How long is too long to be out of the IT industry

[d4mo]

I work in IT. I have an IT AAS degree and a couple of certs. I have about 2 1/2 years of exp in tech support.

I haven't worked in 5 months since my last job ended(it was a temp position). I've been looking but the job market is crap around here and I can't really find what I want. All I'm really looking for is a help desk type position for now.

So my question is when is it too long to be out of the industry? As in people are not going to want to hire you because you've been out of the game for too long?

Second is, would it be smart to get a job in the interim? Like a retail or some random job? Or should I just be spending my time looking for IT? What looks good, what looks bad?

 

[KentState]

Depends on the type of IT job. Web development seems to move pretty quick, but things like help desk support vary by company. Heck, so many companies are on XP and Server 2003 that it probably won't matter until Server 2008 and Windows 7 are the standard.

 

[shortylickens]

I left Hynix Semiconductor in Feb of 2008 and its been made abundantly clear my particular skills are no longer needed. If I get hired it will be due to general background, not because I would immediately jump in and make a helpful contribution.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I have a friend who was unemployed for a full year before he settled into a new job. He's a smart guy too, with over 20 years IT Experience and an MS from Michigan.... (one of the smartest people I know)

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Application cycles. Since Server 2008 and 2008 R2, Office 2007 + 2010 are similar, you may just need to catch up with some of the changes. 2 years is too much, IMO

 

[drebo]

If it's tier 1 helpdesk only, it probably doesn't matter. They'll train you on whatever application package you'll be supporting and give you your script. If it's tier 2 or higher or any other kind of technical position, they'll probably want you to be familiar with the product and associated technologies...in which case, 6 months could be too long or they might not even care about 6 years. Really depends on the job and products you'll be supporting.

 

[d4mo]

I guess that makes me feel a bit better. It sucks there is nothing out there for me, and I don't want to move. I may have to take something I don't want. Or would it be better to hold out for what I want?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

A job flipping burgers is better than no job at all.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

A job flipping burgers is better than no job at all.

easier said than done

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

easier said than done

How so? Unless your contention is there are no minimum wage jobs available for the OP? Been there, done that.

 

[d4mo]

When you say "a job flipping burgers" do you mean is better on a resume or just better because you will be making money.

 

[iGas]

When you say "a job flipping burgers" do you mean is better on a resume or just better because you will be making money.

Good for the pocket book so as resume because it look like you are a motivated individual.

 

[chusteczka]

Maybe it is time to return to school.

 

[d4mo]

Maybe it is time to return to school.

Nah, my education isn't the problem, it's the market. I really don't want to go back to school.

But if you guys say a year or more is safe, I feel a bit better haha.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Nah, my education isn't the problem, it's the market. I really don't want to go back to school.

But if you guys say a year or more is safe, I feel a bit better haha.

From your post it sounds like you'd be doing helpdesk anyway. No one is going to hire you to do network stuff with an AAS and a few certs. It really won't matter if it's 5 months or two years since desktop stuff stays pretty much the same.


I would not do what many of my jobless IT friends are doing, which is getting all cert'd up because they can't find jobs. Certifications with no experience to back them up are pretty much useless for anything other than TP. You might get a couple bucks more an hour at helpdesk with them but they won't push you into a networking position.

 

[d4mo]

From your post it sounds like you'd be doing helpdesk anyway. No one is going to hire you to do network stuff with an AAS and a few certs. It really won't matter if it's 5 months or two years since desktop stuff stays pretty much the same.


I would not do what many of my jobless IT friends are doing, which is getting all cert'd up because they can't find jobs. Certifications with no experience to back them up are pretty much useless for anything other than TP. You might get a couple bucks more an hour at helpdesk with them but they won't push you into a networking position.

What is TP?

I don't expect to get a networking position. I may like to move in to one internally(I think that would be possible). But more than likely I would like to make it into a server admin type position. Which I think should be very doable.

 

[Mide]

I wandered out of the country for a non-IT job for a year. It took a long while but I landed another IT job after I got back. So it is indeed possible. As KentState stated, most places are still on XP/Server 2003 so until newer OSs become the standard you shouldn't have too many problems. But yes finding a job in the location you want is a whole another story. You may have to move if it becomes that bad.

 

[SunnyD]

Let's see... um... 3 years?

 

[SpatiallyAware]

What is TP?

I don't expect to get a networking position. I may like to move in to one internally(I think that would be possible). But more than likely I would like to make it into a server admin type position. Which I think should be very doable.

Toilet Paper.





It is doable, but being a server admin requires more trust than a cert will get you. Particularly if it's a smaller company (which it would need to be in order to move from helpdesk to sys admin)

 

[jackace]

Toilet Paper.





It is doable, but being a server admin requires more trust than a cert will get you. Particularly if it's a smaller company (which it would need to be in order to move from helpdesk to sys admin)

So how do you become a sys or network admin, especially in this economy?

It seems to be a lot of catch 22, need experience to get a job, but need a job to get experience. If a degree and certs cant get you started then what can? and where do you start?

 

[SpatiallyAware]

So how do you become a sys or network admin, especially in this economy?

It seems to be a lot of catch 22, need experience to get a job, but need a job to get experience. If a degree and certs cant get you started then what can? and where do you start?

You're a helpdesk grunt for 3-4 years. In my opinion there's little ways around it, especially now that certs are worth so little. You don't need any experience to do helpdesk and make $10-11/hr.


In 1998 you could go get MCSE'd up and make 80-90k with little or no experience. Around 2001 all of these peoples networks start falling apart and companies realized that solid previous employment is worth much much more than a 7 day bootcamp.


Edit:

And specifically in this economy - Keep in mind that IT is nothing more than a HUGE red number as far as accounting is concerned. You do nothing but spend money, whether it's salary, hardware, or whatever. Yeah WE know that we add value but it isn't easily measured in terms of dollars. Everyone else adds value that is easier to see.. A good IT person has little downtime and usually appears to not be doing a whole lot.

A 'healthy' IT department for a small-medium sized company is roughly 1 IT person for every 40-60 employees (broad estimate). Nowadays you're really lucky to have 1 IT person for every 100+ employees and you're usually expected to provide the same level of service.

Basically, you're going to have a really really tough time finding a decent paying job because of all this. There are experienced people out there that used to make ~100k settling for $40k. This means the cert'd people right out of school who could scoot under the radar as glorified sys admins are now settling for lower positions - i.e. helpdesk.

 

[jackace]

You're a helpdesk grunt for 3-4 years. In my opinion there's little ways around it, especially now that certs are worth so little. You don't need any experience to do helpdesk and make $10-11/hr.


In 1998 you could go get MCSE'd up and make 80-90k with little or no experience. Around 2001 all of these peoples networks start falling apart and companies realized that solid previous employment is worth much much more than a 7 day bootcamp.


Edit:

And specifically in this economy - Keep in mind that IT is nothing more than a HUGE red number as far as accounting is concerned. You do nothing but spend money, whether it's salary, hardware, or whatever. Yeah WE know that we add value but it isn't easily measured in terms of dollars. Everyone else adds value that is easier to see.. A good IT person has little downtime and usually appears to not be doing a whole lot.

A 'healthy' IT department for a small-medium sized company is roughly 1 IT person for every 40-60 employees (broad estimate). Nowadays you're really lucky to have 1 IT person for every 100+ employees and you're usually expected to provide the same level of service.

Basically, you're going to have a really really tough time finding a decent paying job because of all this. There are experienced people out there that used to make ~100k settling for $40k. This means the cert'd people right out of school who could scoot under the radar as glorified sys admins are now settling for lower positions - i.e. helpdesk.

Thank you for your reply, but I decided to make a new thread so I would not derail this thread.

 

[FeuerFrei]

I'm wondering about the mainframe segment. Seems like skills in that area would not become outmoded too quickly.

 

[CraigRT]

Nah, my education isn't the problem, it's the market. I really don't want to go back to school.

But if you guys say a year or more is safe, I feel a bit better haha.

I was out of IT for like 3 years (ish) when I got my current job back in December.

I may have gotten lucky (even though the job is pretty shitty) to get a job at all during these times.