For all you IT people....

**JoeGuy34** · 09-12-2003, 02:24 AM

Just wondering what kinda of jobs people in the IT field here hold currently or have held in the past? What kind of education you recieved, class things of the sort? I didn't reallly know where to put this so i guess i am smacking it down here....

Thanx

**iantaylor** · 09-12-2003, 04:42 AM

I am a ICT Technician at a school.

**schaef2k** · 09-12-2003, 08:31 AM

I'm a systems administrator for a software small software company. I have MCSE in NT 4.0 and MCSE in win2k. What I noticed just starting out is that nobody wanted to hire a guy with only a certification and litle experience. A certification only gets you so far, some people are good a cramming for tests and can pass the cert but you'd best know how to do things in real life. The micro$oft way is not always the best solution.

It's best to have a good ballence, I noticed people who don't have certs are usually not great troubleshooters and will often overlook the real problem and treat the symtoms. The certs teach you how to think through the problem and break it down.

If you're just starting out, get experience and a certification, even if it's a helpdesk tech or something. It will pay off later.

**XP1800** · 09-12-2003, 10:51 AM

I'm a sophmore in my IT major, and I actually have an internship at an IT/Networking business next summer. I would imagine that certifications will still help, and I plan on getting them, but I have a question. How important are your grades for the second, third, and maybe fourth job interview? Not saying mine suck, lol, but I'm just curious.

**murray** · 09-12-2003, 11:22 AM

As the old guy here, let me give you some advice. I started out as a biologist at Cal Tech, moved into a bioinformatics company as a QA guy, then a support guy, got an MBA and now am part of the business unit. Our sys admins/IT staff ALL have at LEAST BS degrees, so do the college thing. Certification is great too, but no substitute for the salary pull of a 4 year degree. A BS should get you up into the 70k range with some experience, but a MS should get you close to those six figures you want and need for your future family.

**Tekime** · 09-12-2003, 11:30 AM

I do Access/VBA full-time, and help out with some IT stuff in my 9-5. Also do freelance work; upgrades, troubleshooting, networking, custom builds, web design & development, etc.

No degree, although I'm halfway there and will probably finish it off so I can snag a 70k+ position eventually

**natgun** · 09-12-2003, 11:36 AM

Director of IT for a small TV and multimedia production company. i was a CS major at Wentworth institute of technology in boston. The schooling was OK, but most of the skills i use on a daly basis are self-taught from when i was much younger. i started programming computers at 10 when my parents sent me to computer-camp at babson college in my home town. i learned basic programming and i was hooked. the rest as they say is history...

**XP1800** · 09-12-2003, 11:36 AM

Originally posted by Tekime
INo degree, although I'm halfway there and will probably finish it off so I can snag a 70k+ position eventually

Ha I'm almost halfway there

I'm hoping I can get my feet wet this summer and make some nice connections...

70K would be very nice though

**angomeka** · 09-12-2003, 11:46 AM

Well i work for and do level one internal tech support for HP i went to a 2 year tech college and got a Assocites in Computer Networking with Windows introstructure. I am going back to get my BS later but thats what i used to get in the feild

**ua549** · 09-12-2003, 12:27 PM

I'm retired international networking consultant with degrees in Economics and Finance. They didn't even have computer courses when I went to university. I've held every position there is in IT from a 3rd shift machine operator to company president. I was also treasurer for a state supported college in Florida for 5 years during a break in my IT career.

Every shop I ran or advised as a consultant required the IT staff to be well educated. A 4 year degree in any field was the minimum requirement to get an interview. MA, MS and MBA were the preferred credentials. Certifications were not held in high regard although they did count as a plus. IMO Certifications may help you get an interview, but they do not correlate with ability or job performance. I never hired (or not hired) anyone because of their certifications or lack thereof.

**angomeka** · 09-12-2003, 12:46 PM

Originally posted by ua549
I'm retired international networking consultant with degrees in Economics and Finance. They didn't even have computer courses when I went to university. I've held every position there is in IT from a 3rd shift machine operator to company president. I was also treasurer for a state supported college in Florida for 5 years during a break in my IT career.

Every shop I ran or advised as a consultant required the IT staff to be well educated. A 4 year degree in any field was the minimum requirement to get an interview. MA, MS and MBA were the preferred credentials. Certifications were not held in high regard although they did count as a plus. IMO Certifications may help you get an interview, but they do not correlate with ability or job performance. I never hired (or not hired) anyone because of their certifications or lack thereof.

Trust this guy he KNOWS HIS STUFF!!!!!

**Thermo** · 09-12-2003, 01:24 PM

I’m a network technician with a state government agency. I’ve been doing it for about six months now. This is a second career for me (read retread). I carried in a good foundation in DC electronics took some classes and got some certifications. Then I jammed my foot in a door as an intern and convinced them that they needed to hang on to me. I also support several networks for small business, but will probably sell this to one of my employees in the very near future. It mostly involves migrating oversized work groups and sneaker nets over to SBS, then providing support contracting. I will continue to take care of the server side support on an as needed basis. As well as set up new deployments.

**Racer^** · 09-12-2003, 02:08 PM

It depends where you live as to what your salary can be; which is usually in direct correlation with the cost of living combined with the tech level of the area you live in. I'd expect 70k as a starting salary in IT right now as a little too high of an expectation, especially if you have no experience. However, as others said, a BS is almost a must.

P.S. My company froze raises and hiring for my department about a year ago. Many fortune 500 companies, like Sprint, are outsourcing alot of their development staff to foreign countries, like India.

**bromide** · 09-12-2003, 03:21 PM

definitely dont skip on a degree, usually if you have a degree that is what companies look at...even if your degree isnt directly related to what you are applying for. the fact that you finished shows a lot. i know someone that had a philosophy degree, applied for a teller position for a just out of college job, and they hired him as in a position at the banks corporate office starting at 75k. i am sure this is a rare occurance, but it shows that degrees are very important.

**xboxundone** · 09-12-2003, 03:33 PM

Originally posted by bromide
i know someone that had a philosophy degree, applied for a teller position for a just out of college job, and they hired him as in a position at the banks corporate office starting at 75k. i am sure this is a rare occurance, but it shows that degrees are very important.

WOW hope they dont work for my bank throwing away money like that to a PHILOSOPHY DEGREE (hopes he had experience or lives in CA

)

And YES GET A DEGREE!!!!! it is a must i am an Electrical Engineer currently with B.S. but plan on going back to get my MBA, i gus i am one of the lucky ones i graduate 2002 and got a job with and Engineering design/construction firm making over 50K starting. But this was above average, most my friends were lucky to get a job theat started at 40K some even joined some companies at 35K

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