Career Questions

[ElijahBaley]

Hi,

I will soon be taking the CCNA 607-640 exam and after that on to the CCNP, I have been working as a NT/W2K network administrator for a small company for nearly five years, and will soon be looking to move into a multisite environment to hopefully fullfil my wish to work with backbone technologys (routers/switches etc) and away from the sort of desktop support that comes with my current role.

I just wondered what sort of companies do you work for, are they big multinationals, city institutions, ISP's or are you a field techniction out on the road?

Can you offer any advice on getting a job working with routers, any comments are welcome.

Thanks

 

[ste1]

I work in a network team within a Global IT services company doing mostly design with some hands on. In my view the company is toooo big and technology is driven by cost and to remain competitive costs are driven down and hence cutting edge technology is the first to go.

I would recommend that you aim for a Cisco Partner, or reseller that does a lot of implmentations. I have freinds who do this and they are exposed to a lot of equipment in a lot of scenarios which will give much needed experience.

The market for jobs is slow at the moment and a change does not seem iminent (but who knows whats round the corner).

If you want exposure to the latest technology Banks and financial institutions seem a good bet. They want the latest technology including cutting edge security/encryption technologies.

If you want to get into routing technologies then ISPs and WAN carriers (AT&T, BT, Equant etc) are your best option, especially if its BGP and high end routers you are after.

The best advice I can give is to pass your CCNA and then get your CV to as many agencies as possible. Also search as many jobsites as possible. Many will allow you to enter job criteria you are interested in and then EMAIL you daily with vacancies which meet your criteria.

Finally a big factor is location. If you are near a big City then obviously there will be more work. London, M3/M4 Corridor seem to be best followed by Midlands, Manchester.

I am located in the North East so I do a bit of travelling but there is some work around Leeds. Edinburgh and Glasgow also seems to be quite lively in the IT job market.

Good Luck with your CCNA and best of luck in your jobsearch. Any other questions give me a shout.

Cheers
Ste

 

[ElijahBaley]

Thanks very much Ste,

I am lucky enough to live within commuting distance to central London, where hopefully there should be some opportunities, though I have to say none seem to be advertised.

I am a bit disillusioned with recruitment agencies and Internet job sites, (do agencies still keep prospective candidates on their books?) and was thinking of compiling lists of the type of company that I am interested in (hence this thread!) and going for a direct approach.

Cheers,

EB

 

[ste1]

Hi

I dont think you have anything to lose by targeting prospective companies directly. Likewise I dont think you have anything to lose by getting your CV seen by as many agencies as possible. I know a lot of people who have got good jobs via agencies.

I have recently passed my CCNP, and am currently aiming to do my CCDA in the next couple of weeks. I will then keep my eye open for any vacancies advertised which will allow me to 'make that next step' It always seems easier to move up a level when you change jobs than it seems to be within the same company.

I plan to use a couple of jobsites that I have seen good jobs advertised for the likes of BT, Freeserve and a couple of Cisco Gold Partners

One things for sure you are located in the right area. Saying that there may be more jobs in your area but then a I am sure there will be more competition for those jobs.

Regards

Ste