring. Are my services worth the money? You bet, considering they lose a heck of a lot more money per hour if their systems go down.
Now, if only I could migrate my skillset to the Cisco realm...
Skip
[This message has been edited by TheSkipster (edited 10-22-2000).] | |
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| So there's hope for me, yet?! So most of those things seem fairly easy to pick up...with proficiency (at least a "3" rating) after 6 mos. to a year of hands-on....thanks...gives me strength to plow ahead!! | |
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| Age: 26
Education: BA, zero IT course work
Job Title: Network Engineer
Job Discription: I'm basically a consultant for a networking professional services company (we do almost nothing but Cisco)
Salary: US $65,000 + bonus (appox. 20k-30k)
Experience: 5+ years unless you count 3 years at the university help desk, and you shouldn't.
All of my work is project-based. Projects range from 3 or 4 weeks to several months in duration. Projects are things like designing and implementing a LAN infrastructure to support IP telephony, implementing enterprise-wide ISDN dial-backup and developing the infrastructure for small ISPs.
MadChef | |
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| Age: 29
Title: Unemployed
Salary: A joke
Certs: Zilch
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Major: Music
Experience: Three years managing Web development firm.
OS's: Most versions of Windows, some Linux, tad Mac.
Other computing: Java, Javascript, HTML, multimedia authoring.
I decided to change direction in computing about 2-3 months ago, when I realized I wasn't as interested in Web development as I used to be. I started playing around with hardware, configuring networks, trying to get Linux and Windows in dual boot with shared resources. I found that I really enjoyed this. I was on a chat site speaking to this Linux guru, and he made a side comment about Cisco CCNA. I looked at this via the Cisco Web site and thought, "Hmmm, I really like the look of this." It was networking without the Microsoft pervasiveness about it. So here I am! Hopefully given a year or so (two, three...maybe fifty), I can start charging like MadChef and Skip, although I can hardly imagine being at their level of knowledge in networking.
Cheers,
Deets
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| <Blush> Aw shucks... I'm just learning, myself.
I didn't know you were unemployed, Deets... I hope you make out okay with your job search. Hopefully happier days will come soon.
If you apply yourself as you have been, they'll come sooner than you think.
Cheers,
Skip | |
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| I was once fighter pilot for Frontal Aviaton based in Umba (South of Servermorsk)Russia
Took lessons in Servermorsk, graduated in 94, I have flown TU-BadgerG/J, TU-22M Backfire / resently flown our SU-33 Flanker.
I came to the States, discovered what I want to do, I wanted to become a dental floss tycoon, but that was taken. So then I went back to Russia, and was piloting the IL-76 Mainstay, Russias version of the AWACS. One day I set the contols to cruz and walked back to the communications department,and there sat this square box with all this wire, inputs outputs. I thought what is this box, looks like some type of mixing board for rock bands,(You must remember things are bigger in Russia)I asked, the Wizo, what is that, he said it was a Router, it had "Jackson" written on it, so when we landed, I had a friend help me load it on a truck, took it to my flat, and hooked it up, it did not work, one of the vaccume tubes had a blown out. So a cranked up my 486, and looked up "Router" on the Net, I saw Cisco, there the seed was planted.
I packed up my rabbits and came back to the states, went to college, found it to be slow, and the books where not good, so I started studying at home, took network plus passed,I- Net passed, started studing for CCNA but I desired to build a home or two, along with a wife for each. So I built a home, it fell into the swamp, built a second home , it caught on fire then sank into the swamp, but the third home, was an appartent. It has not sunk or burned up, the wives and the rabbits ran away.
I desired to learn how to build homes so I started a new company called "Beautiful Homes of Texas" . This company does home improvments, and is doing ok, but I am now up to my neck in Crisco.
I have a interview today for desk top help just to get my feet wet, I plan to do the two job thing till I build captial, then I will buy many rabbits.
You know there are five things my dad told me while I was growing up
"When the lord created man ,he gave him two ends,one to sit on,and one to think with,ever since that day,man success or failures has been dependent on which one he uses the most.It has always been a case of heads you win,tails you lose".
So now I stand when I am at a console, Ilike the win win solution better
"The thought that does not result in action is nothing much ,and the action that does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all"
"The truth is so precious that it should be guarded by a bodyguard of lies"-FDR
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| Age: 37
Job title: junior network engineer
Certs: MCSE, CCNA
experience: 1 year
I made a career move last year and set new goals. Started with Microsoft (did some Novell 4.11 too). Became an MCSE two months ago and got interested in Cisco. Started the ICND course and passed the CCNA exam October 10. Although most of my knowledge is in theory, I start to get more hands on experience now. I certainly want to get more experience with Cisco.
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| Hi,
Just thought I'd put in a bit about me <shucks!>
Age: 24
Job Title: Technical Support Manager & IT Advisor
IT Exp: 4 Yrs
Certs: CCNA, MCSE
Education: Dropped Out Of Uni
Wants: To learn Japanese
Salary: Too embarrased to say, let's just say that it ain't as much as you peeps.
As you can probably guess I am interested in Cisco and low-level network stuff. I started out in Support (who doesn't?) I have progressed to managing a tech support dept, I am interested in management and read a lot about it. I try to take bits of different management styles and mould them into my own.
I currently look after, NT4 servers, Linux based firewalls, Novell 3.12 servers (still can't get away from them!), Win95/98/NT4WS etc. I also look after the IT systems of another company, this one is more of a favour than anything else.
I have had a bit of programming experience, VB3,4 and 6, HTML, ASP.
And not a lot else! lol
Speak to you soon!
------------------
Cheers.
TKN (aka Dylan)
CCNA, MCSE, MCP+I | |
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| Age:26
Network Administrator/ Technician for broadcasting co.
Electronics eng. diploma.
A+,N+
2 yrs destop support
8 mnths NOS/network support(NT, Exchange, Citrix,Cisco,Cabletron,Unix)
salary : about $20,000 pa.
( ok , in local currency not too bad, but no good elsewhere)
After ccnp will look to relocate ( maybe Australia,Canada)
CCNA in 2 weeks. | |
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| 35, in school now cus the division of vocational rehab is paying for it, otherwise I would never be able to afford it after losing my leg 3 yrs ago in a bike accident. been workin with computers unofficially (not for pay) for about 8 yrs. I love networking and being the guy that makes stuff happen...pretty cool feeling when you help someone out of a 'puter jam...got my a+ in august, ccna last monday, now goin for ccda while waiting for my school to put in the win2K mcse lab... | |
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| Name: Robert
Age: 27
Location: San Antonio
Job: Frame Relay Provisioner
Salary:Bad, but the experience is wonderful
Certifications: MCSE
Education: Some college, Lots of military training.
Skills: Sun Solaris, Windows NT,95,98,
Frame Relay, Internet, DSL, Provisioning.
DS0, DS1, DS3, etc..
Security Clearance, Fluent in Spanish.
I was a spanish linguist in the navy and worked in a joint service enviornment. I did minor system admin on a solaris network. Got out of the navy in February of this year, went to tech school, and studied and got my MCSE taken care of, at the same time, was offered a JR UNIX admin position with a nice starting salary, and then was let go the day before I started because "someone" didn't like my resume! I didn't even get to prove myself!, anyway, I was getting all these crazy calls from a company wanting me to move to oklahoma, or move to Wisconsin, and fly to Colombia and do computer stuff. I didn't want to move or get shot by drug cartels, and I called that companies local office, and they offered me a job doing frame relay design... Here I am, and I am studying for the ccna because it goes really in depth into what we do here at work, my wife and I are moving to Florida next year, and I would like to move into a different area of this industry (and increase my skills). This is a great forum and I love all the feedback everyone gives!
Rob | |
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| Age 44
Certs A+/MCP/CCNA/Dell Technician
Computers was just a hobby I started in 91.
Self employed HVAC technician for the last 16 years with nothing set for retirement.
Thought I better start looking for better benifits. I have a passion for computers so what better job than your hobby. Started studying for certs 19 mounths ago with A+ that was easy one, then MCSE (just one more test to go),and CCNA. Working on CCND now.
Just landed a job with Siemens Business Services as Network Analyst to get some hands on routers before I go for CCNP. Been at it for two mounths now. I Love it.
My study has been home study except for CCNA I took a course at local tech school to get router time in.
Since I had no actual on job expercince I feel the certs were very helpfull in landing the job with a salary I could live with.
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Lanny
A+/MCP/CCNA
CCNA/CCDA Study Group Page | |
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| What I forgot to mention is that I intend to find work in either Canada or the US in another two or three years. So if somebody has some recommendations I will be obliged.
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| Age: 20
Title: Senior Network Engineer (Cisco Guy)
IT Job Experience: 4Yrs (High School Internships count)
Salary: US$85k/plus Bonus and payed training
Certs: A+,N+,I-Net+,CCA,CCEA,M- ASE,MCNE,CCNA,CCNP,MCSE,CCSA,A
CT,HPStar,OCP.
Education: High School and Currently going to college.
Major: Computer Science
The rest is almost the same as the Skipster but I deal with Nortel/Cisco and Server Cluster Solutions but No Programming.
Interests:
want to work for an ISP (Sprint)
want to get Nortel Certification
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| age: 35
occupation: student(division of vocational rehab paid for school after i lost my leg in a bike wreck 3 yrs ago.)
8 yrs experience with systems
no commercial network exp.
In computer school for Network/Repair/internet specialist.
A+, CCNA, now workin on CCDA while today starts a one month break while school gets all the MCSE instructors win2000 track instructor qualified...lotsa time on my hands to learn...lol | |
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| Age: 31
Job Title: Senior Technical Clerk (Government)
IT Exp.: 7+ yrs
Certs: MCSE, MCP+I
Educations: Somewhere around high school
Salary: Too embrarrased to say!!
Maybe you guys will ask what's the duties for my post? I think no one can figure it out! My main duties are maintain & monitor the web site of the city!! Hahaha!!!
I've just got this job after my 6 months unemployment. Send hundreds of resumes, got 4 interviews, have 1 job!! That's life!!
Tell you guys, MCSE doesn't help much. Maybe too many "Paper MCSE" out there.
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Gareth Leung
MCSE, MCP+I | |
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| Age: 21
BA in History
CCNA v2.0
I have 3 years of experience in LAN management for a computer cabling company that is rapidly expanding...I am going to graduate from college this december and have been offered a position at the same company to initiate and manage a new division that deals with Cisco service so we can be a Cisco Certified Premier Partner. I have been offered a starting salary of $32,000. Does this sound fair? Granted, I have no real practical Cisco experience yet, but I was thinking that $40,000 would be more appropriate for someone with a college degree and LAN experience. I am in southern cali, by the way.
Skipster - how much did you make in your first real IT job?
Thanks,
Danny
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| 35, new jersey, going to school through local division of vocational rehab program after i lost my leg in a bike accident. been workin with computers about 8 yrs, got into it cus of a little game you may remember...DOOM! A+,CCNA, now workin on CCDA, till nov 20 when my school reopens microsoft classes with win2K track mcse training... | |
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| Age:43
Occupation: Comm Tech for large rail transport company - 9yrs.
Salary: 50k +
Manage Division office bldg communications - Lucent G3 switch supporting approx 200 phones, 6 MDFs, digital camera recording equipment, network of rf dispatcher radios, Cisco routers and switches along with 55 win 95 work stations and 3174 controllers to this building as well circuits to several outlying points.
Although I do not administer the networks I have implemented our local LAN and help troubleshoot problems.
I became interested in Cisco 2 1/2 years ago when our company finally decided to upgrade and get ready for the 21st century ( Y2K, remember that?).
I studied 8 months with the Cisco Academy course at a local Tech school.
I also have an associates degree in electronics engineering and an FCC General Radiotelephone Operators License w/ Radar Endorsement. This exam will rival any of Cisco's - lots of memorization (rules) and LOTS of math.
Took my test 2 weeks ago and passed.
I do hope to show our company in the future that our team of communication techs, when certified, will be capable of not only cabling, but also administering as well as troubleshooting our networks.
I love this site and visit it every day.
Good luck to all.
wags2 GROL, CCNA | |
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| Age: 27
Location: Newark,DE
Job: Network Eng.
experience: 4 years
Salary: 75k + 3%
Certifications: MCSE,MCP+I
Education: Some college
Skills: Windows NT Wks/server domain modeling (MMAD/SAD), exch. and SMS. Linux with every possible service it can including CIPE VPNs, lots of DSL and Cisco experience.
Let me add this... I have seen countless resumes from career changers... the IT Field is not a get rich quick field, actually it is for people that have the right skill. A cert doesn't mean [anything] without experience.
Moderator's note: This post has been edited for content as per the forum rules.
[This message has been edited by TheSkipster (edited 10-25-2000).] | |
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| mikeeo,
You are so right. Let me ask you a question how is a person like me who is trying to get in the field get in with no experience. The I.T. field seems to want only experince. If that is all they want how does a person like me get a chance. | |
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| I agree, we don't need negative comments like that. Of course experience is important but getting a certification shows that you are willing to learn and to work hard. Everyone has to start somewhere or else how are we gonna gain experience. | |
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| And Mikeeo...what about those of us who have been in the "wrong" field for a long time? You speak of "career changers" as if its a bad thing! Ever since I first GOT a computer, about 8 yrs ago, everyone around me (except my ex...she hated it) said I should "go to work with computers!" due to a certain "knack" I had that was obvious right off the bat. I stayed in the crap I was doing (med tech...learned in the military) because of the "golden handcuffs". But then my company, that loved me so much, cut me loose after 11.5 yrs cus I couldnt handle it after losing my leg! Best thing that ever happened to me...I have a lot of catching up to do now that im into something I love...at least my new wife loves computers as much as i do! Some people act like elitist fraternity jerks when talking (down) to "newbies" who only want to learn and be a part of something great like the IT industry...we arent all carpet baggers bro! | |
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| quote:
Originally posted by danny226:
Skipster - how much did you make in your first real IT job?
Danny
I started at $10/hr (US). When I got my A+, they upped me to $12/hr. I don't mind having been paid so low... it was one huge intensive boot camp session in a real-world environment. It would have cost me a fortune to get equivalent training in a classroom setting. Sure there was a lot of stress (there were times when I thought I couldn't take it anymore), and yes, they should have paid me more for the type of work I was doing near the end (considering that my company was billing me out at a full engineer's rate), but in the end I was stronger for it and it set the stage for bigger and better things.
Skip | |
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| I've read everyone's post here and am truely impressed by everyone's accomplishments and enthusiasm.
I know when I started the job I'm in that I had little going for me as far as experience.
But I was hired because of my accomplishments and have done very well in my job. I don't get paid as much as some but I love my job and that's what counts.
Now, as far as certs get what you can and stick that feather in your hat - because there ARE employers out there who will train a good prospect.
later,
wags2
Moderator's note: This post has been edited for content as per the forum rules.
[This message has been edited by TheSkipster (edited 10-25-2000).] | |
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| Ok, how does one get a job in the field with no experience? This is a tough one. Firstly, I think that by the time the majority of folks find this list, they've realized that the newspaper ads of make more than doctors and lawyers are simply advertising.
I think the Skipster mentioned it in an early post on this thread---stand out. How? Make other people look good. One reason, I think, that they like me at work, despite my inexperience, and some dumb mistakes made due to it, is that I learned all this through years of customer service. The customer (read user) isn't the interruption to your work, they're the reason for it--if all users were computer masters, they wouldn't need us. Also...this is along the lines of what the Skipster said, but when I was in office supplies, someone taught me--the customer's boss shouldn't even know our name. They should tell the purchaser get supplies, and have them show up without problems. If we had to jump through hoops to make the purchaser look good to their boss, we did it. So, that's a big thing too.
I asked my supervisor why he hired me despite my inexperience--(he was the Network/Sys Admin at the place where I was doing customer service.) He said that it was in part my work ethic--that he and I would talk about how to do something in Linux, and he'd get an email from me at 3:00 am saying, "I did it," and then see me stagger into work on time. Also, my people skills, it was well known how I was beloved of my customers, and also, because he felt that I had the ability to learn and was increasing my knowledge quickly.
I'd say the biggest thing in getting a job with no experience is to network, network, network--pun is intended. Let everyone you know that you're studying computers and looking for a job in the field. Your friend's brother in law's cousin's boss might be looking for a programmer--your friend tells you they need some sort of computer guy--you make the phone call, and though you're not what they're looking for, you make a good impression and this boss tells his friend who suddenly needs an entry level network admin.
There was an experiment done once, (though this may be an urban legend) that indicated that everyone was six people away from someone. That is to say, they took two random addresses in the US, and found that one person could find the other person through asking his friend, who asked his friend, etc--and that it only took about six people before address one could find address two. So LET EVERYONE KNOW---you're looking for an IT job.
Most things can be taught--a lot of places will accept less than they hoped for if you indicate a willingness to learn and eagerness to work. Being willing to work for an entry level salary doesn't hurt either.
What are your other skills? Have you worked for years at a bike shop? Maybe a bicycle company needs a network admin and your shop's owner knows him and will put in a good word for you. Had this job not come along, I was fairly confident of being able to make use of my Japanese language skills to find something.
Luck or providence, or God's help was certainly there for me in finding the job I got--still, though I was in the right place at the right time--I was also the right person for them, too. See that you're the right person. If you're a paper MCSE, fine. It doesn't just show that you can pass tests--it shows that you can learn relatively complicated material in a reasonable amount of time. No one expects the Harvard MBA to come out and be ready to run a business by himself.
Note the Skipster's starting salary--he's right, you can't pay for that type of experience. Today, on the MCSE list, someone posted a question they got during an interview about which of three calls do you take first--to me, the question was an easy one, because now, despite the entry level salary, I'm getting a lot of experience in the real world environment--things you don't learn no matter how often you destroy and rebuild your little home network.
Sorry for the length of this post--but, as a midlife career changer, I sympathize with those who are trying--and one should never criticize them for trying. Instead, admire their courage.
HTH someone.
Scott
[This message has been edited by scottro (edited 10-24-2000).] | |
|
| Right on Scottro! You CAN get a job with no real world experience, I did. I was an auto mechanic for 10 years and decided it was time for a change. They hired me because I was full of enthusiasm for the job and eager as hell to start into it. I have my CCNA study guide on my desk and I read it EVERY day. I'll be the first one at my company to get their CCNA. My boss could pass it easily if he wanted to. You got to jump in and be noticed! | |
|
| I give a lot of credit to the folks in this forum who are in the process of making a career change. It is a brave step to take. Some do so of necessity, and others by choice. In neither case is it easy or for the faint of heart.
The harder you work for something, the sweeter the reward. Take comfort in that.
Skip | |
|
| Age 40
Job-Federal Government (Civil Service)
Salary 55,000 (just for my 40 hour thang)
Length of Employment - 14 years
Systems- Vax 3400, PDP-11/44, Teradyne L200 programming, Fire Control Radar programing, Automatic Test Equipment Programmer(ATLAS & C/ATLAS)), IEEE 488 bus programming, Windows NT Server Admin, Senior System Administrator (Twice), CISCO AVVID Technology Project Engineer, Federal Broadcasting Engineer, Independent Network Consultant.....
Devry Graduate (85) AASET
Cisco CCNA
I love my job...... | |
|
| Age: 43
Location: East Tennessee, US (transplanted Canadian)
Job: Technical Analyst/Help Desk Manager
Experience: tech support - 12 years
Help Desk - 3 yrs as tech
Help Desk Mgr - 1 year
Salary: 50K (should be higher, but pay in this area is low)
Certifications: A+, Network+, HP (printer, server and pc support), Dell (pc and laptop support), IBM (laptop support), MCP, Helpdesk 2000 Cert. Help Desk Mgr, Programmer-Analyst (C/C++; haven't cut code in a few years though),Brainbench (Network Tech)
Skills: Jack of all trades (so to speak). Concentrated on hardware/software for a long time, but have moved into the helpd desk management part. Currently attempting to restructure a multisited manufacturing company's helpdesk. No easy feat as the manufacturing world is a strange place. They don't believe in I.S. departments (at least the one that I'm in)
Not only have I wanted to be Cisco cert. for a long time, but also believe that if I don't know anything about the topic, how can I manage it. (just my thought) | |
|
| 28
England
Cisco Engineer
£55-60,000 a year
I started from school as a PC hardware Engineer and did that for 6 years, moved over to Desktop Support for four years and now at Network Support. Without a shadow of a doubt luck and good people giving me the chance has played a big part in my career. I have a MCP but never put it on my CV because I don't think it worth anything, however CCNA is not the same. When I pass this one I'll be shouting from the roof tops, I say keep up the good work. They are a lot of very smart people on this forum and Networks isn't easy. So keep your head down and get stuck in. | |
|
| Its not that I don't like Career changers its just that they flood the market and DEMAND that make 80,000!!! cause they have a cert. I have to weed through countless resumes to get a good one to the that has what I want. I might tell my project manager that I need another network eng. he places an ad. and we get flooded with ppl with 6 months to a year experience when we ask for 5, but since that have a MCSE or CCNA they think can send it in. And sometimes HR throws out a guys resume with 10 yrs and 1 cert for a person that has 1 yr exp. and 2 certs. Now the guy with 10 yrs could have 5 kids and a wife and doesn't have time to study, but he might know the job inside and out. On the other had we have a 21 year old living with mommy and daddy studies 24hrs a day and gets his certs....now who is better qualified for the job? | |
|
| Almost 28yrs old
Cheshire, England
Position: Systems Support Analyst
Salary: Getting better!
Certs: CCNA 2.0, MCSE, MCP+I
Just over 12 months commercial experience in a desktop/network support role. Began on the path to MCSE 18 months ago. Just got a new job as 3rd line support using Cisco equipment as well as the MS stuff which should provide some hands-on to help with the CCNP exams.
From a total career change (Like I had a career before!)I now feel like my life is actually going somewhere. | |
|
| Mikeeo your spot on, here in England it a bit of a mix. And that depends on who put the ads in, HR or an Engineer.Dillon I'm from Chehsire how spookie is that. | |
|
| Mikeeo,
I agree with you as regards the flooding of the market.
All I can say is that there are self-correcting mechanisms built into our society. As soon as a field becomes hot, it gets saturated. Then it cools down, or there is an outright backlash and the field becomes uncool. Another hot field pops up. It's how markets work in the free world.
You can ask for any salary you want. If you ask for too little, you find yourself with lots of job offers but you will be really underpaid. If you ask for too much, nobody will want to hire you. YOU name your salary.
Now, old PT Barnum knew what he was saying when he said there's a sucker born every minute. I'm sure of them grow up to be recruiters or work in HR. Sure you can get a job for $80K straight out of high school with your MCSE if you are persistent enough.
Just make sure that after you've made it past HR you have the good sense to handle the technical interview with poise. And if you make it past that, do your utmost to shine in your new position. If you do your job exceedingly well nobody will regret how much they're paying you or how little working experience you might have.
I will say this: IT is a rapidly changing industry. I quite frankly don't think 10 years of experience in all of the wrong technologies will make you more qualified than someone who has just learned his stuff yesterday. More seasoned, perhaps, but not necessarily more qualified.
For example, I have 2 1/2 years of actual IT work experience. Every single hour of those 2 1/2 years were spent working with relevant enterprise technologies. Am I automatically less qualified than a guy with 10 years of experience in the field? Experience in what, I ask? If most of your career was spent dealing with technologies that are no longer relevant, then you really don't have an edge when it comes to emerging technologies that didn't exist for most of your career.
Experience should be looked at qualitatively, rather than quantitatively.
[This message has been edited by TheSkipster (edited 10-25-2000).] | |
|
| Mike you can't say that all 21 yr old's are the same. I have experience with every o/s out there. I was blessed because I have people that helped me out when I needed them. As far as certification goes you are right on that. I work with plenty of MCSE's and they do not know nothing, meanwhile they are making 50-80k. Is this fair?? NO
I have been killing myself since high school and I believe I do deserve to get what I'm worth out there. I do hope that everybody that is trying to get in this industry can make it, because in this world we have many jealous and selfish people that do not want you to make it. The only reason you are mad Mike its probably because you don't have as much as certification as those 21 yr old's that live with mommy and daddy. People have to start from somewhere, we are not experts. We always rely on someone. Come on now, I understand that you and your company need experienced people but tell me something... What happens if you get someone with experience and offer them burgers instead of steaks??(jaja) they would leave. That's why its always better to get someone who is willing to learn and except any amount of money (well that's what I think I would do). I am sorry if I insulted anybody here but as you can see, this is a forum and people like to post to help each other.
This is for the Webmaster:
Can you put a forum for Nortel certification? | |
|
| Age:28
Location: NYC
Job: System admin/technical annalists
Experience:1 year
Salary: A Big Joke
Certification: None
Education:City University of New York
Major: Computer technology/telecommunication
Skills: Windows NT Wks/servers, Cisco routers
2500,3102,switches 3500,5000.
Briefly: 7 floors of network infrastructure,
extended WAN to NJ and TX, 250 user -NT Wks.
20 network printers, NT servers
Maintain,help out, troubleshoot,configure, install, figure out WAN problem, document infrastructure, solve dial-in problems by phone (users often travel in France or England w/ their laptops ).
work 24/7 | |
|
| Keepalive, in response to fisherman's post "CCNA without experience":
quote:
Originally posted by fisherman:
I just finished the N+ and want to get into the hardware side of networking. Is it possible to land a job with ONLY the CCNA Cert and no CISCO experience. What are my options? I have a Bachelors in MIS and 1 1/2 years experience in PC break/fix.
[This message has been edited by TheSkipster (edited 10-31-2000).] | |
|
| Good question, as I am net+ and CCNA, looking for a job, ( am I the only one here?) I have about a year managing a 5 seat NT network, but want to move on to bigger and better things. I would really like to get some experience working with routers and switches, but I dont want to take an unrelated help desk job. This thread has gotten so long, is anyone going to read this way back here?
------------------
Its alright Cisco, i'm only bleeding...
- adapted from Bob Dylan | |
|
| I always skip directly to the last page of the post right from the main page... Neat new feature, huh?
I was actually in a worse spot than you. I found myself unemployed with nothing but an A+... I landed a job on Wall Street supporting a 1200-user NT network. That served as a stepping stone to even bigger and better things.
There's an old saying my mother used to tell me as a child, He who is adept in his trade will not work for common men; he will serve before kings. It means that if you do your job well, you will be noticed by the right people.
If you have the right attitude, determination, a willingness to learn and are not afraid of hard work, then you can overcome any obstacle that stands in your path to success.
Skip
[This message has been edited by TheSkipster (edited 11-01-2000).] | |
|
| Age 30.
Senior Site Engineer.
Salary £25,000
Certs. MCSE. A+. CCNA,(soon).
Am currently working as a site engineer for my local college. Because of financial constraints, the college aren't able to pay big bucks. However, they are very willing to provide loads of training and hands on with every aspect of network admin, from Routers to desktop.
I am one of those people who re-skilled from an engineering background, and I admit, a lot of people who studied for the MCSE at the same time as me, were in it for the bucks. I know how hard I worked for my MCSE, so when my employers asked me if I thought the cert was worthless, I replied that it was if you weren't willing to put in the work. The certs are only as good as the persons' attitude to taking them!
I was also asked to describe myself in ONE word. I replied 'enthusiastic.'
My only words of wisdom are; don't have your head up your own *** and work for it!
Mike
| |
|
| This has got to be one of my favorite discussions ever. I still read through it from time to time for inspiration.
I thought some of the newcomers to the forum might benefit from reading it.
Cheers,
Skip | |
|
| Do your job well, with a smile, and do your utmost to make your customers look good. By customers, I mean anyone who contributes to your paycheck, be it your boss or the clients you support.
Let your style, attitude and work ethic set you apart from the crowd. You will be noticed by the right people eventually
There's an old saying my mother used to tell me as a child, He who is adept in his trade will not work for common men; he will serve before kings. It means that if you do your job well, you will be noticed by the right people.
If you have the right attitude, determination, a willingness to learn and are not afraid of hard work, then you can overcome any obstacle that stands in your path to success.
[the skipster]
hey skip, that's really inspire me
something I knew, but often forgot
bravo skip
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|
|
Skip | |
|
| Well guys I am going on my first interview next week for a field service tech position. I am so excited just hope I don't blow the interview from being so nervous. I have a ccna and getting ready to start on the mcse. I feel this position if I get it will give me lots and lots of hands on experience.
Thanks to all the cool ppls in this forum......
Viper | |
|
| Best of luck Viper! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Cheers,
Skip | |
|
| quote:
Originally posted by viper31:
mikeeo,
You are so right. Let me ask you a question how is a person like me who is trying to get in the field get in with no experience. The I.T. field seems to want only experince. If that is all they want how does a person like me get a chance.
To Viper, you have to REALLY want to make the change. I am a career changer also. I was in the building trades for 16 years. I am an MCSE now, but as soon as I got my MCP I thought that I'd be able to send out my resume and pick where I wanted to work. I had a rude awakening of course. You just have to make a decision about what you will and will not do and stick to it. Be determined! If you try long enough someone will give you a chance....you just have to keep working at it. Somebody gave me a chance, and somebody will you too!
| |
|
| Madchef,,,,,,, Wilt thou help thee. Just a smiggin of enlightenment???? my persistence and drive a dimenishing.
just taking a sanity break from the books.
recharge my battery.
impressive resume, lucky you! Hoping that my CCNA will open the doors that I need, since no doors are opening now,,, Christmas eve, all alone in this cold dark, wet evening.
Well, me and my cisco books, lol silky. | |
|
| quote:
Originally posted by danny226:
Age: 21
BA in History
CCNA v2.0
I have 3 years of experience in LAN management for a computer cabling company that is rapidly expanding...I am going to graduate from college this december and have been offered a position at the same company to initiate and manage a new division that deals with Cisco service so we can be a Cisco Certified Premier Partner. I have been offered a starting salary of $32,000. Does this sound fair? Granted, I have no real practical Cisco experience yet, but I was thinking that $40,000 would be more appropriate for someone with a college degree and LAN experience. I am in southern cali, by the way.
Skipster - how much did you make in your first real IT job?
Thanks,
Danny
just curious??? Your work wouldn't by chance be expanding to houston/??????/
I just cant even get in the door slinging cable, much less sweeping or supporting any network.... Will my ccna change anything????
I'll work for free,,, sleep at work,,, eat take out for as long as it takes,,,,anything. Sincerely,,,Silky....
| |
|
| OK Guys....enough!!! I am thinking of quitting the CCNA studies...after reading all this I am so very discouraged...trying to make a career change...dont see any hope for myself. Who will be willing to give me a job with just enough to survive?(i am not asking for a lot of $$$ just to survive for atleast 2 years) with A+ and Network+ and CCNA pending? Do you think I have a chance? I dont mind the paycut...I just want a chance in the IT field. I guess the first thing to do is to post a resume? I am so afraid to make one (more afraid that i might do it wrong) so I dont even know what do u put in the resume for someone like me who is changing careers...has no IT experience but just have A+ and N+ ???? Can some one help me create a resume that could be acceptable by the employer? Any help would be welcome. I will post the resume and give myself one month. If any sucess than good if not than I will quit the IT field. Maybe it is not for me. THanks Please reply :Tulip4CCNA@AOL.COM | |
|
| quote:
Originally posted by Tulip:
I will post the resume and give myself one month. If any sucess than good if not than I will quit the IT field. Maybe it is not for me. THanks Please reply :Tulip4CCNA@AOL.COM
If I would of made an agreement like that with myself....I would of never gotten my first job! Sometimes it take a long time to get that chance. If you really want it, you have to be patient and keep trying.
| |
|
| Thats some strong words Tulip. I'm basically in the same position you are in now. I don't have any friends who have the same sense for the IT industry as I do. I am all alone. I am going for the Cisco Track, all the way to CCIE. I heard MCSE is not worth that much as it once was years ago. Hopefully, Cisco won't go through the same path Microsoft did. CCIE is the most prestigious certification put there, because it includeds a hands on lab test as well as a written one. As for job searching, to tell you the truth I haven't had one job in my whole life, not even working at Mc'Donalds. But, in my heart I know I will get a job at a local ISP (thats where most IT's start off). I plan to get the job hopefully after I complete my CCNA, where I live there is a massive demand for IT's all over here. So hopefully I will get the job. I don't know if this helps you, but I wish you all the best in the world, that goes for every other person on this site as well. May God bless you all.
Smoke | |
|
| Tulip,
Don't give up. I know it's tough. I've had my days where I just wanted to cry because it hurt so bad... but I'm the kind of determined person that refuses to give up.
Tulip, let me ask you a few questions: Do you really want a job in the IT field? How badly do you want it? Why?
Skip | |
|
| Yes, I really want to be in theIT field and I want it very badly!!!!! (ping) I can go on for ever and fill this page with reasons for the above. | |
|
| Tulip, just be patient and keep your sights on what you want! I think there is an even mix of people here that are like you, and people that have gotten an IT job and accumulated experience. Believe me, there were times that I felt as you do now, but these guys that have the really great jobs now started out just like everyone else. Nothing was given to anyone....you have to sacrifice for what you really want in life. Just try not to do as me and get depressed when nobody responds to your resume. Keep on trying...I've been there, and so has the majority of people here. If you want it...you'll do it! | |
|
| I think you got me wrong there...I dont have a resume. My note above explains why i cannot make a resume. I am afraid i might do it the wrong way..thats why i need help (a para) to how to make a resume impressive to catch their eye...esp. for someone with no IT background except: A+ and N+ and CCNA pending...then I will post the resume and play the waiting game. I just need help with just a part of the resume...starting to end.(Not with the whole resume) Thanks | |
|
| age: 26
Location: muscat,oman (from India)
Job: customer support Eng.
experience: 4 years
Salary: USD 14k but above average in local currency.
Certifications: MCSE,CNA5,ASE,CCNA,one paper of CCNP (BSCN)
Education: bachelor degree in Electronics & communication.
Skills:
Languages:
Assembly language of : 8051 ,8085, 8086
C , C++ , Basic,Fortran, HTMl Language.
RDBMS :Oracle 8.0/Developer 2000, Sybase 10.0, Access 97
Operating Systems:
DOS, Windows95, Windows NT 4.0, DG Unix, Mac 8.6
Netscape Suite Spot
(Messenger, proxy, enterprise, calendar, administration, Collabra)
exp: worked for 2 yrs in the multimedia PC( dirty work)in India.
came to Oman, working extensively on all Compaq products, NT, DG/UX, MAC.
Installed & configured only swicthes from Cisco & Nortel.
| |
|
| quote:
Originally posted by Tulip:
I dont have a resume.
That's impossible. You DO have a resume. Maybe you didn't put it on paper yet... Start at http://jobsmart.org; the "functional resume" is for you.
Cheers!
[This message has been edited by dmaftei (edited 12-25-2000).] | |
|
| quote:
Originally posted by dmaftei:
That's impossible; You DO have a resume. Maybe you didn't put it on paper yet... Start at http://jobsmart.org; the "functional resume" is for you.
Cheers!
THANKS...I am checking this out!!!
[This message has been edited by dmaftei (edited 12-25-2000).]
| |
|
| I got done reading through this thread, I think it helped me out alot to read through it. | |
|
| Just a brief note (some of you already know my situation.)
I've been unemployed for months now. The more I go for jobs, attend interviews etc., the more I learn about what to do and what not to do. You've got to be on your toes, and always thinking and assessing. If I had given up after one month, I'd be in BIG trouble now. But that's not in my nature. When you feel you've been knocked down a hundred times, simply say to yourself: "Let's see if I can make it to two hundred!" The laws of probability say that somewhere, somehow you'll eventually get there, and make a success
Cheers,
Deets
P.S. This was something valuable I learnt when in sales/phone canvassing. When they talk about "a numbers game" they mean it! Create heaps of opportunities, and something will come your way! | |
|
| Occupation: Systems Administrator
Certs: CCNA MCSE A+ Network +
Location: NYC
Salary: Mid 40's..
I play round robin with desktop support for a 100 user company. I've been in the field for 8 months, before I was driving a bus. I got disgusted with that and decided to make a career change 1 1/2 years ago. Started self studying networking in general, then I fell into the unavoidable MS networking MCSE track. The weeks that I am off of support I get to work on network related projects, which is fun, last week I did a Norton's enterprise roll out. The 8 months that I've been in the field I've got to mess with a lot of stuf, from top of the line laptops, blackberrries switches, routers, Sun Enterprise servers, backup robots, HP design jet printers and tons of software.I get to total control over the nt servers and If something related to the router needs to be taken care of, it gets sent to me. So far it's been good to me. Although I really wish for more network engineering stuff (which they don't need that much of here) so I continue to study on my own and hopefully things will fall into place.
Some of the guys on this board (although they may not like to admit it) are guru's in the making ( you know who you are). I hope to get to that point, I don't know if I can just by studying and not having everyday hands on work to do. But I am going to try. I study everyday on my train ride to and fro, and also spend an hour after the wife goes to bed everynight reading up.
One thing I know is that if I am ever going to be as competent as some of the guys on this board I need to study,study, study....... | |
|
| Age: 37
Job Title: Supervisor, Network Operations Center
Salary: $70K + bonus
Education: BA, Master of Divinity (no computer stuff on these, obviously)
I was a Lutheran pastor for 7 years after graduation from Seminary. I was poking and prodding PC's since they came out, and built a fair number of IBM XT clones to make some money while going to school in the late '80's.
For a few different reasons, I needed to do a career switch in 1997. I figured if I could teach Word Perfect 5.1 to print Greek and Hebrew, I could do something worthwhile for an employer. I put together a functional resume ("here's what I've done with PC's, here's what I can do for an employer ..."). I got several desktop support jobs AS A CONTRACTOR. Many places that wouldn't look at you twice as a permanent employee will take a chance on you as a contractor, since if you don't work out they can get you out the door much easier.
Whenever I needed a job in the early days, I would hit the job sites (monster, www.dice.com, etc), the help wanted newsgroups, and the Chicago Tribue help wanted ads. Between FAX and emails, I'd try to contact 200 potential positions within 48 hours. (Amazing what you can do with a form letter and an MS Word Macro that just asks you the name of the employer, the name of the contact there, the job title, and automatically inserts them into your cover letter and then faxes or emails it to the appropriate place ...). Some of that 200 would be an updated resume to a list of contract houses I kept adding to and expanding. I also kept business cards from all the people I ran across in previous job hunts, even if I never ended up working with them.
By the time I was done, the phone would ring fairly non-stop for a few days, I'd stack up a dozen job interviews, and be working (contract) fairly quickly.
After about 18 months of this, I had solidified my skills, had a much better resume and some experience, picked up my A+, started on my MCSE, and gotten a very good feel for the industry. On one of my "shoot out at least 200 resume" gigs, I ended up in touch with my current employer. I saw a chance to get out of the desktop/server arena and grabbed it. They liked my "I can learn it" attitude, they liked how I had taught myself all sorts of things under less than ideal circumstances in some previous jobs, and they hired me and trained me to be a NOC analyst with no router experience (I knew what they did, and had a good grasp of LAN technologies, but had never logged into a router before). Note that if I hadn't said to myself, "What do you have to lose?", and shot them a resume and cover letter with my silly little MS Word macro, as one of a couple of hundred resumes I sent out, I never would have ended up there.
Just over 2 years in with them, I've been promoted 3 times, gotten invaluable experience and training, and a pretty nice paycheck to go with it.
At work, we do WAN monitoring and troubleshooting for about 50 clients' WAN's, almost exclusively Cisco-based. When carriers have bad days, our lives get quite ... interesting.
Advice for the new folks in the industry:
1) It helps of course to be in a larger city.
2) Think of yourself as something to sell, and GO SELL IT. Put together a functional resume (that emphasizes, "I did this, I did this, I can do that") that is tailored for what the potential employer is looking for.
3) ADVERTISE! In this context, that means get your resume in front of LOTS of people. The resume will never get you the job, nor is that the goal. You want the resume to be interesting enough to get the INTERVIEW. Whatever you can do to make it easy for the poor slob who's got a stack of several hundred resumes will help. I made a very clear, concise chart ranking myself on Windows 95 support, NT server support, LAN infrastructure, etc., ranking myself from 1-5. It gave that person a quick way to decide I was worth taking a look at, instead of yet another resume he/she didn't really want to read. (The resume, featuring 2-3 technical highlights for each previous job, was obviously there also.)
4) Use the contract houses to get your foot in the door. They make money placing people, and are far less particular about experience if you can show them some competence. And never, ever, ever, "screw" your contract house (or a client). You never know when you'll need them again. Contracting has its definite downsides, but it can be a way to get your foot in the door, get wide exposure to things quickly, and ramp up your income faster also.
5) Have a "never say die" work ethic. Stay for the 15-hour shift when you're buried in work. Go all-out to solve whacko problems. People will notice. Then you can use them for professional references and they will sing your praises. Not to mention it's solving the weird things that teaches you things in a way you're not likely to forget.
By the way ... my screen name is a nickname one of my guys at work gave me.
doctorcisco
------------------
Silicon is made from sand; nothing made from sand is allowed to wreck my day! | |
|
| Age: 36
Occupation: Network Administrator
Salary: 36k
Experience: 1 year
Location: Fort Worth
Certs: MCSE, MCP+I
I, like many other people made a career change. I worked fulltime and took some instructor led MCSE courses at night. I hit a LOT of brick walls trying to get someone to call me in for an interview. I finally got someone to hire me for a contract job. I then got a chance to interview for my current job and the rest is history.
I'm responsible for all the system backups, configuring MSSQL backups, desktop support for about 100 users. I'm developing logon scripts for users. I get to do anything I want to with the servers. We just got in a 3602 Cisco router that I'm going to help configure with new Frame Relay service. We are going to install a SAN with fiber channel and also are going to install gigabit ethernet.
So you see....I feel like I am WAY underpaid, but look at the experience I'm getting. Money isn't everything, and I really like the two guys I work with. They aren't threatened by me and always have a helpful attitude!
| |
|
| That's awesome! I wish I could get my hands on that type of equipment. Just think how good that will look on your resume!
Cheers,
Skip | |
|
| Age 31
years in IT - 9
Title - Sr. Network Engineer
Certs - CNE, MCSE, CCNA, CCA
Salary - $70k + bonus
Military - EOD, DV, SW
Degree - Masters in Hard Knocks, other than that...nada
I never chose this field....I fell into it by accident.
I was EOD/DV in the Navy and got kicked out with a disability during the great Reduction In Force in Jan. 1992. Living in northern California during a recession with no marketable skills above the surface or outside of the Govt....I took the only job offered to me.....yanking cable through cielings and crawling under buildings installing network and phone cabling. Being smarter than the average bear, I progressed into network communications and OS's
For those of you looking for a job...don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone to get your foot in the door. You may want to be a SysAd, or eng. but you may have to start as a cable jockey first. You may also have to move.
Tulip - I have alot of family in the No. Va and Maryland area...it is expensive to live there and from my understanding the cost of living vs. average pay isn't the best. My cousin has a Masters degree in CS as well as several certs and is still havng a hard time finding decent coin, so maybe you should head south a bit to the Carolina's, Ga. or Fl.
Good things happen to good people, you just have to wait your turn.
Different areas of the country, and world for that matter, have different job markets. No. California and No. Carolina have alot of R&D, New York has everything financial, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Jacksonville, Boca Raton, all have some of that and more. Determine what you want to do, find out where they do it, and have the intestinal fortitude to make it happen. | |
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| Name: Eric Martin
JOB: U.S. MARINE
Job within Job: Network Administrator
Job within Job within Job: Phone man (long story)
Certs: Level 1 certified police officer in California, EVOC, Expert Testimonial Heresay Witness, Tear gas, PR-24, 9mm, M16A2 (notice the trend? Had to change careers..again long story)blah blah I hate doing that stuff blah
Current Work Environment: 200+ users, 15 switches, fiber, 10/100baseT, Coax, Thick, Thin, mainframe databasing, NATURAL Programming, COTS designs, GOFER, Phone man, and finally: the go to guy.
IT experience: Self taught past 4 years.
Greatest Accomplishment: Made the Marine Corps (yes, your tax dollars!) to send me to Linux and Oracle training in exchange for 1 1/2 years extension on duty.
Knowledge: As much as a modern moran like myself can retain
Age: 24
Married: Yes, two kids
Best IT advice to user!: REBOOT!!
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