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View Full Version : Is anyone here a System Admin or a Network I.T Manager?

MadGamer
04-11-2005, 18:57
Ok, i was talking to one of my tutors today in college and i said after i leave i would be interested in either being a system admin or Network I.T Manager. Now is anyone here emploted in these fields? What i would like to find out, is whats involved and if i pass my current course i hope to progress onto the BTEC National Diploma. Now realistically would 3 A Levels be enough or would i have to go to Uni?
Jon M
04-11-2005, 19:02
With or without a degree you'd have to start low and work up. Experience is everything.

I started in an apprentiship scheme and worked up from desktop support to where I am now, effectively covering all aspects of IT in our business except mainframe development and support.
MadGamer
04-11-2005, 19:06
With or without a degree you'd have to start low and work up. Experience is everything.

I started in an apprentiship scheme and worked up from desktop support to where I am now, effectively covering all aspects of IT in our business except mainframe development and support.

Well even wothout a degree i like to work hard at things and am very interested in the whole concept of IT, so doing it step by step wouldnt bother me tbh :)
Paul
04-11-2005, 20:17
With or without a degree you'd have to start low and work up. Experience is everything.Yep, fully agree.

FYI, I don't have any A levels or degrees ;)
Jon M
04-11-2005, 20:27
With or without a degree you'd have to start low and work up. Experience is everything.Yep, fully agree.

FYI, I don't have any A levels or degrees ;)
My A level results were trying to tell me something I think..

D. U. N .... thankfully I didn't take 5 or I might have got the rest ;)

Sports Studies was the D, really helpful for a career in IT.. *cough*
MovedGoalPosts
04-11-2005, 20:32
Hmm, I'm our office's IT Admin/ Manager/Department/Dogsbody. But that is just a subidiary part of my main job as a Building Surveyor. AS such I've never had any qualifications in computing it's all self taught.

Still it's only a smallish type firm 20 PCs, so realistically, there would never be a dedicated IT bod employed, unless it's for peanuts. Most firms our size woudl rely on outside consultants for all support needs.

Maybe a consultancy firm would be a good stepping stone on your way up?
MadGamer
04-11-2005, 20:58
Still it gives me something to think about. :)
timewarrior2001
04-11-2005, 22:21
IT is a screwed up industry at the minute.

Personally, I'd get a degree and study MCSE while doing your degree.

Why? Because in this day in age you can only work your ass off to get so far.
Me I can do the job of many of our engineers, but because I dont have a degree or MCSE I cant be an engineer, never mind the 10 years experience I have.

Dont go looking for big money, there isnt any big money jobs that are worht the paper the contract is written on. Be competative once you have your degree and MCSE, dont price yourself out of th emarket and remember more money does not a better job make.
handyman
07-11-2005, 12:46
I would recommend getting a ITIL qualification and not just becase I sell them.

An ITIL foundation course and a practioner course will set you up for a IT manager postition as more and more firms are requesting this.

If you want to do pc repair you do a comptia A+
Shortly it will be if you want to be a it helpdesk/ service desk bod or even a manager you'll require some for of ITIL qual..
Tuftus
07-11-2005, 13:11
I would recommend getting a ITIL qualification and not just becase I sell them.

An ITIL foundation course and a practioner course will set you up for a IT manager postition as more and more firms are requesting this.

If you want to do pc repair you do a comptia A+
Shortly it will be if you want to be a it helpdesk/ service desk bod or even a manager you'll require some for of ITIL qual..

Just out of interest, how much do these courses cost and do you have a link to some more info?

tia
Nugget
07-11-2005, 13:16
My A level results were trying to tell me something I think..

D. U. N .... thankfully I didn't take 5 or I might have got the rest ;)

Sports Studies was the D, really helpful for a career in IT.. *cough*

Count yourself lucky - I got the same grades as you, plus the E! I was even closer to the official designation than you were :D

For the record, my D was in General Studies :disturbd:
idi banashapan
07-11-2005, 13:29
I don't have an ounce of IT education on paper, but I'm one of a only a dozen in a team that administers all the exchange servers and file store servers in the whole of europe as well as looking after a couple of estates for well known organisations during Out Of Hours. In all, there are a few hundren servers I look after. through about 5 Domains.

As said already in this thread, experience is everything. It can take a bit of time. I started as a CST (customer service technician) which meant I basically, answered the phone to the customer and tried to help before escalating. It's taken about 3 years to get where I am now.

I have studied for MSCEs and a couple of '+' standards (A+ and network+), but never got round to taking the exams.
Gareth
08-11-2005, 02:40
Wayne, I think you may be setting your sights a little too high for your 1st job. Sys Admin is something to work towards, but don't expect to get that sort of job immediately.

Like others have said, experience is everything. Candidates with a degree are sought after by a lot of companies, but experience is required in virtually all jobs.

If I was you, I'd start with something a bit lower down on the career ladder... maybe try doing tech support like Bender suggests. You can often find these positions advertised and the required experience isn't too demanding because they'll train you in their products. Then work your way slowly up the career ladder. Check out the jobs at www.jobserve.com and www.cwjobs.co.uk to see what skills are required for the type of job you want to do.

If you do take Rob's advice and consider applying for a consulting company, then let us know, as I used to work for Andersen Consulting. It's a fantastic career move, but is very hard work. Aso, a degree is required for any of the big consulting firms. If that hasn't put you off, then check out the Vault (http://www.vault.com) website, and also the cartoons at BigTime Consulting (http://www.bigtimeconsulting.com). Here's one for anyone that's ever worked for any of the Big 5 consulting companies...

http://www.bigtimeconsulting.com/toons/1999-07-01.jpg
Graham M
08-11-2005, 03:20
I spent the last 2 years doing a BTEC National Diploma for IT Practitioners (IT Systems Support) and thoroughly enjoyed it, very challenging, interesting course (It all depends on how the particular college lays it out however) But I would thoroughly recommend the course to anyone else with an interest in a job in IT, quite a few of my friends have walked into Junior IT positions, the employers were very interested, I supposed because of the hands-on approach to the course and experience gained. I just need to get my own finger out and get on with the job hunting, I just need a push really :)

Good luck!
MovedGoalPosts
08-11-2005, 10:47
Hmm, my intentions regarding "consultant" may have been misleading. What I was tryinng to suggest is working for one of the repair / troubleshooting type firms that send their techs out on the road to preferably businesses or home users. With hands on experience under your belt, that would then set you up for a more senior post as the career develops.

As posted by many so far, paper qualifications these days are paaramount. They don't mean you can actually do a job, but employers expect them. You won't get anywhere without some of them.