Is there hope for me yet?

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Hi,

I'll try to give a short history of my interest in I.T and success in education and work.

I gained a grade C in I.T at school and little interest in the subject until I bought my first PC. I left school with no direction and decided to take many short basic courses that included Visual Basic Programming and Computer Engineering.

I finally decided to direct myself to a career in I.T by joining a HND Computing course. I loved it and instead of completing the second year I joined the second year of a BSc degree called Computer Networks for Business. I obtained my first class degree around 3 years ago and enjoyed the course thoroughly as it included the Cisco Academy and my project was on wireless network hacking (a lot of fun)

I thought with my first in BSc Computer Networks for Business, I would get a job as a network engineer easily and then take my CCNA exams and live happily ever after.

Unfortunately it never worked out like that. 8 months after graduating I became a volunteer I.T support for a local charity working 2 days per week. I stayed for 12 months, applying for jobs in between but was turned down at 2 interviews. I left the charity after joining an agency asking them to find me a paid role in IT Support, they instead found me a job as some super adminstrator with I.T skills. I worked for a small manufacturing company for 18 months of 15k, getting bored out of my brain doing mundane tasks, which I improved by creating macros in excel and access databases.

I left the company last September after a personal tragedy, I wanted time off to decide what to do with my life. I went travelling for a month in October and came back in November. I looked into careers as an Information Scientist and Electrician before deciding against it. The only thing I have ever been passionate about is I.T but I have not been successful in finding a proper I.T job.

I am now 26 and wonder what opportunities are available to me. I've been reading lots of info on the I.T industry over the last few weeks and have been fascinated by it all, cloud computing, virtualization, SSD's, netbooks, mobile broadband, Linux distros, OpenSolaris etc etc.

I want a job that is hands on I.T, not dealing with people over the phone. So I have been looking at working in datacentres or ISP's as some type of network engineer or sys admin, but I am not sure how to proceed and how to get into this area.

Would I need to put up with 1st line support and then work my way into more hands on I.T work in data centres or with ISP's?

Help

 

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The fact is you need to keep trying.

ALthough I am not in an official IT position I do some server working and cabling, basically speaking I am looking for my first IT job and I left uni in 1999 with a distinction in HND Business computing.

IT is one the hardest careers to get into so it's a hope and see effort untill you get there.

 

You already have some experience working in IT of sorts, so you are already ahead of alot of people struggling to get into the field.

It really does come down to plugging away until you get an opening. Perhaps try smaller companies if your looking for a more "hands on" role as many larger companies will limit you to very basic tasks until you progress out of 1st line. Although to be honest, any foot in the door would be great, so just keep applying for the 1st line jobs everywhere you can find them.

You will break into the field sooner or later, and once you do, with passion and hard work you'll never look back.

Best of luck

 

Man you are in very good situation. You just need some confidence and self esteem. I would like to be in you position now. The only thing I have to do with computers at my work is using Microsoft office 2000 and installing fresh software to mobile phones which is basicly:
1. connect the mobile to PC
2. Start the flashing software
3.Wait till is done ( reading MCDST material during waiting)
4.Unconect the mobile
5.Put it in the box
6.Go to point one

But I am still happy and I am not gonna give up wit IT.
I recommend for you some book to read
"Success Inteligence" by Robert Holden
"Your Personal Survival Guide to The 21st Century" by Roy Sheppard
"The Now Habit" by Neil Fiore

As well you propably can concentrate on good CV and how to go through interview.
For this I recomend book "ACE the IT Resume - Resumes and Cover Letters to Get You Hired" by Paula Moreira
You can get the book free from www.scribd.com

Goog Luck

 

Thanks for your support.

The reason I'm here is to get some support and advice from people who are either in a similar position or those that have experience so I can ask them how they got their foot in the door and progressed and other tips.

 

I would have likely been in your position if I had not been lucky. I came out of University with a 1st in Business Management. I didn't entirely know what I wanted to do, so I thought following a hobby/interest would be a good start.
I graduated in June, and dotted around for a bit. I then decided to study for the A+ while I was working for a supermarket. After using agencies, the job center and various other means I found myself a job in IT.

I can only echo what others have said- keep at it! You already have IT experience which is a huge benefit in any industry. If you have spare time on your hands, consider studying for an additional certifications. It can only help your chances of finding a job. I would say however that everyone has to start at the bottom (which you may or may not have done already) , and helpdesk support may be the only way. Consider working for smaller companies, where you will (more likely) have a varied work load.

Your qualifications and existing experience will make you a great catch for a company- just give it time ;)

 

You mentioned that you could not get a paid job whilst working for a charity. I think you need to address other aspects of your approach. From what can gather, you're good at the techie/engineer stuff but what about your soft skills? How are they? What about your CV and interview technique? Excellent soft skills are sure fire thing for landing a job!

Good luck

 

Soft skills as in communication skills? Well I am rather introverted so don't talk too much (the idea of selling myself at interviews is like running down the street naked), but I don't mind helping people with their problems, I'm usually calm and respectful, even if they ask silly questions, I know they have no I.T experience so should treat them respectfully.

I am much better face to face than over the phone, not always quick thinking.

But to be honest, over the last 2 or so years I have not thought about my career at all. I was in a relationship, so thought about her all the time, she got leukemia, I thought about her more, she got suicidal, I thought about her more. This made me depressed, anxious and ...how can I tell employers at interviews this? a horrenduous personal life over the past 2-3 years, so that's why I haven't got much experience, rather than being lazy or not interested.

 

As Arro said - personal and work life are different and I wouldn't dwell on the perosnal side of things in an interview.

You don't have to be confident in an interview (tho' it helps obviously) as long as you are composed.

Once you know you're going into an interview most agencies will send you some tips and hints. Try practising with a friend and think positive !

You'll get there I'm sure !