IT Work Experience - Advice

offalyguy25

Hi I was hoping I might be able to get some advice here,

I have recently completed a degree in Computer Networking, and at the moment im currently looking for entry level work.

I have been turned down numerous times due to lack of experience etc. I was trying to get into tech support to start off with, but i have no experience in Server technologies at all, such as Active Directory etc.

I put some ads up here and there on websites appealing for someone to give me a chance and i got people replying offering me more training packages at x amount of money which i dont have. So i was thinking along the lines of an Internship through Job Bridge, how hard are they to get? and are they any good? And can you transfer welfare payment to other part of Ireland to suit this?

I also applied abroad for jobs, and no luck either. I am not industry certified regarding Microsoft, Cisco and so on but would be willing to complete some certs when some experience is achieved.

Its just very frustrating, and seems to be a tough Industry to break into. I am also 32 now so not getting any younger either,

Any advice would be great thank you.

BigGrayKettle

IT is certainly one of those areas where relevant industry is experience is essential. As you rightly point at, it's not possible for you to have experience in many of the corporate infrastructure systems like Active Directory, and with other commonly used platforms like Citrix, Exchange, Cisco Call Manager and Backup and Virtulalisation systems, wihtout being directly working with them in an organisation.

You sound like an ideal candidate for the Jobs Bridge scheme, in that six months of good experience and you will find the jobs market is totally different.

Also, look out for general Level 1/2 IT Support jobs in organisations, as there are definately ones out there that don't look for a whole lot of experience, more so what skills you have yourself.

Best of luck

RHarrow

Hi OffalyGuy,

I take it you're currently unemployed? If you can get a networking internship through JobBridge then by all means go for it. If not, and this is what I would do personally, I would start working towards getting the CCNA cert. You're an IT guy so you know the materials for it are available and the exam itself is a few hundred, but it'd be absolutely worth it.

If you dedicated yourself full time you could have the CCNA done very quickly and you putting yourself through it should reflect well for potential employers.

I've also friends who couldn't get into networking here but have since got jobs in Estonia and Lithuania, without having the language themselves, so if you're open to moving I would suggest trying there.

offalyguy25

Cheers guys, yes currently unemployed. Various basic experience in lots of things I did in college and know all the fundamentals etc but no server experience and severe lack of hands on experience. I was even thinking of getting into some java possibly but id rather stick to what I know. Id definitely go for certification when ive received adequate experience. How tough is it to get one of those internships? I presume its based on interview etc also?

RHarrow

You're better off focusing on the networking side of things to be honest. Getting into Java and gaining any experience to be of value would take a lot longer than it would take you to get CCNA done.

With regards to certification, CCNA really works from the ground up, uses virtual networks and then there's a test at the end. You don't really need experience in it to do it but you'll come out the other side of it with a lot of networking knowledge, ready to move onto the next cert.

starlit

To be honest to get your foot in the door you need to keep updating your skills really and get some sort of professional IT cert. Go with something you like and good at, have an interest and see yourself in a career in such an area. Best to start of small and build it up.

With regards to experience, a lot of IT jobs require not just certs and qualifications and skills but experience. I have noticed that even for IT technical support jobs its getting harder to get into them without a cert and experience of some sort. Especially for programming or server related job, work experience is a must really not just certs and skills. Certain college projects you have done should market yourself in a such a way of showing off the skills you currently have. Giving examples of projects either in your CV/Cover Letter and interview be worth explaining to interviewers and potential employers.

I am at a crossroad with regards to my career in IT and just lost to be honest. I don't know what I want to do. If you have some idea of what you want to do and pursue in IT that's half the battle and specialise in that area of IT. Makes job hunting a little easier and get that dream job even if you haven't been in IT for a while or for that long! Good luck!

offalyguy25

Nice one lads, definitely some food for thought. Its really a learning experience for life thats for sure, can never know enough in IT. Ill look into getting an internship and getting a cert also. Busy times ahead

Feelgood

CCNA is definitely the way to go, will definitely give you a much much better chance of getting your foot in the door somewhere.

You will find that your degree has probably covered a lot of the CCNA course already, so you will basically just need to learn how to use the Cisco IOS.

If you are not working and dedicate yourself to it, there is no reason why you couldn't have your CCNA in 4-6 weeks. Self study is the way to go, if you want some info on self study materials drop me a pm.

BigGrayKettle

Here is one which might be a good fit for you if you are based in Dublin. No previous hands-on experience required to apply.

Edit: Just reailsed what your username was after asking if you were based in Dublin, so probably not!

offalyguy25

Haha yeah not based there, which makes the internships a bit awkward as they are mostly in the cities, but id sort something out, someone was saying you have to be on welfare for 3 months to be eligible for them? Thats a bit ridiculous really isnt it.