Computer Professionals...

[NorthShoreBuck]

I am probably a little different than most.

I have three certs but they are required to sell the IBM midrange hardware that I do. Again it is an ROI thing for me. Does the profit from the sale of these products justify the time and expense necessary for me to remain certified? In my case yes. Another thing is that the certs need to be renewed at least once every two years. They were recently revamped and I had to get two within 15 months.

The problem with a MS certification is that there are a lot of paper tigers. They can read a book, pass a test and never have opened up a server, ran any CAT5 or troubleshot a network crash.

IT is tough, I would suggest you try to get some experience doing whatever you can. I am leery of help desk people but that is me. My company will not hire you unless you have industry expirence. Project management experience is in big demand.

Volunteer at any agency you can that is looking for help.

IT is so varied. I always ask, what is it you want to do, like/love to do?

It seems as if co-op or intern programs are non existent today.
I co-oped in college and had several job offers even in a down economy.
We used to hire kids in the summer just to give them some experience.

Cisco is a bitch but there is a payoff, there is that ROI again.
Think of it as a business investment. Linux will save a company money. They need a database and I have never met a laid off Oracle DBA.
SAP is one big scary mother but it runs the Fortune 500.

You may be able to work for a law for accounting firm. Learn the software but find out why the business buys it. No one buys hardware or software, they buy solutions to business problems.

 

[OilerBuck]

IT is tough, I would suggest you try to get some experience doing whatever you can. I am leery of help desk people but that is me. My company will not hire you unless you have industry expirence. Project management experience is in big demand.
...
It seems as if co-op or intern programs are non existent today.
I co-oped in college and had several job offers even in a down economy.
We used to hire kids in the summer just to give them some experience.
...
You may be able to work for a law for accounting firm. Learn the software but find out why the business buys it. No one buys hardware or software, they buy solutions to business problems.

Our cajun Buckeye friend speaks the truth. I scored duel majors in computer science and in technology management. Even with the most technical jobs being outsourced, people who can integrate business functions with the outsourced IT functions and manage the projects are still needed.

My internship/co-op lasted for 2 and a half years and was one of the best career decisions I made. It paid great and got my foot in the door of the company that eventually hired me. Also, I did volunteer work by creating a database for Hancock Counties emergency response volunteer center. Many people around the area are involved and have seen the technology I designed. This came up in my interview.

The job market is thin and you either have to be VERY advanced and specialized or you have to have very well rounded IT, Business and People skills.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Numerous random points...

1) Just today received a communication from an IT subscription service

Demand For IT Certifications On The Rise

Increased corporate IT spending is fueling demand for workers with
specific tech credentials, according to CIOs and labor experts.

http://www.computerworld.com/newsletter/0,4902,99903,00.html?nlid=PM

2) Co-ops and internships are still the best way to get your foot in the door.. most firms see this as an inexpensive way to test drive
3) Cannot disagree with the pro-bono work... it's a valuable way to network.. and networking remains the key to employment... (86% of all jobs do NOT get posted)
4) Very few folks stay in IT their entire career... learn the business side to double your future options
5) There will always be a job for the best in any particular niche
6) SAP is a disaster but as stated... it is red hot and no longer Fortune 500... rapidly going to Fortune 1000 and probably 2000... for the next 10 years it's guaranteed employment...
7) Microsoft .NET is a wildcard... could possibly be a monster hit yet
8) As stated earlier... the only unemployed Oracle DBA is dead... and probably the only one not making more money that he can possibly spend...
9) Watch Microsoft... regardless of how you feel about them or their product, they own the space... and they're probably the only firm who has the resources to dominate ANYTHING they damn well set their mind to... And related, never forget the lesson of Beta vs VHS... that the best technology may very well lose... the winner will be the best marketer and most widely accepted... Microsoft has that power...

 

[LRABuck]

I graduated in '03 with a 4-year degree in Management Information Systems (MIS / IT) and Business Administration, minor in Computer Science but I'm working as a Graphic Designer & Systems Admin. There were NO entry-level jobs available for MIS graduates in my area. Nothing. And the only way I got my foot in the above door was, I happened to go there looking for some summer work over the break. Ended up working there the next two summers as an intern and joined full time when I graduated, since they just so happened to have fired the guy who took over for me a week before. I was very very lucky.

It was really kind of disheartening, because every MIS position in the area required a MINIMUM of "Three to Five Years Experience" with programs I'd never heard of, and certainly never had experience with. And the newspapers were bragging on the '03 class being "the worst job market outlook for college graduates ever". We were promised that employers would be falling at our feet come graduation. We were promised that, but not prepared for it.

A lot of the technical positions are being consolidated or outsourced to foreign countries. The company that I was hoping to work at after college, a software company called "Macola Software" that I had interned at for two summers, ended up being acquired by a Norwegian software company and they moved their offices down to Columbus to be closer to the airport. I knew a lot of people who lost their jobs because of that, because they didn't want to make an hour commute to Columbus from here. These were people who had been with the company for 10, 20 years.

Of all the people I graduated college with, I know of one who is actually working in a job related to her major... my former roommate (BA in Psychology) is working in the office of a Psychologist answering phones and pulling charts. That's as close as it comes.

It seems that the successful ones are those like Oilerbuck up there, who have the drive to get out there during college and get some experience under his belt. He got things to brag about on his resume...and the kudos to show for it.