IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[Idaeo]

I got a 2nd interview on Monday for an Associate DevOps Engineer position. I'm meeting with the director of engineering. Anyone know what questions I can ask during my interview?

From chat gpt-4

Congratulations on making it to the second interview! It's essential to come prepared with thoughtful questions that demonstrate your interest in the company and the position. Here are some questions you can ask the director of engineering during your interview:

1. Can you describe the typical day-to-day responsibilities of an Associate DevOps Engineer at your company?
2. How is the DevOps team structured, and how does it collaborate with other teams in the organization?
3. What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) for this role, and how do you measure success?
4. What is the company's approach to continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD)?
5. How does the company stay up-to-date with the latest DevOps practices, tools, and technologies?
6. Can you share some recent projects or challenges the DevOps team has worked on and how they were resolved?
7. What are the opportunities for growth and career advancement within the DevOps team and the company as a whole?
8. How does the company support professional development and skill improvement for its employees?
9. What is the company culture like, and how does it promote work-life balance and employee satisfaction?
10. Can you share your vision for the future of the DevOps team and how this role will contribute to that vision?

Remember to tailor your questions to your specific interests and the company's situation. Good luck with your interview!

I just finished my 2nd round of interviews. It feels like it went very well.

When the interview got to the typical “tell me about a project that went bad” question, I told him a true instance where a happy customer retired, his replacement didn’t like our product and stalled the project. I had to meet with the new customer to identify his concerns, go back to our project team and re-pitch our product in terms of their needs.

The hiring manager thought I was cappin with a PMBOK cookie cutter answer, so I gave him the minute details of what happened, the system and the product, what teams I worked with to resolve it…and he was impressed.

He said I’m moving forward to the last interview, which will be a panel of two other VPs.

 

[Sonny Bonds]

So many pages to go thru.. anyone know what page to find updated info on starting brand new I have no tech experience. So far from what I see I have to get a call center job first then what cert do I get with?

No one answered this yet? For shame Coli brehs and brehettes. Did we all just secure the bag and forget about what it was like before getting money?

How old are you? What experience do you have? Do you have a degree?

Regardless, get the A+ cert and the network+. On YouTube, professor messer has courses for these certs. And there’s books by a guy named Meyers (Myers?) for the certs if you’re into reading about extremely dry topics.
Apply for help desk jobs. Keep learning. You need to be able to talk about this stuff in interviews.

If you still can’t get a job, you could get an entry level Microsoft cert. I don’t remember what it’s called. You could also try getting an asset management job. That’s how I got into tech.

 

[Billy Ray Valentine]

So many pages to go thru.. anyone know what page to find updated info on starting brand new I have no tech experience. So far from what I see I have to get a call center job first then what cert do I get with?

Calling it a call center maybe oversimplifying it but yeah, there are jobs such as help desk/service desk/technical support jobs that are about providing first point of contact support. It could be through inbound calls, people submitting tickets through email/website, or live chat.

The role may be internal support, vendor support, or managed services/service provider companies. Those jobs tend to be about remote support and not dealing with people face to face.

You also have field technician jobs. PC companies like Dell and HP sell those extended warranty plans to companies with onsite support plans. For that, they contract that work out to companies that hire people to go to offices to fix computers.

In dealing with the PC companies, they just ship a replacement part to a local UPS/FedEx for a tech that comes onsite to install it. I would rather take a help desk/tech support job than to deal with all that driving. And you're just replacing parts and calling it a day.

Those PC companies also have positions for depot support where computers get shipped to a location to get fixed. But you would need to be in an area close to the depot. I think Dell's depot is in Kentucky. And I want to say either HP or Lenovo have a places in Texas but I'm not sure.

No one answered this yet? For shame Coli brehs and brehettes. Did we all just secure the bag and forget about what it was like before getting money?

How old are you? What experience do you have? Do you have a degree?

Regardless, get the A+ cert and the network+. On YouTube, professor messer has courses for these certs. And there’s books by a guy named Meyers (Myers?) for the certs if you’re into reading about extremely dry topics.
Apply for help desk jobs. Keep learning. You need to be able to talk about this stuff in interviews.

If you still can’t get a job, you could get an entry level Microsoft cert. I don’t remember what it’s called. You could also try getting an asset management job. That’s how I got into tech.

Mike Myers. I only read half of his Network+ book. He's decent but I would recommend Todd Lammle. I think he has Network+ and Cisco books.

Also, people trying to get tech jobs should think beyond just traditional tech companies. A lot of organizations have pretty advanced tech stacks/infrastructure and require people of all levels to maintain it.

 

[Dave24]

Calling it a call center maybe oversimplifying it but yeah, there are jobs such as help desk/service desk/technical support jobs that are about providing first point of contact support. It could be through inbound calls, people submitting tickets through email/website, or live chat.

The role may be internal support, vendor support, or managed services/service provider companies. Those jobs tend to be about remote support and not dealing with people face to face.

You also have field technician jobs. PC companies like Dell and HP sell those extended warranty plans to companies with onsite support plans. For that, they contract that work out to companies that hire people to go to offices to fix computers.

In dealing with the PC companies, they just ship a replacement part to a local UPS/FedEx for a tech that comes onsite to install it. I would rather take a help desk/tech support job than to deal with all that driving. And you're just replacing parts and calling it a day.

Those PC companies also have positions for depot support where computers get shipped to a location to get fixed. But you would need to be in an area close to the depot. I think Dell's depot is in Kentucky. And I want to say either HP or Lenovo have a places in Texas but I'm not sure.




Mike Myers. I only read half of his Network+ book. He's decent but I would recommend Todd Lammle. I think he has Network+ and Cisco books.

Also, people trying to get tech jobs should think beyond just traditional tech companies. A lot of organizations have pretty advanced tech stacks/infrastructure and require people of all levels to maintain it.

@Billy Ray Valentine great post! Do help desk/service desk/technical support jobs pay well?

 

[Sonny Bonds]

@Billy Ray Valentine great post! Do help desk/service desk/technical support jobs pay well?

That’s why I ask people’s age when I give advice. Because the entry level jobs typically don’t pay much. Mid and more senior level roles do though.

Another way to get into tech is through customer service. If you can get a support role at a software company and then move into a more technical product support role as you learn more.

 

[ahomeplateslugger]

anyone working with AI or studying any certs or skills for it? AI is growing so i want to get my feet wet with it. just not sure what is a good starting point.

 

[Billy Ray Valentine]

@Billy Ray Valentine great post! Do help desk/service desk/technical support jobs pay well?

Yes, no, maybe. It depends on how you define good pay. Cost of living in your area, your current pay, if supporting kids/family. It's different for everyone

Not all companies pay the same for jobs with similar titles because titles don't aren't universal. My first job was as tech support with a technology vendor. The pay wasn't great (low 30,000s) but health care was 100% employer paid and I was happy to get be in the game. Plus I knew I wasn't going to stay long.

But I've seen other tech support jobs with salaries between 80,000 and 100,000. Those roles require a lot of experience with things like databases, Linux administration, programming/scripting (bash, Python, Ruby. Go), containers, and other advanced tech.

It just comes down to how companies "value" positions and the people doing it.

Last summer, Amazon wanted to interview me for a job that paid less than what I make in a crappy job. I would have been driving around 90 miles a day and working potentially up to 12 hours. Ii wasn't worth it responding even with me being in a bad situation.

I'm currently in the process of interviewing for some new jobs (praise be to Damballa to let one of these land). One is a cloud admin role starting out between 110,000 - 130,000. The other roles I'm speaking interviewing for have slightly smaller pay ranges but there could be skill development and experience opportunities that I could flip into something better next year.

For me, those are more than good paying jobs considering my situation. I don't have a degree. I've been learning through "self-study", online learning platforms and soaking up as much at my jobs as possible.

I estimate that I've spent probably less than $10,000 since late 2016 learning and trying to improve my skills. And that has been spread out over the years with the most of that money spent after getting my first job. My performance bonuses over the years offset a good chunk of that.

 

[Billy Ray Valentine]

That’s why I ask people’s age when I give advice. Because the entry level jobs typically don’t pay much. Mid and more senior level roles do though.

Another way to get into tech is through customer service. If you can get a support role at a software company and then move into a more technical product support role as you learn more.

Yep. People unfortunately think if they apply with 6 certs and no experience companies "have" to pay them a bunch of money. But those companies already have people with more experience and skills making a lot less.

You need to be trying to get entry-level jobs and experience while going to school, studying or what you're doing to learn about tech.

 

[Dave24]

Yep. People unfortunately think if they apply with 6 certs and no experience companies "have" to pay them a bunch of money. But those companies already have people with more experience and skills making a lot less.

You need to be trying to get entry-level jobs and experience while going to school, studying or what you're doing to learn about tech.

At 37 years old am I too old in your opinion to get an entry level job and move up?

 

[JT-Money]

Junior Cybersecurity Analyst

This pathway is a series of courses and resources focused on protecting computerized systems and prepares you for a career in cybersecurity.

skillsforall.com

 

[Dave24]

Junior Cybersecurity Analyst

This pathway is a series of courses and resources focused on protecting computerized systems and prepares you for a career in cybersecurity.

skillsforall.com

Subbed, thanks

 

[JT-Money]

Council Post: Sixty-Four Percent Of SOC Analysts Will Leave Their Jobs This Year—Here’s How To Improve Your Retention Rate

Enthusiasm for higher-level projects, bringing more value to the team and not being bogged down by manual tasks can increase engagement and happiness, which always increases retention.

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[Billy Ray Valentine]

At 37 years old am I too old in your opinion to get an entry level job and move up?

No. There are a lot of impediments to getting jobs but that's not one of them. And Covid has a lot people switching careers for better job security or just to pursue their dream careers.

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

At 37 years old am I too old in your opinion to get an entry level job and move up?

One of my colleagues went back to school and joined as a college grad with me, mid 40s. Slightly different scenarios but shows it can be done.

 

[BlaxOps]

At 37 years old am I too old in your opinion to get an entry level job and move up?

Nope. Someone in my circle when back to school in 2014 (only had an AA), got his BS in IT in 2016, got an paid internship in 2016, parlayed that into a full time position. He is making over 100k now.