IT Jobs - The best?!

[Stolly]

Who?

They are the player, who make all HP and Sun storage. They are just the box shifters etc etc ad infinitum.

Funny thing is when one of the sales people jumps ship and after years of telling you that z is good and y is bad, phones you up and explains that y is great and z are legacy

 

[Vanilla]

They are the player, who make all HP and Sun storage. They are just the box shifters etc etc ad infinitum.

Funny thing is when one of the sales people jumps ship and after years of telling you that z is good and y is bad, phones you up and explains that y is great and z are legacy

I don't see too much of that. They tend not to poach people and put them on the same accounts unless they have a special relationship. If I went to a competitor I would not want to be the Consultant for my old accounts.

I'd still meet my old accounts socially, i've become quite the city socialite, but I would not want to work with them professionally for a good few years for the obvious integrity reasons. I'd also probably not do the same role because I couldn't honestly say someone elses products are better, I know it's not true. I'd move into a different field with a different company - maybe pure services, storage security, Vmware specialism, etc.

If you dig up my old threads i've actually considered a move to New Zealand for a few years for a change of scenery.

 

[Stolly]

I don't see too much of that. They tend not to poach people and put them on the same accounts unless they have a special relationship. If I went to a competitor I would not want to be the Consultant for my old accounts.

I'd still meet my old accounts socially, i've become quite the city socialite, but I would not want to work with them professionally for a good few years for the obvious integrity reasons. I'd also probably not do the same role because I couldn't honestly say someone elses products are better, I know it's not true. I'd move into a different field with a different company - maybe pure services, storage security, Vmware specialism, etc.

If you dig up my old threads i've actually considered a move to New Zealand for a few years for a change of scenery.

I've worked exclusively for resellers and not end users, i've seen it a few times. The best was when the area sales guy for CA after bigging up Arcserve for years over BackupExec moved to Veritas and told us that BackupExec was the way to go. Integrity is not high on the list of qualities for a lot of out and out sales people i'm afraid.

 

[Vanilla]

I've worked exclusively for resellers and not end users, i've seen it a few times. The best was when the area sales guy for CA after bigging up Arcserve for years over BackupExec moved to Veritas and told us that BackupExec was the way to go. Integrity is not high on the list of qualities for a lot of out and out sales people i'm afraid.

Yeah, you have to remember they're sales people - they just want the deal. They have a target and all the pressure is on them so I can't blame them.

Are you on the technical side?

 

[Ev0]

It just seems rather against what all the seasoned IT people here reckon if you can go more or less direct from Uni into contracting. Uni is great but.. surely people who pay a contractor expect practical, realworld experience?

Well looking at what this chap has done over the last year, a decent paid job from the off with decent training, I'd guess he knows his stuff.

Also hasn't said what he'll be doing specifically, he could have spent the last year learning 1 thing solid and now someone else wants those skills

tbh the contract I'm just finishing you could have walked in with a years exp or less, as long as you knew your stuff about the particular area which in a year is doable.

 

[HangTime]

I'm finding the experience I'm getting is minimal and pretty worthless so far.

So are graduate schemes important for those coming out of University? Or is it more about gaining experience in the sector, getting paid potentially less money?

The good thing about experience is that provided you are doing a 'proper' job at a blue chip company, it will look good to a future employer. Even if you don't think you are learning that much, prospective employers don't necessarily know that and given that you are likely of reasonable intelligence (having got a 1st) you should be able to pickup things quickly when moving to a new job.

I don't have personal experience of a graduate scheme, but I think they can help you potentially rise up quickly. I'd certainly be a few years ahead of where I am now (in salary terms) had I landed a placement. I see plenty of Project Managers who are not much older than me who used uni as a platform to get in to it.

It's a shame really that when I was younger I never really knew jobs like BA/PM existed, so I didn't do any IT related study.

 

[Stolly]

Yeah, you have to remember they're sales people - they just want the deal. They have a target and all the pressure is on them so I can't blame them.

Are you on the technical side?

Yup, worked at Microsoft Gold partners most of time doing servers / directory services / email systems etc etc got into storage and virtualisation a few years ago. Did a contract for EDS, then went permie again now going contracting a second time round.

Still waiting to get that all important first contract, having handed my notice in on Monday

 

[Rotty]

They are the player, who make all HP and Sun storage. They are just the box shifters etc etc ad infinitum.

can't speak for Sun but no one makes ALL of HP's storage, the high end stuff is made by HDS though

 

[Stolly]

can't speak for Sun but no one makes ALL of HP's storage, the high end stuff is made by HDS though

Fair enough, it was just a half remembered comment from a meeting a year ago.

Funny industry the IT hardware world, the badge on the front is often the only thing made by the company who claims to make it !

 

[Rotty]

Fair enough, it was just a half remembered comment from a meeting a year ago.

Funny industry the IT hardware world, the badge on the front is often the only thing made by the company who claims to make it !

certainly is, the old DG Clarion disk arrays used to appear with about half a dozen different badges on them

 

[geeza]

I did a BTEC National then business computing with 1 year sandwich on 1st and 2nd line helpdesk.

I am now working in a knowledge systems team on a temporary basis at a consulting company as a tester and general filler inner. The pay isnt great but im not properly employed, I am getting loads of experience though.

Still have no idea what i want to do. A tester (user acceptance) could be a good route for me to go now and the pay is around £230 a day. Obviously my skills are far off from there but new options are opening for me all the time.

Saying this I dont really want to be sat at a desk all day! (I did the wrong degree's really didnt i?!)

 

[melbourne720]

Still have no idea what i want to do. A tester (user acceptance) could be a good route for me to go now and the pay is around £230 a day. Obviously my skills are far off from there but new options are opening for me all the time.

You can get more than that matey, where are you based?

 

[Stolly]

Let me know how it goes fella. Good possibility I shall be joining you on the same path fairly soon.

Will do

 

[Vanilla]

certainly is, the old DG Clarion disk arrays used to appear with about half a dozen different badges on them

Clariion

 

[DJMK4]

HND? I got a job fresh out a HND, and i also know some software engineers who went into a job out of a HND, belive me expect a starting salary anywhere between 14k-18k.

The money will come later on in life, not when you have just finished uni.

 

[Conrad11]

I assume a HND is not as highly regarded as a degree?

I see a lot of people saying to get into "accenture" you need a top degree from a top university. I am wondering what people consider a top degree and a top university (to get into this particular company), as my impression may be slightly different.

Thanks.

 

[DJMK4]

I assume a HND is not as highly regarded as a degree?

I see a lot of people saying to get into "accenture" you need a top degree from a top university. I am wondering what people consider a top degree and a top university (to get into this particular company), as my impression may be slightly different.

Thanks.

HND is one down from a degree. Still a good qualification dont get me wrong but even with coming out of uni with a degree usually see's poor starting salary's.

Employers want out in the field years of experience, the first few years going into a job out of uni is getting that experience not about high salarys.

The later years of your career is where you will benifit from higher education (degree's etc)

 

[Dureth]

I did a BTEC in computing and went on to get a job with a MS gold partner doing support and testing. After 18 months I left and now I'm working as a shift leader for the 1st line IT support for a large UK retailer. I'm earning a reasonable amount and get some very good benefits. My career progression is excellent as the company has a policy of hiring from within and the 1st line support is seen as a feeder department to other areas of the business.

I hope to be moving into the installations team in the next year or two which will involve planning and arranging everything needed to roll out a new store from an IT and systems point of view. While the pay will be better the best benefit is breadth of exposure to suppliers, other departments and customers that the role provides.

I think my point is that experience and contacts are the number 1 priority in your career plan. I could have left school with just my GCSE's and gone the same route I have, I got my first job through a friend who already worked for the company. Who you know and what you know are both just as important as each other. However the who needs to come before the what if you want to land a good job.

 

[Stolly]

The later years of your career is where you will benifit from higher education (degree's etc)

Later ? Really ?

Its been my experience that it doesn't matter what you did between the ages of 18 and 22 once you get past 35. Its more your track record over the last 15 years or so.

 

[geeza]

You can get more than that matey, where are you based?

Leeds. At the moment im adding any issues to a log. Such as advanced search object reference if X and X are selected and X is pressed

So not really proper UAT. But it interests me