Why i cant complain about stress in 2 weeks

[drewber]

Well ever heard any one say which is better for getting a job, experiance hands on or through a cert.... ?

heres the story, i still need to pass the proxy exam to get my MCSE. (NT 4.0 Track)
i have no other certifications.

ive been a pc tech for 6 or so years, and installed maybe 25-30 small networks and 1 good size network (about 40 machines from the ground up including the server)

in two weeks i will be the admin of a VPN for a company that has 24 locations.

the cool part is the guy knows i dont have the experiance to do this type of job but he likes me (ive done a few repairs on his network and soem of the machines i built)

heres what hes offered me and i accepted without a second thought

1. He will pay for all cost invloved in my CCNA,CCNE
2. He will pay for all cost involved in my MCSE 2k (even gonna pay for my proxy exam so i can try to upgrade =-) )
3. 80 hours a year vacataion
4. 40 hours a year sick leave
5. im not on call work m-f 8:30 to 5:30 (oine hour for lunch)
6. 35k a year (i made 28,xxx last year)

all i have to do is sign a 1 year contract with the company. if i break the contract i have to repay 50% of the schooling.

Sound good?

[drewber]

i forgot to mention he has 24 offices through out the US. and he will pay for all travel lodging (milage if i drive, but since he also has a piolits lincese and a plane he'll prolly fly me to most of the places.

[valyard]

go for it. the salary aint that great but the perks appear to be wonderful. also see if you can get medical benefits even if you need to partial pay it....good luck <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[drewber]

got the insurance its just me in my house so its $18.50 every 2 weeks

[KINGofBLEH]

Originally posted by valyard2k1:
<STRONG>go for it. the salary aint that great but the perks appear to be wonderful. also see if you can get medical benefits even if you need to partial pay it....good luck <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"></STRONG>

Sounds sweet. I would be a little leery about the amateur pilot flying me around (e.g., John Denver, Gene Carnahan, JFK, jr.) He may be a good pilot, but I would check out his insurance.

[drewber]

hmmm, i think the 18.50 includes life insurance..... 100k of it, my house would be paid off, my car would be paid off.... maybe my mom hired him to hire me and kill me.... then theyll split everything i own 50/50 aHHHHH

what do i do now i already put my two weeks in

[MadDog]

Here's my .02:

Get the certs.
Stay one year.
Leave after one year to a job that pays twice as much...

[Larommi]

I think that is great!! The money is weak but considering you are getting the certs I would not complain. Who know's there might be a lot more money after the year.

I wish someone would offer me that!! Go 4 it <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[opiate]

Experience will always win if the company knows what they need. MCSE has pretty much lost its glamour. Some IT department requires it, but normally if a person has 5 years and no Certs then that can be made up for.

I'm a supervisor of my company's CRM and SFA systems. I really only supervise myself (database application programmer) and another programmer. I had about 3 years of networking when I was hired as a network admin. I setup servers, Cisco routers and config, VPN to 18 nation wide locations using ISDN w/56 bit encryption, normal domain admin stuff and I was the 2nd Exchange admin. I walked on with a Bachelors of Computer Science and no certs, worked there for 2 years. I then found programming more challenging (you actually get to use your brain <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">) so I applied for a Sr. System Analyst position within the same company making $17K more per year and the benefits rolled over, plus the stress level was allot less and we both have $8K budget for training per year. The manager hired me on the spot and the main reason was my experience working in the industry.

Don't value your career status with Certs, it's all about experience. Sure the newbie’s will look up to you until they find out it's not really worth it. I passed the 4 core exams and the TCP/IP exam for NT4. I almost got my MSCE but it never really did anything for me because of my experience. It's always better to prove what you know instead of show that you know with a piece of paper. However, I do have Oracle Certs, they are more valuable because of the database market and the demand for DBA/Programmers, and not too many people have them. I still will not want to be judged on what a piece of paper says. The Cisco certs are pretty valuable! If I were you I would go for that and learn all you can.

Big whoop, my 14 year old cousin could get an MSCE and he's not even old enough to work.

It sounds to me like your getting underpaid but in the long run it will be worth it if you get the Cisco Certs.

Good luck and it sound like you made a wise decision. <IMG SRC="smilies/cool.gif" border="0">

[DaOnly123Kid]

sounds good, just make sure to send us post cards from the places you visit

[ßracius]

*Drooling* That rocks, I am having a heck of a time trying to find a company that will pay for training and certs.. I am even willing to sign a two year contract, not even intersted in money. I just want the experinse.

[ephmynus]

Sounds good to me. Salary is a little low for an admin but that also depends on what part of the country you live in. You're getting pretty well paid in schooling also though. Kick @$$!!

[PuterGeekGirl]

Sounds great! I agree with the others that the salary is a little weak for the amount of responsibility. But the schooling sounds great! MY job has paid for my schooling, but I have to stay 2 years after graduation. But in the mean time I aslo get alot of other classes besides my degree.. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Best of luck in the new job! Congrats! <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[drewber]

btw... any one know a good book to read about vpn's? i have to make one from the ground up and have no clue where to start
thanks for hte help in advance....drew