B
Brennan
Hello Everyone,
I recently graduated from high school about 3 months ago and during that
time I have been having a rather challenging time finding work in the I.T.
field. Just to let you know, before I go any further, I'm currently living
in Calgary, AB (in Canada).
Throughout high school I took many courses related to both computers and
networking. I was actually enrolled in a special networking class - the
Cisco Networking Academy program - in which I completed all four semesters
in two years (It's considered a college level course). I struggled to find
minor I.T. jobs through high school - my first being a three month work
experience term at a computer servicing shop. Last summer I managed to land
a summer internship at DeVry technical school. In my senior year I got
myself a part time position at a local computer repair shop (about 10-15
hours/week - I learned a lot). Then, as graduation approached, I decided to
earn some certificates to back up my knowledge and experience. I wrote and
passed the A+ and CCNA exams both on my first try and with high final
scores.
Since graduation, I've applied for jobs such as Assistant Network
Administrator, Helpdesk Analyst, and field PC Technician (for an ISP). After
an initial interview (or two) the response from these companies is that I'm
lacking in qualifications and/or experience (or someone else had a lot
more).
My question to any I.T. professionals reading this is - where do I go
from here? How am I supposed to land my first "entry-level" position into
the I.T. field? How did you land yours (when you had no prior formal
experience)?
I thought that I could get a technical job out of high school without
post-secondary education - maybe that was very naive of me. I thought that
certifications and the experience I had would be enough to get myself into
an entry-level position. Now I am seriously considering attending SAIT,
which is a technical school here in Alberta that offers 2 year technical
diplomas and has a very good reputation for finding their students jobs.
However, I don't want to waste $20,000(Canadian) and find myself in the same
position I am now - not being hired because of lack of experience. So what
would you recommend? Attending college, earning more certificates (MCP,
MCSA, database certs, etc), or volunteering for free just to get the
experience?
Just on a side note - When I was going through high school I recall
hearing so much in the media and from friends that "I.T. is the field to be
in, there's a mass shortage of qualified workers, lots of money" but I
suppose all this has changed(Spring 2000 .com flop, September 11th)? It
frustrates me to see it change so quickly and now the only people getting
hired have like Phd.'s with 5 years experience. I understand that the job
market is competitive, but how can I compete with that? Especially when no
one will hire me so that I can get those required 5 years experience!?!?
Hope I don't sound too whiney
. Thanks for any comments or
suggestions - I'd be happy to hear any input or thoughts.
Brennan
I recently graduated from high school about 3 months ago and during that
time I have been having a rather challenging time finding work in the I.T.
field. Just to let you know, before I go any further, I'm currently living
in Calgary, AB (in Canada).
Throughout high school I took many courses related to both computers and
networking. I was actually enrolled in a special networking class - the
Cisco Networking Academy program - in which I completed all four semesters
in two years (It's considered a college level course). I struggled to find
minor I.T. jobs through high school - my first being a three month work
experience term at a computer servicing shop. Last summer I managed to land
a summer internship at DeVry technical school. In my senior year I got
myself a part time position at a local computer repair shop (about 10-15
hours/week - I learned a lot). Then, as graduation approached, I decided to
earn some certificates to back up my knowledge and experience. I wrote and
passed the A+ and CCNA exams both on my first try and with high final
scores.
Since graduation, I've applied for jobs such as Assistant Network
Administrator, Helpdesk Analyst, and field PC Technician (for an ISP). After
an initial interview (or two) the response from these companies is that I'm
lacking in qualifications and/or experience (or someone else had a lot
more).
My question to any I.T. professionals reading this is - where do I go
from here? How am I supposed to land my first "entry-level" position into
the I.T. field? How did you land yours (when you had no prior formal
experience)?
I thought that I could get a technical job out of high school without
post-secondary education - maybe that was very naive of me. I thought that
certifications and the experience I had would be enough to get myself into
an entry-level position. Now I am seriously considering attending SAIT,
which is a technical school here in Alberta that offers 2 year technical
diplomas and has a very good reputation for finding their students jobs.
However, I don't want to waste $20,000(Canadian) and find myself in the same
position I am now - not being hired because of lack of experience. So what
would you recommend? Attending college, earning more certificates (MCP,
MCSA, database certs, etc), or volunteering for free just to get the
experience?
Just on a side note - When I was going through high school I recall
hearing so much in the media and from friends that "I.T. is the field to be
in, there's a mass shortage of qualified workers, lots of money" but I
suppose all this has changed(Spring 2000 .com flop, September 11th)? It
frustrates me to see it change so quickly and now the only people getting
hired have like Phd.'s with 5 years experience. I understand that the job
market is competitive, but how can I compete with that? Especially when no
one will hire me so that I can get those required 5 years experience!?!?
Hope I don't sound too whiney
. Thanks for any comments orsuggestions - I'd be happy to hear any input or thoughts.
Brennan
