Advice wrt careers/training

Töpher

If anyone could throw any suggestions at me, it would be much appreciated,

I finished a 3 year Comp Sci course at the start of the summer gone by, and got a Gen BSc. (Is it a Gen BSc Science, or a Gen BSc Computer Science? ). Worked as IT support over the summer for about 4 months or so, and am struggling to get a job. As it stands I can't even get an interview. I want to be doing something related to what I studied, ideally programming, but it's nigh on impossible to find somewhere where no relevant experience is even considered.

Is it worth trying to get A+/N+, even though they aren't linked to programming, may assist me in getting a foot on the jobs ladder? (I looked at MCSE, but it appeared to cost about €15,000 - which needless to say writes that off!!)

I was looking for advanced courses that are specific to a topic, i.e: a solely Java/C++/Web Development course, even if its stuff I can already do, holding the qualification might be beneficial? (also serve to refresh the memory, and hopefully learn new stuff)

Any other courses/areas anyone could suggest that I look at?

Thanks,
Chris.

WexCan

A+ might be worthwhile to show that your hardware's up to scratch - never know when you'll need to do Tech Support again, but realistically that's about the only job they'll help you for. MCSE is mainly aimed at IT implementation and so on, not really programming related. Try going to http://www.2test.com/ and have a look through the different certifications you can take, if you see one you like go to that vendor's website and check it out.

MCSE is €140 per exam and there's seven exams methinks.

mountainyman

http://www.koenig-solutions.com/training/mcsd_training.asp


Includes board and lodging.

Falsify your CV.

A CV IS A ADD IT IS NOT A LEGAL DOCUMENT.

If Job Specs are false CVs can be too.

EMPLOYERS CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.

MM

Vokes

Einst&#252 wrote: »

Any other courses/areas anyone could suggest that I look at?

Do you have an opportunity to go on and do the extra addon year to get your BSc Honours degree? Might be well worth it.

Manach

Given your job experience in IT support, you might want to leverage that to get a foot in the door in that area. S/W companies can find that grads need to be re-tooled into following the ideosyncries of their corporate coding culture. So already having a postion in a helpdesk dept. would let you know the ropes if you wanted then move to programming.

Töpher

Cheers for the replies guys. I looked at doing the extra year to get the BSc Honours, but I would have had to do 2 years in a seperate college, paying obscene amounts of money to do so - and I could still muck up an exam or two! There's been a little bit of movement on the interest from employers front, which I can take heart from, especially seeing as its taken about 2 months! Going to hopefully sort something out shortly, if not I'll be doing a course of some form.

Again, thanks for the replies!
Chris.

bigbadcon

Hey Einstürzende,

Im a recent graduate from I.T tallaght with a higher bsc in Computing (information systems) and i know exactly what your talking about.Ive been looking for a development role since i graduated in may and I only just got one yesterday. My advice to you is to stick it out if you really want a development role cause i did and i got one in the end.The problem is is that everyone is trying to get the same jobs and there are loads of graduates out there contrary to the shortage that they are always talking about in the IT industry. I got an interview for a role recently and they told me they got 120 applicants for the graduate position.Thats hard to compete with especially if you didnt get a 1.1 as im sure lots of those 120 did.I got a 2.2.The only reason i got an interview there was because i had done a testing contract there for 2 months.

Another thing is your c.v ...
I was sure my c.v was grand until i was told by this employer that it was crap and that the ony reason i got an interview was because they knew me
It was a big surprise to me even though i hadnt got any interviews before that.sure enough i changed my c.v around and pimped it up a bit and i started getting loads of calls!!

I would also suggest doing the sun certified programmer level course.I am in the middle of doing this course and the employers seemed really impressed that i was using my time to further my education instead of sitting at home playing counter strike all day

You need to put yourself ahead of other graduates in some way so this course is a good way of proving that your at least this good at java.


Anyway i sound like im in the IT industry years when iv only got my foot in the door!

Just thought id let you know what helped me to get a job and i would defo advise you to hang in there if its what you really want

homeOwner

Einst&#252 wrote: »

Any other courses/areas anyone could suggest that I look at?

If you are interested in getting into java development you could look at doing the Sun java developer exams - study on your own and pay to sit the exam. It might help your cv to stand out from others.

But the main thing is to pump up your CV. Most recruiters word match job specs against cvs, so include all the buzz words from the courses that you studied in college. Include details on your final year project, highlighting the coding side of it. Perhaps exaggerate your work experience a little - say you did coding even if you didnt. It is tough to get that first job. I started out in a bank in tech support. About 6 months later, they needed a programmer in the IT department and asked me first as they knew I wanted to move into programming. Its all about getting your foot in the door but its also difficult not to get stuck in one type of role.

Good luck