> "Long, Steven @ Atlanta Galleria" wrote:
>
> Yesterday Wandered Inn wrote:
>
> >>One course is not going to do much for your marketability.
>
> I know a course, any course, will do nothing for you. It's the
> knowledge that's important.
The point is, when you're interviewed, most folks doing the interview
can not determine if you have the knowledge. Having the course outlined
on a resume' indicates you have been trained in this area.
Having the knowledge won't get you an interview, unless you can get that
info to the interviewer. If you have the course listed on a resume'
then the first assumption is that you have the knowledge.
>
> >>Pay is based on a couple of things here: experience, education,
> >>additional training. 4 years experience is not enought to determine
> how
> >>much you would be paid.
>
> OK, fair enough.
>
>
> >>> How much demand is there for a system admin?
>
> >>Here there's not a huge demand, but for a person with technical
> >>skills/education/training/experience there are opportunities in
> other
> >>areas.
>
> That's the answer I was looking for.
Point is, you may have technical experience in the field of sys. admin.
Chances are, you might get hired for a network position or even a
software development position if you demonstrate some interest in that
type of work. The point is, the fact that you have a technical
background opens up the possibility for opportunities of a technical
nature, not just opportunities based on your specific background.
>
>
> > In reference to the comments about semester courses and straight
> > classes,
> > I have not taken a semester class that can move as fast as I can
> > learn.
>
> I would say you've not gone to the proper educational facility or you
> have not advanced to the more difficult courses.
>
> >>I can say that I have not taken computer courses since card readers
> were used.
>
> >>> And all of them contain information repeated from other classes,
> and
> >>> filler data that is useless.
> >>> They waste my time giving me computer history that every other
> class
> >>> in computers does and hand
> >>> out only enough information to stretch the class over 3 months.
>
> >>This description sounds like many freshman intro courses. In this
> case
> >>you are correct. The more advanced courses are not going to repeat
> >>previous information, but build upon it. Do you have a college
> degree?
> >>I'd suggest that GA Tech would present a number of challenging and
> >>useful courses.
>
> This may be the case, I did not go to GA Tech and it has a very good
> reputation.
>
> >>I attended Emory a while back in pursuit of a MS in Math/Comp. Sci.
> I
> >>can tell you that the courses I took there provided very little in
> the
> >>way of 'computer history' and enough of a challenge and information
> to
> >>make that 3 months feel pretty full.
>
> Emory as well. Maybe I was going to the wrong school.
>
> >>> Real experience is what counts and
> >>> finding solutions to problems that are not in any book is what
> really
> >>> matters. That sort of thing cannot be done in a classroom.
>
> >>Real experience does count, but you are wrong about not getting this
>
> >>kind of experience in a classroom. Again, I suspect you've not
> attended
> >>the proper University, or not given it enough time. From the
> >>perspective of AT&T, a BS will get you a hell of a lot more then 4
> years
> >>of experience. You can apply that logic to the advanced degrees as
> >>well.
>
> >>> In addition, College classes just cannot keep up with the constant
>
> >>> change in the computer industry.
> >>> By the time a semester is over, the course subject can become
> history
> >>> before anyone can master it.
>
> >>I doubt that is accurate. I'd say that if you took a sys admin
> class on
> >>Linux, say, 5 years ago, much of that information would still be
> useful
> >>and valid. A class that teaches you programming concepts 15 years
> ago
> >>is still useful now. You should have built on that between then and
>
> >>now, but it's still useful. Although you apparently have an
> adversion
> >>to the formal University education, it is the ticket to get you in
> the
> >>door, at AT&T anyway.
>
> Ouch, did I touch a nerve? Guess I wouldn't be working at AT&T then.
>
> Well, twenty years ago when I was in college I took electronics. At
> the time that was the big thing.
> Since then, the industry has changed. Hell, everything has changed.
> Twenty years is a long time.
>
> Five years ago I put some money together and started in computers. I
> turned a hobby into a career. I see Linux as one of the next steps.
>
> Which one I don't know. I am waiting to see how far. But I want to
> know it before everybody wants it.
>
> I don't have an aversion to formal education. I have an aversion to
> spending money I don't have. I don't live off of daddy anymore.
>
> I have a family of my own. However, the company I work for will pay
> for some education.
> I plan to use it wisely. But, I cannot afford another 3% raise this
> year. So I'll be looking for a job afterward.
>
> A piece of paper can get you in the door but after that you still have
> to prove yourself.
> Some of the dumbest people I have met have college degrees.
> Just because you attended some classes and passed the tests doesn't
> mean that you know or can use the material.
> Or be creative with the data you have collected in your brain.
>
> Persistence, patience, tenaciousness are not things a class or a book
> can teach you.
>
> Or test qualify you.
>
> However, a test or a degree are the best ways to quantify a person's
> knowledge.
>
> Short of reading you mind, or working with you, there is no other way
> to know what is in your brain or character.
> Hence, experience counts.
>
> Steve Long CNE 3,4 MCP
> Field Technical Support, Atlanta
> Global Information Technology Group
> T 770 951 7911
> F 770 951 7919
> ">slong@cbrichardellis.com
--
Until later: Geoffrey ">esoteric@denali.atlnet.com
I'm afraid there will be more problems with W2K then there were with
Y2K...
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