Networking Careers

Dist · 30 Aug 2011 at 22:37

Well I've just submited my final project for my OU ICT degree, so I need to start looking at ways to get in at the bottom of the ladder. It wont be untill the end of this year or very early next year that I officialy get my result so in the mean time I have a few months to try and pick up a few certifications (I know they may not help much, but I actully enjoy picking up new skills and learning new ways to do things) such as a CCNA (already done a course, just need to do the exam), maybe a couple of the more basic exams in the MCITP line to show Microsoft Knowledge.

If there is anyone here that is either working as a network engineer, or has recent experience entering the IT job market I would be very grateful for any advice, particularly in areas such as where to look for jobs, the sort of entry level jobs I should be looking at (with the aim of gaining experience towards a network engineer type role down the line).

I don't have any qualifications other than my degree and any certificates I may pick up, so a graduate scheme is almost certainly out of the question as most require a certain grade at A-level or GCSEs, but are internships or apprenticeship something I should be looking into?

The OU doesn't provide much job finding support so I'm a bit clueless in some aspects of job hunting so I would really appreciate any help anyone can provide. Thankyou.

aln · 30 Aug 2011 at 23:20

Dist said:
Well I've just submited my final project for my OU ICT degree, so I need to start looking at ways to get in at the bottom of the ladder. It wont be untill the end of this year or very early next year that I officialy get my result so in the mean time I have a few months to try and pick up a few certifications (I know they may not help much, but I actully enjoy picking up new skills and learning new ways to do things) such as a CCNA (already done a course, just need to do the exam), maybe a couple of the more basic exams in the MCITP line to show Microsoft Knowledge.

If there is anyone here that is either working as a network engineer, or has recent experience entering the IT job market I would be very grateful for any advice, particularly in areas such as where to look for jobs, the sort of entry level jobs I should be looking at (with the aim of gaining experience towards a network engineer type role down the line).

I don't have any qualifications other than my degree and any certificates I may pick up, so a graduate scheme is almost certainly out of the question as most require a certain grade at A-level or GCSEs, but are internships or apprenticeship something I should be looking into?

The OU doesn't provide much job finding support so I'm a bit clueless in some aspects of job hunting so I would really appreciate any help anyone can provide. Thankyou.

If you have really good grades, or are willing to relocate, then you may be able to get yourselve a junior position right off the bat.

If all else fails, find yourself a small company and get a crappy role like support. Use the foot in the door to show yourself off as much as possible, get as much on the job training as you can, and you should hopefully have that junior role in 1-2 years max.

I recommend smaller companies as they're generally more cash strapped, thus more likely to try to make your way up the ladder fairly quickly if you're able to not quibble about being paid under market rate. Thats better than nothing though, and the experience will really open the market up for you.

Most people need to pay their dues, it sucks, I know, but thats just how it is.

####

There are probably a ton of better ways to do it but I'm just trying to give you the benefit of personal experience. When I graduated companies wouldn't even respond to my CV so I did the following:

8 Months - 1st line support - huge IT company
3 Month - 2nd line support - small uk hosting company
2 & half years - Software Engineer - small uk hosting company
1 & half years - "Perl developer" - big uk hosting company

Getting my foot in the door for an interview is a lot easier now, and I owe that to my time with small uk hosting company if I'm honest. Like I said though, I'm hardly the most experienced person around, theres probably a ton of different ways, but thats how it worked for me.

Dist · 31 Aug 2011 at 20:41

Wouldn't a downside be to starting in a small company be that the sort of support would be very basic and I would get no exposure to anything complex as small companies usualy wouldn't have much other that a basic network setup and a few computers? Where as in a larger company even 1st line support I would assume would get a few 'interesting' problems to solve every now and then beyond the usual user error type stuff.

DJMK4 · 31 Aug 2011 at 20:57

This is how my progression went

Uni (Graduated)
Job1 - Large Bluechip Company 1st Line Helpdesk Support (Progressed on to 2nd line, then specialised in Networking and VoIP) - Left after 4 years

Job2 (Present) - Private Business based IT Company offering multiple services, Internet Security (Firewalls, UTM's, Data Security, Managed WAN's, Hosting and Co-Lo, Voice, Consultancy, CCTV). We are in phase 1-2 at the moment of moving in to a huge building we have built and are turning it in to a Data Centre rather than co-locating at two DC's, we are now just going to have our big DC and our racks down in THN.

I was down there today sorting out and racking a server for the door access system, racking 4 stacked cisco switches for a client and sorting out a small rack for our new support room.

On a day to day basis I create RADIUS accounts for customers ADSL/FTTC connections etc, configure send out, manage and support customers SonicWall Firewall units, modems, routers (inc Cisco's). I go out to customer sites to help install their networks. Anything else that comes with the role.

Get your foot in the door there is loads you can achieve

I don't have a CCNA yet, but capable of configuring and doing stuff with Cisco Shizz

Dist · 1 Sep 2011 at 20:20

Other than CCNA and starting on the route to an MCITP, are there any other certifications that I should be looking to pick up to help get an entry level job to perhaps make up for my lack of GCSEs/A-levels? There is always the A+ but a lot of the material in that is ancient (questions on IRQ, Parallel ports, ISA/PCI slots etc...), and the other thing I'm looking at is perhaps something that would teach me some basic Linux knowledge (I've already installed Ubuntu and been using it on my thinkpad for a while now, but I don't know most of the stuff that max linux so powerful).

As I said originally I don't expect any ammount of certications to get me a job, I just have some free time between now and the time I recieve my degree later this year/early next year and the certifications may help show what knowledge I have and help me get to an interview.

Donkeyfumbler · 2 Sep 2011 at 13:36

As a network manager of a team where I have to hire people from time to time, I can only speak from my own experience of what I look for.

Always write a reasonable cover letter to accompany your CV - it shows that you have made an effort and take the time to do things properly. Any people purely sending CVs with no or one-line notes go straight in the bin.

Similarly, make sure your CV is well laid out and mistake-free - again, shows you do things properly and thoroughly.

Qualifications are useful to get you to the interview but I wouldn't go overboard. A CCNA and one of two MS exams would be more than enough.

Once you are in an interview, you have to try and gauge what kind of a person the interviewer is looking for and play to that pre-conception if possible. Personally, being a long-time computer man and games player, I look for similar people who have an interest in technology other than it just being a job - people who have grown up tinkering and playing and still do in their spare time. Then again, there are other managers who would be put off by the same attitude - they want serious career men. The trick is to try and mould yourself and your replies to match so you come across as exactly the type of person they are looking for.

TNGL · 2 Sep 2011 at 14:57

If you can do an apprenticeship... do it. Experience is important in IT, there was another guy on here asking a similar question; he was offered a low paying first IT job, but he turned it down because of the pay, which was silly in my opinion because that was his foot on the ladder.

Do an apprenticeship if you can, get the experience, get the knowledge and pick up some qualifications on the way. After that, they'll either keep you on (and usually offer you a crap salary), or they get rid of you. If they keep you on with crap pay, good... it's better than nothing, and it's only going to get better from there. If they do get rid of you, at least you have some experience which will make it easier to get a job in IT.