Okay, so what now? (Life advice)

Uncle Long

So, for those of you who have been providing me with advice about job hunting and the post-college world, this is a sort of update (thanks for the advice by the way). For those of you who haven't let me do a little background.

I'm 21. I graduated from university last May with my BA in English. Now, before I graduated I didn't do a whole lot of thinking about what sort of job I'd be interested in. I thought I'd get into publishing or teach English abroad or journalism, or, haha, perhaps my writing would really take off and I'd just do that.

Well, reality set in pretty quickly and the job search got me nowhere. I tried looking for Administrative Assistant positions, reporter positions, librarian, essentially anything that I thought would make sense with my degree. Well, I came to the realization that most of the employers in my general area were knee-deep in liberal arts majors' applications and no matter how I emphasized my "communication skills," I was getting nowhere; and slowly.

So, I got a job stocking shelves for a beer and wine distributor; this, of course, is not and was not ideal, but it provided a full-time paycheck and helped me get a car and save a little for my coming student loans.

Now, while browsing around good ol' PA, I came across another "help" thread and saw A+ certification mentioned. Now, I know enough about computers to take care of my family and administer the LAN network while I was at school. I enjoyed the work and decided I'd look more into the A+ and IT.

Well, this morning I completed my A+ certification (Essentials and 220-602) and, as of a few hours ago, am an A+ certified IT Technician; nifty.

Now, that's the backstory.

What do I do now?

This is what I want to do: I want to move, set myself up in either the Northeast (New England) or the Northwest (Oregon or Washington) I like the cold/temperate climates and the water and, from the couple of times I've been in the regions I've enjoyed my time; there really isn't much for me here in the midwest. Also, Michigan, where I live now, is tapped out for jobs, especially in the IT field, at least from what I've seen.

Are these decent regions for finding IT jobs?

I want to find a Job, preferably before I move, but that may be a bit more difficult said than done. I'm not looking for much; enough to live off of and enough to enjoy my life in whatever city I happen to reside and enough time off to do some writing and make friends. I'd like to get into corporate IT support, or general tech support, though working at a call center is really not up on my list of things to do (otherwise I would have taken 220-603).

Where should I look for IT jobs? I've been scrounging around craigslist and my resume is on Monster.com and Spartantrak (my school's career search service, guess what school in Michigan I went to).

I'm also interested in pursuing a Master's Degree, perhaps in information sciences or library sciences. I'd like to do IT in a library; it's something I would do even if I did strike it rich with my writing.

I'm not afraid of getting myself on another certification track like MCSE or Network + or something along those lines, but I'd really like to start working now and get some experience under my belt before I pursue any other certifications; unless you, H/A think I should really start looking into it right now.

tl;dr Got my degree in English, got my A+ certification, 21 years old, want to move to North East or North West, looking for a job, what advice, oh mighty H/A, do you have for someone like me? How should I go about doing this?

Feral

Do you have any friends or family in the regions you want to move to? Alternatively, do you have any money saved up?

You have very limited IT experience and a CompTIA certification. Remember that certifications are nice, but most employers won't care - they want to see the experience. At best, you're going to qualify for an entry-level computer repair or desktop support position. These are not positions that people typically relocate for, so employers in far-off lands will probably gloss over your resume right now because you're not local (and can't start immediately).

Would you consider staying where you are, working an entry-level job for a couple of years, to build up some experience and save up some money before you move?

Uncle Long

Yeah, sure I could do that, like I said, though, there just isn't a whole lot in the area; and working for geek squad, while it would probably net me some experience, probably isn't going to pay as well as stocking shelves (or if it does it probably won't offer the full-time and overtime hours.

Alright, let's just say that, yes, I'm looking at places around here as well as places which would require relocation.

Gihgehls

When you do have experience, don't be afraid to apply for jobs for which you don't have all the qualifications. Lots and lots and lots of IT can be learned on the job, and as long as you show good motivation and willingness to learn (being bright doesn't hurt) you can get pretty far.

Uncle Long

Gihgehls wrote: »

When you do have experience, don't be afraid to apply for jobs for which you don't have all the qualifications. Lots and lots and lots of IT can be learned on the job, and as long as you show good motivation and willingness to learn (being bright doesn't hurt) you can get pretty far.

Yeah, that's why I'm a bit hesitant to go for the MCSE right now. IT has always been something that I've learned as I needed it; and I think I'd be way more prepared for that exam with a bit of experience under my belt. I mean, I passed the A+ 220-602 with an 800 this afternoon, but it felt like it was way more difficult than it would have been had I been doing tech sup for a year or two.

Feral

Uncle Long wrote: »

Yeah, sure I could do that, like I said, though, there just isn't a whole lot in the area

Are you saying this by looking at job postings or have you actually gone out and talked to people?

Because if there are any computer shops or network consultants in your area, you should try going to each of them and asking if they have any room for an entry-level tech to help out. If you have a car, even better. Shops like that can often make work for a tech who's willing to work an entry-level wage and who will do anything they ask without complaint. You might end up getting crappy jobs, like going through all the old computers in the back and salvaging usable parts, or making home deliveries of fixed computers, but it's good experience.

Uncle Long

Feral wrote: »

Uncle Long wrote: »

Yeah, sure I could do that, like I said, though, there just isn't a whole lot in the area

Are you saying this by looking at job postings or have you actually gone out and talked to people?

Because if there are any computer shops or network consultants in your area, you should try going to each of them and asking if they have any room for an entry-level tech to help out. If you have a car, even better. Shops like that can often make work for a tech who's willing to work an entry-level wage and who will do anything they ask without complaint. You might end up getting crappy jobs, like going through all the old computers in the back and salvaging usable parts, or making home deliveries of fixed computers, but it's good experience.

Just job postings and hearsay mostly. To be honest, there isn't much in the way of visible computer repair services in the area, but I like the idea of your approach. Today's not going to be the day to do it but I think I might just head into the city one day and start prodding around some office buildings as well as repair shops on a proverbial job hunt.

BlochWave

If you go back to school and get a degree in physics I can help!! >_>

That not beling likely, my sister got her BA in English, got turned down to grad school for creative writing, got mopey, and took up a job teaching Chinese kids English. In China! She loves it, and no you don't need to speak Chinese(in some ways it's more preferred you DON'T)You get paid a little less than nothing, but the cost of living isn't too bad.

Commmunism and heavily censored internet and the government reading your emails not for you? I have another English major friend doing the same thing in Japan! It's absolutely nowhere near what you're presently thinking of course, but it's an option, it might not get you just really applicable experience but would be a neat way to spend a year or two

Uncle Long

Looked into that. Didn't work out; I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Uncle Long

Update:

So I took Feral's advice. I cracked open the phone book and noticed that there was, in fact, a little repair shop that had just opened up near by. I went in after my first stop (I'm a merchandiser so I go to a bunch of different area supermarkets and stock beer) I went in and asked if they needed some help and explained that I was looking for experience. They were most interested in my Mac experience, which is cool, I wouldn't mind being the mac guy. And, anyway, they said I should come in next Tuesday (I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off) and start working in the morning.

So, huh, we'll see where this goes, I guess.

Feral

:^:

Maybe if you need a little extra cash on top of it you can stock shelves at night, then squirrel up a nice little nest egg for your eventual move.

Uncle Long

Well so far the plan is to do the comp shop thing on my days off. So, really, I'll be doing full time stocking with tech sup on the side. This could easily change, of course, if the shop turns out to offer better pay/hours, but, as it is, with the winter just down the road, hours slow down for those of us in the Beer and Wine industry and these extra bucks here and there might be a wise thing to start collecting. Well, anyway, I'm not going to stop sending out the ol' Resume. There is a Mac Exchange a town over that I might look into.

Bookness

If you are still interested in moving to New England, southern New Hampshire has a ton of computer companies. Look in the Nashua area or Manchester. New Hampshire is great, you can go from the mountains to the ocean in two hours and then to Boston in a hour.

TresstheFool

In case that current plan with the local shop doesn't work out, you could also look at working at colleges and universities. Large universities have multiple IT departments. Penn State, for example, has lots of IT opportunities. They are also excellent employers. It's interesting to hear about your plans, as I too have an English degree and went through the exact same thing. The difference is that I am getting an Associates in CAD as my beginner technical degree. I have been talking to career counselors and they have encouraged me to look into a Masters in Library Science. Apparently there will soon be quite a demand for librarians as baby boomers retire.

Uncle Long

Bookness wrote: »

If you are still interested in moving to New England, southern New Hampshire has a ton of computer companies. Look in the Nashua area or Manchester. New Hampshire is great, you can go from the mountains to the ocean in two hours and then to Boston in a hour.

Oh? Well, that does sound interesting. I might like it there; I've never been, but I think it might be worth a shot. Any recommendations on where, specifically to shoot a resume?

Tress: That's a good idea as well, but don't I usually need to be enrolled in a program for the majority of those positions (not that I'm opposed to going to a school and then getting into their IT department, but I don't know if that works the other way around).

These are both great suggestions that I'll definitely look into.

TresstheFool

You don't need to be enrolled to be employed at the school. My uncle works at Penn State in the IT department. He is quite happy with the work and it pays well.