[DjPiLL]

Ugh. I am reading report after report regarding how f'ed up the industry is, and how much the salary's are dropping and the raises are shrinking.

I even read this one article today on MSN...
http://tech.msn.com/ip/msnart86.asp

This article talks about some companies offering 1% raises to their IT people. ONE ****ING PERCENT!!!! LOL

The cost of living (inflation) for this year is 3-4% alone.... so raises arent even keeping up with the cost of living.

I think reading this article really kicked me in the butt to go out and get some sort of certification. You never know when you will be out of a job... and I make a pretty decent salary right now (better than most in my field of work)... it may be hard to find another job right now that will pay me what im making now.

I am actually do for a raise at the end of the week, so it will be really interesting to see what the job offers me. Even in this crappy market, im lucky enough to work for a company that is still profitable (Public Relations). Last year I asked for 10% and i got 10%. I will be asking for 10% this year, ill be curious to see what i'll end up getting.

I spoke to the CFO last week, and at least he gave me his word that he plans on keeping all of the department and we could work here as long as we want. Yeah i know nothing is written in blood, but at least its something.

Now for the certs. If I don't get the 10%... i am going to push for company paid training. I want to get cisco certified, since this will probably compliment me the best being a network administrator. Do any of you guys know any good schools that will give you hands on experience?

Obviously NYC people would give me better answers, but im sure there are some national schools that some of you might be familiar with. I want to get an idea as to how much classes would cost so I can bring this to my employer as part of a counter-offer if my raise doesn't come through.

I was reading online about some web-based training.
http://www.techies.com/techpro.html

They have courses you can take online. I havent tried one of the free ones yet.... but for $80 for all of those online courses (MCSE, CNE, CCNA, etc).... that doesnt seem like a bad idea. Anyone ever try these? Im sure i can get my job to pay for the $80 but thats an absolute LAST resort. LOL I guess I can apply what i learn here to the equiptment I have at the job.

Well any suggestions appreciated. I have never been too high on certs... but maybe now it might be worth getting one or two.

 

[Intrepid98]

Well, I finally got my first interview (about time!). They called me this morning and wanted me to come in today. Unfortunately, my car is being detailed, and I won't get it back until later this afternoon. So looks like I'll have to get up early again tomorrow

 

[DMAG]

DJ, if your job can pay for it, I'd go to school. I go to the Computer Career Center in Garden City, but they also have a campus in Rego Park (which might be closer for you). They offer Cisco traning...Since you already have so much training, the classes would be easier then most for you.

As for the people taking Microsoft Certs... The NT's are being retired at the end of this year, so anybody going for Microsoft certs are going to be tested on 2000, NOT NT!!! On top of that...the XP tests are being released in the 4th quarter of this year...when you go for certs, you have the option of taking the 2000 or XP certs later this year.

So, basically, if your job is going to give you a free ride, take advantage of it and go to school at night after work...

[ August 07, 2001: Message edited by: Intrepidatious ]

[ August 07, 2001: Message edited by: Intrepidatious ]

 

[Intrepid98]

Originally posted by Intrepidatious:
As for the people taking Microsoft Certs... The NT tests are being retired at the end of this year, so anybody going for Microsoft certs are going to be tested on 2000, NOT NT

Actually the tests have already been retired. At the end of the year, the NT4 MCSE certification will be retired. Meaning, if you only have an NT4 MCSE and don't take the test(s) to upgrade it to WIN2K, you lose your MCSE (MCP) status.

[ August 07, 2001: Message edited by: Intrepid98 ]

 

[DjPiLL]

**** after work.... if the job is paying for it... im going during work. :O)

Im too tired after a hard day's work to concentrate. :O) Besides if i go during work I should complete it quicker.

I have very little Cisco knowledge... so getting Cisco certified would really help. Im already pretty good with NT... and decent with 2000 so I don't see as much bang.

Besides I am reading everywhere that the industry is flooded with MCSEs... a CNE or a CCNA would be more valuable.

 

[Intrepid98]

Originally posted by DjPiLL:
Besides I am reading everywhere that the industry is flooded with MCSEs... a CNE or a CCNA would be more valuable.

True, the market is flooded with NT4 MCSE's. However, at the end of the year, I bet a lot won't upgrade to WIN2K.

I currently work for a company where they require certifications, and they pay for them. Currently, there are less that 5 people with a WIN2K MCSE. All the rest are NT4.

 

[DMAG]

Actually the tests have already been retired. At the end of the year, the NT4 MCSE certification will be retired. Meaning, if you only have an NT4 MCSE and don't take the test(s) to upgrade it to WIN2K, you lose your MCSE (MCP) status.

oops...that's what I meant..

 

[Intrepid98]

I figured you did. Just wanted to make sure everyone else got the right info

 

[Warlord187]

That's why I went with the CAD and project engineering. I can branch out into just about anything out there. Plus, by like 2005 or 2010 there's going to be a shortage of like a few hundred thousand engineers! The money that companies are willing to pay for Pro/E knowledgable people is rather awesome. I just need to get more experience (fresh out of college)!

It would seem that the demand for IT people is based on the economy. When the economy was high, it seemed like there was a huge demand. Now that the economy is sliding, the demand seems to be going down. So, if (and when) the economy starts to boom again, the demand should go up.

 

[kilrfx]

DjPill:

There is a school in Morristown, NJ called Global Knowledge. They are absolutely incredible when it comes to Cisco. I went there for Cisco's old switching and routing class. I would highly recommend them. I believe the class was like $2200 for a five day class.

 

[DjPiLL]

I took the free class on techies.com regarding the W2K MCSE Recovering from a Disaster. I banged out all of the questions... 100% right. I actually learned something regarding backups in general that I did not know.

If the rest of those classes are similar to this one, im definitely paying that $80 to sign up for this. The only thing i wished was the classes had audio, instead of reading it.

Anyone else try it?

DjPiLL

 

[Si]

I got out of the IT industry about 1 1/2 ago, to much stress, not enough pay to compensate, I used to be a Linux Admin and do odd sorts of work with NT (IIS)..

Now I am going back to my roots, Art

I seen so many IT Pro`s either on the edge of burn-out or burnt-out, plus the economy wasnt in its favour... I think the market is saturated with Net-Engineers , but surely the market now is growing for ASP/Co-Location engingeers/Consultants.. People
who are geared up towards methods of providing Clients with Connectivity are common, people who push and create solutions
on how to make the most functionality out of all the bandwidth (Web based apps etc) are in my opinion going to be the money earners in the near future.

Saying all that, I still love to dink around
with a Linux box.... Slackware!