Hi everyone, 21 - Staffordshire!

Discussion in 'New Members Introduction' started by ljwhitehouse, Sep 9, 2009.

  1. ljwhitehouse

    ljwhitehouse New Member

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    Hi everyone,

    So i'm 21... unemployed after visiting university last year for a few months and deciding I wanted a job. However that proved more difficult than I imagined. This saw me starting up in self employment doing the usual home repair service, designing a few websites and running ebay stores... however all have been unsuccessful and seen me in about 6K worth of debt, plenty of headaches, hair falling out... you name it. Putting this aside I'd love to get qualifications and move to the Netherlands to further my IT career and professional development, I know oracale/mysql dba are in demand over there, aswell as Java developers... the latter i'm not too great with although can program something simple :).

    So having being building computers and designing websites since the age of 12 i've been around a while and like to think I know a lot. Kind of a jack of all trades I guess! I feel confident on any operating system and can accomplish most tasks put before me.

    I've looked into skillstrain and computeach things before and always thought... there has to be a cheaper way.

    So after reading a few posts, I heard about prometric? offering exams at reasonable-ish prices... I'd like to get some general computer engineering and network engineer qualifications under my belt. Now... the hard parts...

    Firstly... are there any other places around which offer courses cheaper? I've looked into cisco certification through their website but things are looking semi pricey there.

    Secondly... what courses would you recommend I undertake? What are the most in demand and practical?

    Thirdly... Within 11 days, I may be undertaking a different route through university. Attending a Mechatronics course, moving away from the gloom of my current IT world lol. However, would you recommend I stick with what I know rather than the Engineering aspects of this university course... or try the self development route? Or both?

    I really appreciate your help with this and look forward to playing an active part on the forum in the future!
     
    Certifications: BTEC Triple Distinction in IT lol.
    WIP: Everything hopefully.
  2. ljwhitehouse

    ljwhitehouse New Member

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    :(, no replies lol.
     
    Certifications: BTEC Triple Distinction in IT lol.
    WIP: Everything hopefully.
  3. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    It's a forum, not a chat room. ;) Welcome to the forums, by the way. :) I think the fact that you asked multiple questions will cause people to delay responding until they can take the time to craft an adequate response. In fact, that happened to me - I had to pass over your post twice before I could take the time to form a decent reply.

    First, you don't need to sink a bunch of money into a training provider. If you take a look around the forum, you'll see that most of us advocate self-study methods. Simply study the material on your own; then when you're ready to take the exam, sign up on Prometric's or VUE's Web site (depending on the exam you're taking).

    Although Oracle and DBA jobs may (or may not) be in demand, you're not going to be able to jump right into one of those jobs regardless of the amount of training or certifications you acquire. Those jobs are typically given to experienced candidates. What you need to do is to break into IT at ground level with an entry-level IT job, then work your way up the IT career ladder.

    What do you need to start in IT? Absolutely nothing... just a desire to work in IT. Your prior work with computers will certainly be quite useful in helping you to advance faster... but it won't be considered real-world business IT experience.

    So what can help you get an advantage over your competition? Your prior knowledge helps. If you've got a degree (any degree - I've got a Chemistry degree), that can help, though it's by no means required for entry-level IT work. You can also pick up certifications that are relevant to entry-level tech work, such as the A+, Network+, and MCDST. I would recommend only those three until you get some real-world IT experience under your belt - being overcertified with a bunch of certifications that don't match your experience won't do you much good, and can actually hurt your chances of getting jobs, not help them.

    Don't simply pursue courses and subjects that are "in demand"... certify on what you have experience doing, and direct your career towards things you enjoy... not just the "next hot thing". Take things one step at a time - entry-level, desktop support, systems/server admin, network admin - and, over time, you'll be able to find out what you enjoy and what you don't. I promise you, if you enjoy something, you will tend to do better at it than those who are just doing it to earn a buck.

    Hope this helps. :) Again, welcome!
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  4. Wolfie

    Wolfie New Member

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    Welcome LJ

    As BM said there was a bit much to reply to in your very first post, I'm pretty new here myself but these guys have made me feel welcome already, I lurked for a few weeks before joining up.

    I was going with a training provider and had even paid a deposit but last moment, the feeling on here made me ask for a refund and I'm going the self teaching method now.

    I too have tried to be a jack of all trades, unfortunately employers will ask for a single or close group of skills on a job spec.

    Good luck.
     
    Certifications: the whole electronics gamut, but no IT
    WIP: CompTIA A+, Networks + CCNA, MCSE
  5. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Actually, most do not. Larger corporations might... but small businesses still provide most of the IT jobs out there... and they typically look for a multi-purpose jack-of-all-trades who can not JUST administer their Exchange server, but also their applications servers and their AD infrastructure and their firewalls and their routers and even their top-tier desktop support problems.
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  6. Shinigami

    Shinigami Megabyte Poster

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    Yeah, most job openings right now seem to be looking for someone with extensive knowledge in Microsoft products (servers and apps), extensive network skills (routers, firewalls, proxy's...) and of course an expert in all things Linux with certificates to prove it all (of course :rolleyes: ).

    I keep asking the head hunters if they truly expect to find someone who has all of these skills and is willing to accept a salary that doesn't even hint at this amount of knowledge...

    Some admit they're only passing on the message from their clients HR department (who may not quite understand that these are all very different technologies). On top of this, they expect the person to speak english (not evident over here in Switzerland).
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2009
    Certifications: MCSE, MCITP, MCDST, MOS, CIW, Comptia
    WIP: Win7/Lync2010/MCM

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