Ok for and american. What are A levals equivalent to here in the states
Ok for and american. What are A levals equivalent to here in the states
Ok for and american. What are A levals equivalent to here in the states
these are exams in subjects such as English Literature, Biology, German etc that a UK student undertakes when they are 17/18 years old. The results of these exams determine what Universities the student can get into. Universites in the UK will accept many different qualifications as their entry requirements, but the most prevalent are A-Levels, usually you require 3 A-C grades.
I'm not familiar with US education systems, but any exam that has a significant impact on which University you can attend would be the closest comparrison.
Hi Sumit,
I have recently graduated and understand how tough the job market is at the moment in the UK.
I am currently doing some volunteer IT work for a charity and although this does not solve any money issues –it is providing me with some extra technical experience which always comes in handy in forensics. I can recommend it thoroughly.
I am finding it really enjoyable and then in my spare time I am concentrating on studying forensic/security type issues.
Also I am beginning to notice that gradually employers seem to be advertising security posts for graduates–so maybe the situation is improving.
Good luck and don't give up
Sumit, you say you're from India and obtained your academic qualifications in England? What is your Work Permit / VISA situation. I don't know what the Work Permit situation is like nowadays, but if you need one and there are loads of applicants who don't, you're already at a disadvantage.
I spent 9 years in IT recruitment, some additional observations for you, not all of which you'll like
Not all IT employers want to employ people with no scope for career development. In fact in my experience, very few do. Mostly, they want to hire people who they can develop - when System Admin (or other higher-up) people leave, it's much less of a gamble and much less expensive to promote from within whan it is to hire from outside. Plus they're then replenishing fom the bottom up, which in itself is less expensive.
How are you applying for jobs? if you've not already done so I suggest you find a good recruitment agency in your area who you can go and speak to, someone with a good client base and reputation. Someone who clearly understands IT would be good for a start. They'll know who the good employers are. And give you good feedback on the job market as it relates to you.
If I received an email or application from you and lynoharvey at the same time, then - assuming you have similar qualifications - I'd want to interview lynoharvey first. Reason? Written English (and I'd therefore assume spoken English as well) is better so would probably go down better with my user base. Harsh but that's how some people think.
Finally, hiding qualifications on a CV might not be a great idea. How do you account for the time spent at Uni? I assume at least 4 years for degree + MSc? You could just leave a blank but employers will want to know - that's assuming you get as far as interview; likelihood is that you're CV gets 'filed'. And if you do get the job, how will the employer feel when they find out that you lied to get the job? Harking back to my recruitment days, if I found that a candidate lied to me, I wouldn't entertain them again. Ever.
HTH
If I hadn't excluded things from my CV to get onto the bottom rung of the ladder, I wouldn't be in the position I am now. Perhaps it was a risk, but in my opinion, a necessary one.
If I hadn't excluded things from my CV to get onto the bottom rung of the ladder, I wouldn't be in the position I am now. Perhaps it was a risk, but in my opinion, a necessary one.
Am just interested…………….
What did you omit? Did the employer ever find out? If so, what did they do? Are you still with the same employer? If not, why not? Also if not, does your current employer know about the earlier omissions? When were you applying (i.e. what was the state of the job market then)? How has your career progressed, and in what timeframe?
Regards
In 5 years I went from 1st line tech (email + telephone support), to the IT manager of a medium size, multi-million pound business (I decide the IT direction of our company….)
For the 1st line role, I neglected to mention certifications such as Microsoft, Cisco, and CompTIA. Also 'forgot' to include things like I ran a small PC repair business, did website design, enjoyed programming, etc.
They wanted people with a basic understanding of computers - who could be trained their way into diagnosing customer issues, and knowing when to raise them to 2nd line. It's tempting when you have the knowledge to help someone ("Yes Sir, I know about debugging Perl, how can I help?") , when all the company wants is for you to "upsell" their support package (Programming support was chargeable), if it's anything more than resetting passwords or setting up POP3/SMTP email.
Anybody overqualified for the job will soon move on through bordem (especially if they are more qualified than 2nd line above them!) - which would be a waste of [the company's] time. They couldn't give a monkeys about 'career development' for their 1st line staff. We were 'cheap' labour. Plus recruitment agency fees would cost them a bucket load if they all moved on after 12 months…
During the interview, I had to 'play the part' and act like someone who was the perfect candidate for a 1st line position - few qualifications, wanted to stay around the area for many years to come, thinking MCSE was way too hard to even consider attempting, little aspiration to move beyond 2nd line (in a few years, of course - I'm not good enough to do their job). i.e. a robot on 1st line.
As many people may have experienced, applying for a job while employed has a much higher chance of success at getting the role you want - not because you need to find an income.
My CV for the new role contained all my certifications and experience, including voluntary work, computer-repair business, website design portfolio, etc (the "whole truth" ), which 6 months later landed me a 2nd/3rd line IT field engineer role….. and 50% salary increase overnight.
6 months being a robot in a call centre, acting as if I had zero aspirations and talking to people too stupid to spell their own name - let alone be allowed on the internet - was worth it, for the position (and company I work for - they're great!) I am now in.
A bit long winded, but I hope it makes sense for you!
Good for you alastairfay!! Companies who look for cheap labour, following scripts with no room for individuality generally get what they deserve. What's the old saying - pay peanuts, get monkeys?
I guess typically one thinks of call centres supplying a service to retail-type customers, but it isn't always the case. I remember one customer - a multi-national commercial organisation - who kept asking for IT Grads for 1st-line support (= log a service desk ticket if first suggested fix doesn't work) and couldn't understand why they mostly left after less than a year. And it wasn't just us who told them time and again; but that was their business model - presumably developed for them by a consultancy - so they were sticking to it.
Actually, you sound more entrepreneurial than most and willing to do the hard hours, I have a feeling you will have an interesting career………
Actually, you sound more entrepreneurial than most and willing to do the hard hours, I have a feeling you will have an interesting career………
I'm trying to find a way to move into forensics, but it's pretty much an uphill struggle at the moment.
Despite my skills being in demand (not to sound arrogant - but there is a skills shortage on experienced network admins - they don't teach that on forensic computing courses!!), but lack of degree filters me out long before the important people even view my CV. I've spoken to many 'senior' people (who do the hiring), and they're just as frustrated they can't employ me due to bureaucracy!
I'm looking at various options, so it will be several years until I may get my first CF post (studying a degree part-time over 3yrs)
Hopefully in that time, I will have written a few tools, attended as many events (as the wallet allows), and got to know more people in the industry.