It Graduate approaching the real world!

fckgoogle_askme

Hey,

Ive done the it cert and now im in the middle of ordinary degree in information technology support. At this stage in the year im thinking about a job when im done. Unfortunately I have no idea what i could do. Seems like all im qualifyied for is ordinary technical support. Only have the six months technical support experience in the workplace. Seems every IT job is looking for 1-2 years experience.

Im not great at the networking to be honest and i suck at programming so i have no real specialised skill and im starting to get a little worried.

Anyone got any ideas that could help me, we a growing area i could get into or any advice on career path in I.T

rom

Do a CCNA at least it will be more hands and widely recognized and will be very employable.

Barrypr

What kind of work do you want to do??You are doing a tech support course but dont want to do "ordinary technical support"....gota start some place man.

Also start into the Microsoft exams, 70-290 maybe first! Or cisco, or vmware, or Linux....what area of IT do you like working with most!

NullZer0

Do the CCNP

Barrypr

Ya ccnp would be a start...could just go straight in ccie altogether

kippy

Ordinary technical support is usually where most people start out.
Where are you based and can you move location?

I did that exact same cert about 8 years ago (middle of dot com bust) and got a job in Dublin with the company I did my 6 months work experience with. Did another 6 months with them then got another job in Dublin for about two years. They paid for my Microsoft/Comptia Certs, eventually moved down the country to Galway where I have been for the past almost 5 years.

I would recommend approaching the company you worked for on your 6 months and failing that sending your CV to any company you can.
You arent going to get a job in Cisco stuff unless you have a few years behind you. As some said, if you do want to do a cert in your own time before getting a job try the windows XP exam (70-270 I think).

companies will pay for further education when you get in and despite what you think that 6 months experience is a lot better than none.

nellocon

Hey mate,

To be honest, a number of moths ago I felt almost exactly the same as you. Got a degree in IT but no real skill at anything. If you want my advice, its not too worry. You will have to start at a helpdesk so don't rule that out. Learn as much as you can and move on.

My advice is to pick an area you want to move into and learn it really well. Like for example, if you feel networking is your area, pick a cert like mcsa, ccna etc and learn them inside out. Having the knowledge really well learned can often get you in the door of a company if you have just a little experience.

Often, once you have a job, you will be offered so many more. Having no job cuts back your chances big time.

To summarise, pick an area and focus in on it. IT sector is all about being specialised. Knowing a little about alot doesn't often help.

Any one care to agree?

donaghs

You're unlikely to be let near any Cisco equipment with just certs and no experience. It's a great qualification to have, but the time/effort/money it will take versus what you will get back jobwise may not be worth it.

It sounds like you don't want to work as a programmer/developer and would prefer an Admin role. With the economy the way it is I'd say the best thing to do is to get any support job and gain experience. To get a support job, A+ and MCSA-type qualifications seem to be in demand. If you find the right job, you can then focus on specialising in an area and certifications like CCNA/CCIE.

Wompa1

kippy wrote: »

Ordinary technical support is usually where most people start out.
Where are you based and can you move location?

I did that exact same cert about 8 years ago (middle of dot com bust) and got a job in Dublin with the company I did my 6 months work experience with. Did another 6 months with them then got another job in Dublin for about two years. They paid for my Microsoft/Comptia Certs, eventually moved down the country to Galway where I have been for the past almost 5 years.

I would recommend approaching the company you worked for on your 6 months and failing that sending your CV to any company you can.
You arent going to get a job in Cisco stuff unless you have a few years behind you. As some said, if you do want to do a cert in your own time before getting a job try the windows XP exam (70-270 I think).

companies will pay for further education when you get in and despite what you think that 6 months experience is a lot better than none.

Did that XP exam myself. If you don't work already and have time to study for it I'd suggest going for it.

donaghs

Not sure if its worth going for XP exam. You will learn from it, but XP is about to disappear from most workplaces. What's kept in use in a lot of places has been Vista's underwhelming performance. A Windows 7 cert will have longevity to it.

axer

Look out for Junior positions in companies. There is not a whole lot out there be keep a close eye and you might come across one or two.