IT Career [Weekly] What would you like to know Wednesday? General Question Thread |
- [Weekly] What would you like to know Wednesday? General Question Thread
- I Was Told I'm Overqualified Without No Experience
- 90% of entry level or internship positions require 2+ years experience.
- How to best spend 4-6 hours of free time per day, in preparation for leaving the company in 6-9 months??? (story inside)
- MIS( Management Information Systems)
- Is it wrong that I enjoy IT Service desk (Internal Business focused) and would like to progress within it?
- I quit my IT job without notice, did I make the right decision?
- How much job hopping is tolerated exactly in the land of IT?
- Best online resources for MCSA
- What topics should be mastered/prepared for an IT support engineer job? Can you please recommend some material to read?
- 9 Months into my first position. Where to go from here?
- [Resume Help] Please review and comment on my refreshed resume.
- New CompTIA PenTest+ cert
- Am I slacking off?
- Looking for career advice.
- Thoughts on federal contract work?
- Not taking a programming job right away
- Leaving FT job but continuing to consult - questions about pay rate
- I applied and was emailed about a job that I think is out of my league. Is there anything I should do to prepare?
- Need my resume reviewed please! Anything will help!
- Is a Bachelors needed or Associates will suffice for IT
- College Choices for IT?
- SQL Data Analyst vs IT Security Administrator
- Going to take the Verizon Talent Acquisition Test for Technical Support Specialist in the next few days, any advice on what to expect?
- Would you hire a community college graduate with a cyber security degree straight out of school?
- Are certifications worth it while in college?
| [Weekly] What would you like to know Wednesday? General Question Thread Posted: 01 Aug 2018 01:13 AM PDT Not every question needs a backstory or long explanation but it is still a question that you would like answered. This is weekly thread is setup to allow a chance for people to ask general questions that they may not feel is worthy of a full post to the sub. Examples:
Please keep things civil and constructive! MOD NOTE: This will be a weekly post on every Wednesday. [link] [comments]  |
| I Was Told I'm Overqualified Without No Experience Posted: 01 Aug 2018 06:34 AM PDT I'm so done with the job market. I cannot catch a break. I'm a 20 yr old college junior without any real-world experience. I have my AS in Comp. Sci. and an A+ certification. I also rebuilt the entire computer lab from the ground up at my school, due to my professor seeing my technical prowess. Of course I threw that on my resume as well. I found a nice internship through my school, and it mentioned potential to work with AWS in the job description, which is a career path I'd like to go down. I apply to the position, and the next day I get the HR email saying they'd like to schedule a phone interview. The next day I'm on the phone with HR, I've got her laughing and just a free flowing conversation about the position. She says she really likes my credentials, especially only being a junior, and I'm moving on to the hiring manager interview aka my potential boss. 3 days later, I'm on the phone with the hiring manager. It's the same as before, a 50 minute interview, cracking jokes (professionally of course) and just shooting the shit about the position. During the interview, I mentioned I was really interested in seeing the backend AWS stuff as that's my chosen career path. His whole tone changed. He says to me "I can't have a kid off the street messing around with my backend stuff. You'll need to work your way up to all that." I quickly backtrack and say I completely understand, I just want to see the technologies in real-world applications, but I'm completely fine with doing typical help-desk work that was in the job description. We end the interview on a positive note and all is good. A week later, I get a rejection email from the HR department stating the following: "Thank you for your interest in the IT intern position at [company]. Unfortunately, we have determined you are overqualified for this entry level position. We will be moving forward with other candidates at this time. Thank you." I'm just shaking my head in disbelief. I really don't think I'll ever get a job. [link] [comments]  |
| 90% of entry level or internship positions require 2+ years experience. Posted: 31 Jul 2018 04:53 PM PDT How the fuck am I going to get a job if every god damn employer needs experience? What am I supposed to start my own tech support business for 2 years and then get a job for 9 dollars an hour? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Jul 2018 08:43 PM PDT Okay, so I currently work at a F50 (non-tech) in a role that is described as internal IT consulting for the executive suite, but is actually L1 helpdesk with white gloves. (Not what I was pitched that it was going to be, not happy that it's what I'm doing, but I'm contractually obligated through January.) I've asked for other side work and something more meaty to chew on, but I've been explicitly told no. I was told that the executive's IT needs are too important to allow any distractions of any kind, so I can't pick up any project work or anything like that. Net result? I fuck around on the internet for at least 6 hours per day waiting for someone to ask for basic IT help. Tangentially, my fiancee and I have decided to move to New York City next May, as she's secured a full time offer at a big bank (with a healthy salary to boot). So I know I need to leave the company in 9 months, but because of the philosophy of my higher ups, I can't get my hands on anything meaty to bolster my resume. Further, I'm worried about my marketability and my ability to contribute in a financially meaningful way to our household in NYC. I'm worried that right now, the only thing I'm competitive for is more helpdesk stuff, which would return a paupers wage in Manhattan. But what I can do, is take those 6 hours per day that I'm fucking around on the internet, and do something productive with it. As long as the executives and their secretaries get their printer drivers reinstalled and their WebEx meetings started on time, I'm free to basically do what I want sitting at my computer. My constraint is that I have a computer with dual 27" displays, one of which has a privacy screen on it and nobody can see it without it being blatantly obvious to me that they're trying to look. I also can't have any books or anything out, so everything has to be on the computer. Basically, I need to look busy even if I'm not busy. (Perception is everything in/around the executive suite) Background:
Some routes I've thought about:
I currently make about $85k in a MCOL city. I have no illusions that I'm going to be able to maintain the same standard of living in NY, but if I can't find something at roughly the same salary, I'm worried about my financial situation, especially with student loans. My fiancee will be an analyst at an investment bank with regular 85-100 weeks, so proximity to her office will be the most important factor in determining where we live. This likely means lower Manhattan, or Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo. A Note on relationship advice/advice regarding the actual move to NY: Before we get there, I know people are going to chime in on their opinions on her choice to live in NY and her insistence on living as close to the office as possible, and how it's dumb that she refuses to even consider anything other than Manhattan or Brooklyn. I get it. I've had this fight with her a million times. Basically, I either need to move to new york with her for 2-3 years (Even though I don't want to), or our future is that we don't have a future. I'm choosing my fiancee, so I'm moving to New York. We all make sacrifices to make our relationships work. Mine is that i'll go to New York for a while, and hers is that we're not there for the long haul. The bargain that we struck is that we'll stay in New York for 2-3 years while she completes the analyst program. After that, we'll either a) move to a lower cost of living city for her to get her MBA, b) she'll insist on moving to an office in a lower cost of living city when she becomes an associate c) if neither of those two pan out, we'll move to a lower cost of living city and find new jobs at a slower more relaxed pace. I'd like to keep this post focused on the career aspect, not the relationship/where to live aspect. I'm here to humbly ask for as many suggestions as possible to point me in a direction that doesn't result in me struggling to survive in NYC. [link] [comments]  |
| MIS( Management Information Systems) Posted: 01 Aug 2018 06:37 AM PDT Anybody did MIS in college? Any regrets in doing it ? How is the job market? Can MIS be helpful in the IT world? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2018 02:19 AM PDT When I mean Service Desk, I mean an internal IT Support for the business, not a call center environment where i'm assisting external customers. I have always worked in an office in which I was able to walk around, maintain the IT infrastructure, systems and so on. Maybe not to an expert level but I am the jack of all trades. I enjoy the interaction with users, preparing documents, coming up with strategies to make both the IT departments life and employees life easier and so on. Yes there are the downsides such as desk moves and the small, ever repeating minor questions you get asked in which a small click of a button or a restart would fix but I don't hate it. I've been doing this for 5 years now and would like to stay within IT Service Desk for internal support of the business. Eventually being a team lead/manager/high level sysadmin. Is this a bad move, will I be "too old" for the service desk in which years down the line, employers will wonder why I never moved to another specialized role? I am currently 27 years old, would this be a possibility at 50 years? [link] [comments]  |
| I quit my IT job without notice, did I make the right decision? Posted: 01 Aug 2018 09:23 AM PDT Context is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/comments/93m0sf/my_it_saga_rant/ I'm honestly wondering if i made the right choice in the end. I was just so fed up with everything at that job I didn't want to deal with that company. Let me know your thoughts please. Edit: I currently work for, and always have had a side job as a software eng so I'm not incomeless [link] [comments]  |
| How much job hopping is tolerated exactly in the land of IT? Posted: 01 Aug 2018 08:51 AM PDT Coming off a 10 month contract in 2017 I was out of work December into January 2018 where I took a job with a hospital until April, where I got out of a very toxic environment into a smaller office as a backup of my flair here. Problem now is this is ending on Friday too - the life of a contractor in the NYC area. I was poked about a 2 month contract 15ish minutes away from home paying what I make now, but at this point I'm sick of the short term projects and want something long term/FTE (and considering I've been doing exec level support for the last few years, I think it's time I get into some kind of sysadmin), but considering I had some really annoying android bug happening to where I needed to buy a new phone, and now need to replace a tire in the span of 3 days, I might just go for the short term again. I'm 99% sure I'd get unemployment, but i'd be maxing out what NJ pays for it. How much am I screwing myself over here? I reworked my resume a while ago to point out where my FTE/Contract spots were, but I know for a fact 2 jobs in a single year is a giant red flag, and I don't want a 3rd screwing me over. [link] [comments]  |
| Best online resources for MCSA Posted: 01 Aug 2018 08:36 AM PDT I want to take the MCSA, but I will take the course 3 separate times from different platforms because I want to have a solid understanding of the course material and I want to be confident when I write the exam. These are the platforms that I had in mind:
I am an audio learner. I learn best by listening. I learn the worst by reading. I also like labs. Are those 3 options good choices? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2018 08:34 AM PDT I am an Electrical Engineer, interested in an IT support post. How can I prepare myself for the position? [link] [comments]  |
| 9 Months into my first position. Where to go from here? Posted: 01 Aug 2018 08:26 AM PDT So, I'm currently a "systems engineer" for a small company. My job tasks include desktop support, granting access to databases (all this entails is running a script in Linux), Quarterly service updates (running a few basic commands in Linux), Monitor the servers using Zabbix, configure jobs in MOVEit and Automate Scheduler for FTP operations, occasionally do oddball tasks in AD and Ubuntu servers. Other than that, I do pretty much any random thing that needs to be done and no one else has time for. This is my first IT job, I'm finishing up my Associates degree in computer networking, I don't have any certifications. I'm on a small infrastructure team and everyone else on the team has 10+ years experience so there's a huge experience gap between myself and them. I work from home and my salary is $42,000. I'm just struggling to decide how I should try to move forward. I'd love to continue working from home since I live in the country and don't have many options within a 30 minute commute. $42,000 is about half of what I'd like to eventually be making. Honestly, I don't know what skills I should be working towards obtaining. I don't even know if what I'm doing at work holds any value to other companies if I tried to get another job that might pay more. I think I'd like to stay in the system engineer realm and maybe morph into devops eventually. I really don't have a desire to work at a brick and mortar office ever again. Any suggestions on what my next move should be? [link] [comments]  |
| [Resume Help] Please review and comment on my refreshed resume. Posted: 01 Aug 2018 06:48 AM PDT Link. Please review and provide recommendations/criticisms/job offers. A little background: I am satisfactorily employed as a Database/Software Developer for a SMB Enterprise of ~2000 employees in a mid/low (My estimation) cost of living area in the Midwest US). I am in my early thirties, but have only held an IT professional position for ~3 years. Our IT headcount is 11 between engineering and development including 4 interns/co-ops. The only thing preventing me from being perfectly satisfied at the moment is the perceived lack of upward mobility. I have no direct succession plan between my current role and that of IT Director, and he is also in his early thirties with even greater limits on his upward mobility (He is a 10 year vet for the company). I get along great with the director, and exceedingly well with all but two of our team members. The other 2 I get along with fine professionally, but both are 20 year veterans with the company (1 Network Admin/Systems Admin and 1 Software Developer) and lack the willingness to delegate and/or trust others to be successful for whatever reason. In short, I'm in no hurry to leave as my last raise was just shy of 30% and the company culture is nice enough. Ten years ago I would have given my left leg for the job I have but now that I'm here, I feel I can and should progress further. That being said, I would like to apply at a few places and maybe take some interviews to gauge opportunities available to me as well as a better perspective on the value I can represent for a company. I feel I'm being compensated fairly but still a bit undervalued and it will be interesting to have those suspicions confirmed, or laid to rest. Regardless, I appreciate any feedback you may have and will thoroughly consider any recommendations given. I have no illusions that this resume is perfect, and I made significant exclusions to maintain a one pager. I feel any submission of a resume should come with a cover letter with any further details and relevant experience(s) to the position for which I am applying. My only goal with the resume is to not prevent me from getting the interview, after that my quick wit, charming demeanor, and rugged good looks will take care of the rest. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Jul 2018 12:39 PM PDT Call this a review of the new CompTIA PenTest+ cert I guess, now that I know I passed it. I have the CEH and GWAPT both, and took the Beta version of PenTest+ because it was cheap. On a scale of CEH to GIAC certs, it was definitely closer to GIAC level. CompTIA seems to have stepped up their game here. The test was a bit harder than the CEH, required more practical knowledge versus basic concepts, and was more comprehensive. I would recommend it over CEH, especially if you already have the Security+ and need CEUs to keep that current while wanting a pen-test cert. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Jul 2018 07:25 PM PDT Got a new job as a Tech for a school district. I handle pretty much the main office which has about 80 employees. I was task to do our office OS upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10 and some MDM stuff too but I feel like im slacking. Today, I found myself trying to find stuff to do but there isn't any. My boss is awesome, great co-workers and all. I worked for an ISP for 5 years and was used to closing at least 50 tickets a day, maybe its just me trying to adjust with this type of environment? Other says that it's summer that's why it's a little slow. Once school starts it should pick up, it probably might but not by a huge margin according to the past ticket histories. Any inputs? Am I slacking or this is the way it will be from now on? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2018 06:24 AM PDT Hello everyone, I will be starting my first IT job working as a data center tech next week and am looking for some advice to make sure I'm on the right path for my future. First here is the job description: The Tier 1 Datacenter Engineer will be remotely supporting customers in emerging technologies within the datacenter space to include Cisco ACI, Nexus, Network Orchestration and Automation. Engineers will be doing initial customer identification, troubleshooting and triage as needed. Will be monitoring datacenter infrastructure and networks for customers and working with senior engineers to troubleshoot complex issues. I currently have my CompTIA A+, Net+, Sec+ certs and I'm working on CCENT/CCNA R&S right now. (P.S I also have 5 and half years of technical experience not related to I.T from the Air Force). I'm wondering what I should be shooting for after that? I plan on starting a B.S program through SNHU in I.T and have no idea what to concentrate in. My options are cyber security, data analytics, network & telecommunications and I.T management. I'm thinking of going with I.T management since it'll be better in the long run? What do you guys think would be the best degree program in my scenario (also open to options outside of what I listed)? I'm also curious on what certs I should be going for after my CCNA R&S. CCNA security? CCNP R&S? AWS? I'm going to obviously talk with my co-workers when I start and see what their take and recommendations are. But with a huge platform such as reddit I would like get some expertise and start planning ahead. I'm open to all advice on what to do next even if its not related to certs and education. I really just want to make the most of this opportunity. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Thoughts on federal contract work? Posted: 01 Aug 2018 06:15 AM PDT I just received an offer to work as a contractor during my internship at NASA, and I'm pretty excited! I am a bit worried, though. I've heard of horror stories where hundreds of people end up getting laid off, and that the risk isn't worth it compared to being a civil servant. I unfortunately can't do pathways since I'm graduating and am not interested in pursuing a masters degree at the moment. What do you think? Should I? I don't know what the salary is like yet as they need to figure out the budget. It's going to be entry level web dev salary, from the looks of it. They'll let me know before the internship is over as they're absolutely fine with me working remotely as I finish my last semester (part time, of course). If any of you have any background in federal contracting, I'd seriously appreciate it! I'm at a crossroads. [link] [comments]  |
| Not taking a programming job right away Posted: 01 Aug 2018 05:51 AM PDT So I've been looking into work to start for when my internship ends in a few weeks. I have noticed a few jobs closer to me but they're more along the lines of "Technical support analysis" which the job description sounds like help desk essentially. Is it worth my time to apply for a job like this or to keep looking for programming specific jobs as I don't want to go backwards. I just recently earned an associates in Software Development and a minor in technical support (if that makes sense) [link] [comments]  |
| Leaving FT job but continuing to consult - questions about pay rate Posted: 01 Aug 2018 05:47 AM PDT Okay, so it's not actually consulting in the strictest sense of the word because I'll stay a W2 employee but on a PRN/as needed basis - so no self employment taxes to worry with, but also no benefits. I'm doing this as a favor to my current employer so as to not leave them in a lurch after I'm gone. I'm moving on to another FTE position and work done for this employer will be done after hours and on weekends as my schedule allows. This will be temporary until my position is filled, which could still take months. My base hourly FTE rate is $35.50/hr. I've calculated the company's actual cost for their portion of health insurance, 401(k) match, and vacation time (the largest portions of the benefits package) and it adds up to approximately $9.50/hr, for a total of $45/hr. I've requested my PRN rate be adjusted up to this amount - so basically a break even for me and the company when compared with my FTE cost including benefits. I previously (a few years ago) consulted (1099 subcontractor) for this company at an actual cost to them of approximately $120/hr (including what they paid the agency, per diems, etc.). I say all this because I'm getting a strong feeling that the company feels I'm asking for the moon with this rate increase, but I feel that it is MORE than fair. It's nowhere near the consulting rate I was getting previously, and like I said it's pretty much a break even with what I was getting FTE. I honestly feel like I'm giving them quite a bit. Since this work is taking place after hours and on weekends, I'm sure most would ask for an overtime/premium hourly rate but I'm not. Anyway - I just wanted to get thoughts from this sub on my request. Is it reasonable? Are my thoughts above correct or am I missing something? Thanks for any input! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Jul 2018 08:39 PM PDT A couple months ago, I applied to a junior network admin position for a small rural ISP. They required lot's of experience routing, specifically BGP. I only just obtained a CCENT cert last week and I've never had a technical interview. I am currently a data center tech and I've only been here for about 10 months but when I interviewed here, the only technical question they asked me is if I could find the start button on a PC. So I am nervous for the interview and I am not sure what to expect or how to prepare. I am working towards the CCNA right now and I know the basics of BGP. I am wondering if I should deep dive into BGP and OSPF before the interview or if I should focus on standard interview questions? [link] [comments]  |
| Need my resume reviewed please! Anything will help! Posted: 31 Jul 2018 08:17 PM PDT Here's the link, I'm looking for some advice on how I can improve my resume. Applying for jobs such as system admins or really any technical jobs that will move me back to Washington state haha! [link] [comments]  |
| Is a Bachelors needed or Associates will suffice for IT Posted: 31 Jul 2018 09:51 PM PDT Hi guys, Looking at getting into the IT field. Was wondering is a Bachelors needed or would an Associates be sufficient ? I know that I would have to get certs Etc but what would you recommend ? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 31 Jul 2018 06:30 PM PDT Has anyone had any experiences hiring anyone from this school or going to this school yourself for IT related degrees? Perhaps you know of the school? Weeding through my options and would value any input on the reputation of the school. -Oregon Institute of Technology [link] [comments]  |
| SQL Data Analyst vs IT Security Administrator Posted: 31 Jul 2018 02:42 PM PDT Hey /r/ITCareerquestions, throw away so I can be a bit more specific. I'm currently a Tier 2 Helpdesk employee for a County, and have about 3 years of experience in IT overall. tl;dr - What would put me in a better position for my future, being a SQL Data Analyst, or going IT Security Administration route? I have two job interviews that I feel can be very likely to get both. One would be a SQL Data Analyst for a County, and the other would be an IT Security Administrator for another County. Both are government work, and have the same starting pay. The first job is 30 minute commute, which is as far as I commute right now, and it will involve doing SQL work and creating ad-hoc reports. The manager really likes me and has pulled me aside to give me the scoop on what the job entails. Essentially I would have to learn an entire vendor specific database / structure and be able to create Widgets with SQL, and customize reports as requested. Eventually their plan is to get rid of the vendor and help implement an entire new infrastructure for a new SQL database, new vendor, and I would be the main person in charge overseeing all this. Once implemented, I would help edit / create templates with SQL and create reports as needed. This would give great project-management experience as well as SQL experience. The thing is, I have Java / Python experience, but haven't really used SQL. However, the manager let me know it should be pretty simple with any competent programming experience, and they will teach me the ropes to get me going. On the other hand, I have a job interview for another county as an IT Security Administrator. It'll be a 15 minute commute from where I live. To be honest, I don't know what this fully entails, I currently help run the entire Fob system for the county, and I help run our McAfee ePolicy stuff. I've been working on a task that involves testing security settings through Windows to let our workstations be more secure without affecting any workflow. From my understanding from someone I know that works at this County, is they had to reopen the position due to a number of unqualified applicants. Right now, I'm trying to prepare myself mentally if I were to get both job offers. What would put me in a better position for my future, being a SQL Data Analyst, or going IT Security Administration route? The other thing is there's only one level for the SQL database that will cap out at ~$72k. However, the IT Security Administrator has two levels, where level 2 caps out at ~$84k. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2018 12:23 AM PDT |
| Would you hire a community college graduate with a cyber security degree straight out of school? Posted: 31 Jul 2018 04:32 PM PDT I'm trying to figure out if a two-year A.A.S. degree in cyber security is worth it, in the sense that are you employable right out of school? From my (limited) knowledge of I.T., it seems to me that in order to secure a system you need to know how it works first, right? My conclusion would be that some job experience is necessary first before getting into security, or am I wrong? I've looked at the gainful employment disclosures for cyber security at various colleges in my state, and guess what? They say they are not required to calculate a job placement rate for program completers. So it's difficult for me to know if spending two years at an institution is worth it for this degree. Thanks for your input! EDIT: I've also looked at a number of job postings and the common theme appears to be a bachelor's degree plus years of experience. [link] [comments]  |
| Are certifications worth it while in college? Posted: 31 Jul 2018 01:56 PM PDT I am currently a college student entering my senior year working at my degree in IT with a minor in business, and am trying to study for the Network+ before the summer is up. While I'm understanding most of the material so far I can tell from my study guide that I'm not getting all of it, so it's leading me to question if it's worth it yet. I also don't have my A+, just prior knowledge from home and school. While I probably won't be able to get an entry level security or networking job right out of college, I know the Network+ would help set me apart for other junior positions like help desk. So, are most entry level jobs easily accessible with just a degree, so that I may study and gain experience? Also, do places usually have an internship for right after you graduate rather than just after your junior year? (I tried applying previously but didn't get any). I'm also slightly worried about my school, cause it's a small one and doesn't have many technical degrees, but is a 4-year accredited state university. [link] [comments]  |
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