IT Internships/Apprenticeships

PsYTraNc3 said:
Here's what I did\Life story :D

Knew that I wanted to be in the I.T industry and specifically server admin related work from a very young age.

Studied A+ and N+ books at the age of 13.
Continued working with computers (Building, selling, fixing) throughout high school.

By the time I matriculated, I had enough experience to start my first job in the industry but obviously no certification.
I then approached a small IT company and asked them if they were looking for someone to help out part time and asked them to give me a chance to prove myself.

The owner of the company gave me a week to prove myself but ended up hiring me 2 days later. (For very little money)

I then was able to start my studies part time and work for the 2nd half of the day.

By the time I finished my studies, I had already gained enough experience and trust from them that they hired me full time and let me take on the smaller clients. (This included some server admin)

Fast forward a few years and I am doing what I always wanted to and according to the stats posted regularly by MyBB, earning more than the average salary for it.

My suggestion to you would be to do the same.
Find that little IT company and ask if you can help out then work you a$$ off and steal as much knowledge as possible!
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Thanks.
How did you come to know that you wanted specifically to do server admin related work?
 
maxum said:
I want to do something that has a positive impact on the world around me.
If you're in Cape Town, send me your CV.

Most importantly, don't give up on finding something.
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Thanks! unfortunately im in JHB. Thanks for trying to help me.
 
jax_maxit said:
Tons of brilliant responses to your questions. Don't give up, no matter what. It took me 6 months of job hunting (after getting my A+ and N+) before I found something. At my peak, I would send >20 CVs per week! I can relate to what you're saying. If you're currently unemployed, do this: log in to Facebook and tell everyone you know that you: fix computers, do software installations and virus removal (for desktop and laptop). If they ever need help, you charge Rx... (negotiable) for your services. Also let your non-Fb friends and family know. That should keep you busy while recruiters and employers pick other job candidates over you. Then you can add the work you do to your CV...it will count as work experience.
@Maxum. I wanted out after a year. Lol! I did a BSc degree at Unisa (worked during the day, studied at night and weekends, no social life), and left tech support with a huge smile on my face.
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Thanks a lot! all the freelancing work that ive done, can i add those as references? also what made you leave tech support? i want to do tech support but in the process learn more things, maybe programming or something else i just dont know yet what.. haha
 
Yes, every freelance work you do counts as work experience. So long as the people (clients) don't mind, go ahead and put them as references.
Tech support was boring and the pay was crappy. Our senior technician earned less than mid-level software developers and his stress level was astonishingly high. Working with servers, computers, modems of every kind, printers, laptops, doing telephonic tech support to offsite offices, IT auditing (where I'd write down the serial numbers of every monitor, pc, and other hardware)...all got dull after a while. Had I remained a techie, I would not have been able to afford the trips around the world I have planned for next year, or property, or any of my gadgets n gizmos. It pays really poorly. I now make close to double what I did as a techie and regularly get interesting, challenging work. It's fun creating mobile apps, websites, desktop applications... The trend I saw was that more and more companies seem to be doing away with in-house tech support or buying their own IT equipment. They hire/rent the hardware, and if anything stops working, they phone a call out tech to come sort it out. Mandatory disclaimer: this is based on my personal experience and other people may see things differently. Once you're in, try get MS certified ASAP! There are also Cisco exams, other ComptiA exams, etc. College advisors know a bit more about the current demands than I do.
 
jax_maxit said:
Yes, every freelance work you do counts as work experience. So long as the people (clients) don't mind, go ahead and put them as references.
Tech support was boring and the pay was crappy. Our senior technician earned less than mid-level software developers and his stress level was astonishingly high. Working with servers, computers, modems of every kind, printers, laptops, doing telephonic tech support to offsite offices, IT auditing (where I'd write down the serial numbers of every monitor, pc, and other hardware)...all got dull after a while. Had I remained a techie, I would not have been able to afford the trips around the world I have planned for next year, or property, or any of my gadgets n gizmos. It pays really poorly. I now make close to double what I did as a techie and regularly get interesting, challenging work. It's fun creating mobile apps, websites, desktop applications... The trend I saw was that more and more companies seem to be doing away with in-house tech support or buying their own IT equipment. They hire/rent the hardware, and if anything stops working, they phone a call out tech to come sort it out. Mandatory disclaimer: this is based on my personal experience and other people may see things differently. Once you're in, try get MS certified ASAP! There are also Cisco exams, other ComptiA exams, etc. College advisors know a bit more about the current demands than I do.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the info, it makes me wonder if this is really what i should be doing as you cant do what you want anymore but have to go where the money is to survive in SA.
 
jax_maxit said:
Yes, every freelance work you do counts as work experience. So long as the people (clients) don't mind, go ahead and put them as references.
Tech support was boring and the pay was crappy. Our senior technician earned less than mid-level software developers and his stress level was astonishingly high. Working with servers, computers, modems of every kind, printers, laptops, doing telephonic tech support to offsite offices, IT auditing (where I'd write down the serial numbers of every monitor, pc, and other hardware)...all got dull after a while. Had I remained a techie, I would not have been able to afford the trips around the world I have planned for next year, or property, or any of my gadgets n gizmos. It pays really poorly. I now make close to double what I did as a techie and regularly get interesting, challenging work. It's fun creating mobile apps, websites, desktop applications... The trend I saw was that more and more companies seem to be doing away with in-house tech support or buying their own IT equipment. They hire/rent the hardware, and if anything stops working, they phone a call out tech to come sort it out. Mandatory disclaimer: this is based on my personal experience and other people may see things differently. Once you're in, try get MS certified ASAP! There are also Cisco exams, other ComptiA exams, etc. College advisors know a bit more about the current demands than I do.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the info, it makes me wonder if this is really what i should be doing as you cant do what you want anymore but have to go where the money is to survive in SA.
 
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