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Tech Ranch Corner

I am interested in a network technician/help position and am at a loss on how to get into the field. I have a MIS degree, have basic networking knowledge from setting up home networks, but I have spent the last 7 years in Retail Management. I have finally decided to get back into a field that I am interested in. My dilemma is that although there are entry level positions available they all require at least a year of experience. How does one obtain this experience? Is it worth getting a Masters or a certain Certificate in order to get an entry level job? If you are a hiring manager, in what aspect would you consider someone without job experience? Any help, advice or success stories would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Wayne

Comments

In your case, I would think

Submitted by artiegold on Thu, Feb 25 2010 - 11:30 AM.

In your case, I would think that there would be no more effective means of making the transition than as a result of personal networking. Make it to events. Get to know people. Despite the fact that you haven't done network tech/user support per se, you've certainly done more than a little of the latter in particular as part of managing retail.

If you can display your "soft skills" (which are often most difficult to teach) coupled with at least some knowledge of the hard info (easier to both teach and learn), before long someone will take notice.

Artie Gold -- Austin, TX
Principal Software Engineer, F4W, Inc.

Getting a Masters will get

Submitted by softwarejanitor on Thu, Feb 25 2010 - 1:44 PM.

Getting a Masters will get you one reaction for net tech or help desk jobs "overqualified". A certificate in this job market without actual hands on experience in a professional job will usually make no difference. I personally do not recommend certificates for most people unless they are working for an employer who will pay for all or part of them. For most other people they often cost more than they return. Getting a Masters may be a good move, but if you go that route you need to set your sights higher.

One possibility to get experience that may be taken seriously is to volunteer with a non-profit as they may be less picky about experience. Unfortunately in this job market where there is a huge glut of educated, skilled and experienced people willing to take even low end jobs, employers generally raise the requirements for what is normally entry level work just because they can. This unfortunately makes it very difficult for recent grads, career changers or return-to-workers.

Oh... one additional word of warning. Be careful with taking help desk type jobs as they can often be the "kiss of death" for a tech career in that once a person has held such a job many employers will pidgeon hole a person and not take them seriously for anything else. If you are forced to take such a job you need to immediately try to climb the ladder out of it, even though that is often not easy.

Here is my thinking and part

Submitted by samjobes on Wed, Mar 17 2010 - 4:15 PM.

Here is my thinking and part of this comes from my own experience:

For entry level technician you can probably get a certification to prove you understand the basics such as CompTIA Network+ or the entry level Cisco certification CCNA.

Get a job at the help desk or drop flyers for pc help /home wireless help around your neighborhood at $20 an hr. to see what you might find. You can do this while you are getting certified.

Next step is to go to all the tech recruiters in town and see what temp positions they have where your baseline skills can be put to use... many times when companies are in a bind they just need someone for a week or two or even a few days. The good thing is for these temp positions they aren't going to require you be a rocket scientist just be able to "fill in" for someone temporarily and hold the fort down. Get some of these gigs behind you and you will not only learn a great deal but you will have something to put on your resume.

In fact you may want to do the last step first and get to know someone at each agency by name and update them on your progress and knowledge along the way. Build a relationship and they might even find something interesting for you to do which fits right in line with your goals.

-SSJ