posted
This has nothing to do with relationships or bodily functions!
As some of you may know, I have switched form being a social worker to working at a school district. I was going to be a teacher, but I needed my foot in the door. I got a job as a tech aid part time.
I loved it! Part of my job satisfaction is my autonomy and respect my peers give me, but mostly I just like computers.
I went from a tech aid to running our network. I went from part time with no benefits to full time with benefits. I have got my A+ and Network+ certificates. This year I have designed and ordered a new 2003 server. With TomDavidson's help I have set it up. It is running with only one small glitch.
Here is the problem. I have good experience. I will continue to get more experience--as I have lots of free time and school resources to study and learn. However, I am not sure if I will have a livable job next year.
I get paid really poorly. Really really bad. My family is close to if not in poverty. We get by because my wife subs and she is very frugal and plucky. We have no debt, but we drive junky cars and live in a rat hole. At least my insurance kicks arse.
I need to take care of my family. I am now at a level where I feel I should get paid good. By the end of this year I will be at a much higher level then I am now.
Hell, I would be happy with 30K a year. That is about what a social worker makes here. We are not a high maintenance family. I just don't want to rent a crappy apartment. We have property we can sell for a down payment on a house--when we decide where to settle.
The district promised me if they have the budget they will hire me at a substantially better pay. They really like me and are impressed with what I have done here. I like them too.
My references are solid. If they don't have the budget, I am guaranteed my current job with a modest pay increase and benefits. I will find out in Feb. No other aide has ever moved up like this. They sold trust land to get me benefits and full time status.
In the event I don't get the better job, I want to be certified so I can get a better job anywhere else--MCSE certified. I can't keep my family in poverty. My kid will be at an age soon where he deserves more stability.
I need something more for my resume besides experience, but I don't have the time or local resources to go to school. Our community college only has day classes.
The college teacher recommended a cram place in Phoenix. They guarantee your MCSE for $6000. The teacher did it and was impressed with how everyone did get certified. I do have that in savings (our last bit 'o savings). It is a two week cram session. In the IT world it is called a "brain dump." It is not respected, but it gets you certified. It is actually looked down upon. I could do it in Feb.
I have experience. A brain dump will give me the paper title. Another route I could go is to spend around $2000 at LearnKey (for the online courses), and spend a couple hundred each test. It would work out to be around $4000 when I am done, but it would take all year. I might not finish in time (end of school year). If I don't pass a test the first time around I have to pay more money to test again.
More then anything I don't want to deal with test stress for a year. I just want to do free study and learning. I want to experiment on our test server and learn VBscripting.
I have the 5 books already. I have read most of them as I set up this server.
So what should I do? Do I dump or not? I am fully aware I won't get skills at the brain dump, but I will have the paper title. I should be marketable. Or is LearnKey a better route?
Ideas?
If the district doesn't create the job, my wife and I will start job hunting all over America. We can and will move. I just need the paper title. I have the references and am getting good experience.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Personally, my feelings are that you should leave. You talk about your "family" - that makes me think you have children. My personal thoughts are that the children's care should come absolutely first. Do you have savings in case you have an emergency that insurance won't completely cover? I know from experience how hard it is to build up any savings when you get paid poorly.
If getting the things your family needs require the brain dump, then I say go for it. It will probably be really stressful for a couple of years, but once you're over the hump, you'll be back working in enjoyable jobs again, AND making better money.
But that's just what I'd do - you have to decide for yourself! Posts: 1006 | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
I say get yourself ready to leave, and wait to see what the district says. If they say no, thank them for what you've gotten from them and hit the road.
Is the "brain dump" route going to get in the way of getting a job in the future? Or is the fact that you have the certification good enough, regardless of how you got it? If it plays a role at all in how you're going to get a job, I say go with the more respected route? It's a $2,000 gamble with the district really, on whether or not they'll offer you a better job or not.
What does your wife say? or other people in the same field? (is it possible the district would front the money for the class if you stayed with them another year?)
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the dump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dump closed on Thanksgiving before...
I couldn't resist. Sorry.
Lem, sometimes you've got to do what is best for your family. I left a job I loved for one that has the benefits and pay I needed, because my family counts on me for support. I made the right choice.
posted
Ouch. My first job out of college was a crap menial labor job that I took because I needed a job, and because it had a title that I thought I could leverage into something more suited to my talents. I quickly convinced everyone in the department that, yes, my time would be much better spent creating advanced multimedia teaching tools for the faculty than moving tables. So I spent 2 years doing both, but at the table-moving salary, while they promised me they'd create a position for me to do just the multimedia stuff with the corresponding white-collar salary. Eventually I realized they were just using me as talented but cheap labor, and finally moved on to a job that better suited my skills.
In retrospect, the people who were promising me this new position and pay were lying to me, and were sort of petty jerks to begin with. I should have known I was just being yanked around earlier. In your case, though, it sounds like the district really does care about you, and the sale of the land to help pay you benefits sounds like a great gesture on their part.
If you think that they really do intend to promote you in February if the money comes through, and you think there's a good chance the money really will come through, I'd have a hard time spending the $6k when you might discover in a couple of months that you wouldn't need to. Are you at all in a position to wait until February to decide if you should pay for the "brain dump" course?
Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
If you have the discipline, you can just buy the study books from your local bookstore, download and install MS Virtual Machine, and study yourself. From other threads on this forum, it sounds like you ahve a network to play around with and you have experience, so that's probably a viable option. Doing it this way will cost you $200 bucks, tops, plus test fees.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote: Personally, my feelings are that you should leave
quote: Lem, sometimes you've got to do what is best for your family. I left a job I loved for one that has the benefits and pay I needed, because my family counts on me for support. I made the right choice.
There is no question I am going to leave if they don't create the job. Even if they do create the job, I am going to job hunt for something better. In February I can start the hunt. I can leave this job in May. At least I will still get paid over the summer. If I find a good job, that gives me some extra income as we move.
quote:Is the "brain dump" route going to get in the way of getting a job in the future? Or is the fact that you have the certification good enough, regardless of how you got it? If it plays a role at all in how you're going to get a job, I say go with the more respected route?
That is the heart of my delima. If you just need the certificate and experience, then the 6000 is worth it to me. Even if I stay at the district with a better job, the certificate can only help in advancement.
What I don't know if using a dump will hurt me. I know it is bad if you have no experience. Good jobs won't hire you because you have no experience. Bad jobs wont hire you because you are too educated/certified and they think once you get a little experience you will move on.
I, on the other hand, have experience. I am thinking the dump will be a good way to get the title so I can get a better paying job. I am not sure if it will actively hurt me because I got it at a dump. I guess I really don't need to elaborate.
I did get the A+ and Nework+ on my own. The school did buy me a personal server and software to study on. I have used what they bought me to study, so I could just explain in an interview that is what I used.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
O.K. On rereading your post, it seems like you already have the books.
quote: More then anything I don't want to deal with test stress for a year. I just want to do free study and learning. I want to experiment on our test server and learn VBscripting.
I have the 5 books already. I have read most of them as I set up this server.
Not clear on whether or not you want to study on your own or not. 6K seems like a powerful motivator to me.
One other thing I would like to recommend is to put your resume out there on Monster, Dice, and whatnot for people to see. Even without the MCSE,if you have skillz, as it seems like you already do, you can get an IT job without the MCSE, and who knows what will come up while you are studying? Can't hurt. Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Also, there is currently something of a tech bubble, so now is a good time to look for a job in IT.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote: Not clear on whether or not you want to study on your own or not.
I want to study on my own. I just don't want to study for a test. I want to study out how to do specific projects and scenarios in my head.
I always learn more and remember more when I study what I want to study. It is not enjoyable or memorable when I study for an exam.
I just talked with our LearnKey school rep and he said he would get me all courses for the MCSE and Master Tests (practice exams) for $1500. I would still have to buy the tests myself, but the school may reimburse me when I pass. They reimbursed my A+ and Network+ tests.
He also said he would give the district a one year unlimited license for teachers and students for $2500. Normally it is $6000 for the district after discounts.
If the district gets it for $2500, then I get it for free!!
*off to write the head tech guy an email*
I still like the idea of just getting it over with in 2 weeks, but how could I pass up free training (or even $1500 training) when I already have the books, a practice server, a XP Pro computer set aside for testing, and time to self study?
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
It is funny how sometimes everything seems to fall into place. I started off today trying to get advice about how I should go about getting my certificate so I could have a title to match my experience.
After I wrote the first post I got a call from our LearnKey representative.
I sent an email to our head district technology guy telling him about a special deal that the representative presented me with.
The head of the technology department ordered it for the district. I get the training for free.
No $6000 price tag. No $4000 price tag. No $1500 price tag. I will even get reimbursed for the tests I pass. This is the year I make my computer experience professional. After my contract ends, I will be in a position to accept the better job or find one that pays enough to support my family at the level I want to!!
All of this happened during the course of this thread from this morning! Serendipity indeed!!
Edit to add no $4000 price tag, as that was the original amount I thought the LearnKey route would cost me.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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