nothing to do with recording but...
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Posted on Jul 24, 2003 02:49 am
stinkyjoe
Member Since: Mar 20, 2003
ok, i know this is pretty off the subject of this site but i know that a lot of you know a good deal about computers and possibly some of you make a career of them, so i was wondering what some of you thought of certification, degrees and the IT field. im about to test for the CCNA (cisco) and after that the MCP (microsoft). also im near the end of a two year degree in computer information systems. does anyone here have any certs in IT or think i have any shot at getting a job in this field right now? like i said, maybe this is the wrong site to be posting about this but it seems like some of you know alot about computers and might have an opinion.
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Jul 24, 2003 05:12 am Well, I have one cert, my A+, hardly worth mentioning since I am a developer now. I think, personally where the big bucks will be int he near future is in network security. Cisco is good, but then you need to find a Cisco shop. MCP is good cuz everyone has M$ products...but M$ and security rarely get mentioned together.
However, I wouldn't know about the "good shot at getting a job", it's a tough market right now, lots of unemployed IT guys, I am one of the lucky ones I guess.
How valuable the certs are really depend on the company you are interviewing at, I have been on many interviews and none of them ever asked about school, just wanted to see websites I have built to prove what I can do...
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
Jul 24, 2003 10:33 am I never got certified in anything ...however I don't "work" in computers... I would have started out (like all my friends) in a basic integration shop for Sarcom. However I came in at the very begining of the bubble burst and was layed off the day before I was supposed to start. easy $1000 :)
Most of my friends are now MCSE, A+, and Cisco certified. Also, Sarcom, sends them to other certification courses so the get certified for IBM, Cray, etc. but that depends on what they do and what company they are assigned to... like they get divied out to companies like Nation Wide or stick with Sarcom and move through the ranks there.
If you already don't have a lot of basic integration or level 1 or 2 technical support experience you should expect to start there. with certification probably in technical support...as basic integration "requires" a highskool diploma. ... literally my interview was: I walked into a room with the interviewer who asked me the typical questions ("What do you want to do with your measly life?") and then cracked open a computer and started pointing at components asking "Whats that?" to the replies of "PCI slot" "ISA Slot" "RAM" (didn't care what kind) "power supply" "harddrive"
There is work if you look ... I don't look :) and every once in a while I'll get a $100 to manually remove a virus from a computer :\
el musicoFreeleance Producer/Engineer/GtrMember
Since: Aug 11, 2002
Jul 24, 2003 11:42 am man, i started in the USAF as an avionics technician. i did everything from test/repair our $30 million support equipment and the computers, displays like the HUDs, pneumatics, RF, and inertial systems. i tested these at system level, found the faulty card/loop and then (if i had time) troubleshot that to component level to fix the part or just swapped it out with a good part from another bad unit or ordered the replacement.
Then i got out and went to work for motorola as an engineer's associate and performed ICT (in circuit testing) with HP3060-3070's.
Then i was hired on at Intel. worked in the fab in a bunny suit like the people in the P2-P3 commercials except without the pretty colors and a lot less dancing. i worked with chemicals that etched the silicon wafers that later became p4's.
i quit Intel to go to school fulltime for my Chemical Engineering degree and picked up a part time job at Best Buy being the PC tech guy in the front. i won't mention what the pay cut was like but it definitely required none of my previous experience. they just wanted to know if i knew how to perform virus scans and install RAM and whether i can do these things with a smile. so i guess what i mean by all this (thanks for letting me vent) is that i agree with Zek, it depends on where you are applying.
el musicoFreeleance Producer/Engineer/GtrMember
Since: Aug 11, 2002
Jul 24, 2003 11:43 am oh... meanwhile i had amassed a home studio and quit bestbuy. i now record bands and still go to school fulltime.
Jul 24, 2003 01:00 pm dude, el musico, you have *MAD* occupational skills man. So are you still working on your Chemical Engineering degree?
el musicoFreeleance Producer/Engineer/GtrMember
Since: Aug 11, 2002
Jul 24, 2003 04:56 pm yeah jamie... i have been lucky to experience the things i have being that i'm just 25 years old. as far as the chemical engineering degree, i'm still working on it. this next semester i've got calculus, physics w/lab, an engineering class w/lab, and some group communications class. it's gonna be bad.
Jul 24, 2003 05:18 pm as soon as i get cisco and microsoft certified, im going to try to get a technical support job. i dont have job experience (in this field) so i realize ill need to start there, but i plan on continuing school, and possibly trying to take my 2 year degree to a university to get a bachelors. im probably going to get my A+ also. i just hope theres work for me in the future!
Jul 24, 2003 06:42 pm I work at HP, although I don't have any certs. I work around many that do (I'm a telecomunications tech).
I wish I could paint a pretty picture for you but you are about to enter one of the more competitve job markets.
Certs are good but you'll need to be over the top, and aggressive and patient. Many of the people that have started have had to take paycuts because there are so many people waiting in line for their job. And the employers know this.
You need to ask yourself if this is the type of direction you want to take, or not?
If you have a passion for something else and are young with nobody to support, this changes your options.
All the certified people I know have had a few different employers in the last few years.
Jul 25, 2003 01:19 pm Didn't mean to scare you off. It's just a competitive field. Sounds like you're going about it the right way.
