Need some career advice from those in IT

[jonathanc]

I am thinking of trying to get into the IT sector. At the moment I have degrees in computing and engineering and I am also taking the MCDST and MCTS examinations. I can say I am highly proficient in using most Microsoft based softwares and also have a basic programming experience in C/C++.

 

I am aiming for entry level roles and have tried applying for desktop support/analyst jobs but I am not getting any response at all

 

I am just wondering if people with more experience could give me some advice as to what do I have to do to maximise my chance in getting employment in the IT sector. I guess my greatest weakness is I don't have the relevant experience but I am willing to obtain any qualifications needed and also start from the very bottom.

 

Where should I look and what job title should I am for etc... not really fussed about salary at the moment as long as I could get employed on a permanent basis.

[caseys]

Look for a job in Operations as an operator, this will give you a very good grounding and understanding of how the core of any it department run (smaller companies

 

I came from an operations background myself, working 12 hr day/night shifts at a financial institution, it really does make you understand a lot. That and a bank holiday is far from a holiday for anyone in the financial sector bar traders and commercial staff

 

Systems analyst is a common title, or systems engineer. What are you looking to get into in IT? Programming? Database? Network? Infrastructure? Software design or implementation? Storage management? Project management?

 

IT whilst generalised has many specialties nowadays unless you work in very small companies.

 

PM me if you want to know any more abou anything bar programming. I can give the lowdown on most things I've mentioned above, never programmer at a career level.

 

But two bits of advice :

 

1. Show initiative and have the resolve to back it up.

2. Never start any explaining sentence with "I think..." as if you say that you obviously haven't.

 

Oh and be prepared to never work just 9-5. No job in IT worthwhile is easy.

 

Si

[kazama76]

MOD have a department called GIST, its a civil service position, salary is pretty good. Plenty of holiday's too

Providing you're quite close to a military base.

[JustGav]

Oh and be prepared to never work just 9-5. No job in IT worthwhile is easy.

Si

 

9-5??? Okay, I'll give you that I roll out of bed at 9ish, but I'm usually still working way past 10ish...(at night)

[jonathanc]

Look for a job in Operations as an operator, this will give you a very good grounding and understanding of how the core of any it department run (smaller companies

 

I came from an operations background myself, working 12 hr day/night shifts at a financial institution, it really does make you understand a lot. That and a bank holiday is far from a holiday for anyone in the financial sector bar traders and commercial staff

 

Systems analyst is a common title, or systems engineer. What are you looking to get into in IT? Programming? Database? Network? Infrastructure? Software design or implementation? Storage management? Project management?

 

IT whilst generalised has many specialties nowadays unless you work in very small companies.

 

PM me if you want to know any more abou anything bar programming. I can give the lowdown on most things I've mentioned above, never programmer at a career level.

 

But two bits of advice :

 

1. Show initiative and have the resolve to back it up.

2. Never start any explaining sentence with "I think..." as if you say that you obviously haven't.

 

Oh and be prepared to never work just 9-5. No job in IT worthwhile is easy.

 

Si

 

Thanks for the great advice mate I don't mind working hard - I like to work esp in IT since its where my real passion lies.

 

As I've mentioned, I am currently taking exams for Microsoft certifications such as the MCDST (windows xp support...) and MCTS (W7 support). I was told my a friend that this is the basic qualifications I should have.

 

I have applied for some jobs such as ICT technician, desktop support, It analyst so far because from the description I *should* be qualified enough. I've used websites such as Jobsite and CWjobs so far. I also use Monster occasionally.

 

I just need some guidance from more experienced people in the industry as to what I should expect, what I should prepare and what I should aim for at my current level.

 

Its been around a week plus since my applications but no news however I reckon it should take longer than that for a response. I hope...

 

I am hoping to work somewhere in the West Midlands near Birmingham if possible but then again don't really mind anywhere as long as its not deep in the sticks

[jonathanc]

MOD have a department called GIST, its a civil service position, salary is pretty good. Plenty of holiday's too

Providing you're quite close to a military base.

 

Never thought of that but definitely will give that a go! Off to Google then

[JustGav]

Thanks for the great advice mate I don't mind working hard - I like to work esp in IT since its where my real passion lies.

 

As I've said, I am currently taking exams for Microsoft certifications such as the MCDST (windows xp support...) and MCTS (W7 support). I was told my a friend that this is the basic qualifications I should have.

 

I have applied for some jobs such as ICT technician, desktop support, It analyst so far because from the description I *should* be qualified enough. I've used websites such as Jobsite and CWjobs so far. I also use Monster occasionally.

 

I just need some guidance from more experienced people in the industry as to what I should expect, what I should prepare and what I should aim for at my current level.

 

Its been around a week plus since my applications but no news however I reckon it should take longer than that for a response. I hope...

 

I am hoping to work somewhere in the West Midlands near Birmingham if possible but then again don't really mind anywhere as long as its not deep in the sticks

 

If you fancy a challenge the up and coming buzz tech is Virtual Desktop which MAY fit into your current set.

 

Things like VMWare view and the like.

 

I'd avoid cloud (server) side as you haven't been the field very long and there are some super sharp people in that arena.

[kazama76]

Also excellent pension. Plus constant on job training, thats free lol.

[Jake]

Look for a job in Operations as an operator, this will give you a very good grounding and understanding of how the core of any it department run

^

 

I'm a programmer by trade (C/C++, Delphi, Oracle PL/SQL, Shell scripting, etc etc). I got made redundant a few years ago and took a year off before starting to look for work again. When the time came I honestly didn't fancy going back into an analyst/programmer role. The coding is great but I seemed to spend most of my time writing test plans and documentation.

So I applied for a job in Operations at a major company (Visa) and have been working there for three years now and still loving it. I had to re-write my CV for the Ops job to make it sound more Support oriented, rather than Dev - else you look over-qualified to them and they think you won't stick around long.

Once you've got yourself an Ops job in a good sized company you are ideally placed to then apply for other IT jobs they've got going, as long as you've got say 1 year's service in.

[jonathanc]

If you fancy a challenge the up and coming buzz tech is Virtual Desktop which MAY fit into your current set.

 

Things like VMWare view and the like.

 

I'd avoid cloud (server) side as you haven't been the field very long and there are some super sharp people in that arena.

 

I am thinking of moving into Networking once I get the required certification and job experience. I really love networking

 

Would look into virtual desktop as well. However, I am just wondering, the current MS certifications I am taking (70-271, 70-272) is based on the XP O/S and I find some contents pretty outdated (56kbps dial-up modems?). Just wondering if it's still beneficial to take those exams?

[jonathanc]

Also excellent pension. Plus constant on job training, thats free lol.

 

Is this the website mate?

 

http://www.gistworld.com/

[JustGav]

a job a in Operations at a major company

 

Martin should be back fairly soon (He got back recently)

[jonathanc]

Oh, I've gone and searched for IT jobs with the keyword "Operations" and most of them involves higher (management) level roles. I can't seem to find any entry level ones. Perhaps I am looking at the wrong places? (I'm using Jobsite and CWjobs)

[JustGav]

I am thinking of moving into Networking once I get the required certification and job experience. I really love networking

 

Would look into virtual desktop as well. However, I am just wondering, the current MS certifications I am taking (70-271, 70-272) is based on the XP O/S and I find some contents pretty outdated (56kbps dial-up modems?). Just wondering if it's still beneficial to take those exams?

 

Networking side, then you want to consider CCNA..etc, the cisco route. VMWare offer courses as well...

 

I'm not sure what the wider view is, but I personally haven't held MS qualifications in high regard. That said I'm currently looking for a junior unix person...

[Jake]

Martin should be back fairly soon (He got back recently)

I don't see a lot of him these days mate. He's a nine-to-fiver now.

The Lightweight. D

[JustGav]

I don't see a lot of him these days mate. He's a nine-to-fiver now.

The Lightweight. D

 

Hehehehehehe, well now he has got to get home to the wife.... (My sister in law)

[Jake]

I personally haven't held MS qualifications in high regard.

MCSE : Minesweeper Champion, Solitaire Expert

[neo2810]

Jon, as Gav says, if Networking is your ultimate aim then I'd drop all the MS stuff and start on the Cisco route. Not sure what level you're at with basic networks but if you're starting from the ground up then you'd find the CompTIA Network+ course a great opener. Head for CCNA then CCNP. After a few years in the industry you can push for CCIE if you want to go that far but in all honesty it's a hellish exam and you can do pretty well on a few specialisations like CCIP/SP/VP.

It wouldn't harm you to do a couple of Nortel (now Avaya) SPQ's just to give you a view for that side since not everyone is Cisco.

 

I'm happy to offer advice if you have any specific questions. I work as an IP Specialist/Designer for BT and have a pretty rounded experience in those area.

[kazama76]

Is this the website mate?

 

http://www.gistworld.com/

 

lol no mate, ill try getting a web address or linky,

 

oh i found it in another tab lol

 

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/jobs/index.aspx

[kazama76]

should find everything you need here dude

[Abz]

Getting into Operations might be hard without some experience as they would need to trust you with all their live servers etc. If you want a step in then look for 1st/2nd IT Technical/Support/Helpdesk roles. These are more available & depending who you join the pay can be decent.

[jonathanc]

Getting into Operations might be hard without some experience as they would need to trust you with all their live servers etc. If you want a step in then look for 1st/2nd IT Technical/Support/Helpdesk roles. These are more available & depending who you join the pay can be decent.

 

Aye, thats the ones I'm targetting at the moment. Most of them seems to require 1-2 years exp

[jonathanc]

Jon, as Gav says, if Networking is your ultimate aim then I'd drop all the MS stuff and start on the Cisco route. Not sure what level you're at with basic networks but if you're starting from the ground up then you'd find the CompTIA Network+ course a great opener. Head for CCNA then CCNP. After a few years in the industry you can push for CCIE if you want to go that far but in all honesty it's a hellish exam and you can do pretty well on a few specialisations like CCIP/SP/VP.

It wouldn't harm you to do a couple of Nortel (now Avaya) SPQ's just to give you a view for that side since not everyone is Cisco.

 

I'm happy to offer advice if you have any specific questions. I work as an IP Specialist/Designer for BT and have a pretty rounded experience in those area.

 

Hmm, good advice as well but I was told to at least get some MS qualifications to get started in the industry as I've zero industry exp. I was told the Cisco ones are more advanced? Basically you need some basic support/analyst role before branching into Cisco.

[jonathanc]

should find everything you need here dude

 

Thanks mate

[Smallshinyant]

I have held many roles in IT over the years, one of the most boring is first line support, but it is a great way to learn how IT works in business. As everybody is trying to cut costs at the moment you will find that a lot of helpdesks are aiming for good first lines fixes so you should get some good experience.

If you have not worked in the industry before it is also a great way to sharpen your skills. Just silly things like juggling all the passwords you will be given and discovering the many different ways to support computers remotely.

As part of my current role I run a Prometric test centre, i see so many people getting the qualifications but still struggling to get work due to lack of experience. Good luck looking and although i never enjoyed 1st line work it did give me some good skills.