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Home > Archive > CCNP > September 2001 > Job Market Question
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Job Market Question
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| Robocop_OCP 2001-08-31, 7:02 pm |
| Can someone please tell me your opinions on the job market regarding IT?
Are there more jobs out there for Cisco professionals, MCSE professionals, Programmers or DBA's? I know that the job market is terrible right now nationwide, but any general input would help. | |
| peterd 2001-09-03, 1:33 am |
| Hi Robocop,
this is a tricky one. In the UK we keep reading about certain skills being in demand...
Java, C programming, Cisco engineers, etc, but as far as I can see these change with every report that gets published.
there are probably places scattered around the world that have too many people with one skill-set and not enough people with another.
I suppose it's a case of deciding what you want to do (or what you're good at) and finding a place that has a need for someone with those skills.
If I was starting again then I'd be looking for skills that not too many other people have, ie, there are millions of people with MCSE's so there's not much point going for that, you may as well concetrate on something else, like Database Programming, Network Security, etc...
I'd also say that unless you're lucky you're going to have to move elsewhere to find a job...
Regards
Peter | |
| doctorcisco 2001-09-05, 2:45 pm |
| I was in the job market June-August, and have landed in something lower on the ladder (dollars and responsibility both) than I'd hoped, but I'm thankful nonetheless. Of a dozen former coworkers who hit the market when I did, 1 besides me is employed last I knew.
If you're looking to be a Cisco engineer in Chicagoland, you need to be CCIE or very close, with several years of verifiable experience. It's a buyer's market. Salaries are down somewhat; what's wayy up is what employers are getting for their money right now. They are being much pickier about which resumes they like. The can afford to be ... recruiters and employers I spoke with indicated they were seeing *dozens* of resumes for positions that would likely have gone begging 18 months ago.
My one contribution to the "which skills" question is that the best answer may be, "Both/several." In particular, I saw a number of positions asking for UNIX *and* Cisco skills. Those folks are apparently harder to find. I also saw a fair number of straight UNIX admin positions. My lack of UNIX experience was/is a definite drawback.
FWIW,
doctorcisco | |
| drizzits 2001-09-05, 3:15 pm |
| This one is very easy I think.
If you have experience "I mean real experience" then you should go the cisco route. If you don't have any experience then you should go the mcse route. It is easier to find a job with your mcse then cisco cert. There are more jr/Sr system administrators then network engineers. Cisco is a cert you go for once you get a ground base not for entry level. | |
| ciscogirl 2001-09-05, 5:33 pm |
| I can't imagine a cert with less credibility or marketability than the MCSE. If I were starting out from ground zero I'd certainly skip the MCSE and try to get my foot in the door somewhere with maybe an A+ or Net+ cert. Those salaries may not be high but entry level jobs should be available in California. | |
| Retired-Mod 2001-09-05, 6:00 pm |
| Although I agree the MCSE is not highly regarded, it certainly pulls more weight then any A+ or N+ cert. I have the MCSE and A+ and no longer have a use for either. The MCSE I'm letting expire and the A+ I don't even mention, but if you are just gettng started then you should probably do all of them. They sure don't hurt if you don't spend a ton of money on classes.
Retired | |
| mkhan 2001-09-06, 12:25 am |
| I belive it is the mater of your choice, you can go with MCSE+CCNP as you can see the most of the IT recruiters demand mixed IT expereice in cisco/microsoft, also it is mater of your interest in field as market is really competing and the success is with one who has more expereince and dedication in his field of ineterest.
do not just bother your self to pile up the certification load on head.
You can get many Microsoft jobs if you have good expereince and knowledge and same case with cisco. | |
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| I agree with doctor-cisco.. The best thing to have is a combo of skills, and anyone who does netwroking knows the importance of UNIX. I would say if you have some cisco knowledge, learning Unix would take you a lot farther than knowing Microsoft. All of us should know basic microsoft networking config, and understand ping, traceroute, nbtstat, and ipconfig.
However if you can do the same with Unix, that would be a huge advantage. I too lack in the Unix world, and have found it to be a drawback of mine, although it has not hindered me in my job at this point.
I have my MCSE and CCNP, and am sooner or later going to be shooting for the lab, but one thing is for sure, too best sitaute my self in the market, and also to be the best network guy I can, I should be learning UNIX, (again not to be a sysadmin), but too be able to troubleshoot. | |
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| VenomBlade 2001-09-07, 12:13 am |
| I have to agree right now the job market does suck atleast here in the Washington DC area. But things do seem to be looking better. A month ago if I looked to see what was out there there might have been 3 new jobs a days posted now its more like 10 or 15. Still not like the better days of just a year and a half ago but better than it has been. | |
| peterd 2001-09-07, 2:00 am |
| Hi
Sean34:
maybe you should have gone with Accounting?
It's the one department in our company that is still growing while others are dropping jobs every week!
It's a bad situation in IT now but it'll pick up again. In fact, following on from what VenomBlade just said, the financial reports in the last week indicate a slight upturn.
We may have been lucky and missed the worst of a recession, who can say?
Just one other point regarding 15 years experience..when you get to that point it's time to knock about five years off your CV (Resume) as prospective employers think you're too old at 35 to take on a new job!
Regards
Peter | |
| wirechild 2001-09-07, 1:04 pm |
| Where I live a CCNP with 5 years experience makes about 50K... A Registered Nurse with 1 year experience makes about 55K...... |
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