Unemployed

[lxskllr]

I've recently become unemployed. I've worked as a land surveyor for over 20 years, and for the same company for about 20 years. I've been wanting to get out of civil engineering for awhile now, so this is the kick in the ass I've needed :^D

I'd like to get a entry-mid level IT support job. The problem is I don't have any college experience. I'm a hobbyist, that would like to do this work for a living, but with the current job market, I'm competing with people that are over qualified for the position.

I'd like some suggestions for expanding my knowledge of IT in a business environment. It has to be something I can do at home for free. I don't have any money that I can use to go to school. If you have any good job search websites, that would be appreciated also. These are the ones I've been using...

Careerbuilder.com
Craigslist
Monster.com
Dice.com(Seems to be for a higher skill level than I'm looking for)
Jobs.com
Yahoo! Hot Jobs

It's a long shot getting into the kind of job I'd like, but at this point, so is civil engineering(local companies are doing very badly). I'd like to think that my maturity would make up for lack of experience, but sometimes I'm just not cynical enough :^D

Any tips would be greatly appreciated :^)

 

[Babbles]

Maybe try LinkedIn.

I was let go a couple of months ago myself and have not had any luck with things.

 

[PepePeru]

indeed.com seems to a good site to search many different job sites.

 

[Pheran]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
I'd like some suggestions for expanding my knowledge of IT in a business environment. It has to be something I can do at home for free.

Set up a Linux server in your home. If you want to get really ambitious, register a cheap domain name, point it at your home IP, configure some port forwarding on your router, and set up your own web and mail servers. Google is your friend - you can learn a lot tinkering around this way. Even better if you make it something you need to use - my home server is my primary email box, so I have a large vested interest in keeping it up and running.

 

[wyvrn]

Indeed.com and simplyhired.com are job site search engines. Much better than doing them youself. Also try watchthatpage.com which can be applied to a lot of sites.

IT requires a degree or certification to get in the door, but experience is highly valued. At your level, you are looking at a junior admin, helpdesk, or desktop support job. Helpdesk is plentiful, but often offers no career path into IT administration. Been there, done that for 5 years.

If you want to get into IT Support, try an ISP. They churn quite a few people, and you can get some reasonbly valuable experience. While you are employed, get a few certifications and try to attend community college. Also start your own business just to get hands on experience.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Pheran


Set up a Linux server in your home. If you want to get really ambitious, register a cheap domain name, point it at your home IP, configure some port forwarding on your router, and set up your own web and mail servers. Google is your friend - you can learn a lot tinkering around this way. Even better if you make it something you need to use - my home server is my primary email box, so I have a large vested interest in keeping it up and running.

That's a good idea. Are there any open source equivalents to Exchange? I realize nothing but Exchange will match up exactly, but if there's something that uses the same principles, that would help. Even better would be an open source option that's widely used.

 

[habib89]

you'd probably have to know some people to recommend you since you have no formal education or experience. good luck

 

[VinylxScratches]

I'm a recent grad with a degree in Information Systems and I have internship experience and I'm having issues getting into IT now. I feel like crap when I see a ENTRY level job asking for 3+ years of experience. I still submit my resume if I see a match but I get no replies. I noticed that going to corporate sites and applying there over dice.com or other job search sites gets better results.

 

[lxskllr]

Lots of encouraging stuff guys :^D

Well, people win Lotto all of the time. Maybe I'll luck into something :^)

 

[imported_Imp]

Wait wait wait...

Get OUT of civil engineering? I'm trying to get INto it through land surveying (surveyor's assistants needs no college/experience, I have). Something also appealing about working outdoors and not in a cubicle all day. Not to threadjack, but how was it for 20 years?

Oh, and have you looked at GIS? There are some part-time certificates for it, and surveying experience may be handy.

 

[xochi]

If you live in the US and were laid off, you more than likely qualify for Job Training/Re-Training through the Workforce Investment Act.

Most of the training scholarships cover the entire cost of training or greatly reduce the cost, depending on your State and Local area.

Google your State and Workforce Investment Act Dislocated Worker Program. This should point you in the right direction.

A small portion of the Stimulus Package will provide a large amount of funds to States for this kind of Job Training.

 

[AreaCode707]

Used to work in recruiting and did a lot of work with the job boards.

Here's my best tip: search for companies in the area you want to work, regardless of job title, and then go to the company's website and check out their career section for the job you want.

Job postings on the large boards are expensive, anywhere between $75 and 500 depending on the agreement you negotiate. Because of that, only a small subsection of each employers' jobs are posted in places like Monster. The best use of job boards is to identify employers that are hiring and then see if that particular employer might be hiring for you.

Some of the companies that I worked for had a formal approval process recruiters had to go through in order to post on the job boards. You weren't allowed to post unless all other sourcing methods were turning up nothing. It really filters down the jobs that get out there.

 

[lxskllr]

Working outside is nice except for the summer. Every year I get less tolerant of the heat, so I end up being miserable much of the time. When the temperature goes over 70F I start getting pissed :^D

If you want to be an engineer, working in surveying will give you excellent practical experience on how things /should/ be done, I've long suspected that engineers get hit in the head with a brick after getting handed their diplomas :^P If you can get on a construction layout crew, you'll get to see how things progress from plan to finish, and hopefully see the screwups and pitfalls along the way. I highly recommend it as a transition to the relatively low paying world of civil engineering. Be careful not to get trapped though. If you don't have a genuine love for it, you can get stuck in a career you're not so interested in.

I loved it at first, but I've blown out my back, gotten Lyme disease, and I have some suspect spots on my skin that I really should get checked out. It can be tedious at times, and clients who refuse to think for themselves can be irritating(like anywhere else I guess). I guess in my perfect world I'd survey for 2 or 3 days per week, and do computer work for the rest, all for a small personal company :^)

As to GIS... That's something I /could/ do, but I'm not so much interested. It's definitely in my fallback plan, but I'm hoping to get into computer work somehow. Low end IT is really what I'm interested in. I like troubleshooting, and hands on hardware maintenance/repair. Really Geek Squad would be lots of fun except for the BestBuy part :^D

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Used to work in recruiting and did a lot of work with the job boards.

Here's my best tip: search for companies in the area you want to work, regardless of job title, and then go to the company's website and check out their career section for the job you want.

Job postings on the large boards are expensive, anywhere between $75 and 500 depending on the agreement you negotiate. Because of that, only a small subsection of each employers' jobs are posted in places like Monster. The best use of job boards is to identify employers that are hiring and then see if that particular employer might be hiring for you.

Some of the companies that I worked for had a formal approval process recruiters had to go through in order to post on the job boards. You weren't allowed to post unless all other sourcing methods were turning up nothing. It really filters down the jobs that get out there.

Great post!!! That explains a lot. Fabulous information. This tells me why all the posts I've been seeing at Dice.com have been over my head for so long. I have skills, but they seem to want super-qualified people only. In one case it was someone willing to accept very low wage. Thanks.

 

[ivan2]

you will get tired of low end IT like geeksquad quickly. my advise is to find a very small company (<15 people) and become their dedicated IT guy. All you need to support might be the few apps they run and maybe a router or two. You get to manage their computers and play geeksquad all you want, and you get to make recommandation on their purchases to get you some new toys.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Used to work in recruiting and did a lot of work with the job boards.

Here's my best tip: search for companies in the area you want to work, regardless of job title, and then go to the company's website and check out their career section for the job you want.

Job postings on the large boards are expensive, anywhere between $75 and 500 depending on the agreement you negotiate. Because of that, only a small subsection of each employers' jobs are posted in places like Monster. The best use of job boards is to identify employers that are hiring and then see if that particular employer might be hiring for you.

Some of the companies that I worked for had a formal approval process recruiters had to go through in order to post on the job boards. You weren't allowed to post unless all other sourcing methods were turning up nothing. It really filters down the jobs that get out there.

Great post!!! That explains a lot. Fabulous information. This tells me why all the posts I've been seeing at Dice.com have been over my head for so long. I have skills, but they seem to want super-qualified people only. In one case it was someone willing to accept very low wage. Thanks.

Glad it was helpful.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: ivan2
you will get tired of low end IT like geeksquad quickly. my advise is to find a very small company (<15 people) and become their dedicated IT guy. All you need to support might be the few apps they run and maybe a router or two. You get to manage their computers and play geeksquad all you want, and you get to make recommandation on their purchases to get you some new toys.

How many jobs like that are around? I'd think a company that small would outsource their IT tasks. 15 computers, and a server just about run themselves. If something like that was available, it would be perfect... Might get boring though without much to do.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: ivan2
you will get tired of low end IT like geeksquad quickly. my advise is to find a very small company (<15 people) and become their dedicated IT guy. All you need to support might be the few apps they run and maybe a router or two. You get to manage their computers and play geeksquad all you want, and you get to make recommandation on their purchases to get you some new toys.

How many jobs like that are around? I'd think a company that small would outsource their IT tasks. 15 computers, and a server just about run themselves. If something like that was available, it would be perfect... Might get boring though without much to do.

You've clearly never seen the damage "computer-savvy" users can do.

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: ivan2
you will get tired of low end IT like geeksquad quickly. my advise is to find a very small company (<15 people) and become their dedicated IT guy. All you need to support might be the few apps they run and maybe a router or two. You get to manage their computers and play geeksquad all you want, and you get to make recommandation on their purchases to get you some new toys.

How many jobs like that are around? I'd think a company that small would outsource their IT tasks. 15 computers, and a server just about run themselves. If something like that was available, it would be perfect... Might get boring though without much to do.

You've clearly never seen the damage "computer-savvy" users can do.

"computer stupid" scares me more...cause i have no idea how they fuck up their computers.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Fayd

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: ivan2
you will get tired of low end IT like geeksquad quickly. my advise is to find a very small company (<15 people) and become their dedicated IT guy. All you need to support might be the few apps they run and maybe a router or two. You get to manage their computers and play geeksquad all you want, and you get to make recommandation on their purchases to get you some new toys.

How many jobs like that are around? I'd think a company that small would outsource their IT tasks. 15 computers, and a server just about run themselves. If something like that was available, it would be perfect... Might get boring though without much to do.

You've clearly never seen the damage "computer-savvy" users can do.

"computer stupid" scares me more...cause i have no idea how they fuck up their computers.

Stupid is too afraid to touch everything. Savvy is where they do who knows what all.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: ivan2
you will get tired of low end IT like geeksquad quickly. my advise is to find a very small company (<15 people) and become their dedicated IT guy. All you need to support might be the few apps they run and maybe a router or two. You get to manage their computers and play geeksquad all you want, and you get to make recommandation on their purchases to get you some new toys.

How many jobs like that are around? I'd think a company that small would outsource their IT tasks. 15 computers, and a server just about run themselves. If something like that was available, it would be perfect... Might get boring though without much to do.

My thought is that they would have you doing other things when not doing the IT stuff. Wearing more than one hat is necessary in a lot of scenarios.

 

[ivan2]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: ivan2
you will get tired of low end IT like geeksquad quickly. my advise is to find a very small company (<15 people) and become their dedicated IT guy. All you need to support might be the few apps they run and maybe a router or two. You get to manage their computers and play geeksquad all you want, and you get to make recommandation on their purchases to get you some new toys.

How many jobs like that are around? I'd think a company that small would outsource their IT tasks. 15 computers, and a server just about run themselves. If something like that was available, it would be perfect... Might get boring though without much to do.

My thought is that they would have you doing other things when not doing the IT stuff. Wearing more than one hat is necessary in a lot of scenarios.

I am thinking more along the line of law firms, small importer such. Some companies will settle for an on-call guy but some like a large doctor's office would rather have someone there(medical informatics is good field to get into now but I'm not sure what credential you need there)

I based my recommendation on someone i know, he works in a wholeseller. Muse is spot on about the part that you might have to work on something else, cuz the guy also post items on ebay for them...

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
If you want to be an engineer, working in surveying will give you excellent practical experience on how things /should/ be done, I've long suspected that engineers get hit in the head with a brick after getting handed their diplomas :^P If you can get on a construction layout crew, you'll get to see how things progress from plan to finish, and hopefully see the screwups and pitfalls along the way. I highly recommend it as a transition to the relatively low paying world of civil engineering. Be careful not to get trapped though. If you don't have a genuine love for it, you can get stuck in a career you're not so interested in.

I already have my civ degree, but did no internships/summer jobs in the field, so completely effed myself that way. Now I'm in a saturated, dwindling market, so I gotta find some way in. The retarded thing is that I would be a surveyor's assistant right now if I had my drivers license 4 months ago. Good to hear that the layout work is useful. I did a 2 week course in the middle of nowhere doing surveying during the summer (I turned black), and loved it, so it wouldn't be too bad a choice if I get 'stuck'.

As for IT, I hope you really like it. I worked two summers as an assistant to the IT coordinator (#2 under manager) of a whole division, and got to see a lot of it. Can't say I recommend it that much. The people in the field, who worked with the employees, ran around all day setting stuff up, answering the most basic/retarded questions from 100 employees, inventorying, and re-imaging computers cause someone picked up a porn-link virus. The people at the server farm got to stare at 3 monitors all day, monitoring/ reconfiguring/ optimizing servers. I do kind of miss it though, the whole running around, everyone worshipping you, having a mental map of the entire office.

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Fayd

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: ivan2
you will get tired of low end IT like geeksquad quickly. my advise is to find a very small company (<15 people) and become their dedicated IT guy. All you need to support might be the few apps they run and maybe a router or two. You get to manage their computers and play geeksquad all you want, and you get to make recommandation on their purchases to get you some new toys.

How many jobs like that are around? I'd think a company that small would outsource their IT tasks. 15 computers, and a server just about run themselves. If something like that was available, it would be perfect... Might get boring though without much to do.

You've clearly never seen the damage "computer-savvy" users can do.

"computer stupid" scares me more...cause i have no idea how they fuck up their computers.

Stupid is too afraid to touch everything. Savvy is where they do who knows what all.

"savvy" generally knows what they did to get to that point, and can describe, at least in general terms, what the problem is.

stupid cant describe or iterate steps to recreate the problem, and blames me for not fixing it.

with regard to being the dedicated IT guy in a small office, i'd love it. i'd standardize the office on one set of hardware, 2 servers (main and backup), and do wipe and reformats weekly. then keep spares of the end user hardware around, and hand them a working computer and take their nonworking one.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Honestly, knowhow and experience are things that don't come easy in IT. You have to have an honest knack for it and convince those on an interview committee that you're better than the flood of other applicants. These days, it's easier said than done to get a job unless you're in a city with plenty of jobs available.

Civil engineering can pay a lot more than entry-mid level IT...but once again, this depend on where you are.

As suggested, you can go into systems administration, but it would take a lot of work to get your skillset up to par. You have to understand a lot of different applications and security techniques. If you jump into Linux, work with iptables and configure a linux box as a router. You can do testing by downloading Virtual PC from Microsoft and CentOS for free.