I was just curious considering majority of the people who post here are in the IT industry.. I was wondering exactly how to go about getting a s***ty junior job in IT..

I'm currently in 2nd year Uni and not exactly thrilled at the prospect of another year of the crap.. I basically just want a job within the IT industry, however I don't know exactly where to start looking hence the reason for posting here.

I don't want people to find a job for me this is not my reason for posting I just want some general ideas as to what some folks believe might be the best chance. Be it Recruiting agencies, Random Resume spamming, God.

I've done a few diplomas in IT (Software Engineering and Network engineering) and I've done a bit of Work exp at a few places.

So any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

If you're at uni, see about getting a job at the campus computing helpdesks. They are great launching pads for an IT career, and you get to finish your degree at the same time (see thread on OPs for why this is a good idea). Thats what i did and with that experience + degree, getting a decent IT job was a piece of cake.

im going for a job interview tomorrow for a draftsman position. I have 0 experience, no qualifications,etc in drafting/engineering - the job offer came across from my brother referring me to the company he works for, and they are interested..

so, so far for me, the best way has possibly been through friends/family ;p.. well if i get hired

geez what's with the IT job bandwagon.

Who you know is usually the best way to get a job in IT at the moment.

If your into your 2nd year of Uni, stick it out until its over it will be much more beneficial down the line. With the current state of the IT industry, it's an employers market because of the amount of candidates out there that have IT degrees, vendor qualifications & experience they can pick and choose who they want for even the s***tiest jobs.

Without having any of the above, your chances of getting a job (even entry-level) are very slim.

Mind you, there is the odd exception that manages to get a big stinking amount of luck and nabs a great job but these are few and far between.

Did tafe for 2 1/2 years got two diplomas out of it while doing that was doing free work experience with large companies, at the end of it I've got 2x it diplomas and 2 1/2 years it experience, I am getting paided 25/hr for a job that is f***in easy and I love it.

Experience > *

Get some up your sleeve then finish your degree and slide into a nice IT job. Ahhh... BUT LISTEN IF THEY OFFER YOU 50K A YEAR DONT GET OUT OF BED OK, I KNOW I WOULDNT GET OUT OF BED FOR 50K. /laff

Back on topic... part time IT work will get you in the door.

the boys are right
knowing people is a great foot in teh door
experience is worht its weight in gold

lots of people have qualifications

While in my second year of IT i started work for a catholic primary school on a casual basis than paid $24 after 1 year of working there, doesnt get better than that imo for a casual job while youre at uni also the fact that it was relevant (sort of) to my degree

well just recently ive finished uni (FUCING HOORAY) and got an AWESOME job 3 weeks after being out of uni (i had 15 interviews for differnet companies so i really questioned what people were saying about IT industry being dead) which was mostly becuase of the 3 years of experience I had, the work I am in right now is not at all relevant to my degree which was software development and I thnk its for the better becasue the job is more interesting and better paid


so yeah, while you shouldnt only be looking for an IT job while at uni for money reasons but for the fact of making you so much more employable than the average graduate ... you see the interviews I went to ddidnt even ask my GPA and werent interested in my degree as much as my experience


where could you look for a job? well where korbs mentioned is a great idea although uni's generally pay around $17 - $19, you could also look at Brisbane Catholic Education schools, their budgets are generally larger than at public shcools so they can actualy employ IT people (www.bne.catholic.edu.au)

good luck finding a job, and make sure you get one before you get into 3rd year study

Send your resume to support(NOSPAM)@6ys.com.au with the subject JOB POSITION and ill check you out.

i had 15 interviews for differnet companies so i really questioned what people were saying about IT industry being dead

the IT industry saturated, not dead. my mum has no experience, and got a job in accounting after the 2nd interview. its one of the few industrys that has more people entering it than leaving, (that, and retail)

Mind you, there is the odd exception that manages to get a big stinking amount of luck and nabs a great job but these are few and far between.

that'd be me. my advice is just apply to EVERY job you can on seek, newspapers, careerone etc. trust me you will get bites, unless you really f***ing suck.

call up your work experience dudes and make sure they'll be sweet for references etc, thats bascially how i got my current job :) my references were so good.. one of them was on the phone for over an hour telling them what a madc*** i am. woo.

ty ty

I think this myth about the IT industry being dead or over-saturated is perpetuated by a lot of people who are really crap at IT and thus can't get jobs. From the 2005 Hays Sector Commentary on IT:

Candidate shortages are once again numerous across many sectors of the industry, however a solid intake of IT undergraduates during the last boom should take the steam out of most of these.

And

There are few areas currently in IT that enjoy an over-abundance of candidates, however those in strongest demand are Project Managers with solid experience and understanding of methodologies, MS.Net and Java architects and developers, technically strong network engineers and Business Development staff.

I think Khel is pretty much on the money, my IT graduating class was the smallest it has been in many years - roughly 110 including honours and dual degrees - because the job market sucked at the time when these people left school.

Relative to those times, the job market now rules if you have just finished. Job market goes in a cycle, and the number of graduates goes in a similar cycle, obviously with some lag between the two because a degree takes time. There are of course other factors.

I'm currently in 2nd year Uni and not exactly thrilled at the prospect of another year of the crap.. I basically just want a job within the IT industry, however I don't know exactly where to start looking hence the reason for posting here.

Could you get anymore broad? IT is pretty much as broad as you can get. What do you want to do in IT? What don’t you like about your studies? What did you think you would get out of uni that you are not getting out of it?

With the current state of the IT industry, it's an employers market because of the amount of candidates out there that have IT degrees, vendor qualifications & experience they can pick and choose who they want for even the s***tiest jobs.

Rapidly becoming not so true anymore, the dot com crash really pushed people into business and trades. There is an expectation that there is going to be a huge gap in IT professionals by 2008.

As with all industries, it works in cycles, people hear there is a shortage of IT professionals, so they train in IT, then there are too many, so people stop studying it so much, then there is a shortage again...

Supply & Demand.

I'm trying to find something different to my s***ty officeworks job at the moment, prefably in IT sales... as thats the only thing I have experience in... I think sooner or later, I'm going to have to go back to uni and get my piece of paper, because there are a LOT of applicants in SALES at the moment, like so many its crazy.

last edited by mongie at 23:14:21 19/Dec/05

Firstly, Thanks all for replying I appreciate it alot.. Has given me a few ideas..

I'll fire my resume off to Morgan tommorrow when I get the chance (Working Retail and it's a nightmare).

In response to Typo.. I find Uni far to theory based for my liking.. I personally like the hands-on approach and find it boring sitting in a lecture theatre and being preached to on a constant basis.

I'm just unsure about what I'm after in a career... I find programming to be something I enjoy and find it rewarding to have spent 5-6 hours on a piece of code and have it finally working as intended..

Networking side of things I find interesting as well.

I was just curious considering majority of the people who post here are in the IT industry

I'd have to disgree with that statement.

Easiest way to get an IT job, is to make friends with as many people as you can (who are likely to get into IT jobs). Then when a position comes up, theres a chance they'll ask you to put your resume in, and recommend you.

Brisbane is that kind of city, in terms of employment in general. It's easier to get work through contacts than qualifications.

Brisbane is that kind of city, in terms of employment in general. It's easier to get work through contacts than qualifications.

it's like that with any job really, especially modelling. you probably wouldn't know much about that tho

it's like that with any job really, especially modelling. you probably wouldn't know much about that tho

I know what your saying, I model elephant trunk underwear and if it wasn't for my peeps in the industry, I'd get nowhere.

If you'd like my advice, start off in a contractor (read: s***kicker) type role. There are plenty of companies around (Data3 to name just one) that will take people without much experience in IT and shove them on a helpdesk in short contract roles (and if you are lucky, some long contract roles).

This will allow you to get some practical experience behind you, yeah, its only helpdesk work, maybe a little desktop support or whatever, but you can only go up from there, and the experience will look good on your resume.

That's how I got into IT (plus a lot of industry study), and I s***kicked for 3 years before landing a good role, and haven't looked back.

So yeah, try contracting, could work for you too.

start off in a contractor (read: s***kicker)

How wrong you are.. contractor != s***kicker

IT jobs are like arseholes, everyone's got one.

How wrong you are.. contractor != s***kicker

Depends on the type of contractor, I think what he's talking about is more of a "casual" position ... i.e. recruitment company pimps you out to a company to do something pretty simple like helpdesk and asks for 20% of your earnings. That's how I started in IT, was contracted to an ISP by Icon Recruitement on $12/h, Icon was charging them $20/h for me. But that s***ty foot in the door allowed me to work my way up to a decent position at a decent company for a decent wage.

That's how I started in IT, was contracted to an ISP by Icon Recruitement on $12/h, Icon was charging them $20/h for me. But that s***ty foot in the door allowed me to work my way up to a decent position at a decent company for a decent wage.

It sure did, I remember being on more than you as a helpdesk guy at the same place and thinking, "damn stinky is on the right side of this".

Then again, it was there when I learned that software needed to be designed for end users. Helpdesk is simply a band-aid for poor design and engineering.

Most people have gone through the helpdesk to get to where they are today. I'm still there sorta, but at least in a managerial sense. I moved to a new job at the start of November and I couldn't be happier. Great people, great company, lots of perks, friendly environment. It took a while, but I finally got somewhere decent, I had to go through alot of s*** to get to that point though - stick with it!

Contracting is a very good way for 1) good money 2) step in the door. lol @ who said s***kicker. Contracting @ $60/hour is s*** hey ?

Contracting is a very good way for 1) good money 2) step in the door. lol @ who said s***kicker. Contracting @ $60/hour is s*** hey ?

Not all contracts are at $60 an hour though. Full time (7 and 1/4 hours a day, not including holidays) that would equate to $111,540 a year.

Most contractors would have problems getting that much ;)


#edit: Comma included!

last edited by typo at 14:41:55 21/Dec/05

I did a Commerce/IT dual and I'm now working as a data analyst for a HR management consulting firm. It's turned out to be a good place to start my career, especially because of the nice young women in HR at the other side of the office having finished their Business degrees and such.

It was the first interview I went to and the whole process to get the offer was easy enough on me mentally that I actually considered turning it down. Maybe it was because I didn't have very high expectations after how I thought I went. I was so shocked to find the interview was a panel of three, I was using probably 75% of my mental concentration to stop my hands from shaking. And I thought all my answers, especially to the selection criteria-esque questions, were pretty poor. Having said that, although there was also a test, I discovered later that the interview was the deciding factor. Apparently, all the applicants came across as too confident and arrogant. I guess I was more simple and straight-forward, and not really trying to impress (or at least being too obvious). I know different companies have different cultures but in this case, being myself rather than the textbook interviewee was the better way to go.

Well actually, I'm in the middle of doing IT (Helpdesk and up) recruitment for my organisation (large).

There was only half the number of applicants than 16months ago, and the quality of those applicant can be seen as 'questionable'.

I think I'd be lucky to find 1 decent applicant out of 5 graduates, that would pass in my books for even a 'lowly entry level Helpdesk job'.

But I have high standards for my staff.

BrenAce thats pretty much exactly the reason I did not get the job i most wanted cuase i tried to impress etc and pretend as if i knew everything ... ended up getting the job where i thought i did really bad at the interview and it ended up offering better than the job i wanted

If you dont mind studying and doing research, and are doing well academically, seriously consider post graduate studies in IT. Thereis a shortage of IT PhD graduates, and theres plenty of oppertunities to pickup scholarships to do your Honours and PhD if your grades are good enough.

If you dont mind studying and doing research, and are doing well academically, seriously consider post graduate studies in IT. Thereis a shortage of IT PhD graduates, and theres plenty of oppertunities to pickup scholarships to do your Honours and PhD if your grades are good enough.

You would have a seriously hard time picking up a scholarship on your honours year. Universities don’t, in general, offer them to honours students; they do however occasionally give them TAs or RAs. PhD is a mixed kettle of fish, it is a metric f***ton of work for f*** all money. The APAI scholarship is $18,500 a year (tax free) and there is a requirement that you can’t work more than 9 hours a week at anything else.

Then you get to work in Australian Universities, which are in all frankness f***ed atm. I know a few lecturers who are considering moving to greener pastures (Europe/America) because of how f***ed up it is here.

For me, I can’t get passionate about much of the research that many places do. .A lot of it is only focused at generating papers and once they have a few papers the lead researcher looses interest and moves on to something more interesting. Some of the stuff I have worked on as a RA has been fascinating, but I want to finish some of this stuff and see it working.

One of the worst horror stories I have heard is where one researcher said to her RA that there are two types of people who care about research into the education sector. 1) Those who care about teaching kids, but don’t care about innovation or research. 2) Those who care about innovation and research, but don’t care about teaching kids. There is no space for people who want to research and innovate new technology and then bring that into the education space to educate kids.

That being said, having Dr in front of your name would be cool. If only for your parents ability to brag .. “Oh, when I went to our sons doctoral awards night, oh didn’t you know that Billy got his PhD?”

in the end though typo pulling 150k a year is much cooler than having a Dr in front of your name

n the end though typo pulling 150k a year is much cooler than having a Dr in front of your name

Yeah, I agree. However, that isn't my main problem with doing a PhD is that your focus of work is generating papers. You can thank that to the government of the day :(

if you want a gob in IT, you need Experience the Degree only helps u get more money, not get the job..

best way to get a job is through a refural/friends/family, spread the word that your looking for a job and someone will probly help you out.

Imagine the Mumu's you could buy with 150k!!