Got my foot in the door.

Well everyone, I've caught my break. After 6 months of applying, submitting resumes, and meeting with recruiters, I have finally got an IT job! Effective July 15th I'll be an ID Management Support Technician for a large, multinational company working at it's headquarters in Milwaukee. This position gives me the opportunity to build ever important work experience, which has been holding me back on my job hunt.

My main job requirements consist of managing users security settings through Active Directory, building and deploying desktop/laptop computers, and deploying mobile devices for new employees. Mobile deployment will be a new skill set for me, which, after talking to a few people already in the IT field and technical recruiters, looks to be an excellent addition to my resume. I've been told by more than a few people that mobile deployment is highly sought after right now. Oh, and on top of learning new skills, this position comes with a (small) bump in pay.

Everything's coming up Millhouse Paul, right? Well, not quite. Remember a couple of posts ago when I said "fortune favors the bold"? This is certainly the case. This position is only a short term contract. I've been told there is a chance of being hired on or the contract being extended, but the reality of the situation is to take this new position, I have to give up a job I have been at for just over 9 years. Is this a risky move? Certainly. Is it worth it? I say yes. I have to take the opportunity to build my professional experience when it's offered to me. In this job market, I'd be a fool not to. I've just got to push forward with the optimistic outlook that my hard work will pay off in the end. So if anyone happens to be looking for some new employees in a couple of months, keep me in mind!

Entering the Field of Virtualization

So here I am, a college graduate! The big day came and went, now what? How do I continue to prepare myself for a career in virtualization and information technology? How do I take that next step? Reality hits you pretty quickly once the ceremony is over. I am already preparing for the VCP exam, continuously reading anything that could end up being remotely useful in my future, but really, all this prep work is so broad. I thought to myself, to get a better handle on what I should be preparing for and what to expect I should speak to professionals already in the field. 

Enter Brian Kirsch and Adam Bergh. Seven and five years in virtualization respectively, Brian currently teaches Emerging Network Technologies at MATC after working for Children's Hospital and Fiserv, and Adam is a Senior Datacenter Engineer at Netech Corp. The list of certifications between both of them is long and impressive, from MCSE & CCNA to VCP & NetApp to vExpert & Masters level education. To be honest, I couldn't do these guys justice without listing every certification they hold. I asked them both first five questions that came to my mind.

As I am working to enter the field, I wondered how these two got their start, so I asked what was their first experience with virtualization and how their careers began. Adam's first experience with VMware was Workstation back in 2002, and from that moment he knew big changes in information technology were coming. In 2008 he changed careers as an engineer and dove right into datacenter consulting. Like a lot of people, Brian started as a Systems Administrator and encountered Microsoft virtual technologies, but really got deep into ESX / GSX with Fiserv.

Now that I had an understanding of how they encountered virtualization technologies, the next question I had was as virtualization professionals, what traits or skills do you feel are necessary to succeed in the field? "Flexibility and a open mind to multiple solutions." according to Brian Kirsch. He went on to say "Virtualizing something is not always the correct solution. VMware and other tools are just that...tools that you have to know how to use and even use a bit outside what they are designed for to provide the solution to the customer". Adam's thoughts really spoke to my style and work ethic. He said "It sounds cliché, but the most important trait to have in this industry is a thirst for knowledge. Technology in this industry is constantly changing, and it takes someone who is willing to constantly be studying, reading, and communicating with industry leaders so stay on top of the emerging tech."

So at this point I feel like I'm on the right track. Reading, studying, watching training videos, using Twitter and blog posts to learn and network about virtualization, I am trying to take in as much knowledge as I can. My next thought was what advice to an aspiring IT professional could they offer? Don't get stuck in a vendor rut according to Brian, his advice was "Be open to everything coming, do not dedicate to a single vendor but embrace all of the technologies." The sentiment was shared by Adam, "The best advice I could give is to try and catch on with a solutions partner and integrator of one of the leading technology firms in this industry. (Cisco, VMware, Microsoft, EMC, NetApp, Dell, HP, etc)." He added "Your education is massively accelerated by seeing different solutions, implementations, projects, etc, rather that trying to do in-house IT for a customer of VMware, Microsoft, etc." There was one more point that Adam made that really sticks out in this job climate. His advice, " Don't be afraid to start small. Be an intern if you have to as a way to get in. Find the best engineers and shadow their every move. Stay up all night reading and building scenarios in labs." Not being afraid to start small is huge now more than ever. I've met with technical recruiters and a common theme is that job seekers are not willing to start at the bottom and work their way up. My stance has always been just get my foot in the door, whether it's re-installing operating systems, setting up workstations, or answering help desk phone calls, I'll let my skill set, knowledge, and work ethic propel my career upwards. 

To close out the interviews I asked for any final thoughts. Adam suggests keeping an eye to the future, "This is one industry where someone new to the industry can come in and compete with seasoned professionals who have been doing this for years. The reason is the constant change in the industry and the new technologies that arrive and seemly shake the industry every few years. Cloud technologies begin the most recent example. The next example the coming SDDC (Software Defined Datacenter) revolution that is threatening to completely change that way datacenters are designed and deployed." And Brian put it simply, "It's a fun ride that never slows down..."

What are your thoughts? Feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below, on my Google+ page, or on Twitter, my handle is @ExploreVM. Also, if you would like to be interviewed for future blog posts, message me directly. 

Fortune Favors The Bold - A Personal Update

I've lived by that saying for a while now, "fortune favors the bold", and I believe it. With my time at Milwaukee Area Technical College coming to a close, I have made a few large life decisions. First of all, as some of my followers may know already, I've been accepted to the Milwaukee School of Engineering for the Management Information Systems program starting this fall. Continuing my education at such a well respected college is a step I feel I need to take in my ongoing journey to be a well rounded IT Professional. I will enter the school as a Junior. After talking with a few past students I have learned that the Junior year at MSOE is the most difficult, but honestly, I am excited and looking forward to the challenge.

Second of all, I've been actively seeking employment in the field for a couple of months now, and the road block I continuously run into is lack of experience. In an effort to counteract this, I am forming my own LLC to do contract IT work, and to consult small businesses on social media marketing. This move will have a two fold effect. First of all, holding the LLC shows a level of professionalism to potential clients over other individuals who are just using word of mouth, posting flyers, or Craigslist to seek work. Secondly, I've received two contract offers from small businesses to create, update, and manage their social media presence and I would like to handle that in a professional manner. Now, the LLC is just supplementary work for myself right now, as I am still working full time and seeking full time employment. I understand that there is a chance that when I do finally find entry level IT work for a company, I may face a cut in pay from what I earn currently, so I will maintain the LLC to offset any loss in pay. And who knows, maybe I will have enough success that I can turn my small business into full time employment... Well, a boy can dream, can't he?

Finally, the third, and easily biggest life choice I have made is that I asked my girlfriend of over 2 years to marry me. Without her support, none of this could be possible, and I am grateful to have her in my life. This decision also adds to my motivation to succeed professionally, as now it's not just me anymore, is us.

If you've got any comments, tips, words of encouragement, or anything at all, feel free to leave a comment, or contact me on Twitter: @ExploreVM 

The Deeper I Get Into Virtualization...

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend my first VMUG meeting. The Wisconsin VMUG chapter held a half day session at MATC's Downtown Milwaukee Campus. Frankly, I loved it. There were great presentations from Netech, Daniel Klemz, and Scott Harold, & a Q&A session. I enjoyed being around so many people with a passion for virtualization. Attending this event gave me a bump of motivation towards preparing for the VCP exam.

During the meeting, I was tweeting out thoughts and observations (my Twitter handle is @ExploreVM, if you don't follow me already!), and this tweet is one of my biggest takeaways from the meeting:

"The deeper I get into #virtualization, it becomes more evident that #CiscoUCS may have to be the next step in education"

While listening to Netech's presentation about FlexPod, I had a flash back to a tour of a data center I took a few months beforehand which uses a VCE block system. The common factor, both use Cisco UCS. Now, of course a deep understanding of the ESX hypervisor and the entire suite of VMware products is going to be my entry into the world of data center virtualization, but if I have any aspirations to manage a data center (which believe me, I do), and to become a well-rounded IT professional, learning the Unified Computing System is a likely next step.

The problem with that? Finding the training at a reasonable cost. A quick Google search yields 5 day training sessions and online training courses, but the cost of these courses ($3000+) is nearly prohibitive for a student attempting to further their education. Also, with any boot camp style training sessions, you have to wonder how much you are actually learning and retaining in a meaningful way. An ideal solution would be if the local technical schools or colleges would offer Cisco UCS courses.

Milwaukee Area Technical College offers a great VMware vSphere course taught by amazingly knowledgeable professors, and there has been rumors that the school is working on cloud and storage certificate programs, both of which I would love to attend and I feel help advance the school over other technical colleges in the area. At this point, I would like get on my soapbox momentarily, hoping some of the higher-ups at MATC are listening, and petition the school for a Cisco UCS course. It's becoming more and more obvious that business are implementing pre-configured, converged infrastructure virtualization solutions, and while the VMware vSphere training is an excellent start, adding UCS experience to your graduates portfolio would make them more competitive in the job market, along with increasing their overall technical capability.

Now, my blog may never get noticed by anyone of significance at MATC, but I will close with this, hoping someone is listening. I graduate in 6 weeks, and will be continuing my education at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in the fall, but if MATC adds the Cloud Certificate, Storage Certificate, and Cisco UCS programs, they have me not only coming back, spending my educational dollars at their college, but also touting the IT program to anyone who cares to listen to me.