Job Seeking

**Gumby** · 01-31-14, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by DJ Mr. White

I seem to remember my mom mentioning PISD was looking for people. Something to do with their IT people getting better job offers and leaving without any warning.

You mean you have to actually pay to get and keep good people?

**DJ Ms. White** · 01-31-14, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by Gumby

You mean you have to actually pay to get and keep good people?

**Phyrelight** · 02-03-14, 09:06 AM

yea the state is in for a rude awakening now that the market is picking back up. We have lost several senior level people in the last 6 months to private sector companies paying damn near double what the university pays.

**Cybs** · 02-03-14, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by WileECyte

When the tech bubble burst back in 2001... degrees became a whole lot more relevant. I lost my job and struggled to find a job. Took me 14 months to find anything due to me not having a degree. I ended up having to take a lot less money than I wanted to get my foot in the door and 12 years later... I've worked my way up to where I want to be. If I were to want to pursue anything beyond a team lead position though, I would be out of luck. Nice thing is... work will pay for my degree... I just have to find the time to actually finish mine. May not happen until my kids are out of the house or in college.

I don't know where you are at with your degree or what exactly you are looking for but Collin College offers serveral AAS degrees for Microsoft and Cisco products. I am working on their Systems Admin track now. My first class was basically Network+ and I went right into Cisco 1 then taking Cisco 2. I'll take Cisco 3 and 4 as electives then get my CCNA. Their curriculum is Cisco's (For these Cisco classes) and my instructor is a Cisco certified instructor as in he is certified by Cisco to teach the class.

The classes are "express" classes meaning they are 8 weeks long but the class times are longer. They offer classes during the day but also a Saturday classes (8:30 to 5:30) and week night classes (6-10:50 PM).

**WileECyte** · 02-03-14, 08:58 PM

I've got plenty of certifications specific for my job. I need to get my Associates and then Bachelors in Business Administration to have in my back pocket. I may end up going the WGU online route for my degree, but if I end up going anywhere local, I'll end up at a school like Northwood University or Letourneau University that have accelerated degrees for adult professionals.

**Mr_Blonde_OPS** · 02-03-14, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by Cybs

I don't know where you are at with your degree or what exactly you are looking for but Collin College offers serveral AAS degrees for Microsoft and Cisco products. I am working on their Systems Admin track now. My first class was basically Network+ and I went right into Cisco 1 then taking Cisco 2. I'll take Cisco 3 and 4 as electives then get my CCNA. Their curriculum is Cisco's (For these Cisco classes) and my instructor is a Cisco certified instructor as in he is certified by Cisco to teach the class.

The classes are "express" classes meaning they are 8 weeks long but the class times are longer. They offer classes during the day but also a Saturday classes (8:30 to 5:30) and week night classes (6-10:50 PM).

Sounds like DeVry University. That's where I go. Got campuses all over the country.

**Hocus Pocus** · 02-05-14, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by Mr_Blonde_OPS

Sounds like DeVry University. That's where I go. Got campuses all over the country.

I'd caution those types of schools for any formal education. If your getting a cert then okay but a degree isn't worth the paper it's put on. School is such a business these days you really have to be skeptical. For a 2 year degree find a local community college that has a transfer plan into a 4 year. When you attend a 4 year make sure the job placement department knows you on a first name basis. Sign up for as many internships as possible.

**Phyrelight** · 02-05-14, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by Hocus Pocus

I'd caution those types of schools for any formal education. If your getting a cert then okay but a degree isn't worth the paper it's put on. School is such a business these days you really have to be skeptical. For a 2 year degree find a local community college that has a transfer plan into a 4 year. When you attend a 4 year make sure the job placement department knows you on a first name basis. Sign up for as many internships as possible.

That depends on the school and the program (yes devry is crap). When I finished my BS in CIS I had 3 job choices when I graduated and non of those were directly through the school, they were jobs I found on my own based on my new degree and my years of experience. I choose to stay at the University and do my Masters of science in information management where upon graduation I had 3 new options including a start up in San Jose CA. The University who stood behind me through 6 of my 8 years of college with a job, either as a student worker or systems analyst etc offered me a promotion in both pay and job title to stay on instead of branching out into the private sector.

Devry is crap, I know 2 people that have degrees from there and can't land an entry level position. They don't interview well and their resume is crap. Devry doesn't teach rounded skills like a full University. I do like Hocus's recommendation of doing a community college for the associates, its MUCH cheaper there and honestly the community college scene is much more supportive and the students are there to learn and not party like the universities freshman crowd.

If you are working while in a 4 year program like I was its important to assess your situation your junior/senior year and do internships if you have no direct experience to the field you are studying. I was a systems analyst in an on campus IT department so I didn't need to do an internship for by CIS degree since my current job was directly related to my field of study. I was able to get he CIS job because of my prior experience in IT. That doesn't happen for most students so internships are key........

**Hocus Pocus** · 02-05-14, 09:33 AM

Yeah well not to put any program down. To me it's more of an enrollment scheme type deal. Education is what you make of it. I think the resources are what makes a school what it is. If you want to lean something you learn it. You pay for the experience and the resources. I assumed the content I was learning was from professors with real time work experience and they share their stories and how the topic at hand applied to the "real world." You pay for the job placement department, the recruiters the uni attracts and so on. I think devry , Phoenix, and so on would be fine for people with established careers and are looking to fulfill a paper requirement. I think they put youth a a disadvantage because they proclaim that it's cheap and fast, which school is never any of those. To me schools like that are predatory. But can you go there and learn a lot of shit? Yeah absolutely.

**WileECyte** · 02-05-14, 10:40 AM

Yep. Right now I just want that piece of paper in case anything happens, or I want to move up beyond where I am now. I have one step up I can make... but beyond that... a degree (or comparable military service) is required. I've got 15+ years of industry experience and have been with my current employer now for almost 12 years. Most of the accelerated degree programs I've looked at all run about 18 months and you finish up with a Bachelors in Business Administration. They take your real world experience & certifications and give you 'credit' towards your degree, and then you pretty much go to school 6 days a week (3 hours M-F, 8 hours Sat or Sun) for 18 months... Pretty intensive work, but in the end it gets the desired results.