What sort of experience do you have and what "branch" of IT is the one that most interests you? There's HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRAINING, VIDEO PRODUCTION, SOUND PRODUCTION, USER SUPPORT, APPLICATION SUPPORT, DEVELOPMENT, etc., stuff we do where I work in IT. List what you can or WANT to do so people get an idea... Also, email me through the board, humble sir.
Use the contacts you made during your internships. If you didn't do any internships, you are not very smart.
Not sure I agree with this. I've been out of work since February. I was working something between low and mid-level support. Most jobs I've applied or interviewed for have had a preference towards having some sort of certification.
Certifications get you interviews, but you need the knowledge to pass the technical interview. IT interviews usually turn into pissing contest to show off how much you know.
yea . .. just remember. . .you gotta get in front of them . .. . to be in the contest That is what the Certs do. . .. Rocket River
If you don't have any IT experience you pretty much will have to start with Help Desk even if you have a degree. Experience is pretty much the only way to move up to positions like server admin, configuration, security, desktop support, etc...There are a lot of help desk (or as some people like to call it hellpless desk ) jobs out there .. especially contract ones..
Interviews are all about selling yourself and showing an enthusiastic attitude. Those certifications serve to pad your resume for a call, but with things constantly changing, it's all about experience.
Try and find a job at UHD. Colleges are in constant need of IT and they hire students frequently (who eventually leave school) I'm not an IT person by any means but I worked 2 years for technical support at UT Austin. (answering calls, fixing computers, handling walk ins, etc..) Base level job and if I had stuck with it I couldve easily moved up. A lot of the people there started out at the entry level.
First, you are getting a lot of mixed advice that is all both good and bad at the same time. The truth is there is no "path" to getting into IT the same way there is for, say, accounting or becoming a Doctor. If you talk to 10 different IT people, they will tell you 10 different ways they got into the business. Regarding whether or not certifications or a degree is worthless... bullsh!t. For some employers they are worthless and for others they are really valuable. It depends on the employer. I have an ex-boss who is OUTSTANDING. The guy is very technically sharp, a very good people person and has an amazing ability to find a way to get things done (both technically and politically). At his current job he just found out he needs the MSITP certification (the "new" MCSE). Why? Because in order for them to be a certain level partner with Microsoft they need MS certified people on their staff. He HAS to get certified. It is not unheard of for a company to hire an inexperienced person who is certified just to have a certified person on staff. There are a lot of companies that will not even look at your (unsolicited) resume if you don't have a college degree. So, while you are sitting around I would suggest that you work on getting certified. At the VERY least it won't hurt and you might learn something. So, it is a good thing to have the degree and it is also a good thing to get certified. Other people have mentioned that experience is key. That is very true so, like a LOT of people new to the work force, you are going to have to find some sort of job somewhere (regardless of how menial or part-time) and just get the experience. The other "key" thing is this: With experience comes contacts. Make sure that wherever you work (and this is universal advice) you are well liked and considered a responsible person. (You'd be surprised how many bad employees there are out there). If you are liked and have a reputation as someone who WORKS pretty soon you will have no problems using your connections to get a job. Good luck.
I can't say I totally agree with all the folks saying that certifications are worthless. It all depends on who is making the hiring. My director will not hire anyone without a cert. As head of desktop support, I'm in charge of hiring and I don't care about certs. All I care about is experience. So again, it really all depends on who's making the hiring decision. As for getting an IT job, the worst part about it is getting your foot in the door. You REALLY either have to be lucky or know someone that can hook you up with a job. Start networking with IT folks. Go to parties and gatherings and be on the lookout. Then start talking to them and see if you can get an entry level position. Helpdesk, tape backups, anything. And once you get that initial job, stick to it until you get enough experience to move on to something else. Hope this helps. -edit I'm basically echoing the above post...
The above is true. I did certifications. It helped a little during the interview, but it was experience, on-the-job knowledge, personality and attitude that got me the job. Just like Harrisment said, it was easier in the late 90s/early 2000s for me to get a job with certifications or have a degree w/o certifications. Now, they want the trifecta (degree, experience, and certifications) just to get a foot in the door. If I were you, I would get the A+ before rules change next year....just to have something to add to your degree. If you do it this year, it will never expire. If you take it next year, it will expire every 3 years and you don't want to do this. Continue applying for jobs on dice, monster, careerbuilder, etc. But also think outside the box and apply at the actual company sites. After you're done with that, then start going further.....look on Forbes site and find the top 200 best companies to work for and apply to those that have a branch in Houston. After those, apply to the top 200 grossing companies and apply to those that have a branch in Houston....and so on and so on. You might get lucky and find a position that wasn't on the search engines. Also network with your friends, family, networking groups, etc. to see if they can squeeze you into a company as an intern. Get onto LinkedIn and get yourself out there. You need to get your feet wet. I know you mentioned I.T. recruiters, but also start off with the regular temp agencies (Administaff, Volt, etc.) and just get your foot in the door as a contractor doing anything IT related (most likely help desk). It's something.... Once you got the job, impress the heck out of the supervisor, make everyone else happy even though you're a doormat to them, and maybe you might get hired on as a full-timer. If not, at least you impressed the temp agency and they can find you more gigs. You'll eventually land somewhere working full-time with a good company. Then once you've built up your experience, you can make the decision to move on from the company and look for a better company. Experience is gold in I.T.
There is a Houston TechFest coming up in Oct. You should go check it out. They have very wide range of topics, you can sort of see which one you are interested in. While you are there, go network. I can't stress this enough. IT is a very small circle in each city, everyone knows everyone. I know it's a cliche, but sometimes it's not about what you know, but who you know.
You can try applying for hedge funds. They don't really care about experience. As long you can program and have strong quantitative abilities and scores you have a chance of getting hired.
Date: 2010-08-02, 1:00PM CDT Reply to: job-nszhj-1876685728@craigslist.org Job Title IT Technician Supervisor Director of IT FLSA Status Non-Exempt Compensation Competitive Salary with full benefits package Location Houston- Central and multi-site (main location 77006) IT Technician Responsibilities: Rolls out hardware and software to ensure optimal deployment of resources. Assists in planning, implementation, and support for end-user computing infrastructure. Assists internal customers and other associates with computer desktop/laptop systems. Identifies and solves any problems that affect computer operating systems. Discusses and coordinates with other I.T. staff to assess and identify computer system problems and solutions. Networks and connects computers to enhance communication. Trains staff and conducts computer hardware and software systems orientation. Assists in troubleshooting routine problems and maintenance of servers. Maintains various other computer peripheral devices such as printers and solving printing problems as they arise. Performs technology needs analysis. Supports desktop, local area network, and server hardware, software and applications. Manages small to medium sized projects according to agreed upon budgets and schedules. Provides computer support services both for software and hardware for the organization’s associates. Tests computers and ensures computer systems are functioning properly. Physical set up of computers and software system installations for various computer applications and programs. Performs other duties as required. Requirements: 3-5 years Desktop experience Must excel at customer service; will go the ‘extra mile’ to solve customer problems; will work on complex server issues or help the desktop analyst at any moment. Demonstrated knowledge of Microsoft Windows and applications. Demonstrated knowledge of setting up remote access for users. Demonstrated ability to support a 250+ node network. Demonstrated ability to support networked printers and photocopiers. Demonstrated working knowledge of current communications devices and protocols, server and desktop technologies. Orientation and training of new staff. Must be able to lift 50lbs If you would like to apply for this position and you meet all of the posted qualifications, please send your resume to Human Resources for consideration: recruiter@legacycommunityhealth.org. Thank you, The Human Resources Department http://www.1in25houston.com/forums/showthread.php?420-Legacy-Community-Health-Services-Various-Positions
I applied to that several weeks ago and never got a response. Most jobs I've applied to at least give a confirmation or send some generic rejection letter.
