IT Employment

Talk your way into a job and fake it 'til you make it. I have taken jobs I wasn't qualified for 3 times and it has worked twice so far. I took a job as a computer repair tech in '94 after seeing a guy build a computer once. I took a network admin job and I had never seen a mail server before in my life and didn't know the first thing about TCP/IP. That one didn't work out, but it got me ready enough for the second try. Been a network admin now for the same company for 5 years and nobody knows I was a paper MCP. I suppose another way would be to take a Jr. job and hope the Sr. guy doesn't see you as a threat and refuse to teach you anything useful.

That is VERY true in my case to, I ADOPT tasks and take on things I've never done before. I'll then leaarn how to do it WELL in a very short time and all is fine, and I have learned a enw skill. I keep forgetting my past, which is god because it gives me more room to store all the good stuff I learn.

But you MUST be straight up when taking on such tasks. I would never lie to a potential employer about having DONE something nor would I on a resume. But if an employer asks if I CAN do something, I usually say yes. I then of course say I haven't done it YET, but I am sure I can figure it out.

I find I get more respect from employers that way, they end up coming up and just telling other people no problem 'Oz' can do it. If I trip and screw up, which I do sometimes, I will work a way to fix it anyway. But I wouldn't tell someone I had done something JUST to get a position when I actually hadn't.

Guy's (or girls) like you are being sent back to where you came from...........and quickly.

That crap doesn't work anymore.

You don't believe you can do it, you will always prove yourself right.

So if I have numerous (and I mean more than a dozen) recent cases that prove otherwise, would the be proof you are wrong or proof that I am also right in that eagerness and drive will beat out certs much of the time.

It's all in the eye of the beholder I suppose.

Someone who thinks it can't be doe is ALWAYS right, they CAN'T do it.

But the opposite is also JUST as true, which do you choose? Complacency and conformity or out of the box individual goal seeking. Th efirst will alwys ring true if you want it, but so does the latter.

We strenuously test new hires to catch this very thing but every now and then we come across a guy who you know is winging it but shows enough initiative to make it worthwhile taking a chance on him. Surprisingly these guys have usually made some of our best people although they might have needed a bit of extra guidance at the start. There intelligence, creativity and initiative are what makes them so valuable and they seldom have to be shown anything twice.

Dawg

We'll have to change your alias.

Bingo was a dawg, right?

See my post roger99 below.

Yes, get the degree. But then, why settle for a 40K/year network admin job when you could get a 60k/year engineering job. (Assuming it is truely an engineering degree from an accredited school.)

Absolutetly.

I'd recommend a Six Sigma or project Management Cert or ITIL to shore up the degree.

100% agree on the University.