IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[Scott Larock]

Not bad .


1. Most common would be overheating and power supply. It could be the mobo but that would be a lot less likely. Software issues would usually cause the computer to reboot rather than shut down.

2. First thing would be to make sure they're printing to the right printer and see if there's something stuck in the print queue. You'd also want to make sure it's not something silly like the printer being out of paper/toner or turned off...this is common. Once you've ruled that stuff out I'd start looking at driver issues.

3. Pretty much...I'd check the event log and see what's up. You also might want to run diagnostics. Some computers come with diagnostic utilities you can run before boot, you could also run hard drive and memory tests.

4. Well, first you'd want to make sure the user knows WTF they're doing. It might just be a typo in the webpage they're trying to get to, or the site could just be down. But after that you'd want to see if they actually have an Internet connection. If not, the first thing to check would be to see if the network cable is unplugged or wifi got turned off by mistake (depending on how they connect). Those would be more common than DNS issues.

Once you've verified that nothing is unplugged/turned off you can check for DNS/Network issues, issues with NIC driver, bad NIC, inactive switch ports, etc. But you usually want to start with the most simple stuff.

thanks for the advice, I'll make sure I remember this. What's your title?

 

[JT-Money]

what job boards you guys use?

I use Indeed.com or LinkedIn usually.

 

[flipn50]

I use Indeed.com or LinkedIn usually.

I use indeed.com or craiglist

 

[flipn50]

I just signed up for 14 days trial of http://teamtreehouse.com/ to learn how to code. I like their instructional videos and mini quizzes

 

[kevm3]

lynda.com is a nice resource too. freshfromatl put me on to that.
nice overview of subjects

 

[se1f_made]

I use Indeed.com or LinkedIn usually.

Dice.com

 

[DIMES]

Do I need a college degree to work in IT?


Some very conflicting information in here. I fear that many people will be confused go to the wrong path. Some are saying degree/certs are useless and that you only need to study at home and know your shyt.

But then we have others saying you can't even get a interview if you don't at least have an A+.


Who is truly right?

 

[kevm3]

I just signed up for 14 days trial of http://teamtreehouse.com/ to learn how to code. I like their instructional videos and mini quizzes

One of the best traits to have as a programmer is PERSISTENCE. There will be a large gap from what you learn on sites like that and codecademy towards becoming proficient at making your own apps/highly functional web pages, but stick with it. Those sites are great to give you an overview, but the best thing to do after is get a kindle and start buying books that really take a deep dive into the various languages.

 

[kevm3]

Do I need a college degree to work in IT?


Some very conflicting information in here. I fear that many people will be confused go to the wrong path. Some are saying degree/certs are useless and that you only need to study at home and know your shyt.

But then we have others saying you can't even get a interview if you don't at least have an A+.


Who is truly right?

If you are doing stuff like help desk/networking, you will need your certs. You won't need a degree, but it can help. Anyone telling you you won't need certs to progress in that environment is making things up.

If you're programming, which is a different world than IT, you won't necessarily need a degree, but you have to demonstrate a very high level of skill, as in demonstrable projects. A guy who never went to college, but has developed several full blown applications, knows a few languages in and out, etc., will likely get hired over the guy coming fresh out of college who is heavy on theory, but small on experience and provable ability to develop. Degrees help, but with programming, you have to show your work. Degrees won't hide whether or not you can actually make something.

 

[Sonny Bonds]

My job is kinda

I've only had it for a month. It's better than nothing, but it's more asset management than IT. I need to get another entry level cert and get the hell out to a proper help desk position. What kind of salary should I be expecting in NYC for entry level help desk? I'm pretty sure I'm not getting paid enough. And when I look up other jobs, the benefits are so much better. I don't even get paid vacation time.

Better question: How do I leave a job after a month or 2? In terms of how it'll look on my resume. I'm not lazy, it's just that I live in a place with a lot of opportunities.

 

[Rayzah]

So my new employer needs me to have my security+ CE continues education.. I have a sec+ I have had it since 2010, what is this CE non sense and why is DOD always on some bs?

 

[Regular_P]

Anyone use teamtreehouse.com to teach themselves code?

 

[DEAD7]

Do you guys find the following to be true?:


An anonymous reader writes:

"I got into programming because I like creating stuff. Not just any stuff, but stuff other people find useful. I like the constant problem solving, the use of abstractions that exist for long periods nowhere but in my imagination, and I like seeing the transformation into a living presence. ... The simple programs of a few hundred lines of C++ long ago disappeared from my experience. What was the experience of riding a bicycle has become the equivalent of traveling by jumbo jet; replete with the delays, inspections, limitations on personal choices, and sudden, unexplained cancellations — all at a significantly higher cost. ... Project overhead, even for simple projects, is so heavy that it's a wonder anyone can find the time to code, much less derive joy from it. Software development has become a mostly operational activity, rather than a creative one. The fundamental problem here is not the complexity of apps, but the complexity of tools. Tools have gone rather haywire during the last decade chasing shibboleths of scalability, comprehensiveness, performance. Everything except simplicity."

 

[kevm3]

Anyone use teamtreehouse.com to teach themselves code?

are you trying to do web development or standalone applications? A site like teamtreehouse would be solid for the basics. Do codecademy first though. It's free and immediately responsive. But the best way is to buy books and to work through them. It's hard to put all the details in about a language in relatively short videos. Videos will give you a nice overview, but if you really want to dig deep, you'll have to start buying books. Let me know what language you want to learn and I'll point you towards a book.

 

[RubioTheCruel]

are you trying to do web development or standalone applications? A site like teamtreehouse would be solid for the basics. Do codecademy first though. It's free and immediately responsive. But the best way is to buy books and to work through them. It's hard to put all the details in about a language in relatively short videos. Videos will give you a nice overview, but if you really want to dig deep, you'll have to start buying books. Let me know what language you want to learn and I'll point you towards a book.

What's a good book for getting good with Python? I'm OK with one-off scripts to do simple sysadmin stuff(file backup, user creation), but I wanna get really good with it.