Agreed! I have been in this business for 30 years. Don't have my degree, but lots of certs.
On one interview, I was asked from a recruiter, "Why should we hire you? You don't have a degree." This was after I went and talked to their client. Told them I had extensive experience, hands on, and was very familiar with the clients network and software requirements. Didn't get the job. But, three months later, saw the same job posted again on their site. Guess the person they choose didn't work out. On one job, it was a direct hire, went through the first interview ok. On the second interview, the VP of the company was sat in. Everything was going ok until the VP spoke up. He said, "Well, I see that you have a lot of experience. I see you have references listed, but I am not interested in what your drinking buddies have to say..." Excuse me? What makes you think I am a drinker? I thanked the manager for the opportunity for the interview and wished them well. They are now out of business. Lastly, I worked for a company back in 2000 and managed a Windows NT Server, SCO UNIX box and a Novell 3.11 Server. All at the same time.And I didn't have an MCSE or CNA certs. I left to go to another position with a different company. A month later, they hired someone to replace me. That person was there for not even a week and then quit. He started on Monday and didn't even show up on Friday. The guy sent an email stating, and I quote, "I don't see how the other guy managed all of the servers and printer for 300 people." And he had his MCSE! The thing about going to college, is, they only teach theory. They don't teach anything worth practical value to an employer. But the one thing that ircks me, is this: When someone goes to a 4 year school and asks their instructors what they should ask for as starting salary, the instructor, who, more than likely has not been in the public sector, will tell the graduate, "Tell them you want $80K". And the graduate is dumbfounded when all they can find are jobs that start at $35K or less. And that is if they do direct hire. If they go through a recruitment company, they may even get less. That is because the recruiter just wants to put a warm body at their customer site. Anyway, my soapbox. Sorry for the rant. Daniel > > > > > > From: Jonathan Link [mailto:jonathan.l...@gmail.com] > > Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 9:02 AM > > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > Subject: Re: OT - ugh! > > > > > > > > Going to college opens doors. And it almost doesn't even matter what > the degree is in. I think it's like a secret handshake. It says "I can > navigate a byzantine bureaucracy and complete a series of tasks without > close supervision." > > > > > > > > I might be wrong, but I think it's always there in the subconscious. I > had doors open for me that were previously shut by completing a degree (my > degree is not in IT, but in accountancy). > > > > On Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 9:29 AM, David Lum <david....@nwea.org> wrote: > > > > "This position requires a degree. Sorry. Click." > > > > Wow. I can see the college degree being a tiebreaker, but I can only > guess the person making that statement doesn't fully understand the tech > industry? Or, maybe not having gone to college myself I don't understand > that thinking. > > > > It could have also been their way of backing out, instead of saying "we > changed our minds on our needs" or "we hired from inside". I've heard of > that kind of thing before - where what the person not getting hired wasn't > told what was really happening. > > > > Dave > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Webster [mailto:webs...@carlwebster.com] > > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 5:16 PM > > > To: NT System Admin Issues > > > > Subject: RE: OT - ugh! > > > > Last year I was in the final interview for a Citrix Architect position > for a very large company in Nashville. IIRC, it was like interview #6 or 7 > in the process. I had been talking with the executive for over 45 minutes > when "all of a sudden" he says "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize you had no > college degree. This position requires a degree. Sorry. Click." > > > > I then took MBS' advice and went solo. I say screw FTE! :) > > > > > > Carl Webster > > Consultant and Citrix Technology Professional http://www.CarlWebster.com > > > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: MMF [mailto:mmfree...@ameritech.net] > > > >> Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 6:43 PM > > >> To: NT System Admin Issues > > > >> Subject: Re: OT - ugh! > >> > >> Assuming they're being honest, it tells me that they are not very > >> strong in background checking. How could they have missed the fact > >> that you've been with one company for more than 10 years. I've NEVER > >> ever heard of a company offering a job and then withdrawing the offer, > >> period, much less before total background check. I believe that I can > >> fully understand the idea of wanting IT staff that has a varied > >> background which would include more than one job over a decade. I > >> think you are fortunate that you didn't take the job because it sounds > >> to me that the organization isn't of the highest quality, if you catch > >> my drift. Sometimes things happen for the best in spite of your best > >> efforts. They didn't vet you, but how well did you vet them! It's also > obvious that they don't recognize talent when they see it! > >> > >> Murray > >> > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: James Hill > > > >> Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 6:09 PM > > >> To: NT System Admin Issues > > > >> Subject: RE: OT - ugh! > >> > >> I feel for you. > >> > >> But try and look at this way. If they can't see the value you can > >> offer now then it would only be a continual uphill fight if you were > >> employed by them. > >> > >> You are better off with an employer that shares your values. > >> > > > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: Jacob Kisner [mailto:jbdkis...@gmail.com] > > > >> Sent: Thursday, 2 February 2012 9:52 AM > > > >> To: NT System Admin Issues > > > >> Subject: Re: OT - ugh! > >> > >> "Because we feel you are not diversified enough to address our issues." > >> > >> Same issues I have addressed over the years poor issue management, no > >> project management, no documentation, crashing servers, IT staff > >> treating the network like a high school lab.. etc. Not only can I stop > >> the bleeding and stabilize the patient (gave then how I would do it), > >> I can implement a more proactive approach to IT management and stop > >> the fires (also gave > >> details.) > >> > >> I guess they rather have the fires... > >> > >> > >> On Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 3:27 PM, Don Kuhlman <drkuhl...@yahoo.com> > >> wrote: > >> > That makes no sense - why do they care where yo > > > > > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > > > --- > > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > > > --- > > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
