Catch 22 in getting a job?

[CapsuleCorpJX]

This is especially true for System Admin jobs.

Nobody will really hire you unless you have experience.
And you can't get experience without actually having a job.

So how do you sys admins out there actually get a job?

I don't know if a B.S. in Comp Sci and some certifications is enough.

 

[RiverGuy]

I'm not a SysAdmin, but I would think someone without experience could get a help desk job, move up to a support role, and from there a sys admin role.

 

[kHz]

Started out as a general run-of-the-mill, jack-of-all-IT (for almost 5 years) and moved from there to a Unix admin job.

 

[sleipnir214]

How did I get my first sysadmin job? I got hired in another, lesser position, demonstrated a willingness to work and an ability to learn, then got promoted into the position. It took about four years in a small company.

Frankly, I don't think anyone in his right mind will hire someone for a sysadmin position unless that person has experience.


Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[aquias]

Look at the above...unless you catch someone desperate for help or you know someone, you'll have problems walking into a sys admin job without the experience.

Find a place you enjoy working at, where the people seem to enjoy giving everyone a chance for some hands on experience and go from there.

 

[mrdenny]

I'm not a sysadmin but I am a DBA. I started in tech support answering the phone for a national ISP. From there I was able to move into a dba role.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)

http://www.mrdenny.com

(My very old site)

 

[willir]

Nobody will really hire you unless you have experience.
And you can't get experience without actually having a job.

As stated above, you get your experience in related IT fields - helpdesk -> desktop support, or a passion for computers. Course work helps.

Why such a long route.
I had a desktop person work for me a while back. Nice guy, keen and smart. But a little green where most of his experience was reading.

He left to work as a system admin for another company where they had offices in different geographic locations. I was happy for him but had warned him to be very careful since he was green.

So he setup various servers at the different locations and did a lot of travelling. But then the servers started crashing. And he was still spending a lot of time travelling to fix the crashed servers. Some of you will already have guessed ... the servers were staged just fine, but he had not included a USP solution for each servecr -- servers were crashing because of power problems.

Well the company lost a lot of money, and the IT guy lost his job. Since this was his first "big" job, he had no track record, and it took him years to recover.

The UPS solution is not an obvious thing listed in server administration books, but any system admin will include a UPS or two along with other redundancy solutions when deploying and managing systems.

 

[chiph]

While it's true, that you won't get hired as a sysadmin at a Fortune 100 company with no experience, you could probably get hired at a much smaller company that needs a part-time sysadmin. You would then work your way up the corporate chain, moving on to ever-larger firms as you gained experience.

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[aquias]

Willir hit the nail on the head. There is a reason for people asking for experience for upper level positions, keep this in mind when looking for a position, make certain you have a solid background of experience, even if it's not hands on.

 

[alliknowisnetworking]

Not to add on b/c everyone has already given good answers, but my ultimate goal is to move up to sys admin, and i work at a HD position w/ a small company, where i can learn a whole lot from the ppl there. the good thing with small companies are that work is not always steady, which gives you the opp. to learn, and learn under others.

 

[enzo288]

W/O any hands-on experience, the fact of the matter is that you very well may need to start out with a help desk position. If you want a career in IT and you want in for the right reasons, it is like anything else, if you keep at it you will be able to break through. Once you have your foot in the door, my advice is to shadow the network engineers/admins in your firm and help them out whenever posible. Also, get as many certifications as you can, they never hurt and usually always help.

 

[NDeters]

The best way that I can recommend to work your way into a sysadmin job is to do local contracting through an agency. I completed my 2 year degree, then I began getting contracts through the local RHI office. Most companies will want someone to fill in for 2 weeks or so while someone is on vacation, and this will give you a good chance at seeing different styles of organization. I was able to work at a large insurance company (and decide I didn't want to work in a place like that) and also gave me experience with a number of different setups. I was able to get my name out and get to meet a large number of executives around my town, and it also led to my current position as a system administrator.

 

[stormbind]

I am applying for an admin job. I've never held such a position before, but I have 6 years experience using (or working with) the technologies they asked for.

----------
Memoria mihi benigna erit qui eam perscribam

 

[gpastorelli]

For myself (not the norm) I started out doing technical support for a rather large (money wise) IT training school. Although my title was "Technical Services Rep." My job was probably about 5% technical support and the rest, moving soda, setting up classrooms, pretty much grunt work. Well I was there for almost 2 years. The greatest perk of the job was getting all my certification exams and classes free. I became good friends with the Network Admin. and he taught me a lot.

When the time came around where I wanted to request more money and a different position I was turned down. I knew I wouldn't get anything but a foot in the door with this job so I took my knowledge, certifications and experience and I know work as a Network Admin (the only IT employee, LOL) for a small bank in my area making almost double what I made at my last job.

This is without any college and only 3 or 4 years total in IT (did some freelance web development). Can't wait until I get the time to go back to school.

Stick with it, learn as much as you can in jobs that aren't necessarily system admin jobs. My advice is to look at smaller companies, although pay maybe less you get to learn more and you won't be swamped with work all the time.

Greg Pastorelli, Network Administrator
Pocono Community Bank
MCSE:Security, MCDST, C|EA
Security+, Network+, A+

 

[RhythmAddict112]

CapsuleCorpJX,
I realize in your scenario my advice may not be beneficial...However, to anyone else reading this thread and wondering how to expedite the climb from "The IT job that is an IT job" to "The IT job you actually want" I would highly reccommend internships. Not one internship, just pile them on. Seriously...That's what I did during school and withing a year [of graduating] I was a developer for a fortune 50 company. Long story short, no experience in the field (no matter what type -> I had a variety of internships from developing, to networking, web design, etc) will hurt you. Do whatever you can...Can't possibly hurt you. Just my 2 cents.

All hail the INTERWEB!