Anybody offering Work Experience in I.T./Business discipline?

beanok77 · 16-06-2011 11:41AM #1

Just looking to gain some practical experience in IT. I have basic office skills, (no formal training) in word, excel, powerpoint. I work full time during the day in business administration but I would be willing to work nights and weekends in order to gain some experience. Anybody looking for someone please reply or pm me.

Thanks

Delancey · 16-06-2011 05:18PM

I can't help thinking that you will struggle to get the experience you seek at nights or weekends , is there no way you could get such experience with your current employer ?

beanok77 · 16-06-2011 05:30PM

Delancey wrote: »

I can't help thinking that you will struggle to get the experience you seek at nights or weekends , is there no way you could get such experience with your current employer ?

No. The job I am in is more administration. I use Outlook, word, excel, powerpoint most days but I have never received formal training in either. Maybe a course would be a better option but I'm in my mid 20's and have done 4 years of college already. (Buisness Studies Degree). The thought of exams is off putting because I have done so many!

I will look into some formal training courses hopefully find something practical.

Where do you start when you don't know where you are at? i.e. have a good grasp of computers but not certified!

Thanks for the reply.

Oranage2 · 16-06-2011 06:24PM

beanok77 wrote: »

No. The job I am in is more administration. I use Outlook, word, excel, powerpoint most days but I have never received formal training in either. Maybe a course would be a better option but I'm in my mid 20's and have done 4 years of college already. (Buisness Studies Degree). The thought of exams is off putting because I have done so many!

I will look into some formal training courses hopefully find something practical.

Where do you start when you don't know where you are at? i.e. have a good grasp of computers but not certified!

Thanks for the reply.

ECDL covers all those modules - it's pretty easy and you probably wont learn anything new

beanok77 · 17-06-2011 12:34AM

Oranage2 wrote: »

ECDL covers all those modules - it's pretty easy and you probably wont learn anything new

yeah sure that's why I want to do a course! To learn nothing new!

I'd like to add to the skills I already have not just rest on what I have already learned. I heard ECDL is pretty easy alright but I'd like to challenge myself, thanks.

the_syco · 17-06-2011 01:27AM

Look into doing a "City & Guilds" cert? http://www.cityandguilds.com/int-home.html

They do them in Ireland as well.

beanok77 · 19-06-2011 11:15PM

the_syco wrote: »

Look into doing a "City & Guilds" cert? http://www.cityandguilds.com/int-home.html

They do them in Ireland as well.

Thanks. Will do.

maglite · 20-06-2011 06:26PM

ECDL Advanced May be an option.

Or buy a book on Excel and go for it. "O'Reilly Excel hacks" as a start.

beanok77 · 21-06-2011 12:36PM

Can anybody advise me if doin ECDL courses can improve my chances of getting employed in the IT sector. I want to learn a broad range of I.T. skills and make myself more employable to I.T. companies.

Cuddlesworth · 21-06-2011 12:51PM

Microsoft offer more specialized exams for its office suite rather then the general ECDL exams, MOS exams. If you are looking on getting into more of a hardware/application support role there are a few others paths you can take.

Cuddlesworth · 21-06-2011 12:56PM

beanok77 wrote: »

Can anybody advise me if doin ECDL courses can improve my chances of getting employed in the IT sector. I want to learn a broad range of I.T. skills and make myself more employable to I.T. companies.

Where exactly do you want to go? You can start by splitting between working in a IT support role and a development or coding role? You obviously need some coding skills within the second job role. Both roles themselves can be broken up or split between them depending on the job and skills required.

If you want to work in a support role then starting with a couple of MOS exams and a A+ and N+ exams from Comptia. They all cost around 100-150 per exam to do, all can be self taught. These would help you get into a helpdesk or level 1 support role. From there depending on how good you are and how fast you learn(both on the job and in exams/self learning) you have a good career path outside of the obvious management roles.

beanok77 · 22-06-2011 10:31AM

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Where exactly do you want to go? You can start by splitting between working in a IT support role and a development or coding role? You obviously need some coding skills within the second job role. Both roles themselves can be broken up or split between them depending on the job and skills required.

If you want to work in a support role then starting with a couple of MOS exams and a A+ and N+ exams from Comptia. They all cost around 100-150 per exam to do, all can be self taught. These would help you get into a helpdesk or level 1 support role. From there depending on how good you are and how fast you learn(both on the job and in exams/self learning) you have a good career path outside of the obvious management roles.

Hey,thanks for the advice. I will look into everything you mentioned. Is there anyway of doing the mos courses in a classroom? Are they really better than ECDL. I find ECDL more attractive as they offer classroom based learning and I probably will be rewarded with a cert after it rather than having to print my own. I know the mos service is probably alot more practical but I think I will perform better in a classroom.

Thanks again. I'm hoping to get into a course for August/September. Really appreciate the advice. Again I would stress I have no formal training just some college experience with MS office and same in my current job.

amen · 22-06-2011 01:56PM

I want to learn a broad range of I.T. skills and make myself more employable to I.T. companies.

hmm in general IT companies want Developers, Project Managers, IT Architects etc.

Normally you have a degree (maybe a M.Sc) for the developers and experience for the test.

I think you will find it impossible to get an IT Job with an ECDL or the MOS Exams. A Degree in Comp Sci or related discipline such as Engineering/Physics/Maths is required.

I'm trying to put you off but more to make you think before you spend a lot money on courses that may not get you a job.

If you want to learn programming nothing to stop you using lot of the free
on line tutorials.

beanok77 · 22-06-2011 02:28PM

amen wrote: »

hmm in general IT companies want Developers, Project Managers, IT Architects etc.

Normally you have a degree (maybe a M.Sc) for the developers and experience for the test.

I think you will find it impossible to get an IT Job with an ECDL or the MOS Exams. A Degree in Comp Sci or related discipline such as Engineering/Physics/Maths is required.

I'm trying to put you off but more to make you think before you spend a lot money on courses that may not get you a job.

If you want to learn programming nothing to stop you using lot of the free
on line tutorials.

Hey, thanks for the reply. I agree to a point but there are alot of companies who just look for Business Studies Graduates (e.g: Microsoft, Accenture, Bearingpoint, Banks, Paypal, Google, Facebook and so on) I have applied to most these places and made it to the final stages in some of them. They only require a 2.1 degree in Business,Computers orFinance. I am a business studies graduate.

I don't think Business Analysts require a comp science qualification either because I have applied for some graduate roles in this area and they only required a degree.

What would a Business Analyst be required to do on the job and what I.T. skills do they learn on the job. How can I get certified with these skills without having the Business Analyst job?

Also do you have any links to these free programming tutorials?

thanks again.

Cuddlesworth · 22-06-2011 02:41PM

You can do training sources, google "MOS course Dublin". They really are basic subjects though. If buying the self paced training book and working through it are not your thing I would be wary of a career in IT since even good company's will only really send you on one or two courses a year after you have been there a long time. IT is a constant changing field and to actually progress you need to be studying all the time on your own time.

As for the difference between the ECDL and the MOS exams, its night and day. The ECDL is a very very basic course and the MOS is intermediate to expert. From a IT support point of view, a ECDL means you are on par with the most technological illiterate worker now days.

Cuddlesworth · 22-06-2011 02:48PM

amen wrote: »

hmm in general IT companies want Developers, Project Managers, IT Architects etc.

Normally you have a degree (maybe a M.Sc) for the developers and experience for the test.

I think you will find it impossible to get an IT Job with an ECDL or the MOS Exams. A Degree in Comp Sci or related discipline such as Engineering/Physics/Maths is required.

I'm trying to put you off but more to make you think before you spend a lot money on courses that may not get you a job.

If you want to learn programming nothing to stop you using lot of the free
on line tutorials.

Differentiating between IT support and Development. Its not all the same.

beanok77 wrote: »

Hey, thanks for the reply. I agree to a point but there are alot of companies who just look for Business Studies Graduates (e.g: Microsoft, Accenture, Bearingpoint, Banks, Paypal, Google, Facebook and so on) I have applied to most these places and made it to the final stages in some of them. They only require a 2.1 degree in Business,Computers orFinance. I am a business studies graduate.

I don't think Business Analysts require a comp science qualification either because I have applied for some graduate roles in this area and they only required a degree.

What would a Business Analyst be required to do on the job and what I.T. skills do they learn on the job. How can I get certified with these skills without having the Business Analyst job?

Also do you have any links to these free programming tutorials?

thanks again.

Business Analyst is a go word for a hundred different jobs. Depends entirely on the job you are going for. Most involve basic administration, others require in depth knowledge of various tech.

beanok77 · 22-06-2011 04:53PM

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

You can do training sources, google "MOS course Dublin". They really are basic subjects though. If buying the self paced training book and working through it are not your thing I would be wary of a career in IT since even good company's will only really send you on one or two courses a year after you have been there a long time. IT is a constant changing field and to actually progress you need to be studying all the time on your own time.

As for the difference between the ECDL and the MOS exams, its night and day. The ECDL is a very very basic course and the MOS is intermediate to expert. From a IT support point of view, a ECDL means you are on par with the most technological illiterate worker now days.

Appreciate the responses. But isn't buying a the training book and working through it still informal training? If I went for an interview and the employer asked me what IT skills do I have I can hardly say I taught myself or can I ? I'm not against studying on my own and actually enjoy finding out more about computers I just think you could pick up more in a classroom by interacting and bouncing things off some of the other students, also could possibly meet some potential job prospects.

gline · 22-06-2011 05:36PM

beanok77 wrote: »

If I went for an interview and the employer asked me what IT skills do I have I can hardly say I taught myself or can I ?

If you said to an employer that you studied yourself and paid for the test and got a qualification on your own time, that would actually sound pretty good.

IMO ECDl is a waste of time, it is for people that really dont know how to use computers properly, if you have a degree already and use computers in your job you are already too advanced for it

doncarlos · 22-06-2011 05:48PM

beanok77 wrote: »

Can anybody advise me if doin ECDL courses can improve my chances of getting employed in the IT sector. I want to learn a broad range of I.T. skills and make myself more employable to I.T. companies.

Nobody would employ you at the minute with no experience or no qualification I'm afraid when somebody with experience and/or qualification can be hired for the same price. We are turning down graduates and people that will work for free as we don't have the time or resources to train them

Would agree with the previous poster about ECDL. It's a great thing to have on a CV and I'd recommend it to anyone to do but it will not be any advantage in an IT environment. A course I would recommend when starting out would be the A+ certification.
http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx

kippy · 22-06-2011 05:50PM

Just to join in here.
As mentioned already, you do need to clarify what type of experience you are looking for. When someone says IT to me, I assume they are speaking about a Support role of some kind - but it could also mean, programming, networking, web design and a hundred other areas and indeed a mix of all.

If you plan on getting into support (with your educational background) you are going to have to accept the fact that you are going to need more training and certification. You can of couse self study most of the professional certs, Microsoft,Cisco, Comptia etc and take these exams yourself. Most employers look very favorably on this.
ECDL really isn't something they look for in a support role, of course its handy to have but it really isnt major.
You may have to get some college qualification in IT as well - it is something a lot of organisations require now. You may be able to do something part time (not sure how well you could use your existing qualifications to get into something.) Perhaps look at the open university or something like oscail.ie for info.

Classroom learning is expensive (especially the Microsoft/Cisco/Comptia stuff (up to €3000 for a course no longer than 5 days in some cases). That said it is usually very good but you can learn and pass exams on your own.

In the mean time, you dont really have any IT Support background or education and wouldnt really be a good candidate to take on, even for a bit of experience.
I would be looking towards charities such as http://camara.ie/web/ who look for volunteers to help them out, theres bound to be more.

Don't be blinded though - IT Support is a tough game, sometimes with long hours, low pay and a sometimes you deal with "awkward clients".
It can be a long road to get a decent job and like most jobs it's something you need to enjoy as much as possible.
best of luck with whatever you do.

beanok77 · 23-06-2011 10:27AM

gline wrote: »

If you said to an employer that you studied yourself and paid for the test and got a qualification on your own time, that would actually sound pretty good.

IMO ECDl is a waste of time, it is for people that really dont know how to use computers properly, if you have a degree already and use computers in your job you are already too advanced for it

Thanks, I suppose the problem I have is I can't be that specific about what I want to do! I'm a Business Graduate with as previously mentioned so I have being applying for graduate roles. I'm 27 now and have been in the same job for 5 years. Graduated from college 2 years go. Earned my degree part time while working full time.

The problem I have is that where I work although the people are fantastic. There is not much emphasis placed on training & development and I want to keep myself up to date just in case things were to ever go bad with the company I am with eg. company going bust etc.

I want to keep upskilling just in case the worst was to happen and I feel IT is the best sector to target beacause I feel there will always be jobs in this area. I just don't know where to start but I am finding the replies to my post in this topic very helpful.

beanok77 · 23-06-2011 11:21AM

doncarlos wrote: »

Nobody would employ you at the minute with no experience or no qualification I'm afraid when somebody with experience and/or qualification can be hired for the same price. We are turning down graduates and people that will work for free as we don't have the time or resources to train them

Would agree with the previous poster about ECDL. It's a great thing to have on a CV and I'd recommend it to anyone to do but it will not be any advantage in an IT environment. A course I would recommend when starting out would be the A+ certification.
http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx

Thanks that course looks interesting. I will look into it. I too have offered to work for free to companies (at night and weekends because of my full time job) and I'm still available if your company changes their mind!

I need experience!

beanok77 · 23-06-2011 11:35AM

kippy wrote: »

Just to join in here.
As mentioned already, you do need to clarify what type of experience you are looking for. When someone says IT to me, I assume they are speaking about a Support role of some kind - but it could also mean, programming, networking, web design and a hundred other areas and indeed a mix of all.

If you plan on getting into support (with your educational background) you are going to have to accept the fact that you are going to need more training and certification. You can of couse self study most of the professional certs, Microsoft,Cisco, Comptia etc and take these exams yourself. Most employers look very favorably on this.
ECDL really isn't something they look for in a support role, of course its handy to have but it really isnt major.
You may have to get some college qualification in IT as well - it is something a lot of organisations require now. You may be able to do something part time (not sure how well you could use your existing qualifications to get into something.) Perhaps look at the open university or something like oscail.ie for info.

Classroom learning is expensive (especially the Microsoft/Cisco/Comptia stuff (up to €3000 for a course no longer than 5 days in some cases). That said it is usually very good but you can learn and pass exams on your own.

In the mean time, you dont really have any IT Support background or education and wouldnt really be a good candidate to take on, even for a bit of experience.
I would be looking towards charities such as http://camara.ie/web/ who look for volunteers to help them out, theres bound to be more.

Don't be blinded though - IT Support is a tough game, sometimes with long hours, low pay and a sometimes you deal with "awkward clients".
It can be a long road to get a decent job and like most jobs it's something you need to enjoy as much as possible.
best of luck with whatever you do.

Thanks for the in in depth reply some really good points. I agree I'm not being specific and its probably because I don't know where to start looking!

I'm a graduate, so I have mostly being applying to graduate roles. Everybody I know just keeps saying you can't go wrong with an I.T qualification so that's what I am going to do plus I enjoy technology and think I would find it easy enough to pick up.

I suppose I.T. support would be a good place to start? and then move on from there. Cloud computing really sounds interesting as well and I can't wait to see what develops from this.

In relation to not being a good candidate to take on, I disagree. I am the best candidate to take on! I am honest, hard working and I have a first class honours Business Degree. And I will also work for free just to gain some expereience. I have a full understanding of how bad thisgs are at the minute and I am ready to roll my sleeves up.

Really appreciate the replies guys.

kippy · 23-06-2011 11:44AM

beanok77 wrote: »

Thanks for the in in depth reply some really good points. I agree I'm not being specific and its probably because I don't know where to start looking!

I'm a graduate, so I have mostly being applying to graduate roles. Everybody I know just keeps saying you can't go wrong with an I.T qualification so that's what I am going to do plus I enjoy technology and think I would find it easy enough to pick up.

I suppose I.T. support would be a good place to start? and then move on from there. Cloud computing really sounds interesting as well and I can't wait to see what develops from this.

In relation to not being not a good candidate to take on, I disagree. I am the best candidate to take on! I am honest, hard working and I have a first class honours Business Degree. And I will also work for free just to gain some expereience. I have a full understanding of how bad thisgs are at the minute and I am ready to roll my sleeves up.

Really appreciate the replies guys.

I am going to be blunt here and am going to say, based on that post, you are deluding yourself.
A few points:
1. You are a grad with a degree that is not IT related - there's feck all point looking for graduate IT roles when you don't have an IT background - you will be competing with guys who have IT qualifications. Who would you hire if you were looking for a graduate role in IT support - someone who has some exposure to the field - or someone who doesnt?
2. Everyone thinks they are the best candidate to take on and everyone says those things - the business degree (in my opinion) is irrelevant for MOST IT jobs. Hard working - you'd hardly say your weren't. The most important thing I look for in some one starting out in IT (mainly grads of some description) is a willingness to learn in their own time, outside of the workplace and after a long days work. I also look for an interest in IT, asking a few questions that anyone who was interested in IT would be able to answer (not workplace related).
3. Cloud computing is a term that seems to have attracted the interest of many while few actually understand what the term relates to. The sys admin side of it aint rocket science. The programmers may have some work to do alright and there could be more openings here.
4. You wont get much experience at night of at the weekend. You need to show some interest in the topic by at least studying for and getting one of the certs I mentioned earlier - at the very least.

beanok77 · 23-06-2011 12:35PM

kippy wrote: »

I am going to be blunt here and am going to say, based on that post, you are deluding yourself.
A few points:
1. You are a grad with a degree that is not IT related - there's feck all point looking for graduate IT roles when you don't have an IT background - you will be competing with guys who have IT qualifications. Who would you hire if you were looking for a graduate role in IT support - someone who has some exposure to the field - or someone who doesnt?
2. Everyone thinks they are the best candidate to take on and everyone says those things - the business degree (in my opinion) is irrelevant for MOST IT jobs. Hard working - you'd hardly say your weren't. The most important thing I look for in some one starting out in IT (mainly grads of some description) is a willingness to learn in their own time, outside of the workplace and after a long days work. I also look for an interest in IT, asking a few questions that anyone who was interested in IT would be able to answer (not workplace related).
3. Cloud computing is a term that seems to have attracted the interest of many while few actually understand what the term relates to. The sys admin side of it aint rocket science. The programmers may have some work to do alright and there could be more openings here.
4. You wont get much experience at night of at the weekend. You need to show some interest in the topic by at least studying for and getting one of the certs I mentioned earlier - at the very least.

1. I started this topic to try and find somebody that may be offering experience, not to walk straight into a job. I only want experience becasue I do realise that I have no formal training and need experience.
2. The Business Degree I earned involved sujects such as Business Information Systems, Project Management, Information Management (IT Risk & Security, E- Commerce, Information Society, Marketing Information Systems,) among others. We also carried out assigments using word, excel, access, powerpoint and frontpage (outdated I know). Agree most people would say hardworking but most people would not work for free, I think this reinforces the point that I am hard working and if not it proves I'm enthusiastic anyway and also have a willingness to learn.
3. Again I look forward to seeing what happens in this area and hopefully more jobs are generated.
4. I really would like to be offer more than nights and weekends however I am financially restricted. But I still think I could pick up alot if say I worked 6-9 mon - fri, all day saturday, and sunday. I earned my degree doing less hours. What does that say about degrees? I hope to get looking into those courses you suggested and hope to improve my skills and will always try to improve and learn.
5. Deluding is a bit of a put down especially as I only want to work for free to gain some experience. I agree some of the posts may show that I don't have a sense of what I want to do. But thats because I don't know where to start with formal training hence why I started this topic.

I appreciate your responses, are you employed in IT? Any jobs? Will work for free.

kippy · 23-06-2011 12:45PM

beanok77 wrote: »

1. I started this topic to try and find somebody that may be offering experience, not to walk straight into a job. I only want experience becasue I do realise that I have no formal training and need experience.
2. The Business Degree I earned involved sujects such as Business Information Systems, Project Management, Information Management (IT Risk & Security, E- Commerce, Information Society, Marketing Information Systems,) among others. We also carried out assigments using word, excel, access, powerpoint and frontpage (outdated I know). Agree most people would say hardworking but most people would not work for free, I think this reinforces the point that I am hard working and if not it proves I'm enthusiastic anyway and also have a willingness to learn.
3. Again I look forward to seeing what happens in this area and hopefully more jobs are generated.
4. I really would like to be offer more than nights and weekends however I am financially restricted. But I still think I could pick up alot if say I worked 6-9 mon - fri, all day saturday, and sunday. I earned my degree doing less hours. What does that say about degrees? I hope to get looking into those courses you suggested and hope to improve my skills and will always try to improve and learn.
5. Deluding is a bit of a put down especially as I only want to work for free to gain some experience. I agree some of the posts may show that I don't have a sense of what I want to do. But thats because I don't know where to start with formal training hence why I started this topic.

I appreciate your responses, are you employed in IT? Any jobs? Will work for free.

This is the point I am trying to make - even in the "work for free" area there are lots and lots of qualified people looking for experience (I have three CV's at the moment and get approached regularly by people in the middle of or after finishing an IT qualification who are looking to gain some experience. These people have an major interest in the area (its easy to tell in a quick interview).
The very fact that you equate word, excel, access powerpoint with an "IT job" shows that you have done little research into the are being honest.
Deluded is a strong word, but you do need to be aware of the major issues you face, even in trying to get this experience WITHOUT anything at all IT Support related.
LOTS and LOTS of people are working for free at the moment, sadly it is a sign of the times.

I am employed in IT, have been for the past ten years or so, just after getting someone in for a couple of days a week, work experience who is in the middle of an IT related degree - the guy isn't getting paid and to be honest its probably putting more work on me getting him in but I was in the same position myself ten years ago and can appreciate the difficulty in getting started.

beanok77 · 23-06-2011 01:16PM

kippy wrote: »

This is the point I am trying to make - even in the "work for free" area there are lots and lots of qualified people looking for experience (I have three CV's at the moment and get approached regularly by people in the middle of or after finishing an IT qualification who are looking to gain some experience. These people have an major interest in the area (its easy to tell in a quick interview).
The very fact that you equate word, excel, access powerpoint with an "IT job" shows that you have done little research into the are being honest.
Deluded is a strong word, but you do need to be aware of the major issues you face, even in trying to get this experience WITHOUT anything at all IT Support related.
LOTS and LOTS of people are working for free at the moment, sadly it is a sign of the times.

I am employed in IT, have been for the past ten years or so, just after getting someone in for a couple of days a week, work experience who is in the middle of an IT related degree - the guy isn't getting paid and to be honest its probably putting more work on me getting him in but I was in the same position myself ten years ago and can appreciate the difficulty in getting started.

I know I equated I.T with word, excel, powerpoint and access with I.T. but would these not be classed as I.T. skills? It's the only software I use regularly apart from Microsoft Project, and Sybiz Accounting Software.

I really thought things had calmed down a bit and that there wouldn't be that much of demand for "work for free/give me experience jobs"!

This emphasises to me that I really need to upskill and start learning new skills.

Where did you start out in I.T. College? Or Courses? Which area of computing do you think there are more jobs available? Will be available?

kippy · 23-06-2011 01:39PM

beanok77 wrote: »

I know I equated I.T with word, excel, powerpoint and access with I.T. but would these not be classed as I.T. skills? It's the only software I use regularly apart from Microsoft Project, and Sybiz Accounting Software.

I really thought things had calmed down a bit and that there wouldn't be that much of demand for "work for free/give me experience jobs"!

This emphasises to me that I really need to upskill and start learning new skills.

Where did you start out in I.T. College? Or Courses? Which area of computing do you think there are more jobs available? Will be available?

The thing is there are many areas of IT, my current job is a mix of many areas, I do desktop support/break fix/systems administration/systems design/infrastructure engineer/phone systems/mobile technology support/network analysis/web design/project management.....and more. I started out in IT Support on a helpdesk. Obviously it is handy to be aware of office software, you'll use it again in future and you may be asked, while on a helpdesk, to install/repair or about how to do certain tasks in it but when you put that experience against someone who is currently studying or just after studying an IT degree/cert etc....it's really not anywhere near enough.

There are still plenty students and grads who will work for nothing to gain experience.
I did a full time 18 month cert in it support in one of the IT's, 6 months was work experience (at the time it was paid) and I ended up getting my first IT job after college with the same company, managed to get lots of certs, more part time college stuff, changed jobs numerous times since then.

What do I see as a good area? I have a preference for support, I like it and every day is different (ie learning ALL the time, no matter how many certs you have) Others prefer programming and others prefer dealing with networks all the time. It depends.

amen · 23-06-2011 02:01PM

OP

Cloud computing really sounds interesting as well and I can't wait to see what develops from this.

Why wait? Loads of white papers on this subject on the web. Have you checke out the Microsoft site? Amazons or Googles offering? Do you know about S3? IBM and Oracles offering?

In IT you really are expected to go and learn things yourself and keep abreast of whats happening in the IT world.

tbh the ability to use word, excel etc is a given in todays work environment in any job (my 8 year old daughter can use word, power point etc) and it not really considered an IT skill for a Job.

Now if you could install the application across a domain, set up some global policies and auto patch then you might have some IT skills.

The certs are fine but you if you want to complete with the all of the other qualified graduates out there you need really need to do Master especially since you have don't have any programing experience.

Everyone talks about IT and jobs growth but I only consider Development and Infrastructure Management jobs( Large banks, Data centres, ESB etc) as true IT jobs. The support jobs 1st/2nd level support jobs can be done by anyone with some training but the Development/Infrastructure require a good knowledge of programing languages, database, networks, servers etc and to get that you will most likely have a technical degree(Comp Science, Engineering, Science, Maths) and a great interest in the subject and constant learning.

The Business Degree I earned involved sujects such as Business Information Systems, Project Management, Information Management (IT Risk & Security, E- Commerce, Information Society, Marketing Information Systems,) among others

Any body can learn those and will learn as they start to work in any company. I'm fairly convinced non technical degrees are a waste of time if you are looking for a job. They are very useful to have as a means of showing that you are dedicated and passionate about a subject but they don't really help you get a job.

kippy · 23-06-2011 02:03PM

amen wrote: »

OP

Why wait? Loads of white papers on this subject on the web. Have you checke out the Microsoft site? Amazons or Googles offering? Do you know about S3? IBM and Oracles offering?

In IT you really are expected to go and learn things yourself and keep abreast of whats happening in the IT world.

tbh the ability to use word, excel etc is a given in todays work environment in any job (my 8 year old daughter can use word, power point etc) and it not really considered an IT skill for a Job.

Now if you could install the application across a domain, set up some global policies and auto patch then you might have some IT skills.

The certs are fine but you if you want to complete with the all of the other qualified graduates out there you need really need to do Master especially since you have don't have any programing experience.

Everyone talks about IT and jobs growth but I only consider Development and Infrastructure Management jobs( Large banks, Data centres, ESB etc) as true IT jobs. The support jobs 1st/2nd level support jobs can be done by anyone with some training but the Development/Infrastructure require a good knowledge of programing languages, database, networks, servers etc and to get that you will most likely have a technical degree(Comp Science, Engineering, Science, Maths) and a great interest in the subject and constant learning.

Any body can learn those and will learn as they start to work in any company. I'm fairly convinced non technical degrees are a waste of time if you are looking for a job. They are very useful to have as a means of showing that you are dedicated and passionate about a subject but they don't really help you get a job.

Amen to that - well said.

beanok77 · 23-06-2011 02:29PM

amen wrote: »

OP

Why wait? Loads of white papers on this subject on the web. Have you checke out the Microsoft site? Amazons or Googles offering? Do you know about S3? IBM and Oracles offering?

In IT you really are expected to go and learn things yourself and keep abreast of whats happening in the IT world.

tbh the ability to use word, excel etc is a given in todays work environment in any job (my 8 year old daughter can use word, power point etc) and it not really considered an IT skill for a Job.

Now if you could install the application across a domain, set up some global policies and auto patch then you might have some IT skills.

The certs are fine but you if you want to complete with the all of the other qualified graduates out there you need really need to do Master especially since you have don't have any programing experience.

Everyone talks about IT and jobs growth but I only consider Development and Infrastructure Management jobs( Large banks, Data centres, ESB etc) as true IT jobs. The support jobs 1st/2nd level support jobs can be done by anyone with some training but the Development/Infrastructure require a good knowledge of programing languages, database, networks, servers etc and to get that you will most likely have a technical degree(Comp Science, Engineering, Science, Maths) and a great interest in the subject and constant learning.

Any body can learn those and will learn as they start to work in any company. I'm fairly convinced non technical degrees are a waste of time if you are looking for a job. They are very useful to have as a means of showing that you are dedicated and passionate about a subject but they don't really help you get a job.

Thanks for the post. I will definitely start doing some of these courses on my own time as the general consensus seems to be that the classroom is a waste of time.

No I know about Microsofts offering but haven't looked at Google's or Amazon's.

Where did you start out yourself? What degree/masters would you recommend?

Long road ahead!

Anybody offering Work Experience in I.T./Business discipline?

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