how to get a better job?

[hargi22]

Hi,
im now in my first computer related job after spending 2 years doing manual stuff.
I did a 2 year foundation degree in ICT which is equiverlent to a pass in a 3 year degree i have been told.
The job i have at the moment is ok nothing great though, it was advertised as IT assistant, which i would be helping students to video edit and use programs and such. But recently its just turned in to keeping the students quiet, and the problems they come to me with are simple office ones like word or i cant find my saved work. I know i have to stick with it though to get experience as thats what everybody is looking for.
But i enjoy programming, not saying im good at it but i like it. At uni we used director and lingo which i enjoyed but i dont know anywhere that uses it in there work as such.
What should i do while im getting some experience here that will allow me to get a better job in the future?
I m thinking about doing a MCSE with C# got the books but not started yet, i will have to learn C# from scratch.
also had a look at getting a php cert.
what do you guys think?

 

[office politics]

I m thinking about doing a MCSE with C# got the books but not started yet, i will have to learn C# from scratch.

mcse is not a a developer cert, but more of a administrator/tech cert

Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) would prolly be more suitable for you http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcpd/default.asp

If you are developing .NET Framework 2.0 applications that use Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, the new Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) credentials provide a simpler and more targeted framework to showcase your technical skills in addition to the skills that are required for specific developer job roles.

The Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) credentials provide developers who use Microsoft Visual Studio .NET with industry recognition of their Microsoft .NET development skills and experience.

 

[hargi22]

Sorry ment MCSD or MCAD

 

[brady]

Sleep your way to the top.

 

[jaeusm]

Avoid a PHP cert. Most companies would rather opt for .NET or J2EE. PHP is great, but it's not really marketable.

 

[TheHeadFL]

I have an MCSE and it has done absolutely nothing for my career.

You should write some software on your own and publish it on the web. Make a few useful apps that demonstrate useful functionality, and you can use them as resume items.

Experience is everything, so practice and practice.

Unless things are vastly different than they used to be, certs aren't worth much IMO. A 4 year degree is worth something, though.

 

[raross]

I agree, but even in todays world the value of the 4 year degree is shrinking and more and more people are having to get their masters. But I would not worry about certifications specially if you do not have your 4 year degree. From experience people really dont care about certifications for programmming, certifications are geared more towards IT jobs, where the amount of schooling you need is very limited.

 

[hargi22]

thanks for the replys,
I think that my degree dont count for much these days, though it did get me started in computers, but to an employer i dont think they value it.
What type of little usefull apps do you mean?

 

[TheHeadFL]

I agree, but even in todays world the value of the 4 year degree is shrinking and more and more people are having to get their masters. But I would not worry about certifications specially if you do not have your 4 year degree. From experience people really dont care about certifications for programmming, certifications are geared more towards IT jobs, where the amount of schooling you need is very limited.

I'm not sure why you say that. The vast majority of the people I've met who are entering the field of software engineering seem to be entering with 4 year degrees.

I'm involved with a lot of graduate students on some projects at my school. The only people who really end up doing something vastly different are the Ph.D. students, who go into R&D after their degree, versus implementation, which is what M.Sc. and B.Sc. grads do already.

The thing that an M.Sc. degree can get you is an additional "free" two years of experience in some jobs. But it takes 2 years to get the M.Sc. anyway. If I go to grad school it will be for a Ph.D.

There was just an article on Slashdot the other day about how the rate of people graduating with B.Sc. in Comp Science is declining rapidly. Apparently they are in great demand now, which is good news for people entering the field.

 

[raross]

I'm not sure why you say that. The vast majority of the people I've met who are entering the field of software engineering seem to be entering with 4 year degrees.

I'm involved with a lot of graduate students on some projects at my school. The only people who really end up doing something vastly different are the Ph.D. students, who go into R&D after their degree, versus implementation, which is what M.Sc. and B.Sc. grads do already.

The thing that an M.Sc. degree can get you is an additional "free" two years of experience in some jobs. But it takes 2 years to get the M.Sc. anyway. If I go to grad school it will be for a Ph.D.

There was just an article on Slashdot the other day about how the rate of people graduating with B.Sc. in Comp Science is declining rapidly. Apparently they are in great demand now, which is good news for people entering the field.

In the software engineering field I agree, but other fields are becoming a lot more competitive. The job outlook for software engineering is outrageous at 50% growth, like I stated before. I was speaking more generally.

PhD's are for academia or like you said research, a masters is geared more towards industry. So for you to get a PhD would be kind of pointless unless you want to do research or teach . I agree with your statement about computer science, the university I work at had 130 incoming comp science students 4 years ago, now we only have around 15 people graduating.