PabloSanchez
formerly duecedime
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Yea one of my boys got out and went to the DC area and is making good money. I'm considering making the same move.
Yea one of my boys got out and went to the DC area and is making good money. I'm considering making the same move.
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You can definitely make more money faster on the contrator side, but the environment isn't as stable. Folks go Govt for stability/benefits/leave etc.
I've worked on both sides and each as their perks. You definitely couldn't get away with lying and making fictious certs/warrants in the Acquisition field though.
People embellish and put fluff on their resumes all the time, but you better be able to deliver when you start working. Some folks have no problems faking it until they make it.
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Looks like cloud computing will be the main focus on this next generation of technology, is anyone else familiar with it?
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I hate the term "cloud" computing. It's just hosted services.
Ruck13
formerly killa kyleon
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+1 and I work in I.TI'm @ work so you're incorrect
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Help Desk is entry-level. So as long as you can read and write and fairly decent grammar (detailed documentation in a work history is HUGE), then you can use it as stepping stone.
One thing I hate is how our Help Desk is that it's been farmed out to India. Last time I heard, they make barely $10 USD a day. Their accent is HORRENDOUS and they can't put together a coherent thought in readable English worth crap. So when the push a ticket up to the 2nd or 3rd level, you have NO IDEA what they tried to do with the client and you wind up asking the client to explain their whole issue AGAIN.
Outsourcing to non-English speakers in the Third World is great for a company's bottom line, but SUCKS for your customers.
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^Problem i see with a lot of the entry level help desk job postings, they require prior help desk experience 
. How is it entry level when it says minimum 1 year of previous help desk experience. Whole point of entry level is someone with little to no experience looking to break into the field. I know a lot about networking and troubleshooting etc but i've never worked for an actual company doing it.
. How is it entry level when it says minimum 1 year of previous help desk experience. Whole point of entry level is someone with little to no experience looking to break into the field. I know a lot about networking and troubleshooting etc but i've never worked for an actual company doing it.
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Contractor pay is good but I prefer perm benefits.
3 weeks paid vacation plus 10 paid holidays. That's 5 weeks of free money to me. Contractors don't get paid for days off either. Dudes be extra salty for Thanksgiving when they pulling 12 hr days to reach their 40.
Ruck13
formerly killa kyleon
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^Problem i see with a lot of the entry level help desk job postings, they require prior help desk experience
You never know what will happen if you apply. If you are still in school try to get an internship for some experience. Otherwise try obtaining the A+...I've seen entry level positions ask for 1-2yr exp or A+.
da r entertainment
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^Problem i see with a lot of the entry level help desk job postings, they require prior help desk experience
You never know what will happen if you apply. If you are still in school try to get an internship for some experience. Otherwise try obtaining the A+...I've seen entry level positions ask for 1-2yr exp or A+.
I don't have the experience or my A+, but I still apply with an explanation of what it is that I'm looking to do. It's definitely time for me to buckle down and get my A+ because I'm still a semester or 2 away from just obtaining my associates.
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Thats if your an independent contractor I believe. I have worked as a Contractor and I received paid holidays, was able to work an AWS and got 15 days PTO.
The Govt leave system is far better with annual leave, sick leave and other leave. You can stack it up quick if you don't get sick often.
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Yeah i applied to a few of them a couple days ago, no responses yet. I'm trying to go the military route like some dudes in here but it's taking awhile to get in. Long wait times nowadays.
Ruck13
formerly killa kyleon
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Da R Entertainment
If you know anything about PCs and are willing to study for maybe 2-3weeks, you can pass the A+. I studied for less than a month, googled some test questions and bought the exam cram and was able to pass. Check with your career services at your school they may be able to get you an internship somewhere. You could even ask some of your professors/adviser if you have a good relationship with them, they may be able to get you in with an associate or have some contacts to help you out in the job search and with finding an intern.
If you know anything about PCs and are willing to study for maybe 2-3weeks, you can pass the A+. I studied for less than a month, googled some test questions and bought the exam cram and was able to pass. Check with your career services at your school they may be able to get you an internship somewhere. You could even ask some of your professors/adviser if you have a good relationship with them, they may be able to get you in with an associate or have some contacts to help you out in the job search and with finding an intern.
da r entertainment
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Great info. Only issue is that I work full time and go to school full time so an internship would be tough for me at this point. I downloaded some exams from a website posted in this thread and will be studying those until I feel I'm comfortable to ace the A+ exam. I'm noticing more and more gigs at least wanting the A+ cert.
Ruck13
formerly killa kyleon
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^^ Check your PM
da r entertainment
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Just did haven't gotten anything yet. Let me double check tho.
Just checked: no PM yet
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let me get that too..
i've been watching the dvd's for a few weeks now and i feel like i'm almost ready to take that exam.
PabloSanchez
formerly duecedime
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If you know computer parts and really the basics about computers you should be able to pass A+
Ruck13
formerly killa kyleon
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Give me a sec..I had a link with study material but it died.
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To get experience in IT you guys should pick up contracts through craigslist however easy they may be, some work may be very repetitive, but you have to start somewhere. I live in the bay area so a lot of jobs start off as contract and then end up being part/full time. The only way a company will take you seriously is if you have previous work experience or certificates. Contracts are a great way to say you have some type of experience, all you need after a couple of weekly/monthly contracts would be a company to take a shot with you. Once you're in, you're in.
I started off doing contract jobs post bachelors all while going for my masters in project management. I feel seriously under paid at 55k with almost 3 years experience. However during that time I was able to obtain my masters which got me my current job (company I'm currently with liked that I was motivated to keep studying so they took a shot with me). I know after my 3 years are up I'll definitely be in the job market looking for another job in the 70-80k range. I had a friend of a roommate offer me a interview for a 90k position but I haven't gotten too deep into Linux.
Some of y'all trying to get into IT solely for the money should reconsider, takes a specific mindset to be successful in IT. There is a continuous level of learning you have to do consistently. For those of you willing to grind, there is definitely money to be made. Specialize in something that can't be outsourced.
Dude Slade stays killing me!
I started off doing contract jobs post bachelors all while going for my masters in project management. I feel seriously under paid at 55k with almost 3 years experience. However during that time I was able to obtain my masters which got me my current job (company I'm currently with liked that I was motivated to keep studying so they took a shot with me). I know after my 3 years are up I'll definitely be in the job market looking for another job in the 70-80k range. I had a friend of a roommate offer me a interview for a 90k position but I haven't gotten too deep into Linux.
Some of y'all trying to get into IT solely for the money should reconsider, takes a specific mindset to be successful in IT. There is a continuous level of learning you have to do consistently. For those of you willing to grind, there is definitely money to be made. Specialize in something that can't be outsourced.
Dude Slade stays killing me!
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- Sep 25, 2006
i got a bacherlors degree but want to get into it...how do i go abou this? get my bachelors degree? or vocational schools? any help is appreciated 
da r entertainment
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I agree with this completely.
PabloSanchez
formerly duecedime
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i got a bacherlors degree but want to get into it...how do i go abou this? get my bachelors degree? or vocational schools? any help is appreciated
certs. on the first page they posted the link to get all the study material for them. and it all depends on what you want to do in IT.
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Yall can check out this website for videos if you are studying for the A+
http://www.professormesser.com/
Just click on the A+ Training guide and the videos will show up
http://www.professormesser.com/
Just click on the A+ Training guide and the videos will show up
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Be prepared to have employees only talk to you when they have a problem for the most part.
