RL professions p99 players

[Ephi]

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

And work on soft skills - technical competencies will get you a job but soft skills (communication, negotiation, requirements elicitation, etc.) will be the rocket under your ass to get you places. Lots of otherwise smart people are glass ceiling-ed into a cube pumping out code til they miss a technology curve and retire as the only guy who knows COBOL (or whatever dead language you last ramped up on) because of their abysmal communications skills. And learn to spell [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] As a few people have said here, networking can help you. Join Toastmasters!

Just my $0.02 but then again I'm the guy on the other side of the hiring table :

This is truth. Nerds will land good jobs and have a nice steady career. Nerds who can speak have no limits in technology.

[Blancah]

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

CISSP is security based though, and I was trying to provide first steps to an 18 year old not to someone with a decade worth of experience. Security+ does trump Network+ for security especially but it is a bit more advanced of a cert for someone without only an A+ cert.

Also, CISSP requires 5 years of work experience outlined here.

I do network security for a regional bank and am currently going back to school for net security and/or programming.

I took some college courses during high school and ended up with an A+ equivalent certificate. From there I had a job doing Dell warranty for a bit through a company based out of Texas. I took a couple years off from the IT field and came back as a field tech at the company I'm currently at fixing anything from computers, printers, network closets, phones, and pretty much anything else that plugged in to an outlet until I moved into my new position.

I will not miss printers.

[Pimecone]

Dental student graduating in may

[Raavak]

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

Dental student graduating in may

Young dentist

[zaraax]

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.

Even with a degree the payscales aren't great considering most tech supp work can be outsourced as long as the SLA is beneficial. I abandoned IT completely especially with the cert factories pumping out IT techs. If you must have a career in IT, may I suggest security or becoming a database guru. Yeah, I know easier said then done. I'm currently halfway through my accounting degree and working in a mid-level govt. job analyzing statutes and administrative code.

[August]

Software developer, kickin' it old' school w/ C, ASM, and the occasional C++.

Alarti what major company in Seattle? I'm located here as well.

[Elements]

PhD in medical genetics. Soon to be stay at home dad.

[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.

[Phinger]

I was a production supervisor and scheduler until i changed roles and wanted to get some more financial experience, so now I'm split duty between scheduling and being a cost accountant. Got my undergrad in Management and my MBA in corporate technology and innovation, so if you're in the Charlotte, nc area and need me to come run/manage a company let me know, getting ready to hit the resumés hard in the near future.

Just had my first kid too, so doing what i can to help my wife get her dream of being a stay at home mom.

[tekniq]

i'm 24. I work a 9-5 job (with a 2 hour commute) at a global company then on a small business venture on the side averaging ~20 hrs a week on top. Add in a girlfriend, going out every weekend, I still play a few hours on most weekdays. all about time management, pals.