Category: Cram Session
Hi all,
I'm currently exploring a couple of different career options. For a few years I've been leaning towards being in the field of tech support, preferably in the networking aspect of things. I want to be behind the scenes making sure things are running smoothly rather than dealing with idiots on the phone at a help desk who don't know their computer from their asshole. I am also quite reserved, so the less interaction with people I have, the better. I can deal with small groups, and I've spoken to several people who do networking who have confirmed my assumption that you don't have to deal with a lot of people. Now, I know I would be good at this kind of work because I do know quite a bit about computers, and what I don't know I can either self-teach or attend some kind of training. Recently I've been looking into the Lions World, but have had several reservations. Before I get to that, let me say that I can't see going to college for 2 or more years when I'm not too thrilled with the idea of college to begin with. The Lions World offers a 4-month course to become a desktop technician, which when completed gives you the A+ certification. Of course, that immediately grabbed my attention. They also offer several courses that give you a Microsoft certification. They take 6 months to complete. So, even if I get both, 10 months focusing on one area of study is much better, in my opinion, than wasting time with subjects that will be of no use to me, not to mention a workload that might overwhelm me. I'll explain in more detail my reasons for this if anyone asks, but I'll leave it at that for now. The main problem I have, however, is that under each and every course requirement they say you have to be willing to relocate. Now, if we're talking within my state, or maybe some of the closest surrounding ones, I don't have a problem with that. But to pick up and move across the country alone just seems too overwhelming to me. While the idea of picking up and starting over is enticing, as I'd like to escape certain aspects of my past, the idea of it backfiring it and being stranded in a strange place thousands of miles from home is too much of a risk. So, I was hoping they were aware that that kind of drastic change isn't for everyone, and would be able to be a little flexible with their openings. Yet, I don't want to seem ungrateful if an oppurtunity came up and I turned it down; that's kind of like pissing all over their services, isn't it?
This leads to my second reservation. I E-mailed them to discuss these issues, not in great detail of course, but just to get a general idea of exactly what is expected of a potential client when they enroll, and got no response. This worries me, as it may speak to their credibility. However, I haven't taken it any further than that, and maybe I should call them to get a better feel for what the staff are like. So, if anyone has graduated from the Lions World and would like to share their experience, I would really appreciate it. I'll consider all angles, as that's what I do best, I'm probably too analytical which is why I get stuck in these kinds of positions and can never make up my mind...But anyway, any help sorting this out, if it makes any sense at all, I appreciate it.
There's another radically different avenue I've been exploring, but I'll save it for another post. I don't want to overwhelm you guys with too much information at once.
Relocation is the name of the game: You go where the work is. That's just the way it is, blind sighted or three-legged frog.
What it sounds like you want to do is Information Systems or Information Technology. You will probably have to do your time on the phones someplace, possibly, though maybe not anymore. That's all done outsourced now anyways, and they don't look for technical people in the U.S. to do it, just customer service people who can read a script.
But anyway, whatever work you want to get into, relocation is maybe not inevitable but certainly highly likely. I don't know anything about the Technical school 'Lion's World' so I don't know it's credibility, but the A+ certification for hardware is certainly a good one. Your Microsoft Certifications - should you decide to work on Winblows which is mainly what you'll get in corporate for now unless the open source OS architectures really heat up, the MS certifications require renewals if I remember correctly and that $100 per test or at least it was.
You used to need at least four certs from Microsoft to mean anything useful, just bear that in mind.
Anyway HTH