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To Recertify, or Not Recertify?
"The real fun and excitement was in the engineering department, and I was told the sure way in was to get my CCNA. Well I got my Sybex book, and with the help of our small lab (two Cisco routers and a catalyst switch) I received my CCNA with a [score over 90].
Thrilled as I was, the engineering department was taking some hits, and I couldn't get in. Instead of remaining stagnant I took it on myself to get my CCDA, which I got a month later. Engineering department still going down, me still wanting to rise, I looked for something else. At about this time my company was trying to get a contract working with Nortel routers and switches. 'This is my chance!', I proclaimed.
One and a half months later I was a NNCSS (Nortel Networks Certified Support Specialist), but then contract fell through. The engineering department was taking BIG hits (as was the rest of the networking industry), but I was determined. We only had one CCNP in the company, and my goal was set. With the help of the lab, and some determination, after three months I became a CCNP and CCDP.
Did I get in the engineering department?
Nope.
Did I give up?
Nope.
I got my CCIE study guide, and was all ready to rent time at a major Cisco lab at The University of Colorado, in Boulder (I am not even sure that they have this lab anymore). A month later there were two people left in the engineering department, and then was laid off.
After six months of unemployment checks and sending resumes, I gave up and decided to go back to school and do some independent consulting for some small businesses in the Denver metro area. Now, I am again looking for a full time job, and I am dealing with the same problems that I dealt with, two years ago.
I am happy to admit that all my hands on Cisco experience have not been in a production environment. I understand that the difference between the lab and the real stuff is huge. But the certs didn't, and still don't even get my foot in the door. My resume has been critiqued by many people, and is in tip-top shape. I do have experience on Gateways (Nomadix) and many switches (SMC) and have worked on some MDU engineering projects.
Any suggestions?"
One C/S degree > many certifications, and probably cheaper over the lifetime.
This is my sig.
Learn Hindi and move to Delhi. That's probably a better use of your time.
Once your foot is sufficiently in the door, certifications mean little or nothing to hiring companies.
Don't waste your money.
Many jobs nowadays want X years of experience in lieu of Y certifications or Z years of schooling. A lot of IT management smartened up when they certification-mills pumped out losers with some theoretical knowledge but crumbled under practical pressure. You can thank the Dot-Bomb for that. The money-motivated didn't want to spend the time in school to learn the trade lest they get left behind so certification-mills filled a need: impatient people that wanted to make lots of money in the "new economy".
Thankfully a lot of those that were in it only for the money are unemployed (no insult to the submitter intended) or selling crap. Of course different parts of the world and different companies have varying policies so I have to stress YMMV!
Trolling is a art,
1. Post certifications and work-related experiences on a front page slashdot article, along with a plea for help.
2. ???
3. Profit!
11*43+456^2
It's the future of America. I'm not really joking.
I work in a two man IT department at a factory. My pal and I realize that this is the last of the gravy train. When these jobs end because of corporate restructuring or the factory moving to Mexico we will most likely never work in the Tech industry again.
in my experience, certifications don't mean that much.
What they do mean, is that someone is booksmart enough to sit there and study the material, go in, and take a test. They don't mean the individual can actually fix anything.
In any technical job, be it mechanical or information, the fundamentals of troubleshooting and resourcefulness are far more important than any piece of paper.
i put alot more stock in good references and job experience than certs..
ALL THAT SAID THOUGH:
HR and employers are still waking up to the facts mentioned above. so no matter what the reality is with certs, the problem remains; how can you prove yourself a good technician if you can't get hired.
companies are getting better at recognizing intrinsic skill rather than going whats on a resume, but that has a long way left to go.
i didn't get any certs tho, because i refuse to pay money for something i don't need. i can do my job just fine without a piece of paper to help me along, heh.
I know you're probably not interested and I can't blame you but look into getting you Microsoft Certified Sysstems Administrator cert instead of recerting on your Cisco. Makes you more well rounded and it's 4 easy tests. Plus you already know what you're doing w/ Cisco products and your experience will count. :)
Also, don't you mean you got a 900 on the CCNA? Not a 90
This guy is way out there
The year I took studying for the 7 MCSE/W2K exams was a year I will never get back, and it's gotten me exactly nowhere. I actually had tech industry background and experience. Most of the people in my "class" didn't. The day before my appointment for test #5 of 7 was 9/11. That basically sealed our fate.
MCSE on W2K3 Server? No fucking way. Redmond can pound sand.
My suggestion: start studying nursing. They can't outsource that job yet...although the anime Roujin-Z suggests that perhaps eventual outsourcing to cyber-nurse beds might be in the cards for the future. Same with teaching. You can't dial in a teacher from Bangalore...at least not yet.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
I think that tech certifications are not very useful: they have an extremely limited lifetime and are usually relatively expensive.
I strongly recommend to get non-technical certifications and titles. While an CCNE, MSCE or NZTSGREF is only valid for 2 years, a Ph.D. or Mensa membership is for life.
And both are usually much cheaper than those exams - for the Ph.D. you could get an industry sponsored topic, earning you money, experience and sometimes even patents. And Mensa membership cost just 30 (US) bucks.
And there are much more such certifications like MS or MBA in different scientific areas out there.
And it usually pays off if you have an higher academic title than your boss.
Owner of a Mensa membership card.
I'm sure you've heard the expression, "One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". You keep getting these certs and still fail to get the job you want. Maybe you need to pursue another type of education, another company, or another field altogether.
I wouldn't say that certs are completely without value. They sere two fundamental values. First, as a pre-screening criteria for hiring managers, they know that you have, at least, passed a minimum skills test. Second, when the decision is down between you and another person, with your resumes laying side-by-side, the certifications are going to come up as bonus points. Plus, and this is equally important, you can safely bet that the other applicant has certifications.
That said, I wouldn't get too stressed about renewing. I've yet to meet a hiring manager that has asked if a certification was still "valid".
Good luck in your search.
Ryosen
One man's "Troll, +1" is another man's "Insightful, +1".
Learn Hindi, get a tan, learn to appreciate the third world, hairy chicks, funky music, and move to India to where the jobs are.
Remember that expenses for education to get yourself re-employed (books, classes, certification testing, etc.) are all tax deductible.
Recently I was unemployed (given I already have a 4-yr degree and 10+ years of experience) and decided to re-up my MCSE. I spent $7000 and 2-weeks to go to one of the many MCSE bootcamps (http://www.intenseschool.com). I got a job immediately following signing up for the class and the company paid me while in class.
The kicker here is we recently went to the family CPA and he said all $7000 was tax deductible plus all the materials needed to complete any certification.
Just my $.02. Good Luck
Having a degree opens many possibilities that weren't there before, including higher-level technical management positions. Even if your future company scales back to 5 techs, they'll still need someone to manage them.
I myself would not put a high school graduate into a management position unless there were extenuating circumstances.
No set of skills meets every employer's wants. Particularly in view of the job exporting craze that is in full swing now, being able to COMMUNICATE in grammatically correct English gets you lots of points when you're an otherwise technically overweighted person. I went from technician to tech manager at a solid financial services company in four years because I could research projects, work up a presentation for execs and directors, and lead implementation. My boss took credit for my work for a long time, but eventually she was exposed. Wanna know what my credentials were before I landed that entry-level job? I had a BA in journalism/PR, 10 years of retail management, an MCSE, and a fairly good grasp of the bash shell. Be strong technically, yes - - but show that you're more than that. It will get you attention in this day and age when so many geeks can't put together a proper sentence.
It's only funny until someone gets hurt. Then, it's hilarious.
Take job that's related to your field. Any job. No matter how low the salary.
I have been on the hiring end several times, and let me tell you that nothing looks worse on your resume than not working for a significant length of time, even if you're busy working on getting more certifications.
If you can't find employment in your field, then start your own company and offer on-site network support for local businesses at a very low price. It might not earn you a lot of money, but you'll be gaining credibility as a self-directed, self-motivated go-getter and IMHO that's worth more in your resume then just piling up certifications.
Good Luck.
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The relative cost of labor overseas has very little to do with currency exchange rates. It's all to do with the cost of living, and the expected standard of living in the area. That's why you'll see call centers moving to the middle of nowhere, 'cause people there don't expect $60k/year to answer phones. They're happy with $25k or less. The reason: the standard of living is lower out there, and the cost of living out there is lower. Extrapolate that out to a third world country, and you'll see why that same thinking leads to overseas workers...they're happy with the equivalent of $8k or so.
Changing the exchange rate won't do a damned thing to stop offshoring. That's a complete red herring. The only thing that will effectively raise the price of offshoring is raising the standard of living and the cost of living in the countries that we're offshoring to. But that's hard, and won't happen quickly, so don't expect to see the economics of offshoring change anytime in the next few decades.
From the time to time that I look for new jobs. One thing has become more and more important than anything else.
Conver Letters Count More Than You Think. Especially Applying Online!!!!
It gets boring writing a different one for each position, but you have to. If the advertise position doesn't give enough info, then you need to get crazy!.
I think if you took my 4 boldest cover letters (typically written after then 5th Sam Adams) during job hunts, I got responses on 3 out of 4.
Anything else, just wouldn't do.
And I mean it. Drink some beers, smoke some weed. Do whatever it takes to lift yourself up into a different state of being with the Universe, and bang out some sh$%t story as to how the company can't afford not to hire you!
Expose a little passion!
In the 14 or so years I've worked in I.T. (in various capacities, ranging from a tech. behind the counter in a small "mom and pop" store, to support specialist in a multi-company corporate environment, to freelance consulting, to on-site service companies), I've run into the whole spectrum of "computer professionals".
Almost without exception, the highest paid of them didn't correlate with the most knowledgeable of them.
Also, finding a correlation between having multiple certs. and being "better than the other I.T. guys" at performing their job was difficult. Quite frankly, some of the "best and brightest" I.T. people I've ever run across weren't certified in anything at all. They simply worked with the stuff "hands on" for years and years, learning the facts that really matter, without the "fluff" and largely useless theory that comes with the certs. (If you get your MCSE for example, much of it will test your ability to construct a complete LAN/server infrastructure that best meets the needs of a group of hypothetical users. That's all well and good, but it's utterly useless 99% of the time. How often do you get hired on with your MCSE to build a network and infrastructure for a company from the ground up?? If they're hiring, it's because they already HAVE that set up and they need help administering it! You simply don't have to concern yourself with all the small details of why everything was set up. In fact, your MCSE knowledge might well tell you things are designed poorly - but trying to change that upsets some office politics and then you're booted out the door.)
What I guess I'm getting at is - the MOST VALUABLE thing you can have on your side is KNOWING PEOPLE. Make connections! A good friend who has some hiring power in a company that needs another computer guy is worth 10 certifications. Looking back on it now, I believe every job I ever had was at least partially due to knowing somebody. (Heck, even my very first job doing telemarketing for a carpet cleaners was obtained because a good friend's girlfriend already worked there, and told me they had openings if I was interested. Then, she put in a good word or two for me - and I was hired.)