Information Technology (IT)

I got a interview invite from MS for a Support Engineer position but dont think im bout that Seattle life. I should be receiving an offer from a DoD contractor for an internship today. Ive had a lot of interviews in the last week, make sure you guys are frequent at your university's career service center.
 
I got a interview invite from MS for a Support Engineer position but dont think im bout that Seattle life. I should be receiving an offer from a DoD contractor for an internship today. Ive had a lot of interviews in the last week, make sure you guys are frequent at your university's career service center.

Scared Money dont make money
 
I got a interview invite from MS for a Support Engineer position but dont think im bout that Seattle life. I should be receiving an offer from a DoD contractor for an internship today. Ive had a lot of interviews in the last week, make sure you guys are frequent at your university's career service center.
what's so bad about Seattle?

Besides the Seahawks.
 
I work IT in Seattle.

To be honest, how you like the city itself will depend mostly on where you're from. If you're from Cali, of course you're going to hate our gloomy weather. However our spring/summer makes it worth it. This last summer was one of the best weathered summers we had in a long time in the PNW.

Our traffic is insanely unreasonable considering the size of the metro area itself. Some days I literally run from my office to my car just to get a minute or two jump on traffic.

People here are generally friendly, however, most people here are reserved and don't say much to you unless spoken to.

The job market itself for IT is flourishing. As others have mentioned there's companies like Microsoft and amazon but also a high demand for healthcare IT professionals.
I currently work healthcare IT here and its a pretty solid gig. The healthcare sector is great for IT because there's a larger emphasis on EMR and support of devices being used.

Biggest downfall of Seattle though...

The cost of living is skyrocketing here :{ And it will most likely keep going up once the city minimum wage kicks in.
 
Money isnt everything especially if you hate the city you are in. I know im not about that Seattle life I cant stand gloomy weather, I turned down the interview invitation with the quickness.
 
I'm interested in learning some programming and possibly getting into an IT related field. What are you guys thoughts on learning visual basic as a beginners introduction to programming?
 
Anyone get their PMP? I think it would be more beneficial than getting a Masters (as in Non MBA) or the CBAP cert
The qualifications to sit for the PMP exam are pretty steep. I'm eligible to take the CAPM due to a Project Management class I took in college & judging from the PMbok should be fairly easy. I haven't taken it because I don't want to take the CAPM then have to take the PMP. I also like the technical side more right now.

I'm interested in learning some programming and possibly getting into an IT related field. What are you guys thoughts on learning visual basic as a beginners introduction to programming?
I often hear Visual Basic / Python are the easiest languages so beginners like to start there. I guess one could say it depends on your intentions but I would suggest C. Once you learn one language I think others will be easier to pick up. Code everyday & good luck.
 
I've been doing desktop support for about 2 years now but it's time to hit the books. I'm a one man helpdesk in a company of about 130 people, so trying to sit with the senior systems admins is impossible sometimes but I'm determined to stop coasting.
I need to activate beast mode like in Uni but after work/gym, it's tough to try and pick up a book and read.

I've got both A+ and Win 7 certs. Looking to pick up Server 2012, CCNA and VMware. I use them at work but only for the tasks I need them for which doesn't encapsulate the entire thing.

What do you guys think should be my point of attack to move up in the company or maybe even get a new job. I can't be on helpdesk forever.
 
I've been doing desktop support for about 2 years now but it's time to hit the books. I'm a one man helpdesk in a company of about 130 people, so trying to sit with the senior systems admins is impossible sometimes but I'm determined to stop coasting.
I need to activate beast mode like in Uni but after work/gym, it's tough to try and pick up a book and read.

I've got both A+ and Win 7 certs. Looking to pick up Server 2012, CCNA and VMware. I use them at work but only for the tasks I need them for which doesn't encapsulate the entire thing.

What do you guys think should be my point of attack to move up in the company or maybe even get a new job. I can't be on helpdesk forever.
Bro I'm in the same boat as you getting the same exact certs. What I would do is gather CBT Nuggets for all three. For Server 2012 I would download the ISO.file from Microsoft and download VMware or Virtualbox and build you some VMs and basically teach yourself about Servers. Read up on SANs and NASs, RAID, etc. Read job postings and see what they exactly want as Network/Sys Admins which includes pretty much Servers, Virtualization, and Networking. If you really knowledgeable like I think you are on PCs when you start diving into it it all comes together. Im actually RIGHT NOW in a course on VMware.com learning about Data Center Virtualization. Its free online CBT on the site that you can enroll in. I also got the CBT Nugets, Exam Refs as well. Also for me the thing is I been doing Desktop for 8 years in the Air Force as a CST so I been around the block and seen all work. But I was just telling my boy this yesterday because he doing HelpDesk on the outside that he has to jump into Networking or Servers because that along with Data App is where the money at. Im getting out the service in two weeks and have already talk to recruiters and employers and its crazy that Helpdesk is only get damn near 12-17 a hour! Junior Sys Admins is getting around 20-25 which is a large gap when you start calculating the money. The thing is tho if you able to speak the lingo and are knowledgeable you will be good but its all about educating yourself. I got the material man if you need it. Just send me a PM. Already passed the first two exams for MCSA Windows Server 2012. Go take 412 here in a couple weeks and the VCA-DCV for VMWare Associate exam. 
 
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Bro I'm in the same boat as you getting the same exact certs. What I would do is gather CBT Nuggets for all three. For Server 2012 I would download the ISO.file from Microsoft and download VMware or Virtualbox and build you some VMs and basically teach yourself about Servers. Read up on SANs and NASs, RAID, etc. Read job postings and see what they exactly want as Network/Sys Admins which includes pretty much Servers, Virtualization, and Networking. If you really knowledgeable like I think you are on PCs when you start diving into it it all comes together. Im actually RIGHT NOW in a course on VMware.com learning about Data Center Virtualization. Its free online CBT on the site that you can enroll in. I also got the CBT Nugets, Exam Refs as well. Also for me the thing is I been doing Desktop for 8 years in the Air Force as a CST so I been around the block and seen all work. But I was just telling my boy this yesterday because he doing HelpDesk on the outside that he has to jump into Networking or Servers because that along with Data App is where the money at. Im getting out the service in two weeks and have already talk to recruiters and employers and its crazy that Helpdesk is only get damn near 12-17 a hour! Junior Sys Admins is getting around 20-25 which is a large gap when you start calculating the money. The thing is tho if you able to speak the lingo and are knowledgeable you will be good but its all about educating yourself. I got the material man if you need it. Just send me a PM. Already passed the first two exams for MCSA Windows Server 2012. Go take 412 here in a couple weeks and the VCA-DCV for VMWare Associate exam. 

Great post.

Repped. :hat

I've still got Virtualbox from when I first did my Windows 7 Cert. It was also the first time I learnt about Virtualisation and my mind was blown :lol
I'll try and get VMWare instead so I can get a head start on that. I'll use that and start with Server 2012 . I've got the CBT Nuggets for that so that will be my starting point.

And yea your right about the gap between helpdesk and sys admin. My colleague is on double the amount I'm on. Getting to his position is definitely the next step for me.
 
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Trying to start out on help desk for a year or 2. Got my A+ and net+. Going to start studying for my ccna once I get my job locked down,then I'll take my sec+ in 2016 or so.....
 
I've been doing desktop support for about 2 years now but it's time to hit the books. I'm a one man helpdesk in a company of about 130 people, so trying to sit with the senior systems admins is impossible sometimes but I'm determined to stop coasting.
I need to activate beast mode like in Uni but after work/gym, it's tough to try and pick up a book and read.

I've got both A+ and Win 7 certs. Looking to pick up Server 2012, CCNA and VMware. I use them at work but only for the tasks I need them for which doesn't encapsulate the entire thing.

What do you guys think should be my point of attack to move up in the company or maybe even get a new job. I can't be on helpdesk forever.
Since you already have a Microsoft cert I would say the Server 2012 cert. Should help you get a junior admin position somewhere.
 
Looking to get the MCSD cert in Web Applications. Already a web developer but only have experience with PHP. I'm looking to relocate and it seems like there's a lot more demand for .NET globally. 

Anybody have past experience with sitting the test? Tips or learning resources?
 
Going back to school when I can to get my Masters in Information Science. Have no choice w/ my B.A. (History) and limited experience in anything. I've taken an SQL course on ed2go and the course to sit for the CAPM which I'm going to sit for in Dec.

Reading up on Java now, going to take it as a prereq for the masters program. Just sucks that I'm almost 30 and have no experience and can't get it w/o going back to school it seems. :{
 
I'm interested in learning some programming and possibly getting into an IT related field. What are you guys thoughts on learning visual basic as a beginners introduction to programming?

teamtreehouse.com best 25 dollars a month I spend.

Is anyone in Mobile design (Android/IoS development)? I'm interested in joining that career path and like some insight.
 
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Whats up gang.. I was browsing and I ran into this thread, I'm really hoping it can help me grow more in the IT field. 

I'm a Comp Sci grad that is currently starting my second year in the IT field at an investment bank, my first year I was a C# developer and I didn't get much learning experience. The manager I was under just wasnt investing much time into my C# development skills but luckily I was able to learn scripting from one of my team members.  So through out that first year I pretty much wrote a good amount of batch jobs and I gained some project management experience by coordinating business as usual releases.

I'm on a new team now and my current role consists of supporting one of the markets top trading applications (so i get to learn a lot about how the business makes money) and I also develop in Java during down time. I've been in this role for 3 months and I'm loving it.
 
teamtreehouse.com best 25 dollars a month I spend.

Is anyone in Mobile design (Android/IoS development)? I'm interested in joining that career path and like some insight.
I've looked into a little bit. There are loads of support on forums and dev. communities. Give it a try. I heard it was much easier to get an app approved and loaded onto a store for Android. The approval rate for iOS is under 10%.
 
Anybody in here pursuing a Masters in Cyber Security or already have one? Thinking about starting the UMD Cyber Sec program next fall.

@franksneaks90  how is it working in IT at an IB company? Was it hard to land the job and do they pay crazy salaries to IT like they pay the IB analyst? 
 
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