Graduate jobs

mcirl2

hi,

I am a final year student studying IT and Business. My main skills are in Web programming (ASP.NET), Java, Html etc.

I am very interested in working in a technical role: Web Programming (any language / platform) and / or Network Administration (Windows , Linux).

My netowrking skills / Linux skills are not good but I am very interested and want to learn.

I am just wondering is web programming a good career move in terms of growth oppurtunities and salaries.

I am thinking of doing a CCNA / MCSE aswell.

Which is better in terms of jobs etc - web programming or Network Admin?

Any adivce would be great!!

Thanks,

Mike

l3rian

if you choose web, maybe learn eclipse (all the shortcut keys), firebug, ajax using a js library such as yui or jquery, make your own site

web programming can be split between front (jsp, html, css, js) and back end (java, sql, app server)

http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/

Civilian_Target

If you do one or the other, it's important to know both. So get learning! Jobs-wise... network admin probably pays better (even though its more likely to wake you in the middle of the night) but there's almost certainly more staisfaction to web programming.

ravydavygravy

Admin work can vary a lot, depending on where you work.

If its a big 24x7 network, then the work can be interesting and varied, but expect to have to work on-call hours (24 hour cover) - the amount of this work can vary, depending on the size of the admin team - for example, I'm in a team of about 8 admins (Server & App Admins), so I provide on-call cover one week in every eight. However, my Cisco network admin counterparts are in a three man team, so they do one week in three.

On the other hand, you can work as an admin in a small 9-5 company, but then the work is like glorified desktop support. However, you'll most likely be in a smaller team, so may have more sway. Also, they may be little/no on-call cover.

Basically, it depends which suits better. Either way, you need to be able to juggle several jobs at once, have good time-management skills, and be able to deal with stressful situations (e.g. when the main DB server suffers a table crash at 3am a week before christmas, can you get it up and running again before business starts in Norway at 5am irish time? Complete with several managers ringing every 15mins looking for an update?)

However, if you don't mind all that, admin work is never boring :-) A new problem every day!

mcirl2

does that mean so that they work every third week or does it mean they work every week but are on call every third week?

What is the best way to get itno admin work?

CCNA, MCSE etc?

rmacm

mcirl2 wrote: »

does that mean so that they work every third week or does it mean they work every week but are on call every third week?

Work every week and on call for 24x7 support every 3rd week I'd say.

Ginger

Development work in .NET is quite hot at the moment, juniors can get anything towards the range of 30K+ starting. Depends on experience and certification.

The IT Cert forum is a good place to look for tips on Certification in general.

I am working in development myself and heading towards sys architect level and that is paying in my company at least over 6 figures..