well now that im graduated....i have to find a job to pay off these loans and i want a job in my field (for obvious reasons) and i would like to ask my fellow techies "what should i do?" how should i go about finding a job in this field...being as difficult as it is..im looking for things such as desktop support or help desk... i look on sites like dice.com careerbuilder.com jobsinstpaul.com monster.com etc the massive job site lists go on... what else can i do short of talk to my career service rep (which im going to do) at college? the job market even for techs is really shaky right now...and i HATE applying online because they NEVER give you a person to contact...its always sent to some HR departments e-mail hopper...and you can never call to ask if they got your resume to set up an interview..but i guess thats what cover letters are for... so yeah what should i do?
Get out there and mingle. It's the best way to get the word out that you're looking. It's always a good thing to get your name out there. Stop by some places that you would like to work at. Even if they aren't taking applications or whatever. Check back from time to time. Make "friends" with the right people.(Don't be annoying though! ) It's always good to know somebody who is in the field or somebody who knows somebody who is in the field that you are applying for. Make some cheap business cards with your name and information that they can reach you at. These things always help.
It is not clear to me exactly what type of job you are after, but this suggestion applies to most any. Leverage your network of friends and family. Find individuals at your target companies and see how they can help you out. If anything, they may give you the name of another individual that you can work with. Also, you may want to look at larger companies right now. The medical device industry in this town is huge. Boston Scientific, Medtronic, St. Jude and Starkey Labs. Also consider local companies that have been recognized as leaders in their fields. A good source for this can be found here: http://www.tekneawards.org/ Another way to make contacts at local companies is to attend a professional society meeting. There probably is one for your field of training. As an engineer, I found the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Society of Automotive Engineers helpful. Most groups have a monthly meeting where you get an opportunity to tour a specific local company. These meetings are generally attended by people passionate about their careers and willing to help others get started. One last suggestion is to have someone critically evaluate your resume. Ask one of your past instructors or someone who works in your chosen field to do this. Career placement people are a good second choice, but they often do not know the specific terminology/lingo necessary to really help out. Stay focused and be positive. Good luck!
well im going into the computer industry. would some of you suggest maybe looking at other states to live? i was possibly considering chicago...its drastic but there are far more jobs there than here. It would be rough though btw thank you for some of your guy's advice...its giving me ideas
I'm an IT Systems Admin! It's a tough market. Alot of outsourcing to INDIA at the moment. Find yourself an entry level job or INTERN to get in somewhere.
I wouldnt bank on that. I was in IT in Chicago and it was rough as hell. One of the main reasons I moved here is because the IT job market is so bad in Chicago. I spoke with some old work buddies yesterday, and they are still having a tough time. Some of them picked up serving jobs to supplement their income. **edit** I also agree with what jackbauer said, outsourcing is running rampid in this industry.
sorry man, I hate to be so blunt about it. do you have any of your certifications yet? microsoft,Cisco etc?
its alright..i suppose ill find something eventually..but i hope to find something within the next month or two..cause i really need a job lol
125CC has my train of thought. The idea is to get the word out. If only your ears are to the ground, you may miss an opportunity. If family, friends, and employees of a possible employer are listening for you, then its just a game of odds. You may also think about what your skills can be used for in addition to working for a company on IT. With the market the way it is, dot coms are a cheap way to start companies without risky overhead, a webdesign company might be a good place to look. Heck though, I dont know dip about your field.
Everything should be on the table if you have bills to pay, but ask yourself the following questions first: Where is my immediate family (parents) in relation to where my prospective job is going to be located? How important is it for me to be near my family now and in the future? My experience has been that most people stay in the region that they get their first job. Not such a big deal when you are young and your parents are healthy. Unfortunately, this situation does not last forever and it becomes increasingly difficult to help elderly/sick parents from long distances. Is my “significant other” going to want to move? What will it cost for me to move and what is the cost of living in the place I am moving to? Use cost of living index sites to help with this. http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html
yeah i dunno where my teacher got his statistics but apparently in the twin cities alone there are over 30 thousand unclaimed tech positions...that you really just gotta look for..but the problem is looking..there are over a million places to look...and are VERY VERY hard to find
desktop support or help desk? Where in the computer industry do you eventually want to be? What's your degree in? I mean, where I work, for help desk & customer support we don't even hire people with computer training usually - unnecessary for what the job requires and it costs less for someone without it. You're best bet may be with large companies that staff IT dept's & support techs for their own staff. Otherwise, maybe small local software companies that staff their own support for their software.
thats a cool little calculator i like that thing hahaha but yeah...the thing is..if i do move the person that is my "significant other" will already have an apartment that her parents are renting out for her during her time at college and such
i eventually wanna be a network admin and my degree is an associates degree of applied science...which was in network administration..least thats what i learned anyways so q do you suggest maybe i go with a staffing company? maybe a head hunter or something?
Oofta. Tough one. At least net admin is a little more promising than what think of as help desk. lol Yeah, so big companies are going to want probably some certifications and maybe to see you did an internship or have a little job experience. Tough position for you, man. Starting level net tech has got to be about the hardest position to get these days, period. Too many people out for the same job, IMO. You could try a staffing company. I've never successfully used one, so I can't give you much info. Heck, we were just contemplating whether or not to hire someone to help with our infrastructure maintenance. Just be aware that all those web sources - craigslist, monster, etc. - they only represent a small portion of the potentially available jobs out there. There are certainly a bunch of jobs open every day that just need to be found - gotta network.
well i do have 2 pluses i have experience in virtually every OS (including mac and linux) and i did an internship as a desktop support guy doing imaging hardware testing and fixing and i had my own local small gig going (kinda like timshows garage thing) where people would call me up from town and id go repair their computers for money
Linux experience may count if you can get to the point of a skills test (for our company that's 2nd or even sometimes 1st interview). Intership is good. Your own local gig may make for a story to tell in the interview, but I can say that we wouldn't place much weight on that, as far as considering experience goes. Next week I'll ask my boss if she knows of any good lists of tech companies in MN, places to maybe inquire to that might be tough to find without knowing about them.
alright i have reached a decision..im going to take alot of what CC said into consideration...and take the advice q gave me...and see what i can do with all this im going to call up my career service rep for the IT kids at brown to see if he can revise my resume...with me and see if he can't find me any jobs in the field...when i first started there it was said they had 95% job placement...not to sure what it is now being as the economy is worse than it was then...but i will do what i can with what i have...thank you guys for helping me out...
Here is a list you can work with right now. It is the list of member compaies for the Minnesota High Technology Council. Use it in two ways. First, scan throguh it and think of who you know that works at the companies. Second, it has direct links to the member company websites. If a company sounds interesting, go directly to the website and check out their "career" section for posted jobs. http://mhta.org/member_companies.php
i suppose that will be my last ditch effort...those guys have one of the hardest psychology tests ever though i swear to god
As a person that works for one of those companies, I can tell you the only way you'll get your foot in the door is either 1. Many years of experience or 2. You have to be a contractor for at least 6 months to a year. Think of it as a 6 month to 1 year job interview. I'd check out some of the local IT-based contractor companies to try to get your foot in the door somewhere. I personally used teksystems to get my foot in the door. There's also Robert Half (Which i heard licks balls) and Sapphire. I'm sure there is others out there, those are just the few that I know my company uses. Also, Not tryin to knock you or anything, but only having an associates might hurt you right now. There is a lot of people out there that are in your same position with 4 yr degrees or a larger work experience. I hate to break it to you but knowing "virtually every OS" isn't really that big of a shocker. Have you considered going back to school and getting a 4 year?
having been in that field I have to agree with ryan. An associates degree and a helpdesk internship are probably not enough to compete in a lean market where you have a lot of people with 4 year degrees and applied work experience to compete against. Almost all computer guys I know are familiar with os x, linux and windows, its kind of expected, especially at the interviews I went to. Not trying to be negative but its going to be difficult if you don't want to start at the help desk level. And believe me, helpdesk is one of the crappiest jobs on earth. And I did it for 4 years. and robert half sucks BIG TIME.
oh hell yeah i hate robert half.. but i wasnt bragging about my knowledge of stuff thats just my experience...i guess ill take into consideration the contract work as well...this stupid economy..seriously...worlds worst invention....now we cant live without it lmao also i really didnt want to go back to school till after i paid off this incredibly huge loan (45k) then i planned on going back....
Take the contract work if you can get it. Any gap in work on a resume is a question mark if not a red flag. Not insurmountable, but if you can avoid it do so. Plus, you're making money and if/when you find a FT job elsewhere they won't be surprised when you quit. Bob Half is on par with any other firm. I know plenty of good people that work there. Most smaller shops in MN are offshoots of Bob Half anyway so the apples don't fall far from the tree.
I work in the IT field for a company called Compudyne. Straight up, just start talking to people that you know or to people at places you want to work at. My story is kind of crazy, but this may help... As a senior in high school, compudyne did the tech work for my school district. They also offered once a month "class" for students that were involved with technology in the school. Thinking that this is what I wanted to go to school for, I got involved and began to get "my nerd on". At the last class for the year, I asked the man running the class if they had any internships for the summer because I was signed up for college in the fall to become a Network Admn. (CISCO and A+) and thought it would be good to make sure this is what I wanted to do. He gave me a number of a person to talk to; set up a meeting and meet to discuss an intern possition. We sat down for lunch one day and he asked me about my computer experience and what all I knew in this field. Then, went into how they didnt really offer a intern possition, (i thought i was screwed) but instead offered me a JOB! I didnt know what to think. But I gladly excepted and thus is what I currently do for a living. Keep in mind, I am only 18 now. This took place over the course of last year to now. Sorry to ramble. But, the moral of the story is this... Dont be affraid to take a chance. I often think about "what if i didnt ask about a possition as an intern", i most def wouldnt have this job. So, you just have to put your self out there and see what happens. Make some good connections and try and get your foot in the door. The only place to go is up! Also, if you purchase an A+ book, there are some places that you can just go take the test once you have read the book and feel confident. Most tech schools or community colleges offer this type of program. Hope that helps. Good luck!
yeah i have an A+ book from my A+ class it was one of my most fun classes it's just expensive..and on top of that i don't have enough confidence in myself to take a test that costs that damn much no matter how much i study lmao
i knew that but i dont want to have to pay more loans and keep going to school i want to get out there as soon as possible i can't be sitting around anymore i gotta get out in the field..ill go back when i pay off the loan though
IMO, A+ is cake and anyone who actually knows a bit and studies some can pass with few problems. However, because of said, I'm not sure how much weight it carries compared to, for example, MSCE/D. Also, last time I saw an A+ test (and to be fair, it was several years ago) it was way out of date and asked a lot of questions on useless information (like what hardware and some questions that were just plain wrong - as in didn't even make sense or have a correct answer without making multiple assumptions. My opinions on that may be out of date, though. Anyone with more recent experience?
I bit off topic, but I have a few openings here locally. Mostly entry level (10-18 per hour) PM me for more information as I'd rather not publically post the jobs.
I took the A+ and Net+ last year. (I got into IT a couple years ago after a career change.) A+ was easy. It's all fundamental stuff. I bought the Mike Myers book, read it, and took the tests. Passed both exams (2 for the A+) with high marks. I didn't see too much that wasn't relevant or that was out of date. This was the most recent version of the test. I believe it was revised in 2005 or so and was restructured a bit. Network+, on the other hand, was a weird exam. I swear half the exam was on Novell, (WTF?), which I have zero experience on. I did pass, though. All I used was the Myers book. I also recently passed the MS 70-290. That was much harder than either of the CompTIA tests. I'm currently studying for the 70-291, which I hear is a bear. (If anybody has any advice about the 70-291, let me know!)
