Job descriptions

Hi everyone, i've just started looking around online for a new job, and am unsure whether it worth me applying for a couple of specific positions. I have little qualifications, but a couple of jobs have come up which dont necessarily require qualified applicants. Maybe they are worth a shot. Here's a brief example of one:

IT Support and Developer. 6 mth contract:
Requried to work on a small team providing first line IT support to 300 staff. It is a customer focused role.
Candidates must also have an interest in software and web development as the technical aspect of this role will require learning some command line programming in UNIX. Support will be available through the learning process.

Here's a bit of info about me - 26 yrs old, 9 years experience working with Windows-based PCs and various applications. Generally know quite a bit about PCs, not to a great extent, but know my way around many popular programs.

Ok, I know from the above info, its hard to say whether I am capable of the job, as we dont really know what the job entails - all I am wondering is whether it may be worth a shot.

I just lack confidence as I have little qualifications. Just dont want to look stupid going for what I dont realise is a really experience-demanding, job.

Obviously this is unusual posting this kind of thing on a hifi forum, but most people around here generally make a lot of sense

Any comments welcome.

 

Just ring them up and talk it through. They'll tell you if your not what they're looking for.

 

Sounds to me like you'd be OK; they make noises like 'an interest in' and 'learning' stuff rather than requiring in-depth knowledge.

My only caveat would be that in a front-line support role, you'll need plenty of confidence or at least the ability to sound like you have. Though half the time you'll probably just need to tell people to switch it off and switch it on again.

 

Thanks guys, appreciate your comments.

Tried calling them, but need to e-mail CV first. I'll get that set up and e-mailed tomorrow and let you know if anything happens.

Think I just need more confidence. What knocked my confidence was when I applied for data-input jobs a few years ago and didnt get it. It makes you think, if I cant even get that...

Ironically, i'd be fine with data input now, but not sure about the pay...

 

Good luck, I have applied for a similiar position, but is £6 (part time) an hour and you need a degree, they said if I get the job though the pay will rise a lot.

The I.T industry is very very hard to get into these days, the last time I got an I.T job it was for a web developer, 10 other people were interviewed.

The job is that employees want it all, qualifications, experience, team working skills and the likeability factor.

I am not sure what command line programming is, as Unix shell is not really programming, however do you have experience in that?

Also you will probably need knowledge of networking, you probably don't need to be an expert but knowledge of domain servers will probably put you an advantage.

A lot of it just how good you are at lying in the interview Somthing that I am useless at

Good luck.

I will say go for it, but you don't be surprised if a million Cisco qualified graduates apply for it with 10 years experience.

If you don't apply you will never get the job

 

The advert says 'the technical aspect of this role will require learning some command line programming in UNIX. Support will be available through the learning process' which to me means they're looking for a willingness to learn command line programming rather than experience in it (and that they will provide the necessary training).

 

That's 'cos us lot (web developers) are three hundred a penny - and I don't have java either.

My advice, since I'm assuming all you guys have the eyesight and thus can either drive or learn to drive, is to go to night school and train to be a plumber. It's the new IT - and rumour has it it's a dying trade as lots of plumbers are retiring and few are taking their place.

My mate's thick as two short planks, sawn in half then half again, but he works for his dad as a plumber's mate and is always loaded. Proof of thickness though is that he never sets aside the 23% for the tax man, so is always skint this time of year - tee hee.

 

Anyone asking for a degree at £6 per hour is either stupid or showing what a degree is worth nower days?

I pay washing up staff that much money, you don't need a degree for that.

 

Unix has a number of scripting languages which are used to make batch programs which can be run manually or through schedulers eg cron (ok almost always cron).

Its not hard for simple ones just a combination of commands. Plenty of books on the subject. I wouldnt worry about that too much

 

Though you can probably do a degree in 'dishwashing studies'!

 

The problem is that the I.T industry is flooded at the moment, graduates are willing to work for peanuts to get experience, because experience is what you need to get the good jobs in I.T

It mainly seems to be the I.T industry this is a problem in but it persists in others too.

 

Agree, AT. It took me nearly two years after graduating to get a job in PC/server support, which is what I was looking to do. Very frustrating and a bit disheartening, when you have been through a few years at uni.

 

Why not? There's an HND in "Pop music"

 

Why not? There's an HND in "Pop music"

Garyi's right though - with the dumbing down of courses, A Levels now are similar to GCSEs from the late 80s, so a degree can't be worth much more than an A Level was in, say, 1995. All IMHO of course.

 

Since I got my degree way back when, it's probably worth a PhD by now! Standards started to slide as soon as I got my degree, of course.

 

Just because its labelled as popular music doesn't mean your learning about who styles britney spears' hair. Virtually anything that doesn't come fall into the classical or jazz catagories is classed as popular when you study music. HND in popular music studies is often used for people at around grade 5-6 to get up to degree standard.

 

Yeah some of the stuff taught on Audio Technology at Salford was mind bobbeling, it is pure physics, yet the popular image was that people were just cutting bits of tracks up.

We did some of the audio modules on my course and they are not easy, although a certain Irish lecturer may have had somthing to with that (he now runs a fish and chip shop in the Isle of Mann).

 

I did audio stuff on my Computers/Cybernetics degree too; all good fun, except they blatantly lied to me about the mathematical content of cybs. I just about got through it.

I got to play with anechoic chambers, nice drive units and well-expensive measurement gear though

The only Cybs paper I didn't do badly on in the finals was the one with audio questions in - got a tad carried away on that one!

 

We had those anechoic chambers too, they cost £2.5 million. The building they were in was pulled down and as you can imagine moving it was a very expensive process.

 

a lot more people are running marathons these days, does that make them easier..?