[Chris]

Networking. Get your CCNA, go from there.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by thedownside

learn to be a graphic designer

The web design industry is pretty convoluted right now. GD'ers are a dime a dozen.

[JBroll]

All these bloody courses and tests are pricey, though... I want to get a few of those under my belt just so I'll have a job anywhere I want, but I can't afford it so I'm trying to get any job I can with someplace like Rackspace and take advantage of their 'benefits' in those areas...

Jeff

[Chris]

BS/BA > Certs, every time.

[kmanick]

Really depends on what you like to do.
I've seen a lot more demand over the past couple of years of OLAP expertise.
Data warehousing is big business, analysts like to be able to examine their data in a myraid of ways.
I'm a .Net MCSD, and a SQL Server DBA. I work for a company that writes software for the healthcare industry.
We are Microsoft based but I wrote Java apps for a consulting company for a few years as well.
Linux is cool and all but not if you actually want to make a lot of money.
In Boston anyway no 'real" businesses run anything on Linux except maybe a few servers ina back room somewhere.
DIstributed applications on the J2EE platform or the .Net CRL platform are the 2 main players.
You need to decide on whether you like to do Database work, write code, or do network admin type of work.
Those are the 3 key areas that you can make cash in.
These days doing front end web work is just a piece of the pie.
When I have to Create a new module for one of our apps, I have to architect it, I write out the DB part of it (stored procs, triggers, table
design, etc) I write the Data access code,I write the middle tier business
objects and I write the web pages or windows forms front end for the UI.

Being just a 'web" guy isn't enough anymore , those skillsets are a dime a
dozen these days.
Being an OLAP services MDX expert, now there's a specialized skill set that
is growing in demand.

I agree with Chris on the certs as well.
Certifications are gravy on people that have a few years under their belt.
If I interview someone fresh out of college with little to no experience
and they have a bunch of certifications, I dismiss the Certifications because
without the real world experience they don't mean shit.
The consulting company I used to work for was a Microsoft Gold Partner.
Every developer that was an employee there had to be an MCSD, or a DBA.
They could also charge more by the hour that way when they sent us out on jobs.

[JBroll]

Originally Posted by Chris

BS/BA > Certs, every time.

Bloody hell, I just finished math and didn't touch the stuff, I'm guessing CS?

Jeff

[Benzesp]

I have a shit load of certs,A+, Net+, MCP, Secrrity+,MCSE blah blah blah.. I'm going back to school for Computer Science... Certs are cool, they help you get your foot in the door so you can get some real world experience under your belt. I'm not even a net admin at my current job haha.. I do a lot of cross platform scripting, Perl, Autoit, AppleScript, and here recently linux shell scripting, but most of this I've learned on the job or on my own which is why putting your time in is so valuble. Employers know experience counts big time. The tech industry is so full of tribal knowledge, and thats usually the knowledge that is the most usefull.

[Matt Crooks]

Become the person who interfaces with the off shoring company. Even with all the cheap labor in Asia, there still needs to be someone to tell them what to do!

[JJ Rodriguez]

Well this is quite the bump

Well, an update, we are now in the union. On the current project I'm in, I basically work away from all the unionized people so I CAN touch server/network stuff. If they switch me to another project, that all goes bye bye, so it's basically waiting for a job to open up and hoping I have the seniority to get the job.

I've been thinking about getting my CCNA, and been meaning to finish my MCSE (I'm 2 away from MCSE 2000...kind of outdated now I know). In college, I got %100 in my Cisco course, which was pretty much unheard of there (it's only a 30 day course there, so take it for what it's worth...) and did pretty good in everything else, so I'm sure if I put the time in I could get my CCNA no problem. It's basically deciding what to do that's the real kicker though.

Another thing is leaving my safety net. Desktop support is easy, and the money isn't bad (especially since joining the union). I'm getting regular raises, and I have job security. Of course, I'm also getting bored, and I find myself slacking more and more. Anyways, that's my update and kind of how I'm thinking about it these days.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Benzesp

I have a shit load of certs,A+, Net+, MCP, Secrrity+,MCSE blah blah blah.. I'm going back to school for Computer Science... Certs are cool, they help you get your foot in the door so you can get some real world experience under your belt. I'm not even a net admin at my current job haha.. I do a lot of cross platform scripting, Perl, Autoit, AppleScript, and here recently linux shell scripting, but most of this I've learned on the job or on my own which is why putting your time in is so valuble. Employers know experience counts big time. The tech industry is so full of tribal knowledge, and thats usually the knowledge that is the most usefull.

^ Agree 100%.