I.T. Techies....Job Treatment

[pablo_tt]

Seeing the number of "job threads" I had to ask this one. I.T. Techies,l how does your job treat you? Are you the "flashy" type that show up for worl, pretend to do something but really call for the other one that really knows his stuff just to make you look good?

Another thing, do you sometimes get soo engrossed with your work that your friends might classify you as a workaholic? Also, for I.T. managers, how would you go about selecting your techies? Look at working experience and educate them (iff need be) or you look at qualifications more then hope to build up on experience from there?


Your thoughts

[Dragist]

I.T. managers, how would you go about selecting your techies? Look at working experience and educate them (iff need be) or you look at qualifications more then hope to build up on experience from there?

Experience Experience Experience

[pablo_tt]

Another question, what is the current minimum now? 2 years or more?

[AllTrac]

for technicians i would hire only those with microsoft and other similar type qualifications with a combination of experience, for me they would always have the advantage over someone with a degree. Someone with ms successful passes lets me know that they are hands on type of person and into heavy troubleshooting since that whats needed to pass those exams and it would make them the ideal person for a technician/pc support/network admin position imo.
As for work ethic, i try to show up for work early and get a head start on checking and monitoring logs etc, this is so that it would make my job easier as when staff shows up and the systems go under load. I wont lie, there are some things i couldnt figure out and anyone, IT admin or manager who says that they know everything is lieing, but ive networked myself well and have good friends and past teachers on my msn, and phone, we help each other out when a problem arise that we cant solve.
I never want to end up like my last boss who was the IT manager, he is a very good manager with his degree abnd masters, but its been almost 3 months since i left that job and i gets calls from him everyday to walk him through basic network admin stuff and ive been there a couple saturdays to show him how to do small stuff and troubleshooting on the exchange server. Managers should always have some type of technical background if they are managers in the IT dept.

As for being a workaholic, i was like that in y last job, there where times i worked till 2am rebuilding a system so i could get it live for when work starts. Hoping they would notice this, when time came for promotion, nepotism was their choice, so i resigned.

The current minimum i noticed is about 3 years.

[pablo_tt]

Thanks for the input trac, reason I asked bout the workaholic part, I go outta the way to have technical stuff with where I workin up and running, and true of the company's size, some people say what I getting paid to do is not on par.

and @ 3 years now peeps asking for

[AllTrac]

pablo_tt, the IT industry is very saturated right now, ESPECIALLY your area. I believe overall qualified IT managers and admins are not getting paid their worth in Trinidad. I believe you dont have plans to make your current place of employment, permanent. Just use it as a stepping stone, as something to gain experience as it would look good on your resume, you are young and should concentrate on filling up your resume. Years ago ive been in a similar job as you and doing the same thing. The pay sucked but the major advantage was that my employer was very flexiable with time and allowed me to leave early for class, take a day off here and there to prep for exam etc so i stuck it out while i completed my studies. The pay didnt really matter since i was making just enuff to get by but i know it would not be my life long career, it was jsut convienent for me.

[pablo_tt]

Yes trac, here is indeed a stepping stone and I am looking at experience here, and saturated is joke! The amount of new guys that start up something and come by us for parts / service is unbelievable. Will try to see how much more I can bare, but I am really looking to move forward and continue to educate myself. Can't really get to do that where I am right now tho. I have tried two other options already (thanks to a fellow I.T. tuner) and there is one other option, but I will hafta wait till they do a drafting call for that job.

The "drafting" job has loads of room for self improvement, but I will had a very very long ladder to climb to reachs omewhere, but I understand pay is worth it and they give you all the training u want to do

[Dragist]

Well said Trac and solid advice .

[pablo_tt]

Just had to bump this up.

Two years later, and where has the I.T. industry reached in Trinidad?

[Soundwave]

Just had to bump this up.

Two years later, and where has the I.T. industry reached in Trinidad?

guapo...

[oxidation]

guys need some advice

i did a+ certification now doing net+

from there what should i do??

[benko]

get some software configuration and troubleshooting experience, server OS' and client/server applications and aim for a MCITP unless you want to stay with infrastructure work in which case you have a long way to go perhaps along the track of CCNA or some telecom specialty. Software experience is always a good idea because very few local IT departments have need of specialists only in infrastructure, you may limit yourself to outsourced work or fight a very competitive sector on the industry.

try to build references and experience by working on project jobs, the wider your range of exposure, the better.

[Captainzaak]

AllTrac,

U'll hiring? i out of work by next year

[ZeroOne]

Good IT jobs are scarce. Companies paying people with MCSE etc 3k/month now. Even with 2-3 yrs experience its difficult because a lot of companies outsource their IT services. Its all about who you know too.

I have 5 Microsoft Certs plus a few DELL certs and im not employed in the field.

[mitsu4life]

sigh...seeing this post just depressed me, I am out of job next week

apparently management decided that since the network no longer gives trouble they don't need a full time i.t admin also they realised I can do the accounts receivables easily they are offering me a "stipend" to do the accounts and do i.t one day a week

[wagonrunner]

^^
the problem faced by being too "good" an admin.

[mitsu4life]

^^They burnt their own bridge, they using an application that only 3 companies in t'dad use....they WILL have call me for something sometime only this time i'm charging an hour what they would have paid me a day

[wagonrunner]

^^

yuh learning.
but, dont charge by hour brudda.
charge by task.
it's in your interest to get it done as quickly as possible (correctly eh), so you can get to the next task.

[Death-Row]

self employment ftw.


good info here tho.

[Coppershot]

Low level techs jobs pay ok, if your in government but you can't pay afford better things in life like house, new car etc.
The private companies that I went on interviews paying crap.
Never interviewed with the big ones, oil & gas etc but they should be paying well.

The IT industry in T&T gone through, I've been in it for close to 9yrs.
They want to hire 1 person to do 3 jobs, (system admin, network and db/web). thus leading to constant job turnover.
Some companies, private & govt, always losing workers, so u seeing the same job being posted in papers multiple times in the yr.
In govt jobs, the salaries going backwards from what it used to be, and the higher your skills, you have to contend with the salary ceiling they have in place.

Self Employed FTW.

[acesinghit]

Most times new recruits don't have any idea as to how to apply what was learnt. I'm wondering how they got their degrees in the first place. I am not an HR Manager but I am sometimes asked by the Director to sit-in as part of a panel. My job is to generate reports and execute strategic decisions from this. I see a trend in graduates of certain tertiary schools locally. Some can't speak, read, write and generally carry about themselves properly. They are generally those with impressive O and A level results and came from UWI. These degree holders are those who like to play know-it-all but outsource help ALL the time. I suppose that is how they got the degree in the first place. Those with these London degrees from SBCS and SAM seem less educated than the UWI student (only on paper) but outshine them in every other professional and social aspect. These students actually build on these shaky qualifications and are more receptive in a professional environment while some UWI graduates still think they are in class and this is a lab session. I consider a young recruit very highly when they ask their superiors for help and who lay their cards right from the resume to interview stage first. They tend to stick around more and improve whereas some always feel they know everything and they always have a friend or "pardner" who could help them and they end up doing sheit.

IT people can be easily replaced. With the influx of people with degrees and those with experience and talent continue to be easily accessible and salaries have been as low as $2,500.; $3,000.; $3,500. to a typical ceiling of $6,000. to $7,000. tops depending on employer. Those with graduate degrees start off with a marginal increase but it all comes to zero since 99% of employers offer only contract employment. The actual quality of life for each individual is limited since lending institutions would not consider contract employment for land/home and vehicle purchases. Employers therefore take full advantage of this sector and exploit the IT department so much and pay them very little.

[acesinghit]

From a social stand-point, some IT persons are not motivated to build on their undergrad qualifications because it makes no sense. The salaries are too low to enjoy life (in a material way of course). I know too much people with IT degrees who left that choice completely and are into Management, HSSE, Law, Medicine, Engineering or NatSci. I no longer wish to pursue IT hence my MBA. I am starting my LLb next year and or maybe start the HSSE. Either way I'm doing both.

[Sky]

sigh...seeing this post just depressed me, I am out of job next week

apparently management decided that since the network no longer gives trouble they don't need a full time i.t admin also they realised I can do the accounts receivables easily they are offering me a "stipend" to do the accounts and do i.t one day a week

fcuk some shid up meng!!

Run dhcp tables on a timely rotation to conflict ip's every four days. Change the QoS. Put the least priority on Voip muahahaha. Thas what you get for performing? Sent home?
IT personell are treated like public servants. Don't need them until something goes wrong, but when they perform and everything running sweet you forget about them.
Doesn't matter that every company needs some sort of ICT support.

[pablo_tt]

I don't think I should tell you employers lurk these forums from time to time Sky

[redmanjp]

sigh...seeing this post just depressed me, I am out of job next week

apparently management decided that since the network no longer gives trouble they don't need a full time i.t admin also they realised I can do the accounts receivables easily they are offering me a "stipend" to do the accounts and do i.t one day a week

fcuk some shid up meng!!

Run dhcp tables on a timely rotation to conflict ip's every four days. Change the QoS. Put the least priority on Voip muahahaha. Thas what you get for performing? Sent home?
IT personell are treated like public servants. Don't need them until something goes wrong, but when they perform and everything running sweet you forget about them.
Doesn't matter that every company needs some sort of ICT support.

well time fuh strike then? i still get paid a 2006 salary

[DJ Q]

Run dhcp tables on a timely rotation to conflict ip's every four days. Change the QoS. Put the least priority on Voip muahahaha.

[Chiney]

Run dhcp tables on a timely rotation to conflict ip's every four days. Change the QoS. Put the least priority on Voip muahahaha.

doe laugh..
did that by mistake already and talk about trouble...
my goodness

but yeh..

IT TECHS..its hard to find a nice job out there..i count myself lucky we..
got a good director..and good co-workers
look right now dem men having a debate as i type this
the topic is wats the best toppings for pizza...


on a serious note....... remember never to be a work-a-holic .... but..make ur experience count.

[Sky]

My Idea, won't be my doing. I don't have the time.

Where I work, I came with tertiary education in E&I, not IT. But in the interview I told them how they should run their network (new company) and I ended up in IT. 3 main responsibilities fall under me. Coordinator, where I design and purchase, Network Admin and tech support. It's 3 jobs basically as Coppershot said. The work for the $$ I don't mind. What I mind is the time to do these three things by myself. That's when I remembered why I left IT 6 years ago. You do a lot and the only time your name's called is when something goes wrong. ICT is supposed to be invisible to the rest of the company, like a service. Luckily for me, my boss understands this and I'm appreciated. What I get buff for really is being so technical and doing things myself instead of paying another company for doing it. I'm happy here and I'll stick around. I wasting company time though, so I'm out.

[xaira]

this chead depressing jead, but seriously, try to get a it position in govt, because it always have work to do updating network, expansion of services etc, the least i ever haer a govt body paying technicians is $4,500 which i think is tertiary education

but i h8 when a job advertisement say the only requirement is degree, i not qualified for sheit in IT, all i have is experience and most of my pandas with degree does be callin me, hey, how to do this, basic simple thing

[pablo_tt]

In my old job, on a daily basis, had people from big named energy industries coming to where I worked asking to do simple things, like a system reformat, installation of a hard drive etc.