Any IT professionals on this site?

[jerebus67]

I work for a great company (GHA Technologies) and enjoy working with car guys! (Worked for CDW for 5 years prior) If anyone ever has a need for any type of computer technology shoot me an email! [email protected]

[BA.]

'IT' is the only thing I've done ever. :) 22 years of it now ranging from switches to routers, LAN to WAN, Firewalls and IPS/IDS's to Proxy's, Wireless to PC's, even a little voice and video.
It's far from boring here at LexisNexis.


Good stuff. Good industry.
I think we have/had a CDW warehouse up near Troy or Vandalia Ohio just up I-75 a bit. I've not heard of GHA yet though.

I just read their AboutUs page and it sounds like you're in a good place man. Good deal!

[Aceshigh]

Yep, I handle just about everything from Telecom networks to PC Networks which is what my degree is in Network/Telecommunications Mgmt.

Was going the MCSE route in 2000 but gave that up once I saw the
Dot Com crash and the pay scales went to crap plus all the constant
re-cert'ing you have to do. Now I'm strictly Telecom making pretty
decent bucks in Chicago's burbs for Comcast as a Headend engineer.

Also went for my CCNA but never completed it, subnetting is a real MF'r sometimes..LOL

[69TAPoser]

I work for an IT company (Big Blue), but I am not a techie, but I rely on a great techie to get my deals done. I also regularly pretend that I am technical. Does this count? :geek:

Phil

[EastCoast]

Count me in. Been in the industry 13+ years currently as a Project Manager/Lead. I've been out of the 'hands on' technical work for the most part for the last few years. We work in Healthcare primarily, but as a consulting company we will work in just about anything!

Robb

[derekf]

14 years now, although I'm more on the coding side these days -- my MCSE hasn't been renewed since NT4.

[69Pony]

CNE, CNI, HP STAR, CCNA, CCNP, MCSE, PMP.

Been doing "IT" for 20+ years. Like EastCoast I recently jumped over to Project Management / Disaster Recovery for IT. Less weekends and nights now - true IT guys can relate. As a Cisco router/switch jockey I worked 34 weekends last year. As a PM I've worked 1 this year. Bored to tears though.....

Should have been a Man-whore......

Yo Aceshigh - think IPV4 subnetting was a bitch? Try IPV6 - WTF is that junk?

[6'9"Witha69]

I deal with SQL, VB, .NET, C Sharp and a little Oracle. The PM side is a lot better somedays. I wrote "rogue" apps as a Senior Analyst on the business side. They brought me to the IT side and made a PM out of me. I still get a lot of joy from debuging and doing service calls.

[StRacerDuke]

Sr. Marketing Specialist at extraprise (www.extraprise.com). Database marketing, analytics and CRM under one roof. Work with Siebel, Oracle, SQL, Alterian, SFDC.

[BonzoHansen]

For the past 10 years or so I've been a Business Systems Analyst and Project Manager. Did some VBA programming here & there, but not anymore (good thing too, i was a hack). The BSA part can be hard to describe to people. This was in the Sunday paper a few weeks ago. Basically, this sums it up:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
My role in systems is a lot of hurry up & wait, and conference calls, thus occasional free time to wander forums. Like right now. A CC I have to be on for no reason.

Between Office Space and Dilbert, welcome to the cubical jungle, baby! I bet a few here can relate. :lol:

[rocketrod]

Been in IT for about 7 years developed solutions using VC++ & VB. Also worked with extensively wtih XML, XSL, HTML & DTDs to capture and publish diagnostic content. I currently moved into a position where we are implementing Primavera project management through out the organization. I train project/program managers on the use of the software and develop MS Office solutions using VBA to automate Excel & Powerpoint apps for reporting purposes.

[olds87]

I got my degree in computer and networking technology from HI- Tech in 2004 and in the filed four 2 years, I kind of a young guy by you guys in this thread.
Been working at a hotel tech support (MSI Solutions Inc.) for almost a year right now. It okay job, I'm learning SQL a little and on hotel side on how things are run.
I'm thinking of getting security + cert and try later for CCNA cert later.

[GothamCity]

I am a Unix System Administrator. I have been in the IT industry for over 10 years. I am an HP CERTIFIED SYSTEMS ADMIN. I also am a Backup and Restore Guru and play with a lil SAN

[Motown 454]

OK Good you guys get over to my house before I throw this computer out the window. Its driving me nuts!

[TonyHuntimer]

I work for a great company (GHA Technologies) and enjoy working with car guys! (Worked for CDW for 5 years prior) If anyone ever has a need for any type of computer technology shoot me an email! [email protected]

Hey J,

Maybe I'm reading too much into your post. Are you offering your services if somebody needs IT help? Or are you saying there may be IT positions available with your current employer?

Thought I'd ask so clarify. :)

To answer your question in the thread title. I am a retired UNIX admin. Most of my work was done with SunOS, Solaris and Veritas. I played a lot with Sun, NetApp, Lucent, ADIC, and a little with AXIL, SGI, Auspex... Long live vi! My favorite employer was a little company named 3Dfx Interactive.
You'll find many IT professionals here. :)

[1969CamaroRS]

Computer Programmer here. Currently dealing with .NET/C#/SQL internal financial business apps mostly. I wear a bunch of hats but I'm basically the architect/tech lead managing a bunch of developers across a bunch of projects. Kind of neat having a team and seeing your ideas come to life.

Probably why I like working on cars so much, I don't have the luxury of being hands on with code much anymore.

[para67camaro]

Quick question for you IT guys then. I am in the military at the moment and I am about to hit 9 years of service in 18 months, that is when my contract is up. What certifications/degrees should I look to have by the time I get out to be a very hot asset for a company. Currently I have an expired CCNA cert I got 5 years ago, Net + cert last year, REDCOM tech cert, Promina operator cert. I have experience setting up networks in really remote places, from the arctic circle to the Saharan desert. I was also a Satellite network controller for US ARMY space, I managed satellite communication payloads, from FDMA to TDMA. In addition to all of this I also dealt with radio frequency propagation, from HF to EHF. I was taught radio transmission propagation theory by JFKSWC. Apart from those military certificates I have a TS/SCI with a few letters after it for a clearance. I am planning on getting my MCSA cert by the end of this summer and CCNA next year. What do you guys think? What expectations should I have? I have about 35 college credits to my name, should I pursue a degree or will my experience be good enough?

[bingham72]

I've been doing custom app deve for 10 years all in Microsoft technologies. VB, C#, SQL Server, Sharepoint, Mobile app dev, Reporting etc. Mobile app dev is still my favorite to do.

[fantasygoat]

I've been a UNIX admin for over 13 years, since the start of the internet revolution. I suppose I should start trying to get into management but I like not wearing a shirt and tie!

Problem is, with that much experience it is getting harder and harder to find jobs that are willing to pay for it.

[wmhjr]

Quick question for you IT guys then. I am in the military at the moment and I am about to hit 9 years of service in 18 months, that is when my contract is up. What certifications/degrees should I look to have by the time I get out to be a very hot asset for a company. Currently I have an expired CCNA cert I got 5 years ago, Net + cert last year, REDCOM tech cert, Promina operator cert. I have experience setting up networks in really remote places, from the arctic circle to the Saharan desert. I was also a Satellite network controller for US ARMY space, I managed satellite communication payloads, from FDMA to TDMA. In addition to all of this I also dealt with radio frequency propagation, from HF to EHF. I was taught radio transmission propagation theory by JFKSWC. Apart from those military certificates I have a TS/SCI with a few letters after it for a clearance. I am planning on getting my MCSA cert by the end of this summer and CCNA next year. What do you guys think? What expectations should I have? I have about 35 college credits to my name, should I pursue a degree or will my experience be good enough?

Get your degree. More and more, better paying IT jobs require a degree. You need to find a way to distinguish yourself in every way possible, especially considering the large focus on both outsourcing and on shared service apps. If you're going to focus on LAN/WAN/IP, then having your CCIE would be VERY helpful. That's a big step, though. CCIE certs do not come easy.

[6'9"Witha69]

Get your degree. More and more, better paying IT jobs require a degree. You need to find a way to distinguish yourself in every way possible, especially considering the large focus on both outsourcing and on shared service apps. If you're going to focus on LAN/WAN/IP, then having your CCIE would be VERY helpful. That's a big step, though. CCIE certs do not come easy.
Correct. My last job saw a guy get a double CCIE and he was snatched up for big bucks right away!

[1969CamaroRS]

Degrees and Certs help a resume stand out, but you really just need to know your stuff backwards and forwards. A good resume, degree and certs might you an interview but really knowing the stuff backwards and forwards gets you job, especially if asked to "demonstrate" or in a "hands-on" interview..

I have known some Network admins that would get old computers and setup them up at home and "play" really helps learning. Might not work for the more advanced topics but can help.

[wmhjr]

BTW, I'm an Army retiree, and have been in the IT world (corporate) for some time as well. I run a very large global IT group. We're about $38B in revenues. Here's my advice. It's just advice, so feel free to disregard any or all of it. If you ever want to talk PM me. I am always interested in helping out a fellow military guy.

In yesterdays world, you could do well just by being competent and effective. That was yesterday - before IT white collar jobs started becoming outsourced, and before even infrastructure moved to the cloud.

Today WANs are more and more "contract managed" as "WAN Services" from providers. That means MPLS networks delivered as a managed service globally rather than internally managed networks. It's increasingly tough out there. As somebody who has hired tons of IT professionals (and somebody who had their CNA and CNE more than a decade ago) I'll tell you that the degree and the certs help get you the interview. Without either one, you're going to have a tough time even getting through the screening. It's a buyers market. The ideal candidate has a 4 year degree, multiple certs, experience, a track record of successful projects, and good interviewing skills. A breadth of disciplines along with business acumen tops it all off.

Like I said, if I can help you I will. We're not hiring right now but advice is free.

[wicked68]

wow - a lot of geeks on the board.

Quite impressive :D

I am a geek myself - I own a few companies in the internet side of the house - dedicated servers / VPS / colocation etc.

I built and currently run 2 different networks in the US - the bigger of the 2 is in ATL and has 50 gigs of upstream connectivity -for you ip jocks - one is 15 years old that has grown to 50 gigs - AS 3595 - one of the original early networks that has been around a long time in internet years.

its fun....most of the time. but not as fun as cars :D

[jfaria78]

Quick question for you IT guys then. I am in the military at the moment and I am about to hit 9 years of service in 18 months, that is when my contract is up. What certifications/degrees should I look to have by the time I get out to be a very hot asset for a company. Currently I have an expired CCNA cert I got 5 years ago, Net + cert last year, REDCOM tech cert, Promina operator cert. I have experience setting up networks in really remote places, from the arctic circle to the Saharan desert. I was also a Satellite network controller for US ARMY space, I managed satellite communication payloads, from FDMA to TDMA. In addition to all of this I also dealt with radio frequency propagation, from HF to EHF. I was taught radio transmission propagation theory by JFKSWC. Apart from those military certificates I have a TS/SCI with a few letters after it for a clearance. I am planning on getting my MCSA cert by the end of this summer and CCNA next year. What do you guys think? What expectations should I have? I have about 35 college credits to my name, should I pursue a degree or will my experience be good enough?


Stay in and do your 20. You can get out, but having 2 pay checks is better than one. I got out at 6, a little over 4 years ago. Did the same thing as you (I worked at CRT and SVN) you should know those codes :) Anyway, I am in the AF reserves now I will have to wait until I am 60 to get my paycheck. Plus in all honesty the pay may look more but all your pay is tax free I was bringing home over 2600 on the 1st and 15th when I was active duty as an E5, that is a lot of money when your paying taxes on every dime you make! PM me if you want more of my opinion, but if you can hang in for another 10 years it will be more than worth it...

Forgot to mention that I have a 2 degree's and CCNP, network +, and working on the CISSP. I have a job and employeed, but sometimes I would rather be in unifom full time, looking back I never had any boring days at work, and every two years I was always doing something different. Plus my pay as an E7/10 years is pretty good with all the pay allowances and such. Plus you hardly pay any tax's which is even better in my opinion...

[shep]

Been in IT for about 6 yrs now. the only cert I have is ShoreTel certified installer. Currently I am the IT department for a small bank about 30 servers and 200 PC's across 9 branches scattered around the state.

[wicked68]

anyone doing vmare or xen?

how is the performance of this site?

[bingham72]

The best advice is to Specialize. Search some job boards and see which of your skills is most in demand. Don't try to be an Everyman. The job market is looking for specific skillsets to meet a specific demand. Certs definately help, but experience speaks volumes. I've interviewed tons of people with certs, but no experience. I'm not a network guy, but the advice other folks is giving seems pretty solid.

[para67camaro]

I really appreciate the input guys. I am leaning towards staying in and applying for a selection process position. I have not made my mind up, though staying in the military has been sounding better than getting out. Though I do make enlisted pay, the recession has not affected me at all. I guess I will continue with what I have so far and specialize in a specific skill set. Thanks again guys.

[Vimes]

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