[serious] some advice needed for getting IT based job

[arunb]

Hi All,

Country: India

my friend has done BCA. He has done the following.

Specialization : C, C++, Java (Advance)
Visual Basic (Front End Development)

Internet Technologies: ASP, HTML

Database Applications: SQL Server 2005, Oracle 9.0, Microsoft Access 2000 (Microsoft JET OLEDB 4.0)

General Microsoft Office Skills, like Excel, Office etc.

My question is what are the job prospects for my friend in India. He is willing to pursue MCA course (correspondence) while on job. I am aware his qualifications may not be much, but due to financial constraints he has to get a job.

Please also advise what other skills he should acquire to improve his chances.

Also I have read some reports that MCA degree is not highly values these days, is this true ???

thanks
a

[baja_yu]

How many years of professional experience does he have with the listed languages/technologies?

[dunfiddlin]

Well if he has to get a job, I'm not sure that anything is relevant other than actually applying, turning up at interviews, and neither swearing at the boss-to-be nor staring at the female interviewer's cleavage! If he was thinking about what courses to take before embarking on a career that would be rather different but needs must and all that! He's not going to be able to transform his prospects overnight.

[arunb]

How many years of professional experience does he have with the listed languages/technologies?

None. He has just finished his studies and would like to get a job. The problem I see is that his qualifications may not be enough, I have advised him to study for MCA (masters in computer application), but due to financial constraints he would be unable to do this.

He's not going to be able to transform his prospects overnight.

true. I was thinking maybe what courses he should pursue, that is also in line with his expertise.

[Nightwalker83]

None. He has just finished his studies and would like to get a job. The problem I see is that his qualifications may not be enough, I have advised him to study for MCA (masters in computer application), but due to financial constraints he would be unable to do this.

Following on from what dunfiddlin said your friend might consider looking for volunteer work in the IT sector (web design, etc) to get experience! This is what I'm currently doing.

[arunb]

Following on from what dunfiddlin said your friend might consider looking for volunteer work in the IT sector (web design, etc) to get experience! This is what I'm currently doing.

Can you please explain this a bit more for me ??? What does 'volunteer work' mean ?? Do you get paid ??

thanks for the interest.

[baja_yu]

It really depends on how good his skills are. I can say that I've covered something in my college courses, for example C++, but I wouldn't put it on my resume as I haven't used it much and wouldn't be comfortable working in it immediately. As dunfiddlin, it's best if he starts looking for work, a paid internship or an entry level position perhaps. He can start by making a good CV, and pay a lot of attention to it as it is very important, and start searching job board websites for open positions in his area. If there are well known tech companies he knows about, it couldn't hurt to drop in personally, give them his CV and ask if there are any positions available.

[kareninstructor]

The following are some thoughts which was how I got into IT

• Take any IT job, easier to move up the food chain
• Get really good at something, attend local user groups and teach it

While working in another profession I thought IT was for me so in short studied one year in computer Sience, another year honing skills. From there took a call center job for a year while writing articles for magazines and teaching at user groups. What this got me was many contract jobs that eventually lead to my current position since 1994.

My point being is if you do not make it happen nobody is going to either. You can have a tons of certifications but if you do not get out an get noticed past job applications it is all for nothing. There are way too many people that get jobs similar to how I have then those who have attended years of college. I have been on interview panels where the go-getter, usually bets out the person with tons of years of college because the college person many times makes little effor to promote themself.

Foood for thought :-)

[Nightwalker83]

@Kevin,

Woah, don't try to confuse him IT and food are two different topics.

Can you please explain this a bit more for me ??? What does 'volunteer work' mean ?? Do you get paid ??

thanks for the interest.

Volunteer means you do something for someone for not payment in return! That being said no you don't get paid but you gain experience.

[arunb]

thanks Nightwalker, kevininstructor and baja_yu for the tips.

My friend is doing some small projects to improve his skills. I will get him to take up some small part time jobs like web designing, server side coding etc.

Maybe I could get him to design my own website.

I think some things are clear now..

Are MCA (Masters in Computer Applictions) courses still popular. I have read somewhere that these courses are getting obsolete..is this true ??

[FunkyDexter]

If there are well known tech companies he knows about, it couldn't hurt to drop in personally, give them his CV and ask if there are any positions available

For me this is the most important suggestion on here. Don't wait for the right position to "come up"... it won't And if it does there'll be dozens of more experienced applicants that will beat him out, probably before he even get's an interview. It's far better to get out there and start knocking on doors and phoning companies prospectively. Not just the well known ones either, phone EVERYONE. Just ask if they've got any work at the moment and can he send in his CV. Very few will but those that do will give him much better consideration because they saw him making an extraordinary effort that most candidates don't.

[arunb]

I was browsing through the net for freelance job sites for IT. I found odesk.com and freelance.in interesting, are there any other sites that offer IT jobs on freelance basis- for beginners, very low payment will be fine as the main task is to have practical experience.

[baja_yu]

elance, freelancer.com, Guru etc. A few quick Google searches for "freelance jobs", "freelance websites" should give you a dozens.

[dilettante]

Recent job market studies show that having any substantial volunteer work on your resume actually hurts your career-long pay and opportunity. You actively mark yourself as unworthy of a good paying job.

The Internship Economy

These unpaid/low paid gigs tend to work out only where there is a strong patronage system surrounding career paths (Daddy's business, Fashion, Publishing, corrupted government agencies, etc.).

[arunb]

Recent job market studies show that having any substantial volunteer work on your resume actually hurts your career-long pay and opportunity. You actively mark yourself as unworthy of a good paying job.

The problem is that most employers demand some work experience, so adding freelancing to the resume would improve the chances of getting the job. Don't you think ???

[dilettante]

The problem is that most employers demand some work experience, so adding freelancing to the resume would improve the chances of getting the job. Don't you think ???

If there are no other candidates for the job to compete with or you can compete on price, then perhaps. Of course there you just went, selling your soul again. Both this employer and any future employers will note that you value your ability to work very little. This comes into play in consideration for promotions, the next job, etc.

"Low-ball coder dot com" folks don't just slit everyone elses' economic throats, they cut their own most deeply. This is sort of the Midnight Cowboy of programming jobs.

[NeedSomeAnswers]

Following on from what dunfiddlin said your friend might consider looking for volunteer work in the IT sector (web design, etc) to get experience! This is what I'm currently doing.

How that going for you NightWalker? do you feel you are getting good experience?