Trying to break out of desktop support..

CorkFenian

trying to break out of desktop support completely, have worked with servers as well with smaller companies and done exams etc (MCSA) , if ye had to recommend a course to help what would it be..Was thinking of upgrade to Server 2008 (2 exams) but I am concious of doing an exam for the sake of it, but appear to be caught in a catch 22....

I'm dead keen but desktop is really blunting the study and enthusasism, as I study for cisco but dont work with it really in current job(just completed a post grad as well) , any advice appreciated , thanks, also a lot of work i have done is daily rate, some of it quite good roles and pay to be honest...Feel like I am a disadvantage when it comes to permanent roles though, any advice on how to play this, as I realise I need a permanent role to develop further....

Thanks

Cork Fenian

CorkFenian

Hi can this thread be deleted please, surprised at fact there aren't any posts , but no harm

mickman

id go to dublin for a new role if i was in your position. do it for 2 years and go back to cork then with your new skills

CorkFenian

Thanks for response, based in Dublin for past 11 years ;-) Thinking of doing CCNA and MSCA upgrade to 2008 (2 exams) , I feel i have to do something , for some of the roles been doing over past while money is grand, though its not been set desktop support , its more onsite analyst (with smaller companies especially) liasion between 2nd-3rd etc , current contract is a bit more desktop based but even money for that is good..I just need a good permanent role to sink my teeth into ;-)

CorkFenian

tks would appreciate if thread deleted, will check out some more specific forums ;-0

rolion

CorkFenian wrote: »

tks would appreciate if thread deleted, will check out some more specific forums ;-0

Hi,

If you find more specific forums,please let me know !
One of them will be "jobs advertising" sites ?!

Is very hard to get a proper job these day,leave alone changin it ! More IT people keep with their teeths to the 'security' fact of the current job...no more shifts in the industry like years ago...used to get 2-3 calls for interviews back in 96/96. Now...not even in a week ! The politics done by HR departments,where jobs are full filled in the back stage,and advertise/interview just to cover or justify their jobs is today's common practice !

So,if you have a job,keep it ! You can do upgrades but certs are kind of less importance compared with experience !
AND...the most important factor of all.... contacts,contacts,contacts !!!

good luck.
that is my one cent ...

CorkFenian

rolion wrote: »

Hi,

If you find more specific forums,please let me know !
One of them will be "jobs advertising" sites ?!

Is very hard to get a proper job these day,leave alone changin it ! More IT people keep with their teeths to the 'security' fact of the current job...no more shifts in the industry like years ago...used to get 2-3 calls for interviews back in 96/96. Now...not even in a week ! The politics done by HR departments,where jobs are full filled in the back stage,and advertise/interview just to cover or justify their jobs is today's common practice !

So,if you have a job,keep it ! You can do upgrades but certs are kind of less importance compared with experience !
AND...the most important factor of all.... contacts,contacts,contacts !!!

good luck.
that is my one cent ...

Thanks for the response, you're right, I am still getting 3-4 calls a week, have been to 4 interviews in past 2 months plus 2 phone interviews, its starting to wear me down, but fundamentally you're right, my problem is from 5 years contracting, it looks like perm jobs are very hard to come by...I dont know what they're thinking is, I guess go with the reliable safe perm guy they know :-)

mickman

CorkFenian wrote: »

Thanks for the response, you're right, I am still getting 3-4 calls a week, have been to 4 interviews in past 2 months plus 2 phone interviews, its starting to wear me down, but fundamentally you're right, my problem is from 5 years contracting, it looks like perm jobs are very hard to come by...I dont know what they're thinking is, I guess go with the reliable safe perm guy they know :-)

have you any certs?

mickman

??

CorkFenian

mickman wrote: »

have you any certs?

Yes have MCSA, and 5 NT MCPS (I know they're worth jack) A+ N+. Novell Admin (which i never used for work) just got at a particular time when could have been useful...Also have a post grad in IT from UCC

mickman

CorkFenian wrote: »

Yes have MCSA, and 5 NT MCPS (I know they're worth jack) A+ N+. Novell Admin (which i never used for work) just got at a particular time when could have been useful...Also have a post grad in IT from UCC

well to be honest those certs only make you qualified for desktop support - nothing else

u need to put hte head down and do ccna and vcp at a minimum

CorkFenian

mickman wrote: »

well to be honest those certs only make you qualified for desktop support - nothing else

u need to put hte head down and do ccna and vcp at a minimum

I woudnt disagree with you, have just finished GDF at DCU, and put certs on hold while doing that course, have pencilled in CCNA to do asap, my issue is i have a lot of experience and done courses myself contracting, its hard at the moment to get a break, all the companies are fishing around for someone who knows a lot more than standard, than there is the case of knowing the cert but not having the experience, what would you do in my situation mickman?? Advice appreciated..

I also have worked with people in desktop\server side of smaller companies, who have no certs whatsoever, but then some of the best people i have worked with have had little industry certs , funny how it works

mickman

CorkFenian wrote: »

I woudnt disagree with you, have just finished GDF at DCU, and put certs on hold while doing that course, have pencilled in CCNA to do asap, my issue is i have a lot of experience and done courses myself contracting, its hard at the moment to get a break, all the companies are fishing around for someone who knows a lot more than standard, than there is the case of knowing the cert but not having the experience, what would you do in my situation mickman?? Advice appreciated..

i would pay for the vmware course and study it and learn it backwards, then do the exam. (should take no more than 4 months if u work hard at it). vmware jobs are very very plentiful around the country and world

CorkFenian

mickman wrote: »

i would pay for the vmware course and study it and learn it backwards, then do the exam. (should take no more than 4 months if u work hard at it). vmware jobs are very very plentiful around the country and world

Cheers Mickman , in touch with Commtech, €2,600 for it, v4.1 Installation, Configuration (vcp) , looking to find out more, I am researching it myself but would appreciate if anyone knows locations and courses as I will be funding this myself if it happens, and want to know for sure (as certain as i can be) about course.... ;-)

rolion

CorkFenian wrote: »

Cheers Mickman , in touch with Commtech, €2,600 for it, v4.1 Installation, Configuration (vcp) , looking to find out more, I am researching it myself but would appreciate if anyone knows locations and courses as I will be funding this myself if it happens, and want to know for sure (as certain as i can be) about course.... ;-)

VCP ??? are we serious !!!???

VCP involves:

-any and all OSes on the market
-linix stuff and command line (forget the mouse)
-vmware stuff
-networking
-iSCSI,fibre hardware
-SAN storage with "line and commas"
-server hardware DELL,HP,IBM


forget it...get at a lower level in any IT side in a good organisation that has great exposure and balance of IT ,then with hands-on you can move to vcp junior admin if you want VCP ! and let the fcukers pay the training fee !

mickman

rolion wrote: »

VCP ??? are we serious !!!???

VCP involves:

-any and all OSes on the market
-linix stuff and command line (forget the mouse)
-vmware stuff
-networking
-iSCSI,fibre hardware
-SAN storage with "line and commas"
-server hardware DELL,HP,IBM


forget it...get at a lower level in any IT side in a good organisation that has great exposure and balance of IT ,then with hands-on you can move to vcp junior admin if you want VCP ! and let the fcukers pay the training fee !

the above is a totally nonsense comment from an obvious underachiever

CorkFenian

rolion wrote: »

VCP ??? are we serious !!!???

VCP involves:

-any and all OSes on the market
-linix stuff and command line (forget the mouse)
-vmware stuff
-networking
-iSCSI,fibre hardware
-SAN storage with "line and commas"
-server hardware DELL,HP,IBM


forget it...get at a lower level in any IT side in a good organisation that has great exposure and balance of IT ,then with hands-on you can move to vcp junior admin if you want VCP ! and let the fcukers pay the training fee !

Thats what I would do ideally, but i cant keep on waiting for that role , i missed on vmware twice (2 places where i was decided not to run with it back in 2008 and 2009) would have been ideal, so I am keeping an open mind and trying to find out as much as possible about costs etc, ;-)

mickman

CorkFenian wrote: »

Thats what I would do ideally, but i cant keep on waiting for that role , i missed on vmware twice (2 places where i was decided not to run with it back in 2008 and 2009) would have been ideal, so I am keeping an open mind and trying to find out as much as possible about costs etc, ;-)

what do you mean your trying to find out as much as possible about costs? it costs 2.5k and then 150 euro for the exam. u cant get the cert without doing the course first. just sign up and do it. i get emails every single day about vmware jobs in dublin.

CorkFenian

mickman wrote: »

what do you mean your trying to find out as much as possible about costs? it costs 2.5k and then 150 euro for the exam. u cant get the cert without doing the course first. just sign up and do it. i get emails every single day about vmware jobs in dublin.

I mean the costs per company, have just spent 5,500 on a GDF course in DCU, I make no apologies for trying to find out as much as possible before committing ;-) You're right Mickman, its something I want to do, no harm in finding out as much as possible beforehand ;-) Thanks for the post

mickman

if you were already working then that 5k on the GDU was prob a waste. no point crying over it now, if u spend the next 12 months becoming a vmware and storage expert then the world is your oyster

CorkFenian

mickman wrote: »

if you were already working then that 5k on the GDU was prob a waste. no point crying over it now, if u spend the next 12 months becoming a vmware and storage expert then the world is your oyster

I think the course will be of use going forward, probably not at moment for roles, but I'm glad I did it, i think it may be a waste of time for those without any IT work experience who think they can drop into 3rd level roles after a GDF course..

What do you work in Mickman, which area???

mickman

CorkFenian wrote: »

I think the course will be of use going forward, probably not at moment for roles, but I'm glad I did it, i think it may be a waste of time for those without any IT work experience who think they can drop into 3rd level roles after a GDF course..

What do you work in Mickman, which area???

sys admin

maybe moving soon though, waiting to hear back

CorkFenian

mickman wrote: »

sys admin

maybe moving soon though, waiting to hear back

What certs\degree do you have??

mickman

bsc in computing

mcsa
mcse
ccna
ccda
vcp
emcpp

CorkFenian

mickman wrote: »

bsc in computing

mcsa
mcse
ccna
ccda
vcp
emcpp

Nice , tbh i got turned off certs slightly so many dont have them in senior positions but realise i have to do more , will upgrade to mcitp 2008 and ccent and ccna before year is over

rolion

mickman wrote: »

the above is a totally nonsense comment from an obvious underachiever

@mickman...is the third time when you "byte my ass" with your attitude...as you said,with your more than 10 years IT experience,i advise you to go next to do a human relationship and behaviour course for the rest of your IT life !!

Totally nonsense ??? underachiever ??? search "irish jobs" market and see what are the fcuking requirements for a Virtualisation techie to work in VMware projects...

http://www.irishjobs.ie/ShowResults.aspx?Recruiter=Both&Category=3&Location=102&Keywords=VMWare&x=45&y=14

http://www.irishjobs.ie/Jobs/Systems-Engineer-Windows-Vmware-24-6492529.aspx

http://www.irishjobs.ie/Jobs/Virtualisation-Specialist-6548010.aspx

please,go offline...

rolion

mickman wrote: »

bsc in computing

mcsa
mcse
ccna
ccda
vcp
emcpp

MCSX - Microsoft world of OSes and clients/server/networks
CCNX - real world of enterprise networking
VCX - virtualisation "cost effective" way to get an interview these days...

if i combine with your offence to me with your certs...it proves that VCP is not only VCP,as you'll need additional,supplemental skills to land in a job that does Virtualisation...but,when i am blinded by many,many more certs,what else can i say...

regards.

rolion

CorkFenian wrote: »

Nice , tbh i got turned off certs slightly so many dont have them in senior positions but realise i have to do more , will upgrade to mcitp 2008 and ccent and ccna before year is over

Do not be afraid by the listing of the certs,you can take a MCSX / CCNX paper certificate these days,in less than a week,if your memeory is good,you can do it in a day too...just use "underground" to search for...that's why CCNP and Microsoft has lost its power and recognition !!!

IS the experience that matters...AND contacts !!!

Good luck.

mickman

rolion wrote: »

Do not be afraid by the listing of the certs,you can take a MCSX / CCNX paper certificate these days,in less than a week...just use "underworld" to search for...that's way CCNP and Microsoft has lost its power and recognition !!!

IS the experience that matters...AND contacts !!!

Good luck.

im betting you have little or no certs with that opinion.

rolion

mickman wrote: »

what do you mean your trying to find out as much as possible about costs? it costs 2.5k and then 150 euro for the exam. u cant get the cert without doing the course first. just sign up and do it. i get emails every single day about vmware jobs in dublin.

last message before agreing that we are going offtopic...
post here few Reqs for vmware jobs ,please !



i am a partner with VMware and i have a trade account with Commtech,i can get anytime VCP done,but for what !?? to prove myself that i can use it on my signature ??

Re my certs..i used to have lots of certs when i was competting in an office with other techies for recognition and authority and projects and financial rewards and nicer spot on the email'signature...now,i'm in a different environment,i work harder 24x7 in improving my "word of mouth" relation and ...contacts !!
... real world ...

regards

mickman

rolion wrote: »

last message before agreing that we are going offtopic...
post here few Reqs for vmware jobs ,please !



i am a partner with VMware and i have a trade account with Commtech,i can get anytime VCP done,but for what !?? to prove myself that i can use it on my signature ??

Re my certs..i used to have lots of certs when i was competting in an office with other techies for recognition and authority and projects and financial rewards and nicer spot on the email'signature...now,i'm in a different environment,i work harder 24x7 in improving my "word of mouth" relation and ...contacts !!
... real world ...

regards

so your a salesman! you shouldnt try and offer advice in an IT certification forum if you have no interest in them or their vaule.

rolion

mickman wrote: »

so your a salesman! you shouldnt try and offer advice in an IT certification forum if you have no interest in them or their vaule.

Mick,i am in IT since 1997,i have being an IT Techie for the whole time...
Seriosly,unless you know me,i consider that you like my name or just your systems are 110% uptime and you have time to spend online !!

WE are going completely offtopic here...please let's try to be in a constructive conflict ! For everyone..

I can tell you more about myself,about my IT experience working for somebody and now,working for myself as an IT Consultant ! But,in private,around a cup of coffee... your IP Reply..

sorry CorkFenian,you said the topic is dying...

mickman

rolion wrote: »

Mick,i am in IT since 1997,i have being an IT Techie for the whole time...
Seriosly,unless you know me,i consider that you like my name or just your systems are 110% uptime and you have time to spend online !!

WE are going completely offtopic here...please let's try to be in a constructive conflict ! For everyone..

I can tell you more about myself,about my IT experience working for somebody and now,working for myself as an IT Consultant ! But,in private,around a cup of coffee... your IP Reply..

sorry CorkFenian,you said the topic is dying...

with all due respect, an IT consultant going around saying that certs are a waste of time and especially someone who wont even do the vcp when they have an opportunity is not someone to be listened to

rolion

mickman wrote: »

with all due respect, an IT consultant going around saying that certs are a waste of time and especially someone who wont even do the vcp when they have an opportunity is not someone to be listened to

that will be the forth time of "byte my ass",really,you have an attitude problem...but i like that you are a straight talking guy !

Mickman,look around you...take contact with the market ,man !!! where are those jobs,in HR department ??!

You want Certification ?? Fine...i can't post here the web site link but...you go there,download the ".vce" file,memorise it like mad and then ,same day / next day go to a local testing centre and do the memory dump ! Happy ???? Are you going to listen to me now ????
That is the "Certification" type that i am talking about !!!! That is the type of Certied System Engineers i have to compete with on the real world,real market !! But you can't fcuking read thorugh the lines...and i am sure than you are not going to ask me about that link,surely is in your favorites !

i'm off,i have to attend a meeting hoping it will pay my bills !!

regards

mickman

here are a few, it took me all of 5 seconds to find these

http://www.recruitireland.com/job/senior-windows-and-virtualization-expert-dublin-city-centre/14474042/

note half way down it says "A VCP qualification would be highly advantageous."

http://www.recruitireland.com/job/senior-systems-administrator-dublin-city-centre/14476706/

note at the bottom it says "technology certification in microsoft, vmware and cisco are an advantage"

i rest my case

Shamo

rolion wrote: »

that will be the forth time of "byte my ass",really,you have an attitude problem...but i like that you are a straight talking guy !

Mickman,look around you...take contact with the market ,man !!! where are those jobs,in HR department ??!

You want Certification ?? Fine...i can't post here the web site link but...you go there,download the ".vce" file,memorise it like mad and then ,same day / next day go to a local testing centre and do the memory dump ! Happy ???? Are you going to listen to me now ????
That is the "Certification" type that i am talking about !!!! That is the type of Certied System Engineers i have to compete with on the real world,real market !! But you can't fcuking read thorugh the lines...and i am sure than you are not going to ask me about that link,surely is in your favorites !

i'm off,i have to attend a meeting hoping it will pay my bills !!

regards

I've been trying not to say anything but can you actually punctuate properly or is this the way you type e-mails in the "real world"? You should remain calm and try have a discussion, not flare up like an angry teenager.

Certifications offer the company you work for better partnership levels and customer opinion on your engineers. They are essential to most ICT companies.
You are right, some people braindump exams, but at the end of the day they get found out when asked to do project or task based on it.

mickman

Shamo wrote: »

I've been trying not to say anything but can you actually punctuate properly or is this the way you type e-mails in the "real world"? You should remain calm and try have a discussion, not flare up like an angry teenager.

Certifications offer the company you work for better partnership levels and customer opinion on your engineers. They are essential to most ICT companies.
You are right, some people braindump exams, but at the end of the day they get found out when asked to do project or task based on it.

i agree. makes you think what kind of a consultant he is .i would have imagined excellent written and verbal skills would be quite important in consultancy to create project documents etc

the poor guy is obviously very bitter that he cant pass the exams :-)

what does "take contact with the market man" mean anyway

rolion

@all

i received an infraction message.

i am out of this topic,where mickman's personal attack to me is quite invisible to moderator !
with your permission ... do not argue with someone as he brings you to his level and beats you !

good luck and keep up the good work !

regards.

mickman

maybe you should do that course you were on about

"@mickman...is the third time when you "byte my ass" with your attitude...as you said,with your more than 10 years IT experience,i advise you to go next to do a human relationship and behaviour course for the rest of your IT life !!"

Kinetic^

Shamo wrote: »

Certifications offer the company you work for better partnership levels and customer opinion on your engineers. They are essential to most ICT companies.
You are right, some people braindump exams, but at the end of the day they get found out when asked to do project or task based on it.

This. Certs aren't everything but they open doors for you and your employers.

Gonzovision

Certs show a willingness to learn and progress.

rolion

mickman wrote: »

i agree. makes you think what kind of a consultant he is .i would have imagined excellent written and verbal skills would be quite important in consultancy to create project documents etc

the poor guy is obviously very bitter that he cant pass the exams :-)

i thought to keep away from polemics,but some fonline friends kind of asked me to what level i'm i going to be when i will reply to you...

so,let me tell you something: i have spent over 20,000 in education,training and related in last 10 years,and then i realise that i have to make a big decision:between paying the soft paper certs,upgrade/pass the exams with the redundancy money....i had to chose in paying my mortgage !
bottom line.

so...let's begin:

rolion

i have been in IT before 2000s,started with DOS and so on...
i have all the certs i wanted and needed:

MCP/MCSA/MCSE for Microsoft Windows

Cisco CCNA,then 2/3 of Cisco CCNP,as they have changed the exam structure also,i had to look after my redundancy money !

All VMWare tests just before the VCP,as the company i worked for wasn't interested in that market years ago...also,i had to manage my redundancy money !

thousands spent in Trinity College degree,3/4 as well unfinshed due to redundancy...

all certs looked nice on my desk,by the way !!
sometime,the company decides what path or direction you can follow,as you canmot train for SQL Database admin if your company doesn't do... SQL !!

dunno onn other certs,maybe later !

rolion

i have started with Windows 2000 on that server,with all attached documentation,resource kits and books !
online access wasn't great as it is today...

rolion

then,earlier this year...i have finished a over 25k project and i will upgrade my certification to Server 2008 as i feel i need the deep of th enew changes in the new OS.
But,only after i get paid for this job...

Also,i have purchased/upgraded 3 (three) physical servers to work ,plan,test in my lab before going on-site to resolve issues or propose solutions...

rolion

re VCP and VMware...working on a VDI project not sure if that goes thorugh but hopefully in september this old site ,with lots of physical servers might go under a virtual consolidation,that will pay me a nice amount to to my VCP...or..maybe i might go for Red Hat Engineer,as there are too many VCPs already !!!

rolion

then...the Cisco lab that costs me thousands years ago...is on sale on adverts,if you want to see how i got my certs !

http://www.adverts.ie/632526

rolion

now,that is all,i have to run...

we got on the wrong feet here,sorry,middle finger on the keyboard ,man !

certs are nothing without hands-on and experience !my thought...

now,with due respect... show me yours,please,thanks in advance...

mickman

i recommend this course for you

http://www.sentencemaster.ca/howtowritesentences2.html

mickman

rolion wrote: »

re VCP and VMware...working on a VDI project not sure if that goes thorugh but hopefully in september this old site ,with lots of physical servers might go under a virtual consolidation,that will pay me a nice amount to to my VCP...or..maybe i might go for Red Hat Engineer,as there are too many VCPs already !!!

"that will pay me a nice amount to to my VCP" - what does this mean

thanks for all the nice pictures of ur ups's by the way, that proves a lot. what a laugh

NullZer0

Why are you doing posting images of a real site online?
For someone with so much knowledge, you know little about security common sense.