Printable View
I am 39 and a female. Have always been into fixing things and have been working on computers for almost 10 years. During that 10 years raised 3 kids, had Some college and a lot of work out of my home, sometimes payed sometimes not..but a great time for learning. Now I work in a small computer shop and I can't believe that I get paid to Play on computers all day, I love it I want certificates, but can't get the money together. I work part time.
I am 22 adn work for a large international company in canada. Have a diploma from college and and working toward my MCSE.
Personally I agree with the monetary beifits for Certification. But as for showing what you know they are STUPID. Both MCSE's that I have known seem to have read a book and them passed the tests without ever having touched a PC. Very frustrating as well as making it hard not to lump all mcse;s into one idiotic group. I sure there are lots of great ones out there adn I am just unfortunate.
But My salary rightnow is great considering my background...
Luke Bellamy
My personal belief if that certification counts a lot. I am currently MCP (soon to be MCSE), CNA, A+, Network +, OCP (Oracle), Oracle DBA. And I currently just opened a website (www.infoknowhow.com) about 1 month ago or so and I work full time and go to college (freshman) full time. I can tell you from my experience that no one gives a flying monkeys @ss about who has a degree and who doesn't. I am 19 years old and having been having many companies fighting over me to get me hired. I however have been turning them down in hopes that I might get a raise or a promotion at my current job and position (Systems Engineer - Oracle, Novell Netware 4.11, NT 4.0 Server/workstation, and other misc software). So as for this, I think certifications and knowing your stuff is really worth it. I am currently the boss of two hardware techs and a printer operator at my company and I got there by proving that I knew more than anyone there and that I was a fast learner. Well I have nothing more to say, I don't want to sound like I am bragging, but its the simple truth that I think experience is muchhhhhh more needed than a degree. I will continue to pursue my degree, however I think that its a waste of money and time. I don't need a piece of paper to tell the world that I am NOT a dumbsh*t and that I have jumped through all the hoops they wanted me to hop through.
------------------
<A HREF="http://www.InfoKnowHow.com
E-mail:" TARGET=_blank>www.InfoKnowHow.com
E-mail:</A> [email protected]
Put your egos away. Here's what it all boils down to: experience and years in the field tell your prospective employer what you can and cannot do. Certifications allow your employer to show your CLIENTS what you can do. Certs matter to the clients, experience matters to your employer. That's about it in a nutshell.
------------------
R. Bret Walker, CNE
Not sure I agree with you there bret. It depends upon the employer. Most companies when you are hired know no technical stuff ( I know mine doesn't). So you are interviewed by 1 or 2 people who you are speaking greek too. For this type of job some certification will help imensley (sp?) as well as you experience.
There are other jobs though where you are interviewed by someone technical and then all teh certification in the world will not help...
Thats my 2 cents.
Luke Bellamy
I've been reading the post on this subject for quite awhile and I find it very interesting. I think Bret makes a very good point regarding certification vs experience and how each are viewed by employers and customers. I agree..
I own a computer shop. I do most of the tech work myself and hold no certifications. I don't want to sound like a smart aleck but I spend a good deal of time repairing systems that other techs can't fix. Including certified techs... Just yesterday I made a SIMPLE repair that two different certified techs from another company had worked on twice before with no success.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against certification. I plan on getting certified myself someday. Hopefully soon. But from what I've seen, experience and ability is everything and certification can't replace that. Either you can fix computers or you can't.......period!!!
I am aware that many large companies require certification for employment. If that is their policy then so be it. But I know one thing for sure. If those companies hire technicians based strictly on certification without checking out their abilities, they deserve what they get!! I've interviewed "certified techs" fresh out of school that aren't sure how to install a ribbon cable on a hard drive. Seen it first hand.
It comes down to experience and knowledge. Lets face it, you can repair computers without that piece of paper, but not without the knowledge..
------------------
I'd rather be lucky than smart!!
Not being smart; but now I, a scientist send a request to install "something" in my computer or fix something on a machine to run on the network better or fix the machine period, I look to see if it works, and may be interested in "what" you are doing. Bottom line to me is does it work and how well, and if it doesn't then I am looking for answers from 'experts', so you are in an elite group having come along already, get the certifications there is no way to learn everything hands on and you can maybe pick up something from an expert; and that will get you the promotion or letter of recommendation (just using these words), as that is what you get. These guys hiring are not looking to be hit in the face, and you may assume they were where you are at one time and they thought they new it all. But this business is limited only by the short comings and everyone has a limit, the trick is that it can't be proven that you have a limit.
Just found a site www.brainbench.com that has free computer technician certification testing online. Just for the heck of it I took the test cold. According to Brainbench I am now a certified Computer Technician. The test only took about 20 minutes, you have up to 45 minutes. Just thought some of you guys and gals might want to check it out.
See I don't know. I'm a tech and have been for about 6 years now. While I went to college and got my degrees they were in English Literature and Speech. All the computer work I've done has been on my own Without a single Cert. I've worked on home systems and small companies to being a project lead dealing with 7,000+ machines in multiple domains and WANs. Certs are great but at the same time a lot of companies differ. For example when I contracted out here in the Bay Area of Cal I found that Certs are a bit more important to the employer. However When I contracted out in Florida and New York Certs didn't matter as much as how much experience and expertise you have. it just depends on the IT market in your area and your own skills. If your looking to improve yourself try contracting out it takes a bit of time and you don't get much money at first but after a while you can get the bucks. But again it all depends on the market around you and what they're looking for. And don't be afraid to get a couple of low bid contracts a lot of times they help you gain more and more experience. However if I were you try going for your MCP or at least get a copy of the MCSE books to learn. Don't forget the golden rule of thumb in IT if you aren't learning your dead.
------------------
Peace Through Zen blood!
Just turned 40 and also female, used to have a pink screw driver no guy would be caught dead with but it finally disappeared too...not too many women in the hardware end of the computer biz. I have my A+, but got it after the fact cuz the company I worked for then paid for it and I figured it was pretty to have =) Anyway, I was in Electronic Assembly all my working life, doing PCs on the side since like 1990, my first pc a Decstation316 so no old-timey stuff really...no one I knew could fix or upgrade them and I wanted a sound card and 2X cdrom (the new thing - only $369 for the kit) so I figured it out for myself, and just kept learning and doing ever since, had a good reputation fixing peoples PCs so when a PC Support tech job came up at my old company in 97 I posted for it and was accepted for pretty decent $, with no prior actual employment in the field.
Now this year I went for a tech job with a public school district, they hired me for the same money I was making for 40hrs before I am making only working 20 hrs wk\10mos, and next year goes full time (which is 35 hrs there)at double the money and exc benefits, lots of time off.... so it has all worked out. I do know that my A+ did help me get this job, because they kept mentioning it and since a lot of the people who interview you don't know computers at all, a cert is definitely a good thing in their eyes. Be brave and go for the jobs, write a REALLY great cover letter with your resume telling them what you can really do, did the trick for me twice now, hey, you never know ...and now (at least around here in Connecticut, USA) there are finally starting to be quite a few ads in the paper most of the time.... so finally our time may be coming where we can make better money. I want to eventually open a business maybe, want to get some network certs...
the guy they just hired as tech coordinator here is making $67K and he's only 30 and I actually know more PC stuff, but he has more network (no cert tho either)I'm picking up more everyday tho, give me another year or so.....
Good Luck
[This message has been edited by JeanneD (edited March 13, 2000).]
Well, I guess I got lucky. I am 29, female, and a Criminology major in college. I'll graduate with my Batchelor's in December. I worked as a part-time tech in a small shop for 2 years then got hired to work for county government as a network/pc tech. Our govt has 700+ PCs on a Novell network with connectivity to a Unix mainframe and fiber to all our outlaying areas. I've been with the county for about 1 1/2 years and I learn something new every day! My senior tech has been in computers for about ten years. He has his CNE and is probably the best hardware tech I've ever seen or spoken with. I'm testing for my A+ and MCP in May. My employer places a lot more emphasis on knowledge and experience than certifications. Who knows what is more important? All I know is that I play with computers all day and get paid for it. I love my job!
------------------
TechieChick
-----------------
Byte Me!
I am 50 years old. Been fixing PC's since they came out. Get the education. Education = $$$,$$$.$$. 6 figures is always better than 5.
------------------
Insanity runs in my family, in fact it practically gallops.
last words from me anyway...my father was a mechanic and a very good one and you could tell by his work that he was trained, not that he didn't practice...without getting into specifics like micrometers gears and bushings and linkages...you simply can't learn it all fast enough..my words not to be mistaken for someone who has made any mistakes with gears or "bearings"...get the cert ... when you run into something you learned in the classroom it will make it that much easier...you can pack those wheel bearings for 2.50 no problem right the trainer did that and that ..and get on to those multiple monitors for 300.oo a piece..my words not to be confused with HP or microsoft....you will know thousanth of an inch win.ini system.ini and bootlog.txt and it will be inherent...you will go in and set up a network like you were there structuring CERN ..bits and pieces right. Well I think that is what the employer is likely to believe..when he hires you to 'rebuild' his current network he wants to believe that you will know if the kit you are using, 'kit' right, will be missing pieces that makes it essentially practically useless and still in disrepair.....cert..
Just a question regarding all of you techs out there....
What is the average monthly salary for techs like you guys/gals out there? I say average since some work for yourselves while others work for companies?
Carlos
I am 19 years old, the head tech of a rapidly growing computer company in Winnipeg, and I make about $30000 a year. Remember- that's canadian dollars, so that works out to about $5 US per year. https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2000/09/1.gif