Help a Newby find his way.

[unc92sax]

Career-changer here. Coming from teaching band and thanking God that I never have to go back.

I have been in desktop support for 1 year now in three different contracts. My current contract at a medium sized company ends in August.

My training has prepared me well. I spent a year and a half at my local community college, not for the degree (since I already have a bachelors from North Carolina), but for the knowledge. As a result I have MCP, CCNA, Net+, A+. And I expect to acquire my MCSA within two weeks. I am a studying beast. I love learning.

I have two questions. I'll ask the major one first. How do I get a foot in the door of networking which is my career goal? I have lots of hands-on experience but none of it on-the-job. I have not seen one entry level job anywhere and can't sniff a chance at anything but desktop support.

Second, along those lines, I must keep studying. After my MCSA, what should I do next to give myself a little more edge (meaning skills and knowledge, not just certification)? Should I go with more Cisco (Oh, how I LOVE routers and switches!!!) or more MS or Linux/Unix, etc, etc?

I know I have to pay my dues, but I can't just sit back and wait for things to happen. It's just not my style.

Thanks for any advice.

unc92sax
MCP, CCNA, Net+, A+

 

[dyarwood]

Where are you based unc92sax? My advice is trawl the internet job sites and apply for any and all you like the sound of.

 

[rjoubert]

Does your current place of assignment have a tech group that deals with networking? It might be worthwhile to have a discussion with that group to let them know about your aspirations. If they are happy with your work as desktop support, they may be willing to take you under their wing. I have seen a few people at a previous job do the exact same thing...they started out as a help desk tech and eventually moved over to the tech group (network, installation, building PCs, etc).

 

[unc92sax]

I'm in the Charlotte area.

Infrastructure is done by a different team. We are strictly desktop support. However, I may go around this week and introduce myself to some of the infrastructure folks. We are all on the same floor.

And to follow up on my second question, would Security+ be a good cert to get next.

 

[LadySlinger]

If you're looking to get into Security, then yes, Security+ is a good move (especially if you couple it with a CCNA).

 

[mmorancbt]

Absolutely introduce yourself.

Also, a style that says "you are not waiting around" will serve you well - just don't knock people over on your way.

There is a huge amount of passivity in job/career growth - people who buy into a slow and silent rise toward some obscure objective. You have to keep your eyes open for opportunity and take advantage of those opportunities that come your way.

Chapter 11 of my book, The IT Career Builder's Toolkit is about "breaking into IT". Cisco Press allows me to offer it for free (we are working on other chapters to be released too). Download it here:

http://www.cbtoolkit.com/1587131560CH11.pdf

One of the lessons I advocate is the idea of trading pay for opportunity - if necessary. Meaning: if you have the opportunity to work for a company where you can work with talented people, learning skills that are important to you and to your career plan, you should do so.

Especially when moving into a new role or acquiring new skills, the work environment and the people are more important than the material compensation. Believe me, I am not indicating that material compensation is not important - it is!

But don't get blinded by that alone - look for opportunities for opportunity.

Good luck.

Matthew Moran (career blog and podcast below)
Career Advice with Attitude for the IT Pro

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career

 

[fregeama]

Personally, i think going from Desktop support to networking is a tough sell. If i were you, i would get my MCSE and go into system administration. It's the next logical step for you. Once there, learn about the other operating systems out there (Unix, Linux, AS400, etc) After a couple of years of that, you will have a good base to jump to networking.

That's how i got there. Except in my day, it was Novell, not Microsoft, but i got my Novell certification, learned about Unix and AS400, took care of the switches and watched closely the consultants who worked on the routers. Eventually, an opportunity came up. Now, I'm a senior telecommunication (DATA) analyst for a major Canadian Bank.

Keep the spirit and good luck.

 

[unc92sax]

Well, I passed 70-291 today with a score of 880!!! I'm so excited. I've already ordered my Security+ books and might even get a chance to assist a Network Analyst where I work with the Maintenance Day on Saturday. Thanks for all of the advice. This is an awesome forum.

 

[lespaul]

congratulations!

Leslie

Anything worth doing is a lot more difficult than it's worth - Unknown Induhvidual

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