Thinking of quitting IT (Updated: SUCCESS!!!?????)

[mrCide]

After being laid off from my last job (was hired as inhouse tech support.. kinda got helped in that one). i looked for 3 months for another job. I had maybe 5 interviews, and 2 bites. I left one job because it was just a crappy place, crappy people to work with, etc. I was hired a week later by someone who picked my resume as his first choice out of 200 (wow, least my resume looks good). It's a small startup but it's backed and has potential (i don't know if i'd have any luck at more corporate places, i'm not sure i want to work at one).

I'm 22, no degree, but i have the certs below. Another thing is i list all my 'old' experience of things i did as i was growing up in addition. things i guess stick out for some people, especially if you have someone older in the industry, they see youve had experience with DOS AND win2k3 server, they're like hey he can relate and probably isn't a paper mcse/stupid, and can learn. well.. after i spoke to him on the phone for awhile and came in a couple weeks later, he said i was already hired after a few minutes of talking to me.

i dunno, at the same time i had a corporate place interview me that was a joke (seminole reservation in FL). they asked me 3 tech questions and that was the whole interview. thanks for nothin.

good luck, and get your degree, i would if i was only 1 year shy.

 

[Phoenix86]

gutharius,

Send me your resume (YGPM), I may have a position coming up at work, if your not opposed to working in dowtown Fort Worth. It's a bit of a drive for you, but downtown FTW is the best damned place to work at in the area.

Good luck.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: gutharius
I have interviewed for several IT Support positions here in Dallas and all of them seemed to be great interviews but ultimately I was rejected for each and every one.

I am getting depressed/frustrated by the rejections as from my perspective and from the comments of the interviewers I am doing an otherwise good job of conveying my experience and matching up my skills with the company's requirements.

I am thinking of quitting IT and possibly persuing another field. however I have invested 7 years in this career and it does not feel right to just start all over from scratch. I feel that because the last 2 years of my career have been in a phone support role I have shoe horned myself into a position of not being able to be taken seriously as a person persuing a corporate desk side IT support position. I sometimes get the hint that interviewers are seeing I have been doing phone based support for the last 2 years and thereby lack the hands on experience necessary.

One possible downside I see is I am lacking in my MCSE and Network+ certs plus a Bachelors degree. I completed 3 years of my degree but never finished.

EDIT: BTW Please don't take this as a moan and groan thread i am really just looking for some insight into solutions I may otherwise not be able to see from my perspective.

EDIT2: Wonder how hard it would be to become an IT Recruiter or just a recruiter in general. I like reserching and matching data sets up...

Update:

Here is my Monster.com resume as many of you are asking about my prior experiences and knowledges. This information is also information that is on my official paper resume as well. (I keep them synchronous.)

OBJECTIVE: To utilize my 6+ years of IT experience to enable accomplishment of departmental support goals and increased support effectiveness.

EXPERIENCE: 10/2002 - Present Telvista Plano, TX
Industry: Telecommunications/Wireless
PC and Mac Support Technician

-Consistently scored number one in quality scores for the Mac support team
-Awarded for excellence due to customer satisfaction feedback
-Achieved 100% on technical expertise and troubleshooting ability for over 2 years and running
-Recognized by supervisor for superior dedication to customer satisfaction
-Provided new hire training for supporting Apple Macintosh computers
-Supported HP, Gateway, EMachines, Compaq, Dell, and Apple Macintosh platforms in a Win 98/ME/2000/XP and Mac OS 10.x/9.x/8.x environment.

9/2002 - 10/2002 SouthWest Automated Clearing House Dallas, TX
Industry: Banking/Finance
Data Entry and Automation Support and Development

-Cut data entry time and costs by 75% by developing and implementing an automated data entry system for web based membership database

11/2000 - 3/2002 Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children Dallas, Tx
Industry: Hospitals/Ambulatory Health Care Services
IT Support Technician

-Provided hardware/software support to medical & support staff in an on call basis
-Increased doctor and support staff knowledge and competency in usage of Groupwise,
Adobe Photoshop, Digital Photography, Microsoft Word/Excel/Frontpage and Powerpoint development and presentation techniques.
-Developed 300+ page illustrated color documentation on scanning X-Rays, slides and photographs with sections on cataloging images into TSRH's Image Database
-Implemented clinical and surgical image cataloging database housing over 800 gigabytes of clinical and surgical imagery
-Supported Micron, Dell, and in house built PCs

10/1998 - 3/2000 Chadron City Schools District Chadron, NE
Industry: Educational Services
PC and Network Support Technician

-Increased teacher and administrative staff computer proficiency and knowledge of computer operation through one on one training and support sessions
-Assisted Technology Coordinator in development and implementation of technology curriculum, strategy, and planning for the Chadron City School District
-Managed and maintained Novell 3/4 network
-Installed, maintained, and administered Cobalt Qube Linux based server and increased domain IP capacity via usage of network address translation based DHCP server

EDUCATION: 4/2004 CompTIA / Pearson Vue US-TX-Dallas
Certification
Completed and Passed A+ Certification.

1/2000 Chadron State College US-NE-Chadron
Some College Coursework Completed

SKILLS: Skill Name Skill Level Last Used/Experience
Hardware Support Expert Currently used/6 years
Software Support Expert Currently used/6 years
Network Support Intermediate Currently used/4 years
Windows XP Expert Currently used/2 years
PowerPoint Expert Currently used/6 years
Siebel 99 Intermediate Currently used/2 years
Siebel 7 Intermediate Currently used/1 years
Mac OS X Expert Currently used/2 years
Mac OS 9/8/7 Expert Currently used/6 years
Word Expert Currently used/6 years
Excel Expert Currently used/6 years
FileMaker Pro Expert Currently used/6 years
Macintosh Expert Currently used/6 years
PC Support Expert Currently used/6 years
Windows 98 Expert 2 years ago/6 years
Windows ME Intermediate Currently used/4 years
Photoshop Intermediate 1 year ago/5 years
Outlook Intermediate Currently used/2 years
PHP Beginner 1 year ago/1 years
MySQL Beginner 1 year ago/1 years
C++ Intermediate +4 years ago/3 years
Red Hat Linux Intermediate 1 year ago/2 years
Linux PPC Intermediate 1 year ago/2 years
Linux Intermediate 1 year ago/2 years
Samba Intermediate 1 year ago/2 years
OpenSSH Intermediate 1 year ago/2 years
VNC (Virtual Network Console) Intermediate 1 year ago/2 years
Ethernet Networking Expert Currently used/6 years
HTML Intermediate 1 year ago/6 years
XML Beginner 1 year ago/1 years
Routers Intermediate Currently used/4 years
Database Development and Planning Expert Currently used/6 years
Adobe Illustrator Intermediate 2 years ago/3 years
Technical Communication Skills Expert Currently used/6 years
Technical to Laymen Communication Skills Expert Currently used/6 years
Adobe Photoshop Expert Currently used/6 years
Telephone Skills Expert Currently used/6 years
PC Troubleshooting Expert Currently used/6 years
Macintosh Troubleshooting Expert Currently used/6 years
Linux Trobleshooting Beginner 1 year ago/2 years
MS Access Beginner Currently used/2 years
Visio Beginner 1 year ago/1 years
Outlook Intermediate Currently used/2 years
Adobe Acrobat Intermediate Currently used/6 years
Windows 2000 Intermediate Currently used/3 years
TCP/IP Expert Currently used/6 years
SQL Beginner 1 year ago/2 years
BIND DNS (Domain Name Server) Intermediate 1 year ago/4 years
DHCP (Dynamic Host Client Protocol) Intermediate Currently used/4 years
Apache Beginner 1 year ago/2 years
Novell 5 Client Support Intermediate +4 years ago/2 years
Novell 5 Server Configuration Beginner +4 years ago/2 years
Norton Ghost Intermediate Currently used/6 years
Web Development Skills Expert 1 year ago/5 years

REFERENCES: Reference Name: Jeff ---
Reference Company: ----
Reference Title: Supervisor
Phone: ---
Type: Professional

ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION: I am a A+ Certified IT Support Technician with 6 years IT Support experience in the IT Industry. I am a dedicated person who enjoys using analytical problem solving in helping others gain a better understanding of technology and it's uses. I am looking for a position which will allow me to assist people in taking full advantage of technology and better comprehend it's workings. I believe in a "Long Term Troubleshooting" philosophy, if someone can understand why something works the way it does or the way it didn't, a level of comprehension can be gleaned which provides a better understanding of the technology and better promotes a full circle technology support system and experience. -

I see very little experience there.... only thing pertenant to IT is the first one and even thats not real IT...

you need solid exp working for large corporate america... supporting Active Directory, Office, Lotus, VPN, all Microsoft OSs, Cisco if possible.., Wireless networking and wired...In a corporate environment..

that resume does not scream hire me at all..

I do not have a degree in IT... When I was 18 typewritters were still being used in Corporate America... so there was no IT degrees yet... I got my exp from the US Navy in Electronics... then made the switch to computers in 1990... and had jobs with NASA and Molex and Oxy and many others over the years.... i have no problems getting desktop or MS AD Admin positions...

BTW the US Navy has a kick ass new rating that puts you into the System Admin field and gets you real exp and fully certed before leaving the Navy now..
if you young and fit and really want good job exp plus US Military which gets you in alot of doors..
look into this.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: CVSiN
I see very little experience there.... only thing pertenant to IT is the first one and even thats not real IT...

you need solid exp working for large corporate america... supporting Active Directory, Office, Lotus, VPN, all Microsoft OSs, Cisco if possible.., Wireless networking and wired...In a corporate environment..

Very little? He has several years experience...

10/1998 - 3/2000 Chadron City Schools District Chadron, NE
Industry: Educational Services
PC and Network Support Technician

11/2000 - 3/2002 Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children Dallas, Tx
Industry: Hospitals/Ambulatory Health Care Services
IT Support Technician

10/2002 - Present Telvista Plano, TX
Industry: Telecommunications/Wireless
PC and Mac Support Technician

 

[bleeb]

I see that big bad list of skills but no one uses those dawg and they won't use you unless you get a CS Degree, and then get your certs and even at best, you will be lucky to land a job. And in the rare case that you do, the industry is going to crap so the long-term outlooks is morbid and bleak as well.

But cheer up! It could be worse.

 

[beer]

You know that resumes are supposed to be one page, right? It's a synopsis, not an entire biography. Your resume is as long as some of the CVs I've seen from doctoral students!

 

[gigapet]

india is hiring

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: pyonir
IMO your resume is way to fricken long. The Skills section is way too much.

That is the monster resume. My actual paper resume omits the skills section and everything after that.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: beer
You know that resumes are supposed to be one page, right? It's a synopsis, not an entire biography. Your resume is as long as some of the CVs I've seen from doctoral students!

See my above post as to what my actual resume is.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: bleeb
I see that big bad list of skills but no one uses those dawg and they won't use you unless you get a CS Degree, and then get your certs and even at best, you will be lucky to land a job. And in the rare case that you do, the industry is going to crap so the long-term outlooks is morbid and bleak as well.

But cheer up! It could be worse.

Personally i don't see th IT industry going to crap. The way i see it it has to boom again when systems automation becomes a new economic plus. The downside to this is other indutries will suffer job losses as more and more systems are automated and need less and less human control and supervision. But that is just my perspective.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: gigapet
india is hiring

They wouldn't like my accent.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86
gutharius,

Send me your resume (YGPM), I may have a position coming up at work, if your not opposed to working in dowtown Fort Worth. It's a bit of a drive for you, but downtown FTW is the best damned place to work at in the area.

Good luck.

Certainly, resume sent and thanks for the assistance.

Edit: Agreed on downtown Ft Worth!

 

[gscone]

When you say taking a break what do you mean? While I am currently employed I am soon to be laid off due to call center closure. So it is important for me to locate a new source of employment ASAP.

Dont pump out a 1000 resumes each day. People get burned out just because they are not getting any hits or calls. Take your time and things will fall in place.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: CVSiN
I see very little experience there.... only thing pertenant to IT is the first one and even thats not real IT...

you need solid exp working for large corporate america... supporting Active Directory, Office, Lotus, VPN, all Microsoft OSs, Cisco if possible.., Wireless networking and wired...In a corporate environment..

that resume does not scream hire me at all..

I do not have a degree in IT... When I was 18 typewritters were still being used in Corporate America... so there was no IT degrees yet... I got my exp from the US Navy in Electronics... then made the switch to computers in 1990... and had jobs with NASA and Molex and Oxy and many others over the years.... i have no problems getting desktop or MS AD Admin positions...

BTW the US Navy has a kick ass new rating that puts you into the System Admin field and gets you real exp and fully certed before leaving the Navy now..
if you young and fit and really want good job exp plus US Military which gets you in alot of doors..
look into this.

Active Directory is one of my weaknesses, as such I do realize this and I now have a WIN2K server and am boning up on it as we speak. I am planning on getting MCP's in Win2K Server and Possible Active Directory, if possible, to compensate for this. But the absence of this does not make me a paper tech. on the contrary I am not a tech who is only good on paper. I am a tech who is dedicated to problem resolution and end user satisfaction.

 

[bozack]

Gutharius I have been in and am currently in a similar boat to you with regards to long term goals and or career path....

I don't have seven years vested in this field (started working professionally in mid 2000) but do have some time in and would like to continue on, with hopes of eventually moving into management and or leadership roles....

I was recently doing a contract gig that payed decently for the area (upwards of 50K) and doing deskside support/application repackaging and vbs/xml scripting for scientific software...loved the company, the pay was ok but the contract status was not....

I applied and was offered a job as an IT recruiter but eventually turned it down as the base salary was far too low (around 30K), with benefits it would have been nice but still that is a gamble and having just purchased a house it wasn't a risk I could take...also I tend to think of recruiting along the lines of sales so if you don't consider yourself of a salesman, and or there is a seperate department which will broker the deal leaving you only to interview and then review open positions it might not be a good fit.

I just recently landed a full time gig at considerably more pay here in Mass, possibly one of the worst IT markets out there...I am making over 10K more a year than my contract spot, the company is solid (at least the remote site I work at is as it is a new R&D Facility)..and the work is a good mix of basic desktop issues along with scientific support.

My suggestion to you is seriously consider where you want to be and what you want to do, I cannot stress enough how much my BA degree has helped me....

I have NO Certifications and no plans to get any and I have never been without decent work/pay in the IT field and as I said a good portion of that time was during the worst period for IT in one of the worst areas for IT....

get the BA finished off and then try to land a lower paying deskside job just to get it on your resume....once you get away from the phone based support focus then things should open up...

good luck

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: gscone

When you say taking a break what do you mean? While I am currently employed I am soon to be laid off due to call center closure. So it is important for me to locate a new source of employment ASAP.

Dont pump out a 1000 resumes each day. People get burned out just because they are not getting any hits or calls. Take your time and things will fall in place.

Getting burned out is not my real concern. I like technology and I like helping others work with technology even more so. I think its the rejections which are bumming me out but I realize there are a ton of people in the market place. As the 18% of respondants to the job competition question elude to.

 

[CraigRT]

Quit IT, it's a crappy field to be in, I can't wait to get out and do something where I don't sit at a damn desk all day.

get into a skilled trade, tradesmen will always be needed, and there is traditonally a lot of variety in the work.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: bozack
Gutharius I have been in and am currently in a similar boat to you with regards to long term goals and or career path....

I don't have seven years vested in this field (started working professionally in mid 2000) but do have some time in and would like to continue on, with hopes of eventually moving into management and or leadership roles....

I was recently doing a contract gig that payed decently for the area (upwards of 50K) and doing deskside support/application repackaging and vbs/xml scripting for scientific software...loved the company, the pay was ok but the contract status was not....

I applied and was offered a job as an IT recruiter but eventually turned it down as the base salary was far too low (around 30K), with benefits it would have been nice but still that is a gamble and having just purchased a house it wasn't a risk I could take...also I tend to think of recruiting along the lines of sales so if you don't consider yourself of a salesman, and or there is a seperate department which will broker the deal leaving you only to interview and then review open positions it might not be a good fit.

I just recently landed a full time gig at considerably more pay here in Mass, possibly one of the worst IT markets out there...I am making over 10K more a year than my contract spot, the company is solid (at least the remote site I work at is as it is a new R&D Facility)..and the work is a good mix of basic desktop issues along with scientific support.

My suggestion to you is seriously consider where you want to be and what you want to do, I cannot stress enough how much my BA degree has helped me....

I have NO Certifications and no plans to get any and I have never been without decent work/pay in the IT field and as I said a good portion of that time was during the worst period for IT in one of the worst areas for IT....

get the BA finished off and then try to land a lower paying deskside job just to get it on your resume....once you get away from the phone based support focus then things should open up...

good luck

You and I have the same goals. I look to moving into a leadership position after being employed with a company for at least a year. I see the point about the degree and it is noted MANY TIMES OVER as you are not the only one who has said this. I read this thread and it is like I am in the middle of a football stadium and all the seats are jam packed with people chanting and jeering, "GET A DEGREE, GET A DEGREE!" On a plus side my currecnt job is doing a shift bid and I will no longer be on this crappy night shift crap. This will free up my Thursdays and fridays for interviews.

 

[JulesMaximus]

So, you list 54 different hardware/software skills over the past 6 years? To me that means you are aware of much but an expert at nothing. You probably know just enough to be dangerous.

Edit-I voted get your degree.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: CraigRT
Quit IT, it's a crappy field to be in, I can't wait to get out and do something where I don't sit at a damn desk all day.

get into a skilled trade, tradesmen will always be needed, and there is traditonally a lot of variety in the work.

I like desk jobs tho.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
So, you list 54 different hardware/software skills over the past 6 years? To me that means you are aware of much but an expert at nothing. You probably know just enough to be dangerous.

Edit-I voted get your degree.

The pond may be big but it is deep. What I mean is while it may seem like there is alot there the experiences are indepth. This is a side effect of all my past jobs where you had to be able to do it all even if you did not know how. As far as "aware" i would say knowledgeable you can be aware of something but that eludes to the possibility of no knowledge of the article.

 

[Imdmn04]

I don't know if this has been asked before, because I didnt read the whole thread, how do you usually do during the interviews?
Because interviews are probably the most important thing for getting INTO a job. Interview skills is a must, countless times people get in not because they are techincailly qualified, but because they nailed their interviews. Oral communication skills is the most important thing during an interview.

 

[alent1234]

I think OP needs to make up a few resumes depending on the job that he is applying to. If you are going to be applying for an email admin job send them a resume that is heavy on your lotus or MS Exchange skills.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: Imdmn04
I don't know if this has been asked before, because I didnt read the whole thread, how do you usually do during the interviews?
Because interviews are probably the most important thing for getting INTO a job. Interview skills is a must, countless times people get in not because they are techincailly qualified, but because they nailed their interviews. Oral communication skills is the most important thing during an interview.

I believe in studying and practicing for the interviews. Which I do. I psych myself up by going over a list of commonly asked questions and questions that have been asked in past interviews. I write out talking points to cover over areas which may not be a strong suit for me to answer in. As I stated in a previous post the interviewers have all said I do a good job and there were no comments to give. I don't know if they are just being nice or if they are being honest. All i can do is assume the latter.

 

[gutharius]

Originally posted by: alent1234
I think OP needs to make up a few resumes depending on the job that he is applying to. If you are going to be applying for an email admin job send them a resume that is heavy on your lotus or MS Exchange skills.

That is one thing I have not been doing as i don't have the time to invest in it with my current job and obligations at home. After i am laid off and have my severnce in hand and am drawing unemployment I will have more than enough time to put the finer touches, like your suggestion, on the table.