Tech Jobs

[Fenrus]

Quick question... I've been actively seeking to get my technical certifications (A+, Network+, Security+, the like). All the jobs I've seen advertised require the dreaded word to someone like me (I'm only 19)

Experience... The only experience I have is the experience from the classes I've taken (and pwnt, by the way)

Anyone know what kinds of entry level jobs don't require at least 2 years experience to apply for?

[Dawnchaser]

A common way to get started is to do phone tech support...my experiences in call centers have generally not been good, but some people like it well enough and it was the only way I was able to get started in the field.

Failing that, a lot of the call centers I've worked at or know of love to promote from within. So you may be able to get a general customer service position and then just bide your time until the in-house tech(s) leaves and a position becomes available.

In my area we also have a few small computer shops that pay a hair above minimum wage, and I've seen high school students employed at those places a time or two.

If you've had any computer lab/workstudy experience, be sure to put that as some employers will look at that favorably.

[Chanlin]

Phone tech support is a good start such as internet or cable internet, or see if there are any companies that have a part time and or seasonal help desk that you can apply for.

[Bandit]

Just because the ad says "Experience Required" does not mean you should shy away from anything. Apply anyhow and if you can show a willingness to learn and start at the bottom of the food chain, you might be surprised.

Also NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!

Talk to your instructors to see if they know of anything. Friends, family, class-mates - hell, the homeless guy on the street. Put the word out that you're looking. At least 75% of jobs will come from someone you know.

Don't forget about the headhunters - they can help a lot too.

Good luck!

B

[tropicsgoddess]

It may not exactly be permanent, but I would suggest to try looking through an agency. They can get something for you that's up your alley or close to it. That's how I got my first job at 19. I definitely agree with the last posters on networking and working your way up the ladder by working in a call center as a tech support rep to your dream job...same with the mom and pop computer shops.

[volatile]

one of the best ways, especially at your age, is to start off at a major retailer like best buy, staples, circuit city, micro center, etc. and get your experience there as a tech. depending on your personality you may love it or it might be enough to keep you happy for a bit. there, you can get the necessary experience to get an entry level position elsewhere. they should pay for your certifications, as well.

[Seshat]

I've worked as a programmer and a sysadmin, and I'm going to tell you a totally different route into the tech-job world.

Lackey.

Both programmers and sysadmins have a lot of tedious, time-consuming jobs that require someone who can pay attention to detail, and who can understand that yes, exact punctuation DOES matter in a .hosts file.

You may be laying new cables in the server room, or running around trying to figure out the network layout the previous sysadmin made and never documented, or ploughing your way through an RFC trying to find the exact piece of information your programmer needs.

A lot of the work will be tedious, even mind-numbingly boring.

But it'll all be necessary, and it's a LOT cheaper for the company to have an entry-level lackey doing it than a top-level programmer or sysadmin.

And in IT companies that have enough staff to have one or two lackeys, you'll have your top-level programmer or sysadmin, probably plus a couple of middle-level or junior geeks, plus you. Or even more, if the company is larger or more IT focussed.

Do your lackey-work well, be willing to ask questions, be eager to learn, borrow books (and READ them), spend some of your spare time browsing RFCs or Safari. Your co-worker geeks (if they're not the asshole type) will be delighted, and will happily help you work your way from 'lackey' to 'junior'. At which point your career will be well under way.



Most lackey jobs are unadvertised. Usually they go to a friend of one of the geeks, or a friend of a friend. An ideal way to become said friend-of-a-geek is to join the open source community in your area. Your local Linux User Group is the typical entry point, there are (of course) others.



And expect to be called 'lackey', 'minion', or some such. In a playful way. Lots of alpha geeks love to pretend they're evil geniuses out to destroy the world. Minions are part of the necessary window-dressing for evil geniusing. :D

[sirwired]

I agree with the other posters. If you are starting out with nothing more than a pile of certs, the easiest jobs to find are going to be Tier-1 tech support, hired through an employment agency. Just to warn you ahead of time... these jobs almost universally suck. Try to find a place where there is a path to a job off the phone queue, such as a sys-admin. (Many entry-level tech jobs are filled through contracting companies, so availibility of promotions is not a given.)

While I like Seshat's "Lackey" idea, those jobs are going to be tough to find without any anything more than certs and classes. If I was looking for a Lackey, I would like somebody with plenty of self-taught knowledge, such as creating some huge, gratuitous, home network + home automation system to control my living room lamp over the internet.

If you have plenty of self-taught knowledge, or home projects, make sure that those come out in interviews or on a resume. Those count as experience too, and also show initiative.

Also, don't kill yourself getting those certs. For the jobs you actually want to get and keep over the long term, they are, at best, a foot in the door for an interview. I, for one, would NEVER hire anybody for a tech job if that was their only qualification. Never. Yes, everybody has to start somewhere, but you need to show some initiative in applying your knowledge.

If you are, say, in community college right now, try to find a part-time volunteer position helping out at a local school or charity. It can be a great way to get your feet wet and build up some experience. Usually public schools are dreadfully short on tech help.

SirWired

[LostMyMind]

If you're in college, you could see about working in the lab on campus. I did that when I was in college. It's minimum wage (usually), but it's experience. You never know who you meet on a weekend intro to computer class while you're monitoring the lab.

[Imprl59]

Most people get "good jobs" based on who they know a lot more than what they know. In your case the good jobs are in the corporate world and often are not ever advertised. Answering an ad in the paper is akin to buying a lottery ticket. The best thing you can do is find people who can get you in and introduce yourself.

Find out where and when a few local Rotary Club chapters meet and go to a few meetings. They are laid back meetings typically with a bunch of older guys who are pretty far up the food chain.

BNI is also another good way to meet folks far enough up the food chain to make a difference http://bni.com/ Each chapter has a weekly meeting that starts around 7 in the morning. Any chapter worth a darn has a computer support company as a member as well as a web developer etc...

Chamber of Commerce events can be another great place to meet the big fish.

Most communitis have free networking events. Usually they meet at a restaurant somewhere once a week in the morning.

You can visit most of these places for only the cost of the meeting space and meal. Typically $15 or less. Dress to Impress. Make yourself some business cards with your name and contact info and a one line blurb of what you are looking for. Practice your "elevator speach" which is basically a thirty second byte of who you are and what you are looking for.

Most of the people you find in these places with be serious "Type A" personalities. Don't be pushy but be friendly and very matter of fact about what you are looking for. I can almost guarantee you will be the only person there looking for a start.

Steve B.