Yahooo!!!Passed 2nd MCP exam Today.

[Chris Freeland]

Yahoo!!!!! Passed Server exam today, 2-down and 2 to go for MCSA. Yahooo!!!! :) .Now if I could find that first IT job before I forget half of what I learned :shrug: . Possibility or two for a job but still way to early to get my hopes up . ;)

[Richard King]

Congrats Chris. Sounds like you are ready to work in some of the best restaurants in the country if you passed your server exam. I have no idea what an MCSA is but it sounds impressive. ;)

[gcutler]

Originally posted by Rking401
Congrats Chris. Sounds like you are ready to work in some of the best restaurants in the country if you passed your server exam. I have no idea what an MCSA is but it sounds impressive. ;)

Microsoft Certified System Alcoholic :goodjob: (after a few years in the business, it will all make sense) :p

[Mark Lamutt]

Great news Chris! :D

[pinkertonfloyd]

Here's a job hint:

Try to get in part-time as a intern somewhere (government is usually a good source!). (if you are enrolled in a technical or college program). It's the best way to really get your foot in the door, and your feet wet with some higher-end equipment. People want experience, not just paper. (You need the paper too though, but it's 50% of the way there). I'm an IT professional (MCSE, A+, Net +, Security +, ACT, ACE, and a few others), been in the field now for 7 years, but the first year as a part-time intern for a state agency was the biggest boost I had, more so than just the paper.

Basically, you'll need to go for the "small" jobs first. A lot of guys fall for the technical colleges telling people that you'll be able to make $100K+ on your first job. You won't... in fact those wages are long gone, especially for a newbie in the field. You'll need to start low ($25,000 or so), and it'll take a few years to get into the $45-75K range.

But if you are tech kind of people that gets a kick of bringing something to life, you'll get a kick out of it. IT Specialists can be challenging, and sometimes thankless work, but it's also quite rewarding in many ways!

Good luck! =-)

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by pinkertonfloyd
Here's a job hint:

Try to get in part-time as a intern somewhere (government is usually a good source!). (if you are enrolled in a technical or college program). It's the best way to really get your foot in the door, and your feet wet with some higher-end equipment. People want experience, not just paper. (You need the paper too though, but it's 50% of the way there). I'm an IT professional (MCSE, A+, Net +, Security +, ACT, ACE, and a few others), been in the field now for 7 years, but the first year as a part-time intern for a state agency was the biggest boost I had, more so than just the paper.

Basically, you'll need to go for the "small" jobs first. A lot of guys fall for the technical colleges telling people that you'll be able to make $100K+ on your first job. You won't... in fact those wages are long gone, especially for a newbie in the field. You'll need to start low ($25,000 or so), and it'll take a few years to get into the $45-75K range.

But if you are tech kind of people that gets a kick of bringing something to life, you'll get a kick out of it. IT Specialists can be challenging, and sometimes thankless work, but it's also quite rewarding in many ways!

Good luck! =-)

Thanks for the tips, I am pursuing these sort of things. I never expected to make 100k on my first job and would take a 25k or slightly less job to gain experience, I will even take a temporary Contract job installing PC's or something just to get started, I have had some nibbles but nothing more so far. I have an AA degree and attended another community college here in TN for networking and then the VA here had a special grant program that payed for additional training at New Horizons Computer Center here in Chattanooga, I was never sold on the 100k idea and New Horizons was very helpful in better preparing more for the MCP exams then the Community Collage here did. The TVA here has an Intern program here that I would like to do, except I am not currently in school which is a requirement for their program.

[Neil Derryberry]

Welcome to the world of worthless certifications. Microsoft certs mean next to nothing these days because anyone can get one, server experience or not. Like government schools, Microsoft teaches you their vision of IT, which doesn't necessarily parallel the industry. For instance, if you take Microsoft's version of a tcp/ip course, you will have to re-learn nearly everything to exist in a world that includes any industry-standard networking device.

I do congratulate you on your effort, but please consider diversification.... get a linux or sun cert, and you will find a meaningful job much more quickly.

[gcutler]

Just to show how bad the Market is in Atlanta (one of the areas where Chris is looking). I came across an ad for a IT position that is a almost a perfect match for me (salary range, exact skills required, years of experience, certifications, etc, etc) I also passed the info to a friend who has a very similar skill set and he applied. Niether of us has even gotten a call about the resumes we sent in. At any time in the past I would at least get a call enquiring since the match is pretty good.

[Richard King]

Gee, I wonder what I can do with the experience I gained in college with that Fortran IV class back in 1970. :lol:

[gcutler]

Originally posted by Rking401
Gee, I wonder what I can do with the experience I gained in college with that Fortran IV class back in 1970. :lol:

Should have taken COBOL :p

[Neil Derryberry]

Gee, I wonder what I can do with the experience I gained in college with that Fortran IV class back in 1970.

At the rate that green-screen wizards are retiring, probably more than you might think. In my company, I've noticed that the new guys just don't get the "don't screw with a production system" datacenter/mainframe mentality. Drives me nuts some days.

[gcutler]

Although alot of companies took Y2K to migrate off of the much of the greenscreen. Or they took the time to migrate to the latest Greenscreen apps, thus not being tied to the old green screen employees

I know quite a few "Younger" AS/400 green screeners that IBM has groomed over the past 5+ years.

At least in the manufacturing companies, someone getting educated as a AS/400 Operator or Administrator will will probably be fully employed for a long time. I even had to learn how to support Lotus Domino/Notes servers running on an AS/400 (lucky they is a graphic interface to the green screen) :D

[RichW]

Well when I was your age, we had to program our unit record equipment by wiring IBM boards... in th snow... uphill.

Chris, Congratulations!

No certification is "worthless" in that it represents a personal milestone in your education. Savor the moment and continue the course (pun intended). Education should be a lifelong endeavor for all of us

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by RichW
Well when I was your age, we had to program our unit record equipment by wiring IBM boards... in th snow... uphill.

Chris, Congratulations!

No certification is "worthless" in that it represents a personal milestone in your education. Savor the moment and continue the course (pun intended). Education should be a lifelong endeavor for all of us

I am a little discouraged wright now but have not given up, I have ben contacted by a couple of IT consulting firms, maby this will lead to something and maby it will not :shrug: ? I do plan on pursuing other certifications, perhaps a Cisco and the VA might pay for the remaining training and 2 exams I need for a MCSA. I can go two ways now with the MCSA, if I take 2 M$ exams, the MCSA will satisfy for 4 of 7 needed for MCSA, but M$ now accepts A+ and Network+ instead but these do not apply towards MCSE, which is the better option? It does seam their are more adds for A+ then for MCP which has surprised me :shrug: . In the mean time I need a job yesterday :( .

[homergreg]

First congratulations! You have put in a great deal of effort! Second, what's keeping you from putting in your resume for the A+ jobs? Someone might just take a look at your MCP efforts and see that you are someone that they want! A+ means you have some good basic generic computer skills and that you have proven that with a test. Sell yourself with what you have and keep on expanding your knowledge!

Again, Great Job on your MCP progress!

[oblio98]

Because of MCSE bootcamps and fast-learn classes, the value of the certification is down. Many of these schools offer dreams of high paying jobs for those who pass their test.

Unfortunately, in the real world, companies want experience, although the Certs help. I have been a CNE and an MCSE for a long time, and yes, the feeling of passing the exam is a great one. You really do deserve congratulations, it really is an achievment.

The most important thing that you can do is to get experience with real networking via community service or an internship type job, then use your certification to get the advantage over those who do not have it.

Yes, get the A+ as well. THat is an easy one compared to the MCP exams. You praobably already know most of the answers anyway. Just bone up on laser printers and if you have built your own PCs, and know about IRQs and such, you should be able to pass those exams with a little effort.

Good Luck, and yes, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

[gcutler]

Originally posted by Chris Freeland


I am a little discouraged wright now but have not given up, I have ben contacted by a couple of IT consulting firms, maby this will lead to something and maby it will not :shrug: ? I do plan on pursuing other certifications, perhaps a Cisco and the VA might pay for the remaining training and 2 exams I need for a MCSA. I can go two ways now with the MCSA, if I take 2 M$ exams, the MCSA will satisfy for 4 of 7 needed for MCSA, but M$ now accepts A+ and Network+ instead but these do not apply towards MCSE, which is the better option? It does seam their are more adds for A+ then for MCP which has surprised me :shrug: . In the mean time I need a job yesterday :( .

Chris, With the Dalton area and other areas near you having many manufacturing companies, they probably have IBM AS/400 systems. You may want to round off your MS stuff with taking a few IBM AS/400 classes and try to become a AS/400 Certified Operator (probably 1-2 classes and 1 exam). Only problem is getting hands on with the As/400, with MS, you buy a PC and can install the demo SW and get lots of hands on. IBM AS/400 not so easy.

[Chris Freeland]

I know I have seen adds for AS/400 operators, however the VA will only possibly pay for my remaining 2 exams for MCSA and I can not afford to pay for training out of my own pocket at this time. Their are some Insurance company's based here or have a major presence here with PC networks and their is a ISP or two based here in Chattanooga and a few other company's that are headquartered here. McKee Bakery's ( home of the Little Debbie Snack Cakes :) ) corporate headquarters is just down the road from me , I would love to work their ;) , however they are not hiring any IT people at this time. I am just hopping the economy will pick up soon, I do not know if the GWB tax cut will help or not, but I am hoping it will.

[pinkertonfloyd]

Knowing Unix right now is more important than MS.

And remember, in the IT industry, there's Microsoft's Way, Cisco's Way, and the "Correct Way". Microsoft and Cisco both try to rewrite standards all the time, and they usually go ahead before everyone else agrees with them (it's a bully syndrome). Learn the "Standards" in Networking (RFC's), the best groups out there to learn "real" networking is IMHO Pine Mountain Group (www.pmg.com). And SANS (www.sans.org).

There's a lot of Cisco CCNA's out there that don't know C**P about networking!

[gcutler]

Originally posted by pinkertonfloyd
Knowing Unix right now is more important than MS.


That really depends... Many-Many places are still "MS-Only", really stupid, but that their official stance. The question is which Unix? Many places want specifically Solaris only , others want HP-UX only. And saying Linux dosen't help. But I guess learning Linux is the best option as you can get the SW for Free, you can find many books on the subject.

Sun had a deal for a home user to get the Intel version of Solaris 8 for $20, but I for the life of me could not get it installed properly, where as the identical machine never had a problem with any version of Linux (except sound card) in the past 3 years.

[RichW]

In some ways I have the ideal job for a geek. I have to support support workstations and servers running Win98, Win NT 4.0, Win2K, and WinXP. Also MacOS systems 9 and X, Digital/Compaq/HP VMS and Tru64 UNIX systems, SGI IRIX, Cisco routers, HP ethernet switches, Palm and PPC devices, and wireless. Thank God I just got rid of my last OS2 system. Most of the time its geek heaven becaus no two days are alike, but it can rapidly change to geek hell when things start to fail.

[gcutler]

Originally posted by RichW
Thank God I just got rid of my last OS2 system. Most of the time its geek heaven becaus no two days are alike, but it can rapidly change to geek hell when things start to fail.

I've found that more than 3 different operating systems and there is just tooo much to remember, learn, etc.

The other thing is how long have you been "Geekin" professionally. I've been doing it for 15+ years and find I don't have the energy I used to have to dedicate to that many OSes. I remember around my 3-5 years in the business, I was excited to get HW/SW to evaluate and tinker with and such. Now when I get a piece of HW/SW to evaluate I make a mental calculation to see if there is a chance in H*ll of it being adopted and that determines how much I get into the project.