Having trouble getting a job, have $$ for a cert; need advice.

[kxramse]

Hey everyone,

I have a story I'd like to share with the aim of getting some career/certification advice. I'd appreciate as much input as any one is willing to give.

I got my CIS degree in 1995 from a State University Business school. I worked as a COBOL programmer for 3 years (1 company), then as a Systems Analyst for 4 years (2 companies) where my programming was minimal, I was watching over vendor applications, writing reports, sometimes an interface or two, etc. I was definitely good at SQL at the time, and could write a report in Crystal or Cognos, no problem!

Then I did something that might not make sense to everyone, but its here nor there. At this point in my career, 2001, I was making 70K. I went to Seminary for 3 years and earned a personal enrichment degree. Ok... So, I tried to get back into IT, and I had to take a HUGE pay cut, down to 42K in January of 2004, and was basically a Systems Analyst again but it was entry level, watching over a vendor application, writing reports in SQL/Crystal and creating some very basic ASP.NET/VB.NET, Javascript forms to do some basic HTML e-mail data entry stuff. Not very advanced, I taught myself and I'd never pass an interview with what I learned about .NET.

After a year and a half at the entry level job, I decided to leave, last Summer, and I got a big pay raise to get a Crystal Reports developer role at 68K. It was nice, I delved more into stored procedures and udfs and SQL 2005 and Reporting Services. Anyway, I had been offered another contract (to hire) around the same time, but I didn't think it was right to leave the contract I just got. Anyway, 9 weeks later that company that wanted me to go contract to hire with them came back to me and wanted me full time permanent.

So, after only 3 months on the contract, I took them up on the offer 68K full time as a Systems Analyst. In all honesty, it was more like a developer who did systems analysis from what I can tell now. So, I start this job and three months in, they tell me my developer skills aren't sharp enough and they let me go. I had missed some REALLY tough deadlines due to scope creep and my lack of dealing with some office politics well (I didn't confront someone who kept making promises he couldn't keep and I didn't take enough initiative to do the work myself; I let the project wait), but I learned my lessons. I'm not all that worried about the political side of things for my future, I knew what to do, but because my boss at a prior job had basically drilled into my head not to confront, I didn't and it cost me a job. The new company was highly comfortable with conflict and I didn't change my mindset. Anyway, so I'm not worried about that, I've had enough time to think it through and I see my mistakes and how to go about working smarter, faster and taking on necessary conflict when needed. I have enough job experience to figure out how to work more effectively; but what about those technical skills?

Why I'm here today is that I have been looking for work for 2 months. I've refused Reporting Analyst CONTRACTS because my wife would like me to have something more stable and recruiters seem very unwilling to give me a Systems Analyst nor a Business Analyst job. Its funny, the recruiters say I'm too technical for the Business Analyst role (and haven't served in it) and I don't know UML or Use Cases and not technical enough for the Systems Analyst role cause I don't know C# or VB.NET well enough to put it on a Resume. So basically I'm only getting offered Data/Reporing Analyst interviews and those aren't very frequent. I don't feel like they are the best career route, and they aren't the most exciting to me, although I might just have to take one depending on how my money lasts.

Anyway... Tonight my brother offered something amazing. I rambled about how I could probably get a certification for $5OOO or so and get a job within a month or so if I had the money and out of the blue he did something I TRULY never expected, he demanded that I take his money and do it! He's got the money to spare, although I never even considered that he would offer it and I think I'll take him up on his offer assuming I can do something with it.

So... If I had to dream something up, I'd love a job where I was in a corner doing programming and playing all day long like a geek, maybe 20-30% user interaction, not as much systems/business analysis where I'm having to be the project manager although I could be flexible in that regard, but certainly no more vendor software package management where my technical skills aren't going to get developed and kept marketable. I want to be a developer again. Everywhere I look I see .NET, C#, some VB.NET or XML and of course Java.

But which direction should I go? What certifications would be best for me? Is MCSD or MCAD right? Should I try something in Java? Which track is right?

Next: Who has the best training out there? (I think what I'd like to do is spend 1 month studying like a madman in a class and take some tests and then BAMM, get job interviews and be employed by mid May to the end of June.)

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? I'll provide a resume to someone if they think it will help them answer my question.

Thanks!

Keith

 

[LARiot]

My two cents. Take a Data/Reporting Analyst position. Do the best you can and they'll give you something with more responsibility. If they like you, they'll keep you.

 

[Welshbird]

Keith -to some degree I agree with Grace and Lariot. I have no certification; I have experience, and everywhere I have worked have seen this as being much more important.

I think you should look at this from the employers point of view. What would you look for?

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[Maximizer]

Greetings! I am a Business Analyst/Crystal Reports Developer/ Project Manager – and certifications do count.

I have had much financial success based on the premises that I have both the academics and hands-on experience in dealing with client whether it’s a SME, multinational conglomerate, or government.

Public certifications and business partner accreditation can not be easily dismissed when applying for contract work.

Thanks


James Keep, PMP
Crystal Reports(tm) Certified Consultant 8.5 (CRCC)
Authorized Crystal Engineer (ACE)
CMRC
Crystal Decisions Business Partner
Montreal, Qc, Canada

http://www.cmrc.qc.ca

 

[Maximizer]

PS The $5K spent will be ROI with yourself -- it worked for me.

James Keep, PMP
Crystal Reports(tm) Certified Consultant 8.5 (CRCC)
Authorized Crystal Engineer (ACE)
CMRC
Crystal Decisions Business Partner
Montreal, Qc, Canada

http://www.cmrc.qc.ca

 

[LNBruno]

Certifications won't do you a bit of good during a technical interview if you don't know your stuff. And THAT'S what gets people hired.

Nice to have? Sure, I guess...getting mine was pretty long, boring, a waste of my time, but it was on the company's dime, so...

But I've never had anyone ask to see my cert during an interview.

< M!ke >
Acupuncture Development: a jab well done.

 

[mrdenny]

Certs won't get you the job. What they do is give you a slight edge over the person who has the same technical knowledge that you have when that person doesn't have the cert.

If you are able to get a job with a cert and no experience in the field, you probably won't last long in the position. Either being run out, or being shown out.

Unfortunately it sounds like you may need to start over at the bottom and start with getting the experience.

The general rule of thumb that I like with the certs is that once you don't need to take the classes and/or go to the boot camps you are ready to take the cert exams.

For the most part certs are designed to show that someone with experience has the experience. They aren't designed for people just trying to get into the field. I know many people who have gone through the crash course style classes to get certified. After they are certified they don't do to well in the real world for the first few jobs because they only know what's in the book, which usually only covers what's on the exam.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

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

http://www.mrdenny.com

 

[kHz]

Certifications are a joke. Even those in the industry don't know what most of those ridiculous letters are people put behind their names. Like those cert acronyms really mean anything.

If you want to put some letters behind your name that have meaning and value, get an MBA, MS, MA, EdS, PhD, MD, OD or some recognized college education.