For the IT guys - some questions

[Ski]

Already thought of another question

As far as telecommuting goes - are these positions solely for Tier 1 Remote Help Desk/CSS jobs?

Obviously I do not expect to get a really good paying job and getting entrusted to work while in Ranger Panties and a sombrero - but what is the general industry vibe/usage with telecommuting? Is it something that is job-to-job dependent/something that can be negotiated for?

I understand the liability of lack of motivation, or cyber threats from having someone with remote VPN access to a classified IS, just figured I get some background before running my mouth about something I do not fully grasp.

It really seems to be vary from job to job. Yahoo is a good example. They were apparently quite accommodating of telecommuting, but when the current CEO took over she ordered the telecommuters back into the office.

I had a manager that really didn't like the idea, but we had an employee reorg'd into our group that lived in another state and worked out of his house. During that guy's tenure in our group, he so impressed the boss with his availability and responsiveness that the boss seemed to soften to the idea. I'm sure it didn't hurt that the guy seemed pretty bright, too.

I would say that if it's not offered as part of the job, it might be a limiting factor in career progression if you were hired. You might find that that even varies from team to team within a company. Obviously, career progression may not matter if you view the opportunity as a stepping stone and not a "destination" job.

[Sam1]

Don't get hung up on a CISSP being fresh off the boat, you have to show you have years of experience in a specific field:

 

https://www.isc2.org/cissp-professional-experience.aspx

 

The school will sell you all the training you will pay for, do your own research to make sure you are eligible and can legitimately perform the tasks associated with the role after.  Basic certs are no issue, but when you get higher up into the security field, it's a whole new ball game.  It only takes one whoopsie to ruin your career.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Sam1

[CommsNBombs]

Don't get hung up on a CISSP being fresh off the boat, you have to show you have years of experience in a specific field:

 

https://www.isc2.org/cissp-professional-experience.aspx

 

The school will sell you all the training you will pay for, do your own research to make sure you are eligible and can legitimately perform the tasks associated with the role after.  Basic certs are no issue, but when you get higher up into the security field, it's a whole new ball game.  It only takes one whoopsie to ruin your career.

Ranger that - I got to stop thinking like a retard S6 guy lol.

 

The Signal Community is HORRIBLE when it comes to information and practicality of certs. I have had several Brigade S6 personnel - and other higher ranking guys swear up and down that you need to have CCNA, MCSE, CISSP and all that other high speed stuff to get a job.

 

INFOSEC and PKI may be something to venture in further down the road but you are right, I shouldn't just jump at it for no reason.

 

That reminds me of an article I read not long ago - saying that CISSP was way overplayed and (ISC)2 (to paraphrase) is full of meatheads and it is not as prevalent as it was.

 

I figure (I may be wrong) the pragmatic certs - and by that I mean, that teach you something worthwhile - seem to be the Cisco and Microsoft Professional certs.

 

However from the talks I had today, finishing my Bachelor's is a bit more important than cert hunting

[Sam1]

I wouldn't downplay a CISSP cert, but it has it's place in the career of an IT guy/gal.  You should focus on the core functions of IT and build your way up to things like that.

 

The best way I can describe it is by being a big red button pusher.  We all have people that we work with that show up to press a big red button, they have done it for 20 years and they can press the button more efficiently than anyone else in the company.  But when that button breaks, they don't know what to do because they don't understand what the button does when they press it or how it works.

 

Be the guy/gal that gets hired on to be the big red button pusher that gets the job, knows how to press the button, knows what parts the button are made out of, what happens when you press the button and how to fix the button when it doesn't work.

 

Without understanding the fundamentals, those higher-level certifications are almost useless.  But with understanding of fundamentals, the certifications will turn you into a surgeon.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Sam1

[CommsNBombs]

I probably wouldnt ever go for something so high level - Id rather be in a leadership role at that point and be able to keep the nerds honest, and keep the suits from freaking out

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[Pete123]

I probably wouldnt ever go for something so high level - Id rather be in a leadership role at that point and be able to keep the nerds honest, and keep the suits from freaking out

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Comms,

 

I love what you said above.  I think you are speaking to what your innate strengths are.  Remember to make arrangements for that event I mentioned the 27th from 7:30 - 9:00 am.  There will be several folks that can really help you out.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Pete123

[CommsNBombs]

Comms,

 

I love what you said above.  I think you are speaking to what your innate strengths are.  Remember to make arrangements for that event I mentioned the 27th from 7:30 - 9:00 am.  There will be several folks that can really help you out.

 

Will do Pete, I will definitely not miss that one. 

 

Plus it'd be a good way to gauge early morning traffic from Clarksville to Nashville as well

[Sam1]

I probably wouldnt ever go for something so high level - Id rather be in a leadership role at that point and be able to keep the nerds honest, and keep the suits from freaking out

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I'm up in the air about a leadership position; if anything I would excel in a CTO position and need massive experience to even consider a CIO role.  The technical stuff is what I love to do, the management aspect not so much.
 

Had one management job after getting out of the military and it is HARD to adjust.  Gave up all hope after that one and said it would only happen again under very specific circumstances. Have to be nice to people and stuff in the civilian sector, like they are doing you a favor just by showing up to work and that didn't compute lol.  

 

Traffic will be terrible.  It is always bad during rush hour, if you need to be somewhere downtown at 7:30, be in town by 7am... anything after 7am outside the city limits and you'll need holy water to bless yourself and a bottle of xanax to calm down before you get to your destination.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Sam1

[NoBanStan]

finishing my Bachelor's is a bit more important than cert hunting

 

Being honest here. I'm TL;DR'ing this entire thread but caught this part.

 

Definitely finish the bachelors degree. Several places  (HCA for instance) won't let you move into management without it. Certs are more for company compliance type stuff honestly. If it's required and they'll pay for it, i'll take it. Otherwise, if it's not making me more money... pass.

 

My company is based in Nashville and we're hiring a Senior Sys Admin. I've been seeing some huge cert lists. Ya know what 50 certs tells me? You spend all of your time studying to get certs. MCSE, MCSA, MCITP, A+, N+, S+, ITIL...blah blah blah. When someone tells me they have a cert during an interview.. I hammer the hell out of them on the topic to figure out if they know their crap or if they've been doing boot camps and brain dumps.

 

There are so many techs nowadays who fancy themselves "in the know" because they've attended a few seminars. Most of those people spend all of their time trying to dream up the next big thing and trying to network with others. Then you say "hey, go delete the shadow copies off x server" and they have to spend 30 minutes on google trying to figure out what that means.

[Sam1]

Then you say "hey, go delete the shadow copies off x server" and they have to spend 30 minutes on google trying to figure out what that means.

 

But that's on the clock, right boss?

 

;)

[NoBanStan]

But that's on the clock, right boss?

 

;)

 

Sure, I'll tell the PMO you said that :P

[CommsNBombs]

Being honest here. I'm TL;DR'ing this entire thread but caught this part.

Definitely finish the bachelors degree. Several places (HCA for instance) won't let you move into management without it. Certs are more for company compliance type stuff honestly. If it's required and they'll pay for it, i'll take it. Otherwise, if it's not making me more money... pass.

My company is based in Nashville and we're hiring a Senior Sys Admin. I've been seeing some huge cert lists. Ya know what 50 certs tells me? You spend all of your time studying to get certs. MCSE, MCSA, MCITP, A+, N+, S+, ITIL...blah blah blah. When someone tells me they have a cert during an interview.. I hammer the hell out of them on the topic to figure out if they know their crap or if they've been doing boot camps and brain dumps.

There are so many techs nowadays who fancy themselves "in the know" because they've attended a few seminars. Most of those people spend all of their time trying to dream up the next big thing and trying to network with others. Then you say "hey, go delete the shadow copies off x server" and they have to spend 30 minutes on google trying to figure out what that means.

I actually sorta know how to delete shadow files.....on windows 7 [emoji107] lol

Good to know certs arent viewed as some sort of dogmatic sage knowledge. Yet another person proving the Army Signals community is full of a bunch of nimrods...

I was literally told by a Brigade S6 (the equivelent of a deputy CIO of a large corporation) that you cant even get $50K in the IT world without (and I quote) "A+, N+, S+, Server+, CCNA and MCSA".......

I am enrolling into APSU and finishing my BS online - also been talking to another online program for a MBA - at least to get general knowledge and perhaps specialized intel on it.

And Google is the Oracle, thou shalt not bad mouth her...or something like that.

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[NoBanStan]

I actually sorta know how to delete shadow files.....on windows 7 [emoji107] lol

Good to know certs arent viewed as some sort of dogmatic sage knowledge. Yet another person proving the Army Signals community is full of a bunch of nimrods...

I was literally told by a Brigade S6 (the equivelent of a deputy CIO of a large corporation) that you cant even get $50K in the IT world without (and I quote) "A+, N+, S+, Server+, CCNA and MCSA".......

I am enrolling into APSU and finishing my BS online - also been talking to another online program for a MBA - at least to get general knowledge and perhaps specialized intel on it.

And Google is the Oracle, thou shalt not bad mouth her...or something like that.

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Well, you're not a sysadmin :)

 

That S6 might be right in some places but around here there are plenty of mid TN jobs that don't require all that. I tend to stick to medium sized shops though. I prefer having access to most everything and not being pigeon holed into one job. It's a pain running everything, but you don't get stale.

[Sam1]

I was literally told by a Brigade S6 (the equivelent of a deputy CIO of a large corporation) that you cant even get $50K in the IT world without (and I quote) "A+, N+, S+, Server+, CCNA and MCSA".......
 

 

Unfortunately the market is so saturated with certifications and people with degrees from cracker jack schools that the statement is partially true. 

[tennesseetiger]

Skip A+ and Net+...they are pretty much worthless in my opinion "no disrespect to anybody who has those" but they aren't going to exactly knock down doors for you in the hiring process or in the IT world in general. They are baseline I know how to work on a PC type certs.

Security+ is somewhat beneficial IF you are working in a Security environment...State Government, Federal Government, DOD, Dept of Army, etc but it sounds like you want out of that so no point in that cert.

VMware is always a pretty hot cert to have...just throwing that out there but they ain't cheap.

[CommsNBombs]

Just passed my interview with Vectrus (formerly known as Exelis and ITT). Technical interview was a little hard remembering Active Directory commands off the top of my head while driving home but I passed.

Being a DOD contract they need me to have a baseline cert and a MS computer enviornment cert...

So, anyone know of where I can get an exam voucher for one of the MCSA exams and for A+, still on Army pay so I am trying to save some cash.

Waiting on hearing back from Engility, Academi, Lockheed and General Dynamics but I want to thank everyone for their pointers and for helping me get connected - biggest thanks goes out to Pete because he introduced me to some heavy hitters in the area and really opened my eyes.

Will keep yall posted but if anyone has some leads for certs on the cheap let me know as theyre mandated

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[quietguy]

Call around to the testing centers and see what they can do for you.  Most have discounts for vets and/or active duty, especially if you are just testing out.  

[Sam1]

A+ vouchers will cost $175+/- each

 

MCSA - need to know what line you are going down.  MCSA for desktops takes 1 exam, for servers it's at least 3.  After you do 1 Microsoft cert, you're considered MCP, so if you will be doing server work, you may want to go that route and ask them if MCP works or just bite the bullet and do all three.

[CommsNBombs]

A+ vouchers will cost $175+/- each

MCSA - need to know what line you are going down. MCSA for desktops takes 1 exam, for servers it's at least 3. After you do 1 Microsoft cert, you're considered MCP, so if you will be doing server work, you may want to go that route and ask them if MCP works or just bite the bullet and do all three.

They sent me a huge list and said for sake of compliance just do the cheapest one and it is a staggering list of things I can do...




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[Sam1]

Well, you can pop off the A+ in a week of afternoons of practice exams.

 

Personally on the Microsoft options, I would invest a bit of time in the certifications that I want, or that I know will actually help me instead of getting one just to say you have it.

[CommsNBombs]

Eta: MTA 38-365 is $115...not too bad...a $300 investment for a well paying job aint bad

The job is basically Tier 2 Help Desk stuff except well...in a desert, I just need the overseas contractor experience on my resume so Academi and L3 will take me serious

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk Edited February 10, 2016 by CommsNBombs

[TGO David]

I'm not trying to discourage you or anything but let me tell you what relationship certifications and experience have when it comes to getting hired.  And this is coming from me, a guy who manages a Tier 3 problem-solving team for a Fortune 100 company and has no problem ending an interview 10 minutes into it to either tell the candidate "Thank you and have a nice day" or "I think we might have a place for you here".

 

• Certifications without experience will often get you in the door to get experience.  You passing an industry standard test in your field of focus tells me that (a.) you know the basics and have a foundation that I and my team can build upon, (b.) have the tenacity to see something through to completion and (c.) perform at least reasonably well under pressure and can recall those basics of your foundation when the heat is on.
   
• Experience without certifications will often get you overlooked by the resume screeners.  Automated or human, doesn't matter.  I and many hiring managers like me want resumes screened to see if you have various certifications for the reasons I mentioned above.
   
• Certifications AND Experience will not only catch my attention but, provided you interview well, aren't a douche, and can honest-to-God back up anything you put on your resume, may even land you a job with pay commensurate with your experience and skill level.

 

 

Seriously, if you listen to only one piece of advice I offer freely... don't fluff your resume.  If you don't want to risk being asked to expand on it or, worse yet, do it as part of your job... don't list it as something you are proficient in.   If you have casual experience with something and feel compelled to include it, mention that it is just that:  Casual Experience.

 

Nothing causes me to blacklist someone and spread the word about it faster than a candidate who wastes my time by seeding their resume with key words just to get an interview, only for me to find out that they misrepresented themselves on paper.  Nashville's IT community is staggeringly small, and word gets around fast.  Many of us who have been doing IT professionally within Nashville for 10-20 years have acquired a network of friends and former colleagues all over town.  A bad reputation with one of them can quickly spread to all of them.

 

I'd strongly suggest you pick a field of technology that really resonates with you and begin mastering it.  Pair that with leadership traits and back it up with a management degree of some sort, and you'll be amazed at what doors open for you.

 

Oh... and one last thing:  If you aren't applying for a management job, you might think carefully about specifically calling those out in your resume.  Some managers hate hiring people who were previously managers, as they feel threatened.  I couldn't care less and actually like seeing leadership roles on a resume, but I've got peers who wig out about it for some reason.

 

Hope some of this helps.

[KaNaPaPi]

Congrats on the good interview with Vectrus. Wish you well!

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[Sam1]

Nothing causes me to blacklist someone and spread the word about it faster than a candidate who wastes my time by seeding their resume with key words just to get an interview, only for me to find out that they misrepresented themselves on paper.  Nashville's IT community is staggeringly small, and word gets around fast.  Many of us who have been doing IT professionally within Nashville for 10-20 years have acquired a network of friends and former colleagues all over town.  A bad reputation with one of them can quickly spread to all of them.

 

 

Hypothetical question from a 'friend' in Nashville: do nonsensical forum posts and copious amounts of narcissism affect that "reputation"?

[TGO David]

Hypothetical question from a 'friend' in Nashville: do nonsensical forum posts and copious amounts of narcissism affect that "reputation"?

 

Only if folks know who's behind the screen name.