So true, well said JamaRock.... I do agree with you 100%..
So true, well said JamaRock.... I do agree with you 100%..
A month or so ago I was chatting with a supervisor who manages a large department of I.T. people. He said that he regularly gets resumes from people with CCNA certs. He uses routers but his main demand is for people who can change hard drives, troubleshoot hardware, install operating systems, configure applications and provide user support.
He would hire someone who can manage these day to day activities as well as manage his routers. However, in his environment, he cannot justify hiring a person with CCNA skills only.
Yes, but as I said before experience is key, he got in with years of net admin expreience, he actually did his CCNA after getting in with AT&T (thats right you dont even need to be certified to get a net admin post in Jamaica) and was financed by AT&T. that said he was filed for by his wife who was a citizen. so if you are 100% Jamaican best you go get some more mainstream work to boost your resume.
Changing hard drives isnt as bad as it seems even if you do have your CCNA. All the guys in my company are BSc (at least) and changing hard drives is just a standard part of what we do. so just having CISCO CCNP certs is somewhat useless in a general sense unless you have a link at digi or lime in the routing and switching section of the data centre.
My advise to anyone interested in IT in general. is
1. get basic PC repairs experience, self employment is a good start (i did all this while working full time in a warehouse - non IT related)
2. an associates degree or diploma is a nice start when job hunting/ the alternate route would be A+ and such entry level certs or just a PC repair course cert will do too
3. Any degree is good esp business admin degrees coupled with IT certs such as A+/or any advance comptia cert. or CISCO CCENT -> CCNA if thats your specialty
4. Get working (after you have found the job of course)
5a. If you had skipped step 3. above do: While working, acquire BSc in computing or business/ do CCNA if not yet achieved and net admin is your goal or part of your job description (JD)
5b. If you had completed step 3 above: you can either spend 5 years gaining experience or going further by doing a masters degree or advanced CISCO CCNP etc
6. with many years of experience and a rounded educational background you are now a seasoned IT Professional and only now will you have the type of knowledge required to impress just about any employer in Jamaica and overseas.
7. For those who chose to remain self employed by now you should be able to fully register your business model and be a proud member of Jamaica's young entrepreneurs.
Five years experience and and at leats 7 years of various educational qualifications should do the trick
Just doing CCNA or CCNP really puts you in a very small box and if that box i floating in the middle of the ocean far from any known opportunities then your time studying CCNA would have been wasted.
90% of all net admins i know did their CCNA after getting the job. as for the rest, their resume had alot more going for it than just the CISCO cert.
THANK GOD
As i said before there is no formula, no silver bullet, no quick fix, no sure fire cert thats gonna land you a job. The key is to simply start somewhere, as you grow in your profession it will be abundantly clear that you will need additional skill sets to progress, and by that time you will know what the skill is and how to proceed.
Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often -Anonymous.......
This is some very good info. i have a diploma in comp sci, along with A+ and Network +. The degree thing evading me cause of the costs.
If you want something beyond entry level you need a degree, hell all of us in my department going for the masters now. The market real competitive and as someone earlier mentioned mixed degrees as opposed to straight comp sci degrees I think make you more flexible if you work in a non-tech centric business.
Having said all that though what I look for at least in candidates is a proactive attitude, what have you done as opposed to what your responsibilities were. I sat in an interview for a web admin the candidate had no experience mentioned he did a website for his fathers business, I asked for the url, the man say that since is his father site he never get around to finishing it.
A go getter would have used that as a showcase for his skills, I see it too often.
Associates and Bachelor's nawh seh a thing anymore...
Masters + certifications + experience is the combo these days.
may get away with certs and heavy experience + a bachelor's...
The major requirement is that you have experience.
Right now doing IT Bachelor's (focus project management) with minor in business, starting my masters during the last semester my bachelor's degree. Just going into it right after.
Last edited by King_Jay16; Oct 16, 2012 at 11:10 PM.
When I move to the US in 2009 I had my CCNP and was not told that I don't have US experience so I can't get the job, it is hold slow u talk and sell yourself and skills and I got the job, but it was not until moving to NY I start using my CCNP skills 120%... and learn that a title called Network Architect was a job title. It is really sad that most companies in Jamaica don't need that skill level... I would really want to see more companies in Jamaica grown and have startup .com companies and need ppl with that level cause it will help the island a lot...