Hello, I have been subscribed to this list for quite some time but haven't posted much. My name is Mike, and I graduated with a B.S. degree in IT about a year and a half ago. I have been struggling to get a job in IT to start my career. I am now in the process of studying for my CompTIA A+ certification, and then I'm going to start studying for MCSA. I was fortunate enough to ge able to get these costs covered by my state rehab agency. I have a few questions about starting my career, and am mainly looking for pointers, tips, tricks, etc. Would you agree that I'm getting the correct certs? My goal is to specialise in sysadmin or network admin. What general tips, tricks, and pointers do you have? What screen reader have you found works best to have on a thumb drive for accessing other systems? What other tools and techniques have you found useful? Any help and info you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Mike
Make sure you check out the open positions at the colleges and universities in your state. They are usually affirmative action employers and they tend to draw people who are open-minded about hiring someone with a disability. I live in Madison, Wisconsin, and around here, linux systems admins can write their own ticket. I've seen jobs go unfilled for months because of a dirth of qualified candidates. On 1/7/20 4:37 PM, Mike Fulton wrote:
Hello,
I have been subscribed to this list for quite some time but haven't posted much. My name is Mike, and I graduated with a B.S. degree in IT about a year and a half ago. I have been struggling to get a job in IT to start my career. I am now in the process of studying for my CompTIA A+ certification, and then I'm going to start studying for MCSA. I was fortunate enough to ge able to get these costs covered by my state rehab agency. I have a few questions about starting my career, and am mainly looking for pointers, tips, tricks, etc. Would you agree that I'm getting the correct certs? My goal is to specialise in sysadmin or network admin. What general tips, tricks, and pointers do you have? What screen reader have you found works best to have on a thumb drive for accessing other systems? What other tools and techniques have you found useful?
Any help and info you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Mike _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list -- blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org To unsubscribe send an email to blind-sysadmins-leave@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
Hello, - Get good at marketing and sales. The product you are selling is you. - Get really good at knowing when to push, and when to wait. - No doesn't always mean no if you get turned down for a position. Get good at knowing that and putting that into practice. - Get good at looking and acting confident. This might mean working on blindness skills. I don't know you, and I don't mean to offend you by that statement... but looking and acting confident, even when you're not, will help you. - Get a set of tools in your toolbox. Professional resume, good wardrobe, professional-looking bag/briefcase, knowledge and skills in a variety of systems with a variety of screen readers is probably all a good start. - Everyone, and I mean everyone you meet could be your next employer or your connection to your next employer. Don't slack off or take a break from sales/marketing. - Be willing to be uncomfortable in putting yourself out there, and being willing and able to discussyour blindness, to answer questions which might seem strange, and to generally be human and converse with people. - If able, make the offer to work for free for a period of time, or get an internship. This is more valuable than any cert. - A+, net+, security+, CCNA, MCSE certs could be valuable, but put the other things on this list higher up on your priority list. - Don't waste time applying on indeed or large employer sites, especially when starting out. Take a look at places in your area, make personal visits, maybe with a box of donuts and a resume, and offer to speak to them in person. If you want to apply online, apply with companies directly if possible. - When interviewing, you are not the only one being interviewed. Use it as an opportunity to interview them. You are having a conversation, and you are determining whether or not the employer is a good fit for you. It is a chat. A bit more formal, but still a chat. - Be willing to describe how you would complete tasks as a blind person. Even if they don't ask, they are likely curious. - Always follow up after the interview, and if you want the position, don't take no lightly. - Don't wait for any state agency to help you find work. Chances are, you may be waiting for a while, or you may end up at a position you will be unhappy with. - Look up salary trends, as well as other information about your employer before the interview. Mentioning something you learned might make them think that you are really motivated to get the position. - Always tailor the resume to the position, and include a cover letter unless they say not to. - Get involved in the community, with Senior centers, on websites, or whatever, and build up your presence so that you can use that as a form of experience if you haven't already. I went a bit beyond answering your questions about certs, but getting and maintaining employment is a bit more involved than getting the right cert, although that does help. Thanks. On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 2:38 PM Mike Fulton <mikefulton95@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello,
I have been subscribed to this list for quite some time but haven't posted much. My name is Mike, and I graduated with a B.S. degree in IT about a year and a half ago. I have been struggling to get a job in IT to start my career. I am now in the process of studying for my CompTIA A+ certification, and then I'm going to start studying for MCSA. I was fortunate enough to ge able to get these costs covered by my state rehab agency. I have a few questions about starting my career, and am mainly looking for pointers, tips, tricks, etc. Would you agree that I'm getting the correct certs? My goal is to specialise in sysadmin or network admin. What general tips, tricks, and pointers do you have? What screen reader have you found works best to have on a thumb drive for accessing other systems? What other tools and techniques have you found useful?
Any help and info you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Mike _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list -- blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org To unsubscribe send an email to blind-sysadmins-leave@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
-- Best, Nimer Jaber The message above is intended for the recipient to whom it was addressed. If you believe that you are not the intended recipient, please notify me via reply email and destroy all copies of this correspondence. Action taken as a result of this email or its contents by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) may result in civil or criminal charges. I have checked this email and all corresponding attachments for security threats. However, security of your machine is up to you. Thanks. Registered Linux User 529141. http://counter.li.org/ To find out about a free and versatile screen reader for windows XP and above, please click here: http://www.nvda-project.org You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news. To contact me, you can reply to this email or you may call me at (970) (393-4481) and I will do my best to respond to you promptly. Thank you, and have a great day!
1 thing that can really be helpful is the information interview. This is an interview w/people in the career path you wish to pursue. There's no pressure on either side because it's not a job interview. Nimer spoke about each person being a connection, & that's correct. Hadley School has a publicly accessible list of webinars, 1 of which was conducted by Richard Bolles, author of the famous annual "What Color Is Your Parachute?" which talks about strategies for job hunters. He points out that everyone has a handicap of some sort--some of which are more visible than others. Their URL is hadley-school.edu I also think Nimer's correct in terms of getting involved w/some sort of activity. Volunteer is perfectly ok. It can give you references\ & it can keep the boredom & depression of job hunting at bay. Helping others helps you feel good about yourself, too. I wish you much success, Mike. I have been where you are, & it's no damn fun. On 1/7/20, Nimer Jaber <nimerjaber1@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello,
- Get good at marketing and sales. The product you are selling is you. - Get really good at knowing when to push, and when to wait. - No doesn't always mean no if you get turned down for a position. Get good at knowing that and putting that into practice. - Get good at looking and acting confident. This might mean working on blindness skills. I don't know you, and I don't mean to offend you by that statement... but looking and acting confident, even when you're not, will help you. - Get a set of tools in your toolbox. Professional resume, good wardrobe, professional-looking bag/briefcase, knowledge and skills in a variety of systems with a variety of screen readers is probably all a good start. - Everyone, and I mean everyone you meet could be your next employer or your connection to your next employer. Don't slack off or take a break from sales/marketing. - Be willing to be uncomfortable in putting yourself out there, and being willing and able to discussyour blindness, to answer questions which might seem strange, and to generally be human and converse with people. - If able, make the offer to work for free for a period of time, or get an internship. This is more valuable than any cert. - A+, net+, security+, CCNA, MCSE certs could be valuable, but put the other things on this list higher up on your priority list. - Don't waste time applying on indeed or large employer sites, especially when starting out. Take a look at places in your area, make personal visits, maybe with a box of donuts and a resume, and offer to speak to them in person. If you want to apply online, apply with companies directly if possible. - When interviewing, you are not the only one being interviewed. Use it as an opportunity to interview them. You are having a conversation, and you are determining whether or not the employer is a good fit for you. It is a chat. A bit more formal, but still a chat. - Be willing to describe how you would complete tasks as a blind person. Even if they don't ask, they are likely curious. - Always follow up after the interview, and if you want the position, don't take no lightly. - Don't wait for any state agency to help you find work. Chances are, you may be waiting for a while, or you may end up at a position you will be unhappy with. - Look up salary trends, as well as other information about your employer before the interview. Mentioning something you learned might make them think that you are really motivated to get the position. - Always tailor the resume to the position, and include a cover letter unless they say not to. - Get involved in the community, with Senior centers, on websites, or whatever, and build up your presence so that you can use that as a form of experience if you haven't already.
I went a bit beyond answering your questions about certs, but getting and maintaining employment is a bit more involved than getting the right cert, although that does help.
Thanks.
On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 2:38 PM Mike Fulton <mikefulton95@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello,
I have been subscribed to this list for quite some time but haven't posted much. My name is Mike, and I graduated with a B.S. degree in IT about a year and a half ago. I have been struggling to get a job in IT to start my career. I am now in the process of studying for my CompTIA A+ certification, and then I'm going to start studying for MCSA. I was fortunate enough to ge able to get these costs covered by my state rehab agency. I have a few questions about starting my career, and am mainly looking for pointers, tips, tricks, etc. Would you agree that I'm getting the correct certs? My goal is to specialise in sysadmin or network admin. What general tips, tricks, and pointers do you have? What screen reader have you found works best to have on a thumb drive for accessing other systems? What other tools and techniques have you found useful?
Any help and info you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Mike _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list -- blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org To unsubscribe send an email to blind-sysadmins-leave@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
-- Best,
Nimer Jaber
The message above is intended for the recipient to whom it was addressed. If you believe that you are not the intended recipient, please notify me via reply email and destroy all copies of this correspondence. Action taken as a result of this email or its contents by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) may result in civil or criminal charges. I have checked this email and all corresponding attachments for security threats. However, security of your machine is up to you. Thanks.
Registered Linux User 529141. http://counter.li.org/
To find out about a free and versatile screen reader for windows XP and above, please click here: http://www.nvda-project.org
You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news.
To contact me, you can reply to this email or you may call me at (970) (393-4481) and I will do my best to respond to you promptly. Thank you, and have a great day! _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list -- blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org To unsubscribe send an email to blind-sysadmins-leave@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
-- Subscribe to a WordPress for Newbies Mailing List by sending a message to: wp4newbs-request@freelists.org with 'subscribe' in the Subject field OR by visiting the list page at http://www.freelists.org/list/wp4newbs & check out my sites at www.brighter-vision.com & www.mysitesbeenhacked.com
I would say start small and slowly clime up. There is already quite a bit of excellent tips have been given by other listers. I personally started with IT hobby being family/ extended family IT guy. Got married and wife made me go to school for AA in Network Administration and support. By the end of finishing college, I started volunteering in local church and then in the churches' private school. Slowly after that I was managing 2 different company's networks, school and 2 grocery stores. Things got so busy so that we went and bought one of the grocery stores. LOL. Right now, we slowly start outsourcing IT to a consulting company, but my point is that I started very small from basically nothing to IT director in school and then to the store owner. BTW I do have certs. They are in the cupboard so as my diploma with owners. LOL. As for screen readers, what ever makes you able to get the job done, go for it. -----Original Message----- From: Mike Fulton <mikefulton95@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 7, 2020 2:37 PM To: blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] starting a career in IT Hello, I have been subscribed to this list for quite some time but haven't posted much. My name is Mike, and I graduated with a B.S. degree in IT about a year and a half ago. I have been struggling to get a job in IT to start my career. I am now in the process of studying for my CompTIA A+ certification, and then I'm going to start studying for MCSA. I was fortunate enough to ge able to get these costs covered by my state rehab agency. I have a few questions about starting my career, and am mainly looking for pointers, tips, tricks, etc. Would you agree that I'm getting the correct certs? My goal is to specialise in sysadmin or network admin. What general tips, tricks, and pointers do you have? What screen reader have you found works best to have on a thumb drive for accessing other systems? What other tools and techniques have you found useful? Any help and info you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Mike _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list -- blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org To unsubscribe send an email to blind-sysadmins-leave@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
I absolutely agree with the advice here. I have a couple more points: Ask friends, It is because of one of my friends giving me a chance that I have the job I have now. When you get a job, learn the hard stuff that no one else wants to learn. I am not saying get certs, I have none, but I constantly read, learn, and put that knowledge im to practice. Use bookshare, it is really low cost, and plenty of books can jump-start you on your learning path. Best of luck to you! -- Kelly Prescott
Hi, A few things that helped me: Before I was in a job I did a lot of work on my own in email and web hosting and finding out how all that worked so I could get a deep understanding on the technologies. I would recommend finding something that interests you in the field you want to work in and really go for understanding and reading up on that field, then put it into practice with your own environment. Also I would highly recommend getting in on the scripting and configuration management arena, I have found a lot more positions in this of late rather than older style sysadmin work, and it pays a lot better as well. Andrew. ________________________________________ From: Nimer Jaber [nimerjaber1@gmail.com] Sent: 07 January 2020 23:22 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Re: starting a career in IT Hello, - Get good at marketing and sales. The product you are selling is you. - Get really good at knowing when to push, and when to wait. - No doesn't always mean no if you get turned down for a position. Get good at knowing that and putting that into practice. - Get good at looking and acting confident. This might mean working on blindness skills. I don't know you, and I don't mean to offend you by that statement... but looking and acting confident, even when you're not, will help you. - Get a set of tools in your toolbox. Professional resume, good wardrobe, professional-looking bag/briefcase, knowledge and skills in a variety of systems with a variety of screen readers is probably all a good start. - Everyone, and I mean everyone you meet could be your next employer or your connection to your next employer. Don't slack off or take a break from sales/marketing. - Be willing to be uncomfortable in putting yourself out there, and being willing and able to discussyour blindness, to answer questions which might seem strange, and to generally be human and converse with people. - If able, make the offer to work for free for a period of time, or get an internship. This is more valuable than any cert. - A+, net+, security+, CCNA, MCSE certs could be valuable, but put the other things on this list higher up on your priority list. - Don't waste time applying on indeed or large employer sites, especially when starting out. Take a look at places in your area, make personal visits, maybe with a box of donuts and a resume, and offer to speak to them in person. If you want to apply online, apply with companies directly if possible. - When interviewing, you are not the only one being interviewed. Use it as an opportunity to interview them. You are having a conversation, and you are determining whether or not the employer is a good fit for you. It is a chat. A bit more formal, but still a chat. - Be willing to describe how you would complete tasks as a blind person. Even if they don't ask, they are likely curious. - Always follow up after the interview, and if you want the position, don't take no lightly. - Don't wait for any state agency to help you find work. Chances are, you may be waiting for a while, or you may end up at a position you will be unhappy with. - Look up salary trends, as well as other information about your employer before the interview. Mentioning something you learned might make them think that you are really motivated to get the position. - Always tailor the resume to the position, and include a cover letter unless they say not to. - Get involved in the community, with Senior centers, on websites, or whatever, and build up your presence so that you can use that as a form of experience if you haven't already. I went a bit beyond answering your questions about certs, but getting and maintaining employment is a bit more involved than getting the right cert, although that does help. Thanks. On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 2:38 PM Mike Fulton <mikefulton95@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello,
I have been subscribed to this list for quite some time but haven't posted much. My name is Mike, and I graduated with a B.S. degree in IT about a year and a half ago. I have been struggling to get a job in IT to start my career. I am now in the process of studying for my CompTIA A+ certification, and then I'm going to start studying for MCSA. I was fortunate enough to ge able to get these costs covered by my state rehab agency. I have a few questions about starting my career, and am mainly looking for pointers, tips, tricks, etc. Would you agree that I'm getting the correct certs? My goal is to specialise in sysadmin or network admin. What general tips, tricks, and pointers do you have? What screen reader have you found works best to have on a thumb drive for accessing other systems? What other tools and techniques have you found useful?
Any help and info you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Mike _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list -- blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org To unsubscribe send an email to blind-sysadmins-leave@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
-- Best, Nimer Jaber The message above is intended for the recipient to whom it was addressed. If you believe that you are not the intended recipient, please notify me via reply email and destroy all copies of this correspondence. Action taken as a result of this email or its contents by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) may result in civil or criminal charges. I have checked this email and all corresponding attachments for security threats. However, security of your machine is up to you. Thanks. Registered Linux User 529141. http://counter.li.org/ To find out about a free and versatile screen reader for windows XP and above, please click here: http://www.nvda-project.org You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news. To contact me, you can reply to this email or you may call me at (970) (393-4481) and I will do my best to respond to you promptly. Thank you, and have a great day! _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list -- blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org To unsubscribe send an email to blind-sysadmins-leave@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
I would not say certifications are over-rated. For some jobs, here at the University Of Wisconsin, you absolutely cannot even apply without certain certifications. The job description for some jobs in the security department say you need not apply if you do not have a CISSP. But when I get resumes, they have all these certs, I don't know what they mean and none of that means anything to me anyway. I am much more impressed if somebody says they run their own web server at home. The OP did not ask for advice on interviewing. But here it is anyway. The most important thing is to impress them with your can-do attitude. For example, I was once asked in an interview what programming languages I knew. There was like a dozen of them listed on my resume but, you know, the interviewer is going to ask whatever he wants. My answer was, "Well, I know them all. Once you know more than 2, you know them all. I can produce something in any programming language in an hour and be fluent in it in a week." As I left, the interviewer told me that was the best answer he'd ever heard in an interview. That attitude is great to have anyway, it will help you a lot in your career. But also, it will get you a job (even if you have to fake it). Well, this is already pretty long but the above thoughts do lead me to talk about one more thing. You can sort of turn being blind into an advantage in an interview by making them believe you are Superman. You want to show them that you can do anything, right? Well, you have already demonstrated that being blind doesn't stop you. This is why I do not agree with that advice to not tell them you're blind before you get the interview. I think you should put it out there and make it a positive. Yeah, some people won't buy it. Some people will toss your resume in the trash. But you never had a chance with them anyway. An interview would be just a waste of your time. Besides, who wants to work for a person like that? When I was interviewing, I put that I was a triathlete, a woodworker, and had landscaped my own yard. I made printouts of this stuff and attached it to my resume and cover letter. "Hey, look at me! I'm that mythical super blind guy just like on TV!" Whatever it takes, right? On 1/8/20 4:53 AM, Kelly Prescott wrote:
I absolutely agree with the advice here. I have a couple more points: Ask friends, It is because of one of my friends giving me a chance that I have the job I have now. When you get a job, learn the hard stuff that no one else wants to learn. I am not saying get certs, I have none, but I constantly read, learn, and put that knowledge im to practice. Use bookshare, it is really low cost, and plenty of books can jump-start you on your learning path.
Best of luck to you! -- Kelly Prescott
_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list -- blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org To unsubscribe send an email to blind-sysadmins-leave@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
participants (7)
-
Anatoliy Shudrya -
Andrew Hodgson -
Jackie McBride -
John G Heim -
Kelly Prescott -
Mike Fulton -
Nimer Jaber