[SLL] Greetings Open Sauce People

[Rob Blomquist]

Tis I among the SLLers again. But this time with an aim to join the 
forces, and dive into the world of IT.

Ever since the tech bubble, and wondering why I did not jump ship then, 
or why I did not jump ship 20 years ago when I graduated college, I have 
wanted a job in IT, early on it was to 'program' but now I am thinking 
about being a DBA or GIS Adminstrator.

Linux taught me everything I know about computers, which is a scary 
thought, I know, but its now quite true, I work on Winders machines 
knowing they have to do similar tasks, and just nail down how to tell 
Winders to do it differently than it currently is done.

But here's the hitch, short of a couple of SQL classes back in 2004 and 
2005 on T-SQL for SQL Server, I have not had any computer training nor 
certifications to talk about. Nada, except for running Linux and a 
network at home from 2000 to 2007. I gotta get it back quick, I miss the 
ease of a home network.

Now, I am jumping ship as the economy has dumped, and any hope of my 
past career panning out for me, have gotten me nowhere. I have chatted 
with a couple of people in the last month who have recommended disparate 
paths. One said get a cert, the CCNA is a good one, it will give what I 
know already credibility, and I will know more about networking than I 
ever dreamed.

The other says, look around for System Analyst or Network Analyst 
positions, you already know enough to do well at that position. If you 
have trouble at that level, go Technician, but the work won't be as 
interesting, most people will know less. The other option offered by 
this person was to find a small company that wants a System 
Administrator but cannot pay for a well trained one, it will be 
something I could do that will give me work and street cred without a cert.

What to do? I have no idea. I have been out of work since the beginning 
of the year, the bank is getting slim, and I could use a job sooner than 
later.

How could I make my skills relavent in order to bring home some bacon 
realistically in the next couple of months?

Thanks for comments.

Rob