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Well I graduated in July of this year. I recieved an Associates of Science in Computer Information Systems (CIS). Fancy title for what boils down to programming. I had perfect attendance, and a 4.0 cummulative GPA.
I started out in the schools Computer Networking Technology (CNET) program, or “System Administrator” if you prefer the easy name. I’ve wanted to be a sysadmin for a long time. After talking about the two curriculums with some friends, we decided that the CIS program offered the “best bang for the buck” so to speak.
Now it’s on to finding a new job. This has proved harder than I thought it would be. I’m a brand new programmer, and most every job I’ve looked at wants atleast 2 - 5 years experience and/or a bachealors degree. I have neither. I have been looking for “Junior/Entry Level positions” and maybe this is why I’m comming up with nothing. Alot of the jobs are looking for Senior programmers to manage the Junior programmers. Well how do I get to be one of the Junior programmers. I found an article via google that talked about the changing definiton of Senior/Junior programmers. The guy was talking about how what he considered a Junior level position is now being called a Senior level position. This involves tasks that any competant Senior level programmer wouldn’t even consider. Should I start looking for senior level positions, even though I consider myself a junior level programmer?
What I am really looking for is to become an apprentice to a Senior programmer or sysadmin. I want to work with someone that is willing to train me, and share their knowledge. I want to be the pimply faced youth to a BOFH. I’m not sure what the equivelant is in the programming world. I wouldn’t really mind even writing documentiation or maintaing/updating code for the first year or two. Granted I don’t want to do this forever, but I am willing to put in my time as the low man on the totem pole.
I have applied to a few different places. One place was specifically looking for entry level/junior programmers. I contacted them, and got a “Sorry we only accept applicants with a Bachelors Degree.” grrr Another company wanted more experience. Good ol’ catch 22 at work there I guess.
I actually found my dream job. I even interviewed for the position, and aced it IMHO. I asked when I would know whether or not I got the position. The interviewer told me, “next Monday”. Next Monday came and went, so I called them back on Tuesday. They said they have been really busy, and a few things came up, and they would get back to me soon. Well 2 weeks went by. I emailed the assistant, and got a respoonce back about a week later. Unfortuneatly it was rather hard to understand. The last sentance said, thank you for your time, and your resume and application will be kept on file. Not a definative yes or no. I would assume that menat I didn’t get the position, but I think we know what assuming does. I’m going to call them tomarrow.
technorati tags: work, programming, system adminstrator