Requesting Experienced Tech Advice

[AsylumKnight]

Hello,

My name is Steve Wolfe. I am in need of some serious advice as to what direction I should take my life. I'm 23 years old and have been on PC's for over 10 years, always fascinated with technology and "Next Gen" communications. Currently I hold an A+ certification, as well as 2 years graduate of a vocational school for "Computer Integrated Support". After tech school I have held two solid jobs: One being a warehouse package handler for roughly 3 years (left and returned twice) and the other working with a sub-contractor to install cable and network drops for a little less than a year. I know the windows OS structure better than my own body and have followed a basic philosophy of never formatting/restoring, always forcing myself to solve any conflict the correct way, no matter how catostrophic. This has given me excellent software troubleshooting skills. Currently I am dabbling in the linux/BSD operating systems.

I have been unemployed for 6 months now and am greatly losing motivation to make proper career moves to better my life situation. After considering the end game I have come to the conclusion that:

I want to retire as either a Network Administrator or a VMWare Specialist (or Both) while also providing a PC repair service, either from home or a small business as a side project.

Many other well written posts have been made about how to start a career change and climb the ladder. My question is what would be the ideal framework to going from an entry tech to my desired end game career? What would be ideal certifications, degrees and career moves to get myself in the right position and achieve my dream job? Should I go to college first or do so while working my entry job? Any pitfalls that I may be stumbling into?

I thank you all ahead of time for giving me a place to list my concerns and look forward to making a change in the right direction. Cheers!

[Nude_Lewd_Man]

.

[GroundZero3]

You are only 23 and you're are talking about retiring?

College never hurts anyone, so if you have the opportunities to do it go for it. Getting your degree isnt going to be a waste of time.

To get a VMware certification besides the experience you will need to take the week long class VMware Education Services The hardest thing you are gonna have a problem with is no experience with SANs (which most vmware/esx server use to store their vms.

[AsylumKnight]

What I was trying to say above was the "where do I want to be in 10-20 years" scenario. I was advised to think of what you want as the end result and track backwards from that to how you will get there. This is what I was asking help on, the actual path to get there with full skills to take care of anything I may run into in the field. Sorry I referred to it as endgame scenario rather than my life plan or something

[GroundZero3]

I would start by looking into the COMPTIA exams to figure out what route you wants to go.

[AsylumKnight]

Well it seems like the ideal plan is to start in either a mom and pop tech entry job or the geeksquad and work for about two years for both experience and to obtain any certifications involved with servers (N+, LinuxCert, BSDCert, ect.). From there I would have to network my skills to locate a "tier 2" networking job. By then I would have a basic home repair service website up and running as the side project. After working a few years with hands on network and servers I should have enough experience to both take my VMware course and locate a Virtualization Specialists job. This process should take about 6 years and seems like more than enough time to study all of the cert criteria needed to pass.

Does this sound like a realistic model or am I BS'ing myself? I have never worked as a tech other than out of home for friends and family.

I am trying to write up a detailed list of exacly what Certifications will give me the foundation to be a fantastic network administrator/VM administrator that knows what to do, when it needs to be done and does it right the first time.

[nemowolf]

What I was trying to say above was the "where do I want to be in 10-20 years" scenario. I was advised to think of what you want as the end result and track backwards from that to how you will get there. This is what I was asking help on, the actual path to get there with full skills to take care of anything I may run into in the field. Sorry I referred to it as endgame scenario rather than my life plan or something

Whos is to say that in 10-20 years, VMware is even around anymore. The furthest out you should be planning is 4 or 5 years because tech, unlike evolutionary biology, does wait for you.

The great, and potentially annoying, thing about IT is that there is not one clearly defined way to get anywhere. You have to wear many hats, learn many skills, and have skills OUTSIDE of IT to be a great IT pro. It

I would start by looking into the COMPTIA exams to figure out what route you wants to go.

As GZ says, starting from the bottom and working your way up is a great start. Build a solid foundation to reinforce your personal learning and make sure you didnt miss anything. You build a house on concrete and not sand... you dig?!

Well it seems like the ideal plan is to start in either a mom and pop tech entry job or the geeksquad and work for about two years for both experience and to obtain any certifications involved with servers (N+, LinuxCert, BSDCert, ect.). From there I would have to network my skills to locate a "tier 2" networking job. By then I would have a basic home repair service website up and running as the side project. After working a few years with hands on network and servers I should have enough experience to both take my VMware course and locate a Virtualization Specialists job. This process should take about 6 years and seems like more than enough time to study all of the cert criteria needed to pass.

Does this sound like a realistic model or am I BS'ing myself? I have never worked as a tech other than out of home for friends and family.

I am trying to write up a detailed list of exacly what Certifications will give me the foundation to be a fantastic network administrator/VM administrator that knows what to do, when it needs to be done and does it right the first time.

As a former Agent, I always like to hear someone willing to join the squad! The thing you need to remember is that this is still a retail job and 70% of your work is selling and not fixing. 90% of your skills will be useless there. Even in a mom and pop location, they may require certs to start working there and probably wont fund you to get any. Plan on doing this out of pocket.

Lots of people do side work, but you need to be realistic. A website does nothing for most people. Either your in it to win it with your service its just something to put on a resume. Remember that doing legit business requires a license and such. You need to think about the legal ramifications of entering someones home, working on their machines and potentially losing everything they have ever stored on their PC from Timmy's first steps to Sally's HS graduation. People can and will sue you if they think you did something wrong. Working upto five days a week in your regular job and then doing 1-2 days a week of side work plus your own time on a computer means your never going to get away from it. This needs to be something your going to be able to hold up for your six year plan.


Personally, i think your BS'ing yourself. Youve been unemployed for six months so start with the basics. Worry about the rest later. You may find that you end up working for a company that uses a tech you have never heard of and want to change your career goals in a snap. So start with some CompTia action, move to MS then go from there once you figure out what you want to get your certs in.

Cheers!

[AsylumKnight]

Thank you for the detailed viewpoints. I did not at all consider the time frames for work and a side project combined. I guess if I have enough money to make the bills it is not necessary to swamp myself to death. Paying for certs out of my own pocket is understandable and ok with me since it is more of a personal endeavor than something just to put on a resume.

I definitely understand the legal aspects. You may or may not have any idea how many people try to argue thier TV's, PC's and such as broken when we left from fishing lines for customers. Comcast has alot of fans! Contracts of some sort would be a must but as I sit here thinking about it, you are absolutely correct: "Either your in it to win it with your service or its just something to put on a resume." So the side project I can live without.

Sorry if I seem in the clouds with my ideas, just trying to keep a broad view while still having a set path. Alot of my time goes to tinkering in VM's and different personal server configurations so it only seems logical to do such as a career and make something of myself instead of being a basement geek forever. My biggest problem with a mainstream company though is the sales repping. The whole reason I want to get into IT is to provide a service that is personal and humble. This is how I relate to a customer and personally I feel it is what would make me better than a tech that is simply making a buck. Trying to get people to buy my crap in a materialistic fashion is tough for me to agree with and exercise. Making profit is fine but it seems everyone has this "Why didn't you rip that guy off?" attitude about working in america.

Ah well maybe I am just too cynical. Thanks again for the advice.

[nemowolf]

Thank you for the detailed viewpoints. I did not at all consider the time frames for work and a side project combined. I guess if I have enough money to make the bills it is not necessary to swamp myself to death. Paying for certs out of my own pocket is understandable and ok with me since it is more of a personal endeavor than something just to put on a resume.

I definitely understand the legal aspects. You may or may not have any idea how many people try to argue thier TV's, PC's and such as broken when we left from fishing lines for customers. Comcast has alot of fans! Contracts of some sort would be a must but as I sit here thinking about it, you are absolutely correct: "Either your in it to win it with your service or its just something to put on a resume." So the side project I can live without.

Sorry if I seem in the clouds with my ideas, just trying to keep a broad view while still having a set path. Alot of my time goes to tinkering in VM's and different personal server configurations so it only seems logical to do such as a career and make something of myself instead of being a basement geek forever. My biggest problem with a mainstream company though is the sales repping. The whole reason I want to get into IT is to provide a service that is personal and humble. This is how I relate to a customer and personally I feel it is what would make me better than a tech that is simply making a buck. Trying to get people to buy my crap in a materialistic fashion is tough for me to agree with and exercise. Making profit is fine but it seems everyone has this "Why didn't you rip that guy off?" attitude about working in america.

Ah well maybe I am just too cynical. Thanks again for the advice.

So dont work in Tech Sales. Work for a medium sized company doing internal support. Thats what i do. The company is about 700 employees spread over three states and five major metropolitan areas. I get to travel, work plenty of OT on the weekends for extra cash and best of all i work in a very tightknit group of people i like to work with for the most part.

[AsylumKnight]

That sounds like a kick ass job to me. Especially with a good group of people that can work together without getting in each others "space".

[Nude_Lewd_Man]

Also, I wouldn't get too far ahead of your commercial experience with the certifications - or if you do, then don't put them all on your CV...

While that can be thought of as a good move to do, it can also sideline you for either being too qualified (and therefore likely to get bored and move on) for a job, or otherwise that you don't have sufficient commercial experience for the roles that you'd be qualified/certified to do... Neither of these options are that great....

[AsylumKnight]

Is that what the "Braindump" classification means? All certifications and no experience?

[Nude_Lewd_Man]

"BrainDumps" are where people have done the exam, then go online (normally) and "dump" the questions - and answers - for others who wish to cheat their way through that exam....

Personally, I prefer Transcender software - which is similar, but is more of a training package as it is basically a mock exam, and it explains why the answer what it is if you get it wrong...

Just so you know, I have taken (and passed) A+ Hardware, A+ Software, MCP XP Professional, MCP Server 2003, MCTS Vista Business, MCTS Server 2008 Network Infrastructure...

[AsylumKnight]

Congratulations on the certs. I hope to be able to say the same in the near future. GeekSquad seems to be my best bet both for qualifications and to get entry level hands on work. I'll keep updated for anyone in my same position that may be reading this for advice.

[nemowolf]

Congratulations on the certs. I hope to be able to say the same in the near future. GeekSquad seems to be my best bet both for qualifications and to get entry level hands on work. I'll keep updated for anyone in my same position that may be reading this for advice.

If you want to learn sales, go GS. If you want REAL experience, find an entry level position somewhere else in an office. 70% of your time is selling and the other 29% is a combo plate of dealing with BBY corporate bull and restocking the store. The squad is not for everyone. You have to want to be there to get the most of the experience and it may/will burn you out quickly as you have to deal with some of the crap they will give you. If your going to wear a shirt and tie, get paid fairly for it.

Unlike NLM, I have no certifications but 3 years of experience under my belt. I have a friend of mine who is a Sr. Admin at another company and he is offering to show my resume to his Help Desk Manager if i want to jump ship. Networking and knowing the right people can be just as important as having the right qualifications. Fake it until you make it!

[Nude_Lewd_Man]

Indeed, Nemo, that's kinda what I was trying (or at least intending) to say...

Experience will get you a chunk of the way, as will qualifications, but unless you're able to 'network' your way into the first job, then you might be a little stuck...

In that sense, it might be worth thinking about doing a stint with "GeekSquad" (whoever/whatever it is) to get the basics down and spend the time looking for permanent/'proper' work while you're doing it...

My Mum is a HR Consultant, so I'm able to get (a really well written CV and) a lot of insight with regards to what sort of things the recruiter/s are likely to ask - not to mention the best answers to give to them, and also some other general info.....but obviously, that isn't the same for 99% of people out there....

I've only got about two-and-a-half years of commercial experience (that's the type that [potential] employers are interested in) but I've been "playing with computers" (as my friends/family refer to it) for a lot longer - getting on for 20 years now, if you include the time I spent learning BASIC on a C64 and writing very, very basic BASIC games......


The long and short of it is that you need a bit of all three: certifications show that you know what you're doing; experience can do the same, but employers aren't really interested in what you've done outside of the commercial arena; and neworking skills... Without at least one of those, you might find yourself looking for work for a while..... Having said that, employers (here, in the Land Of Eng, at least) like to see that you've had a continual string of employment - as it shows that you haven't been in trouble, and also shows that you've got commitment to get/keep going, even if the work you do isn't in the sector that you're most qualified in...
I'm also a HGV ("truck") driver, with a license for artic lorries (semi's..??), and while I was looking for work recently, I was able to go back to doing that - albeit for an agency - to both keep the money into the bank and also not have any gaps that I can't explain on my CV....

[IT-TechDude]

I agree with them all, if you can really swing it get the schooling, im 45 now and i am in a ICET course where i have already gotten several different certifications, and working on the 'CET and the FCC as we speak, So your being young is a great advantage, lots of grants to help out as well.