Advice to a semi recent college grad

[menstroy]

Hello,

I am a recent graduate, BS in computer Science and a MS in MIS.

I have been out for 3years now and I'm having a hard time deciding what to pursue.

While at school all my training was in software programming (Cobol, ASM, C, etc), However since graduating I have had a few jobs. One using SAP/Abap and the rest involving computer hardware.

I have an A+ and I'm not sure what path has the most outlook (Hardware or Software).. I look at the job postings and see the requirements and I feel that I am extremely! underqaulified for 98% of the postings. I enjoyed working with SAP but it seems nearly imposible for me to get my foot back in the door working with SAP.. Sap is not a very common package and what I see is mostly for very experienced people.

Any thoughts?

 

[uptodate]

Out of what for three years?

Out of the IT field or out of school?

 

[PCFool]

I'm not sure what the programming field is like, but from my experience, if you join somewhere and get experience under your belt, most stuff will sort itself out.

You could try and join a large company in an IT role, and see what takes your fancy after a couple of months, if you are not convinced by following the SAP route.

alternatively, find a job somewhere and offer youself as a SAP contractor on the side (private work). you may find work being offered to you for a few weeks. I think if you had two candidates applying for a job, one with qualifications, the other with 3 years experience using SAP, I think the latter would be more successful. You can get your foot in the door, but you have to work at it, i'm afraid (assuming that is what you have decided to do.)

Whatever happens, after around 4-5 years, you will want to change anyway, especially if you end up working in a ----hole like my office. My choices havent been too good, so dont pay too much attention to my advice.

I went to Uni to to a Biology degree (which Im not using now), whilst a guy in the year below me went to somewhere in the middle east on a £120K a year job (no - he wasnt qualified!). I should have listened to him!

Good luck!

 

[menstroy]

Oh I'm sorry out of school, I've been working since... One job working with SAP for about 1.5yrs and the rest as a PC Tech..

I just feel that the technologies in school didn't prepare me for nothing. I understand school isn't all about what you learn... its about proving that you are able to learn. But still very discouraged seeing the requirements on all these postigns I see.

 

[uptodate]

Requirements listed on postings are what they would ultimately like to have, though because of different factors there is probably no chance they would be able to employ such an individual. If they want a programmer to have, say, C/C++, Java, Assembler, Fortran, Perl, OCL, JCL, RPG, Cobol, SQL, Unix, Windows, Database programming on Oracle, DB2, and Sybase, 10+ yrs. experience; their chances are limited in finding such a qualified individual, and on the chance this person did apply for the job, the amount of money this person would want is not going to fit in their budget. Therefore, they expect people to apply for the job who don’t match 100% of the requirements, but hope to get someone who has some of the requirements.

I started as an general IT worker, doing the typical everything IT: programming, networking, cabling, PBX, tech support, PC repair, etc., and liked Unix, which I used in the job and concentrated on it and have been doing it since. Also note that my college background isn’t computer science, but rather it is a master’s in education.

Even if you don’t feel qualified, you should still apply for the jobs. With your master’s degree in MIS you are overqualified for a PC tech position. If you studied concentrated on software in college, and you enjoy programming, then maybe your target search should be for a software engineering position. Employers like to see what you have done, which will show them what you can do for them. For example, a Sys Admin who can consolidate servers by 20% is worth the money and worth keeping around because of what they can do.

As for hardware and software, software has typically always out-earned hardware.

SAP is a very complex program with a lot of different modules; you can leverage that experience with a future employer along with your college education.

Apply for a job you think you want and when you go for the interview, show them enthusiasm and confidence. In my interviews I make no bones about the fact that I am one of the best and most knowledgeable AIX admins there is. Nobody has ever used the statement against me, and one account manager told me, “there is nothing wrong with being confident.” When asked for my strengths I say, “I know how to learn, creativity, and a positive attitude.”