Some career tips?

[anonymous]

:sl:

I'm about to finish my 2 year degree at a community college for "network specialization" and was looking for some advice as far as getting my foot in the door so to speak.

I don't have any hands on experience as everything taught in the classrooms are all computer based, which isn't very helpful to be honest. I was looking at maybe trying out for an internship but, since times are tough as they say, no one around here is offering any internship positions. I was looking through job sites such as careerbuilder and noticed most networking positions require 2-4 years of school, which would be good for me but, I have no experience. I would imagine this hurting my chances of getting hired vs someone else with previous experience. I would like to start working within this field so everything I learned stays in my head :hiding:

For people who have been in this type of situation before, doesn't have to necessarily be networking, how did you eventually get a start on your career?

[seekingsolace]

My late husband was in the IT field but started out in political science (don't ask! hehehe)

He started out by working in help desk/technical support, moving from first level to third level and eventually shifting over to network design and security as he proved his mettle.

You might want to try doing some volunteer work for local charities and non-profits. With the economy down, donations are down too, so they probably don't have the money to pay someone to build/fix/tweak their networks. It would give you something to put on your resume if nothing else.

[muslimah_81]

Salaams

I started by studying for a MCSE. I didnt have a degree in anything. I only studied I.T in college.

When I had a couple of MCP's I got a job doing helpdesk. I was only answering calls and logging them.

This led me to get a job doing 1st line support which led to 2nd line and eventually led to me supporting a network with about 400 users Alhumdulilah.

If your planning to get into networking I would advice you to do CCNA or MCSE as a lot of employers look for this. Im not saying its compulsary but I think it will definately help.

[OurIslamic]

Salam, send me a private message if you need help. I have some suggestions/offers for you that I would rather not make public.

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[Medjool]

Sorry I did not have an account when I made the thread. Thank you brothers and sisters for the replies.

Insha'Allah I will be going for the CCNA as soon as I finish school. I asked some people around school as well and the most common answer was to do some help desk work. I guess what I was hoping for was to jump straight into it but I guess I have to start slow. Thanks again for the replies.

And brother OurIslamic, I don't see an option to send a PM sorry :nervous:

:wa:

[Rafeeq]

Keep trying. When I finished my graduation, although I did not do in IT, I had to undergo many interviews either on phone or phsycally. Finally I got a job after 4 months of every day struggle.

[Sameera]

:sl:

Try opting for voluntary work in the area of work that you are interested, start at a level you can acccomplish, then work upwards and get a job with a proper salry and work experience, insha Allah.