[clug] Jobhunting

[ben.westgarth at facs.gov.au]

>>If you want to be in IT,
>>and you don't have much experience, then you'll need at least a
Bachelor's
>>degree to get into public service jobs.

This is not necessarily true. I decided to take a permanent position as a
programmer based on the flaky state of the contract scene and I do not have
a degree in IT. What I did do though was foster good relationships with
people and do pretty much whatever was asked of me. When opportunities came
up to show-off some of my home-grown skills I took them. But there is no
doubt that it is the harder route to take and a degree is certainly an
attractive bit of paper.

I can recommend taking any job that you are capable of doing - my first was
simply publishing web content (I believe the guy doing it now is a monkey
with a stick). Sometimes the best way to get the job you want is to break
into the organisation first and then move sideways. Build relationships and
make sure that people know where your real talents and interests lie. It
will not be long before you catch someone's eye if you are an enthusiastic
worker. If you have no IT experience then you made need to bite the bullet
and look for work experience somewhere. And during this time you may need
to stick to the kitchen hand thing to keep food on the table.

The other thing that may help is to look at some of the qualifications
available. If you can show your potential employer that you are a Certified
Java Programmer/Developer/Engineer/Architect then this is obviously an
advantage. These qualifications are not that expensive.

HTH
Ben