IT Careers: Certification and Motivation Pay Off
Ed Tittel writes how a message from a reader demonstrates how persistence can pay off for newbies looking for their first full-time positions in IT.
Dear Readers:
Every now and then a message shows up in my inbox that really makes my day. This one not only made mine today, but it just might help you make yours, if you’re either heading for or already involved in looking for your first full-time job in IT.
It’s the story of a young man with unusual energy and persistence, who took advantage of every short-term contract opportunity that came his way–sometimes, as many as five gigs all running in tandem–to parlay himself into a position. Not only did he wind up with a job, he actually leap-frogged out of the help desk and into a sysadmin position right out the gate.
Of course, just because BB enjoyed this kind of spectacular success doesn’t mean the same thing is going to happen to everybody exactly the same way. That said, his willingness to suspend his degree to get certified, and then to take every short-term contract he could possibly handle while trying to build an experience base shows motivation that not everybody will be able to match, either. But what this email does show is that constant activity, a willingness to learn and regular hard work can help even greenhorns get a foot into the proverbial employment door.
Keep this in mind as you prep for your first (or next) job, and let BB’s example be an inspiration to you. It certainly works that way for me!
Best wishes,
Tom’s IT Pro Reader:
Hello Ed,
This all occurred over the course of nine months, except the degrees, and was a road paved with many boulders. I just wanted to share some of the steps I took in obtaining a full-time IT position recently.
I started with a AA in IT, and from there went on to pursue a BS in IT networking. I found out very quickly that hands-on experience was needed to get me through the door. As with most people new to IT, I was stonewalled not just by the lack of hands-on experience to get a job, but how could I get experience— if no one was willing to take a chance on hiring me? This also all happened during the beginning of the recession so it made my search for full-time work much more difficult.
So, I decided to stop one class short of a BS to maintain my eligibility status for the Pell grant, and enrolled in a vocational program to obtain various IT certifications. Once I was in the certification program, I found many resources there for short term contract work.
These jobs usually consisted of overnight refresh projects and simple break/fix repairs. Once I obtained my A+, followed by the Net+, things started to pick up: the part-time work and certifications landed me a part-time service desk job. This really helped gaining some knowledge of how things worked in the business environment.
I could finally see some of the information I learned in college becoming useful. I completed my vocational program with flying colors and began securing more short0-term contracts, but they were slowly getting longer in duration and more advanced in the tasks and activities involved.
Keeping all of my experience up to date on the job boards turned out to be very important. After doing the service desk job for a short time I obtained an MCTS and MCITP, but I continued doing whatever work came my way: HP warranty technician, residential repair, refresh projects and so forth.
Then one day I received a call from a recruiter who found my resume on one of the many job boards I used. He was looking for a candidate to fill a full-time customer service rep (Helpdesk). As I stated before, I would take almost anything that came my way, as long I was available to do the job.
I went to the interview and met with three individuals (at first, the recruiter informed me that I was meeting with two people, but I didn't think much about what this might mean). During that time I was working for five different on-call contractors, which made them ask why I had so many current employers. I replied that I had to juggle multiple part-time employers because I needed consistent, steady work. I completed the interview and they said I would hear something by the end of the week either way (the interview took place on a Tuesday).
About 15 minutes later I received a phone call from the recruiter. I figured it was just to check back with me to comment on how the interview went, but the first thing he said was "You must have made a good impression, because the President of the company offered me the position immediately after the interview ended." I was not aware that the third person was the President of the company. I later found out that I was hired because I was motivated enough to work for five different companies at one time.
Then the job offer letter came and to my surprise it was not for a Helpdesk job, it was for a Systems Administrator position. This really caught me off guard because I had less than one year of actual field experience!
I have since then completed my Sec+ (scored very well) and will be completing my BS in 4 weeks. When people ask me how to get into the field, I tell them "certifications and motivation."
I have found a lot of people who believe that they can just get a degree and get a job handed to them. This is a very naive idea. I didn't get my job because I got some pieces of paper; it was because I was motivated. I also tell them, "you get out what you put into your study and schooling.” Also, along the way they will have to deal with rejection; that's just part of the way things work. I went out for many interviews that did not go well, but I just kept going with it and things finally worked out.
For new IT people I would suggest short-term contracts. These kinds of quick, limited jobs will give them an idea about what kinds of work they do want to do, and what kinds they do not. I have referred many people to the following Web sites for entering the IT field, because these sites were the doorway for myself and many of my colleagues as they found their way into IT (they also offer access to Dell and HP certifications):
These sites also offer contracts nationwide on a daily basis.
BB
A+, Net+, Sec+,MCTS, MCITP, DCSE
Ed Tittel is a 30-year-plus veteran of the computing industry, who’s worked as a programmer, a technical manager, a classroom instructor, a network consultant and a technical evangelist for companies that include Burroughs, Schlumberger, Novell, IBM/Tivoli and NetQoS. He has written and blogged for numerous publications, including Tom's Hardware, and is the author of over 140 computing books with a special emphasis on information security, Web markup languages and development tools, and Windows operating systems.
E-mail Ed at etittel@tomsitpro.com with your request for IT certification or career info, or your ideas for future blogs. If your e-mail leads him to a blog topic, he’ll have the Tom’s staff send you your very own Tom’s IT Pro t-shirt! Be the envy of your friends and colleagues, and help him help you with your IT career!
(Shutterstock cover image credit: Jobs Keyboard)