RL professions p99 players

[Urbanzkopf]

Originally Posted by Alarti0001 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The A+ is a very common cert. It doesn't make you competitive as everyone has it. Get your network + and maybe your MCTS and look for Help Desk Tier 1 jobs. Also, don't tell anyone your age they aren't allowed to ask you, and they would discriminate against an 18 year old.

Have you considered college? The IT field is swimming with CS and MIS degrees, so you really aren't competitive without a degree unless you are a young Bill Gates or something.

I appreciate the advice, I personally enjoyed networking while I was at my apprenticeship but college isn't something I can do right now as I don't have the funds to pay for the terms there, also I think that I would need to be looking at paying for an exam myself and studying for it. Not really sure it's been awhile since I've been near the IT environment kinda makes me feel like I wouldn't be competent enough it's been that long.

I don't tell them my age nor does my CV contain that but soon as it gets to the interview stage that's always where it goes boom haha..

edit: guess if I was good at the talking game then that would be no problem but i'm not one of those few who walk interviews like they are nothing!

[knottyb0y]

I am a software developer, actionscript/ruby/objective c web/mobile apps for a language learning company. Started out as a part time tester 4 years ago and worked my way up through QA to software dev. best job I've ever had. Requires a lot of self study and problem solving abilities but its the kind of job you wake up everyday excited to go to work. That's worth more than you can imagine.

[Alarti0001]

Originally Posted by Urbanzkopf [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I appreciate the advice, I personally enjoyed networking while I was at my apprenticeship but college isn't something I can do right now as I don't have the funds to pay for the terms there, also I think that I would need to be looking at paying for an exam myself and studying for it. Not really sure it's been awhile since I've been near the IT environment kinda makes me feel like I wouldn't be competent enough it's been that long.

I don't tell them my age nor does my CV contain that but soon as it gets to the interview stage that's always where it goes boom haha..

edit: guess if I was good at the talking game then that would be no problem but i'm not one of those few who walk interviews like they are nothing!

Make sure you are on linkedin, and hit up everyone you know. I can't explain how many recruiters have come after me on that site. Amazon, Msoft, Nintendo, Apple, Exxon Mobil.

Also, if you aren't sure what direction you want to go as an IT a few suggestions would be CyberSecurity (Fastest growing and least filled job out there), Healthcare related IT development (Obvious implications), and filling a position for an Oil company (They pay very well, and with the new shale oil they will start exporting they will boom within 2 years)

[melkezidek]

Good advice from Alarti. One thing I will add is sadly to get experiance you either need some great internships (that likely wont pay you) or do some really shitty years in help desk (that wont pay you half of what they should). After you get some experiance and some certs on your name though doors open things are alot better.

[nilbog]

IT Developer/Project Manager

[maahes]

Originally Posted by melkezidek [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Good advice from Alarti. One thing I will add is sadly to get experiance you either need some great internships (that likely wont pay you) or do some really shitty years in help desk (that wont pay you half of what they should). After you get some experiance and some certs on your name though doors open things are alot better.

I had no idea IT was so difficult to break in to. I've worked in multiple departments in IT, no one cares about Certs from my experience. When I interview candidates for employment I never focus on Certs or give them any weight in my choosing of who to fill positions. The list can sometimes look good, but I never look at specific ones people have. I personally believe when interviewing you can tell a persons general intelligence level very quickly, everything in IT can be taught to an average intelligent person. So will this persons personality benefit and fit with the rest of my team is far more important.

One specialty skill that I have been paying big money for is Application Packagers and SCCM Administrators. I am hiring packagers right now for around 70k to 90k contract, 60k to 80k salary starting. Experienced SCCM Admins are starting at 100k. SCCM Admins are all over the world, however the packagers are few and far between. No school teaches those skills and normally the market is controlled by 20 to 30 packagers.

[Alarti0001]

Originally Posted by maahes [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I had no idea IT was so difficult to break in to. I've worked in multiple departments in IT, no one cares about Certs from my experience. When I interview candidates for employment I never focus on Certs or give them any weight in my choosing of who to fill positions. The list can sometimes look good, but I never look at specific ones people have. I personally believe when interviewing you can tell a persons general intelligence level very quickly, everything in IT can be taught to an average intelligent person. So will this persons personality benefit and fit with the rest of my team is far more important.

One specialty skill that I have been paying big money for is Application Packagers and SCCM Administrators. I am hiring packagers right now for around 70k to 90k contract, 60k to 80k salary starting. Experienced SCCM Admins are starting at 100k. SCCM Admins are all over the world, however the packagers are few and far between. No school teaches those skills and normally the market is controlled by 20 to 30 packagers.

Everything can be taught to anyone... Anyone can claim they know something. The cert is a guarantee that they do.

[maahes]

Originally Posted by Alarti0001 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Everything can be taught to anyone... Anyone can claim they know something. The cert is a guarantee that they do.

That is assuming a company is able to verify the Certs. My words of wisdom, don't throw all your money into Certs thinking they will get you a job. My team has 15 staff members currently. I don't know nor do I care about their Certs. It is all about production. If you get shit done and work your ass off you have all the power you could ever have. In the past I often have told management I would be telecommuting Mon-Thurs, only coming in for meetings and certain testing that required physical presence on Fridays.

Also for the record, I'm not trying to argue with Atari, I do agree with most of what he is saying. Just want to warn people that these Certs don't tow as much weight as it might appear from this forum.

Start studying now! You don't need to pay some company big bucks (which i feel 90% of them are scams) to get a piece of paper saying you know something. The only certs I have are the ones my companies have paid in full for.

Also if any of this sounds like I am gloating I want to make it clear that is not my intentions, yes I have gotten extremely lucky in life and my career, but I also generated a great deal of that luck myself through hard work and dedication. As you get older those qualities start to gain value to you and end up being a source of satisfaction. It's the American Dream after all. Work hard and play hard!

[Alarti0001]

Originally Posted by maahes [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

That is assuming a company is able to verify the Certs. My words of wisdom, don't throw all your money into Certs thinking they will get you a job. My team has 15 staff members currently. I don't know nor do I care about their Certs. It is all about production. If you get shit done and work your ass off you have all the power you could ever have. In the past I often have told management I would be telecommuting Mon-Thurs, only coming in for meetings and certain testing that required physical presence on Fridays.

Also for the record, I'm not trying to argue with Atari, I do agree with most of what he is saying. Just want to warn people that these Certs don't tow as much weight as it might appear from this forum.

Start studying now! You don't need to pay some company big bucks (which i feel 90% of them are scams) to get a piece of paper saying you know something. The only certs I have are the ones my companies have paid in full for.

Also if any of this sounds like I am gloating I want to make it clear that is not my intentions, yes I have gotten extremely lucky in life and my career, but I also generated a great deal of that luck myself through hard work and dedication. As you get older those qualities start to gain value to you and end up being a source of satisfaction. It's the American Dream after all. Work hard and play hard!

Im 100% in agreement with you. You can have 100 certs and be a slob without the ability to associate with humans, and you wont get hired.