Stroll into IT jobs now a marathon

By VIKKI BLAND

A few years ago, individuals with few or no IT qualifications could slip into an IT job on the basis of aptitude alone.

In 1999, ambulance service officer Andrew Woods enrolled in a Microsoft certificate in systems engineering (MCSE), updated his CV to reflect his enrolment, and landed his first IT job within days. Woods then completed his certification with his new employer picking up the tab.

That's unlikely to happen today.

Mark Smith, national sales manager for the New Horizons Computer Learning Centre in Auckland, says IT applicants now need completed qualifications to get a job.

"Employers are asking for a minimum of a completed IT certification course. While experience or aptitude alone used to be accepted, that's no longer the case."

Smith attributes this to the rapid progression of information technology rather than a toughening up of the IT job market.

"Microsoft is a good example. Within just a few years they've moved from an NT4 server platform to Server 2000, to the latest - Server 2003. Because certification is specific to platforms, employers want applicants trained in the platform the company uses."

And Smith says employers are unlikely to pick up the tab for the training any longer.

"Larger employers might. But we've got a police officer going through systems engineering certification who wants to work in the IT area of the police force. Before he can submit his CV to that section he has to retrain and pay for it himself."

Some employers are also not satisfied with any IT qualification. Lyn Walker, director of software development company ALM Systems, says certified applicants lack required programming skills and degree graduates are preferred.

"University and polytechnic degrees in computer science still measure what they're supposed to measure."

Smith agrees that university qualifications are the best way to go for people who want to become high-level programmers or specialise in one area of IT, but points out that many IT positions require troubleshooting, hands-on skills.

For those without a spare three years of study time up their sleeves (the average time it takes to acquire a bachelor's degree) enrolling in an IT certification course, which takes weeks or months depending on how it is structured, is the next best thing.

So what certification courses are available, and is it necessary to have IT experience to begin with?

Key courses include those designed to teach software and hardware skills specific to an IT vendor. Examples include Microsoft, Novell, Citrix and Cisco qualifications.

Smith says the Microsoft Certificate in Systems Engineering (MCSE) and Systems Administration (MCSA) are busy courses.

The CompTIA A+ qualification, which offers proficiency in hardware and software across a range of key vendor products - Microsoft, Cisco and Citrix included - is the most popular general starting point.

While experience is not needed to enrol in these courses, aptitude is important.

A case in point is 27-year-old Suzanne Lane, systems administrator and helpdesk analyst for Fujitsu. Lane's position is her first in IT and follows MCSA training.

Previously employed in the hospitality industry, Lane says IT training can be difficult for new entrants to the industry.

"I got through it by studying hard. I started with hardware modules and progressed to software. I couldn't have done the modules in a sporadic order."

Lane's training took six months of study and cost around $8000. She was pleased, but surprised, to land a job within two weeks of advertising her CV because she had been told there were "no guarantees".

She says a genuine interest in IT is as valid as any IT experience. "You don't have to be that technical to start with."

Smith says people with no previous IT experience are often termed career changers, and his company typically suggests enrolment in a CompTIA A+ course.

"They can then progress to MCSE or a Cisco qualification. Or look at Javascript, Visual Basic or C Sharp programming. It comes down to individual aptitude."

This could explain why the first IT job for former ambulance officer Woods was in hardware maintenance, doing CPR of a different kind: computer problems and resuscitation.