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What should I do ?

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Ok, I am 4th year college student with no certifation. I will be graduating with an MIS and International Business Degrees. I am a Java programmer and a technician for Desktop Support at my University. I have three years of experience there. I have also worked for Monsanto as an infrastructure analyst for 6 months and they have invited me back again. I would love to have a some certifications done but can someone please guide in the right direction?

thilanka@telocity.com

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by jimbb

You're on the right track already. You're getting both the theoretical knowledge and the practical experience, and that combination is valuable for an employer, certifications alone won't do you much good.
Figure out what you like to do most, whatyou feel best at. Is it programming? Or a support job? Whatever it is, get certified in what you like. A certification won't give you a good job, it just helps you in getting an interview. What gets you a job is a combination of a sound theoretical basis (your degree and certifications), and appropriate experience (you seem to be gathering that too: excellent), and the right attitude. This is the toughest part, because once you can talk to a hiring manager, you'll have to convince her/himthat you'll fit in an existing team, that you'll fit the unwritten rules of company policy and politics, and so on. In short: you'll have to convince her or him that you can add value. A certification or a degree alone won't do that, this is the big mistake a lot of people in this business make.

It all comes down to doing something you like. It will make it easier to get through the sometimes pretty tough exams for a certification, and it will make it easier to do overtime because some &%$#!! tool is not doing what it should. Just don't make the mistake of thinking that following this or that path will get a better career. In the long run doing something you like pays off in every possible meaning.

Jim

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