Entry level Job search in IT

[SoundTheSurrender]

For the people that recently graduated and found jobs. Do you have any tips.

I interned as a light programmer but this is not what I want to do. I feel so unexperienced and it was my only opportunities. I would like to go into all aspects of Desktop Support. Everything from higher level tech support to pushing out patches and updates to policies and things of that nature.

Any tips? All I find are requirements of +5 years and things like that. It's really frustrating.

Thanks

 

[spidey07]

You have to prove yourself before you have that kind of responsibility. A good desktop management guy will generally have 5+ years of experience and that's what they're looking for.

It's called a "higher level" type of position because that is what it is, it's not entry level.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

So what's my best option to get my foot in the door for this area?

 

[amdskip]

Probably find a helpdesk job with room for growth and go from there.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: SoundTheSurrender
So what's my best option to get my foot in the door for this area?

First off, don't get me wrong and I'm not trying to be insulting.

Anything to do with tech support of computers is kind of the bottom of the barrel. You have a degree and this is not something you should be taking. There is a reason why helpdesk is normally outsourced to another company, it's like janitorial work.

From your OP you want a tech support position, but at a higher level. Sorry, that is going to take experience and I'd steer you away from that. Stay as far away from any kind of tech support position as you can.

What you're looking for is an IT admin position, this is a slight step above from tech support. But it is still support. This is where you can start entry level to use your degree and knowledge of programming to use the tools.

Know the tools and the process in this first job and you can go from there. A skilled desktop management guy will easily make over 100K a year. SMS experts are demanding 140-160K.

 

[Red Squirrel]

If you can't find anything higher help desk is a good place to start as you get to see exactly what the higher levels (level 2 and 3) have to see/do without having to do it right away. And by getting to know the guys you're sending tickets to and following up you can learn a lot.

Unlike what some think help desk is not really a easy monkey job. There is a crap load to know and do, and tons of different systems to deal with and chances are you'll be put on more then one phone queue so you're not really dealing with just one specific environment. Try, 10, maybe 100, different infrastructures, depending on the size of the company you work for. Where I work we have about 10 infrastructures that we support + all internet customers in the region (though we only support up to the demark for them)

When you are asked to press 1, press 2, press 3 etc it really does not matter, chances are you'll end up at the same person anyway, the only difference is the way they answer the phone. Of course, this really depends on the setup so you're best to press the right number anyway.

I've actually transferred a call to myself by accident after being put on a new queue and kinda was not used to it yet. "one moment I'll transfer you to phone repairs..." *phone rings* "Repairs how can I help you?" *doh*

 

[Imdmn04]

What degree did you graduate with?

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

You're going to have to start on helpdesk.

Anyone who has no experience has to start there, even if you have a degree.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

Thanks for the replies. I will look into that spidey.

Operations and Information Management. I was a help desk lap assistant in the library at my community college. Basically I just helped students who didn't know how to use software, even if I didn't know how to use it I managed to figure stuff out.

 

[sao123]

entry level jobs in IT no longer exist.

they are all taken up by dot com layoffs who all have like uber skills and are working for minimum wage.

 

[Descartes]

spidey covered most of it, but I'll add a few points:

1) What marketable skills do you have? You didn't say anything about this in the OP. Your degree helps, but coming through the front door you're going to be competing with a lot of people that already do what you say you want to do.

2) Where are your contacts from the internship, your professors, job fairs, etc.? This is the primary benefit of these activities. Call your contacts and see what you can get.

3) Hit the user groups, conferences, etc. This is probably a long shot, because competition is likely high at these places. Again, it's hard to say anything because you didn't tell us what your marketable skills are.

The point of all this is that you should be using what you have to bypass the front lines of recruiting as much as possible. You might very well be better off with a helpdesk and use that to get your contacts and jump from there.

HTH. Welcome to the catch-22 that is getting experience in IT.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: sao123
entry level jobs in IT no longer exist.

they are all taken up by dot com layoffs who all have like uber skills and are working for minimum wage.

False.

Regardless of whether you're facetious or not, no need to mislead the OP.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: sao123
entry level jobs in IT no longer exist.

they are all taken up by dot com layoffs who all have like uber skills and are working for minimum wage.

im a student at a community college going for an IT related degree...this sucks to think about.

 

[WarhammerUC]

Actually depends on where you are.. my team likes virgins.. of course at this time, we're not hiring but will be if the economic outlook changes by summer.

We just finish training a jr admin kid.. just out of school, worked for 183 days and we gave him a 10k bonus

yeah its a crappie job but I work close with him and doing his review tomorrow..

-UPS/PDU monitoring
-Whats Up monitoring
-Tape rotations (backup job check, etc)
-Cloning systems, mostly desktop/laptop and some light servers
-Printers/paper jams
-Learning AD - create account, permissions, etc
-Mobile devices - we bought him iphone/blackberry bold so he can support the users

no networking as of yet but we'll introduce that this year, going to introduce more IT admin and hopefully in 3-4 months, we'll find his replacement, the next JR admin who's not afraid of getting his hand dirty..

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: sao123
entry level jobs in IT no longer exist.

they are all taken up by dot com layoffs who all have like uber skills and are working for minimum wage.

im a student at a community college going for an IT related degree...this sucks to think about.

So don't think about it. It's simply not true.

 

[Imdmn04]

Try looking around Network Operations Centers.

Most NOCs you are just a warm body to monitor the alarms, but it will at least get your foot in the door and know overall process.

In this economy, you are competing with veterans that got laid off. You have to sell to the hiring company why you can compete with these veterans, whether it is that you have a formal education, more upside, cheaper, whatever, etc. You have to let the hiring company know what are the advantages of hiring you versus the others.

 

[BoberFett]

Try looking for a small company who just needs a computer geek around to do general help desk. Fix PCs, install software and updates, etc. Once you have a couple years of experience under your belt you could try moving into the datacenter realm. Speaking as an IT Director who has been at a number of small/medium sized business, that would be my suggestion.

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: sao123
Entry level jobs in IT no longer exist.

They are taken up by outsourced help desk support in India or some other third world country who have practically no skills and are working for minimum wage.

There, I fixed that for ya

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: SoundTheSurrender
So what's my best option to get my foot in the door for this area?

First off, don't get me wrong and I'm not trying to be insulting.

Anything to do with tech support of computers is kind of the bottom of the barrel. You have a degree and this is not something you should be taking. There is a reason why helpdesk is normally outsourced to another company, it's like janitorial work.

From your OP you want a tech support position, but at a higher level. Sorry, that is going to take experience and I'd steer you away from that. Stay as far away from any kind of tech support position as you can.

What you're looking for is an IT admin position, this is a slight step above from tech support. But it is still support. This is where you can start entry level to use your degree and knowledge of programming to use the tools.

Know the tools and the process in this first job and you can go from there. A skilled desktop management guy will easily make over 100K a year. SMS experts are demanding 140-160K.

We are?! :Q

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Try looking for a small company who just needs a computer geek around to do general help desk. Fix PCs, install software and updates, etc. Once you have a couple years of experience under your belt you could try moving into the datacenter realm. Speaking as an IT Director who has been at a number of small/medium sized business, that would be my suggestion.

One problem with that is really small companies will expect you to know how to do Everything IT related. Not only will they want Windows, UNIX, application, and hardware support, but they'll expect you do know programming and maintain the network as well. Basically, they'll want you to be a jack of all trades instead of getting a chance to master a just a few key IT skills. Sadly, a resume like that might end up hurting you when trying to get a "Product X" specialist job at a larger company.

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: spidey07
First off, don't get me wrong and I'm not trying to be insulting.

Anything to do with tech support of computers is kind of the bottom of the barrel. You have a degree and this is not something you should be taking. There is a reason why helpdesk is normally outsourced to another company, it's like janitorial work.

Sadly as someone who works in support I would agreey with Spidey, tech support positions are seen and paid lower than whale shit....

If you have a degree in an IT related field then I would try for something else.

Or look to go into project management. Good luck.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: WarhammerUC
Actually depends on where you are.. my team likes virgins.. of course at this time, we're not hiring but will be if the economic outlook changes by summer.

We just finish training a jr admin kid.. just out of school, worked for 183 days and we gave him a 10k bonus

yeah its a crappie job but I work close with him and doing his review tomorrow..

-UPS/PDU monitoring
-Whats Up monitoring
-Tape rotations (backup job check, etc)
-Cloning systems, mostly desktop/laptop and some light servers
-Printers/paper jams
-Learning AD - create account, permissions, etc
-Mobile devices - we bought him iphone/blackberry bold so he can support the users

no networking as of yet but we'll introduce that this year, going to introduce more IT admin and hopefully in 3-4 months, we'll find his replacement, the next JR admin who's not afraid of getting his hand dirty..

There are lots of companies out there that do exactly this. Usually they are smaller shops. OP, you should look for a position like this.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: sao123
entry level jobs in IT no longer exist.

they are all taken up by dot com layoffs who all have like uber skills and are working for minimum wage.

im a student at a community college going for an IT related degree...this sucks to think about.

So don't think about it. It's simply not true.

so where are all these jobs?

I read the job ads weekly... every job ad I have seen for the past 2 years reads somethign like this:


Requirements
2+ years in the following areas
· Visual Basic / ASP.NET
· T-SQL
· SQL Server
· HTML
· CSS
· JavaScript
· Relational Database Concepts
· Object Oriented Program Design
· Microsoft Access

Additional Preferred Skills
· XML
· N-Tier Application Design
· COM
· AJAX
· Web Services

Responsibilities
Field support calls and provide resolutions
Application and Database design
Quality Assurance on existing and new applications
Gather feedback from end users



oh and it gets worse


Required Skills/Competencies:
*6-10 years of experience in application development
*Experience with JAVA, JAVA Applets, JAVA Servlets, JAVA Script, J2EE, JBuilder, JSP, EJB
*Experience with C/C++, Oracle, SQL, MQ Series, Unix, Websphere, UML, XML, Broadvision, Rational Rose, Visual Age
*Able to use Microsoft Office
*Requires good organizational skills and good time management skills
*Strong analytical and problem solving skills

Preferred Skills:
*Struts



maybe there are entry level IT jobs in outsource land or pakistan or something, but anything short of getting an internship and then getting hired on by the same company, simply doesnt exist within 3 states of me...

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: SoundTheSurrender
For the people that recently graduated and found jobs. Do you have any tips.

I interned as a light programmer but this is not what I want to do. I feel so unexperienced and it was my only opportunities. I would like to go into all aspects of Desktop Support. Everything from higher level tech support to pushing out patches and updates to policies and things of that nature.

Any tips? All I find are requirements of +5 years and things like that. It's really frustrating.

Thanks

There is a reason for this...

your best bet, with ZERO work experience is help desk.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: sao123

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: sao123
entry level jobs in IT no longer exist.

they are all taken up by dot com layoffs who all have like uber skills and are working for minimum wage.

im a student at a community college going for an IT related degree...this sucks to think about.

So don't think about it. It's simply not true.

so where are all these jobs?

I read the job ads weekly... every job ad I have seen for the past 2 years reads somethign like this:


SNIP*

this is just a QUICK search of craigslist ..

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/tch/964501991.html
SNIP :

Growing IT company in Maple Grove is seeking a contractor who is willing to perform routine maintenance tasks on computers and servers. The ideal person would have a basic knowledge of hardware and software including Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2000, Server 2003. In addition, the individual must be familiar with the troubleshooting process" and have the ability to interact with our clients in a professional manner.

Initially, this would be a contractor position and we would provide specific work to you as it is needed. We are most interested in someone who would like hands-on IT experience and training to add to their resume. When there is enough work available, this would eventually lead to a part-time or full-time position with our company.

College students looking for hands-on experience are encouraged to apply.

Please include a resume in your reply to this ad. Thank you.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/tch/962211692.html
SNIP :

The Enterprise Support Specialist is a member of the technical support team that will provide technical support by phone and e-mail for the TMx labor management software suite and its hardware and software platforms. Specialists work closely with internal staff (Account Managers, System Engineers, QA, Development) and external staff, including both the customer?s project team and any third party vendors the customer's system interact with. This includes Point of Sale (POS), HR, Payroll, Data Warehouse and other systems.

Requirements:

? Strong working/troubleshooting knowledge of all versions of MS Windows.
? Working knowledge of MS SQL 2000 & 2005. Must be able to write simple SQL queries
? Strong working knowledge of IIS.
? Strong working/troubleshooting knowledge of TCP/IP networking
? Working knowledge of Windows Domain
? Working knowledge of Active Directory
? Understands XML and relational data models
? Familiar with UML/class diagrams
? Excellent telephone communication skills.
? A strong desire and ability to learn new technologies and support multiple systems
? Ability to multitask
? Detail oriented
? Exceptional organizational skills
? Ability to prioritize issues and work independently
? Positive and professional customer service attitude
? Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills in order to interact in a team environment
? 2-year Associates degree / technical certification or 2+ years of equivalent experience

Benefits:
? Reimbursement of home internet access
? Growth opportunities within organization
? Medical, Dental, Flex Plan and 401k
? Fun, casual work environment

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/tch/961308239.html
SNIP:

SUMMARY

This position is responsible for providing Information Systems support to the MN Timberwolves and Lynx staff. Primary responsibilities include day-to-day management of servers and supporting end users. This position reports to the Information Systems Manager.

JOB SPECIFICS

· Setting up temporary computer networks for basketball games
· Helpdesk support for end users
· Assisting with upgrades and configuration of office computers
· Computer network troubleshooting
· Management of a 250-mailbox Exchange Server
· Day-to-day management of Windows servers, including overseeing backup procedures
· Other duties as needed


QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

· College degree required, preferably in MIS, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
· Must be willing to work evening, weekends and holiday basketball events.
· Experience is preferred but not required.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
· Ability to lift and carry up to 20 pounds.
· Frequent walking including stairs and crawling under bleacher sections.