Looking For a New IT Job...

Returning to Phoenix, AZ...

Over the Christmas and New Year's Eve holiday period, I travelled from Baltimore to Phoenix, Arizona. It was my first time back in Arizona since the 2010-2013 time frame. It was like visiting Phoenix for the very first time. Moreover, it was the first time that I have seen my mother since she visited Baltimore in March 2018. It was my first time seeing my sister, her husband, and their children in nearly 10 years or so. I used to have an aunt and uncle that lived in Gaithersburg, MD. Once my uncle retired from working at the National Institute of Health, my aunt and uncle sold their home and moved to Florida.

While visiting Phoenix, I started to take a look at what IT jobs are available as well as places to live.

I suppose that the big allure for being in the Phoenix area is to be close to family. Here in Baltimore, I don't have any family. In addition, I don't have any friends outside of work. The only people that I have seen consistantly over the past five years have been all of the doctors I have visited in both Columbia, MD and at the VA Hospital in Baltimore. I lived for one year in Columbia, MD, and I can honestly say that I don't have any friends their either.

On the other hand, I rather enjoyed my two visits with Dr Evan Chung, a chiropractor here in Catonsville, MD. During my first visit with Dr Evan Chung, I discovered that we both the opening night celebration of the 2002 World Cup in Seoul, South Korea.

During the summer of 2016, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma for the second time in two years. For the next five years, I went to Maryland Oncology Hematology and American Radiology in Columbia, Advanced Radiology in Ellicott City, the VA Hospital in downtown Baltimore, and the VA Counselling Center up in Pikesville. I have visited so many doctors' offices over the past five years that I need a moratorium or sabbatical. However, I do like going to the chiropractor.

While going through chemotherapy for the second time, there were times when having a family member available to pick me up would have been convenient, such as when I had to go in for a bone marrow biopsy. Boy, did that really did hurt.

Let's face it, my IT help desk job at the Social Security Administration isn't exactly conducive for meeting people. Since I work at the IT help desk, my job is to sit at a desk inside an office cubicle and answer phone calls non-stop for eight hours a day no matter how ridiculous the problems are.

In all honesty, I also had trouble meeting people when I lived in Reston, VA, outside of Washington, D.C., for four years. I was one of the few people at my workplace that ACTUALLY lived in Reston. I could never figure out the social scene at Reston Town Center. Since I didn't work AND live at Reston Town Center, I was an outsider.

Looking for a New IT Job...

Since I am not happy with my current job, I am starting to look for a new IT job.

My initial thought was to look for a new IT job in the Baltimore area. There is A LOT of competition in Baltimore for the IT jobs that are available. A couple of years ago, I applied to an IT job in Timonium/Cockeysville/Hunt Valley, thinking that I was a good match for the job. I was dismayed when I discovered that 200 people applied to that one job.

Since I don't have a Top Secret security clearance with a current full scope polygraph, pursuing a help desk job at Fort Meade is just a waste of time. Furthermore, I no longer have a Top Secret clearance. It's hard to believe that it has been nearly 10 years when I discovered that I no longer have a Top Secret clearance. When I do get a job offer that requires a Top Secret clearance from, say, a recruiter on LinkedIn, I just DELETE the email without any further thought. As far as I'm concerned,

As a result of not having a Top Secret security clearance anymore, my whole life has changed.

Getting back to Phoenix...

Let's face it, there are TONS of IT jobs in Maricopa County in general and in Phoenix in particular. I'm sure that some are good and some are bad. After performing a quick search for IT jobs in Phoenix on Google, it became abundantly clear that I need to figure out some method to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

Earlier this week, I went through the job openings available on USAjobs.gov, looking for any IT jobs with the Federal government in Maricopa County. There wasn't a whole lot to choose from. The only IT job openings were with the IRS with job openings located in Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert, and Glendale. One of the IT jobs with the IRS involved getting hired at a low level, such as at GS-7, for example. Once hired, you would then be mentored to advance to a higher GS level for that job. Would I apply for that job? I probably should. Regardless of what one thinks about the IRS, that job opening is an opportunity.

On the other hand, the job openings at USAjobs.gov are feast or famine. One week, there are all kinds of job openings. Then on the following week, there's not a whole lot to even consider applying for. Recently on USAjobs.gov, I did find two GS-12 IT job vacancies at Camp Humphreys near Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Those two jobs were the kind of jobs that I wish I had both the necessary job experience and IT certifications. Make no mistake, I would return to South Korea AT THE DROP OF A HAT.

Another attraction for moving to Phoenix is that the cost of living is a lot lower that it is here in Maryland. For example, the monthly rent for my 550 square foot apartment in Catonsville costs a little more that $1,000. Each year, the rent for my apartment keeps going up even though I don't live in a fancy apartment complex. There's no weight room. There's no pool. It's not close to the Inner Harbor.

The Most Probable Scenario...

The most probable scenario for me would probably be to quit my job at SSA. I'm a contractor, so I won't be missed a whole lot. I would need to clean out my storage unit in Herndon, VA, pack everything up, and move back to Arizona. I suppose I could drive a U-Haul truck with my belongings back to Arizona. An option to consider would be to have my car shipped to Phoenix. You DO NOT want to be without a car in Phoenix.

Once there, I could see living at my mother's house in Sun City and work at a temporary IT position, while I search for a permanent IT job and a new place to live.

One item that will help tremendously in my search for a new IT job would be to pass the exam for Cisco's CCNA certification.

The demand for the A+ certification from CompTIA is really low. Everyone wants workers with the newest IT certifications.

Job Titles and the A+ Certification...

For the past five years, I have been working as a contractor at the Tier 1 help desk for the Social Security Administration here in Baltimore, Maryland.

As a result, I am starting to look for a new job.

Between phone calls on this past Thursday, October 13, 2022, I found myself over at the CompTIA website, looking for inspiration.

Suddenly, I rediscovered the list all of the various job positions held by people who have earned the A+ certification.

The list contains 16 different job titles.

Here is the list:

• IT Support Specialist
• Help Desk Technician
• Field Technician
• Tier 1 Support Specialist
• Desktop Support Specialist
• Associate Network Engineer
• Systems Support Technician
• Junior Systems Administrator
• Service Desk Analyst
• Technical Support Specialist
• Field Service Technician
• Data Support Technician
• Desktop Support Administrator
• End-user Computing Technician
• Help Desk Technician
• System Support Specialist

Looking over the list of job titles, I can see that my current job can be classified as an IT Support Specialist, Help Desk Technician, Tier 1 Support Specialist, Help Desk Technician, or Help Desk Technician.

In other words, there are varied roles that someone with the A+ certification could fill.

In addition, there are all of the various other requirements that may be unique to each job role, such as specialized experience and other certifications.

My next step is to take this list of job titles and start performing key word searches for each job title in LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and the rest.

I also need to update my resume. My job HAS NOT significantly changed in all of my five years, so that should be easy to do.

Lastly, after listing all of the various jobs that require the A+ certification, CompTIA then provided a short list of companies that hire people with the A+ certification.

Here is the list:

• Best Buy/Geek Squad
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Verizon
• Canon
• Dell
• General Dynamics
• HP
• Intel
• Nissan
• Ricoh
• Sharp
• Department of Defense
• Wells Fargo

I would say that the list is probably too general.

However, I am sure that the idea is that there are various companies and organizations that have hired personnel with the A+ certification.

An interesting exercise would be to go each of the companies listed and see what IT-related job openings that are available at each organization.

Another thing that I have been meaning to do for some time is to have my own business cards made. You never know just who you might meet.

It's Been One Week...

Has it really been one week since the last post on my blog?

Yes, it has.

Last week, I was really busy. However, that is par for the course.

Once again, my job at the Tier 1 IT help desk at the Social Security Administration struck again, runining everything.

I am tired of expending A LOT of mental energy every day that I work at my job.

The job is just barely bearable.

For the past couple of months, I get a really bad headache. It occurs just about every afternoon. The headache always occurs in the same place: at the center top on the right side of my head.

It doesn't take too much to trigger it.

As soon as I get a caller that is having problems connecting to VPN, my headache will kick in.

This time next week, on October 2, 2022, I will have been working at the Tier 1 help desk at SSA for five years.

When I realized that I have been at the Tier 1 help desk for five years, I was shocked.

Working at the SSA Tier 1 help desk is like being on a runaway train. There is always a crisis of some sort going on when I get online.

It's always fun to have to explain what an ethernet cable does to a caller that cannot connect to VPN via wi-fi.

Is five years working at the Tier 1 help desk too long at one IT position? That's an interesting question that needs an answer.

However, on the other hand, working at the Tier 1 IT help desk at the SSA gave me a full-time job and health insurance (when I really, really needed it).

Moreover, my current job did provide me an avenue for getting IT experience.

When I think about it, I really have learned a lot.

As a result, working at the Tier 1 help desk at SSA hasn't been without its positives.

Working on My CCNA, Part 1...

   

     It's difficult to believe it, but I earned my CompTIA A+ certification three years ago.  Somehow, I managed to pass the 220-901A+ exam with a score in the high 80s.  After cramming for three months, I managed to pass the 220-902 A+ by the skin of my teeth. I'm not too sure where some people get the idea that the CompTIA A+ certification exams are easy.  I can only guess that the exams are easy if you have been working in information technology for several years or more.  When I passed the 220-902 A+ certification exam, I had already been working at the Tier 1 IT help desk at the Social Security Administration for over two years. One of the weaknesses of my current job is that we don't have any hands on experience with physically repairing a laptop with, say, a hard disk drive that needs to be replaced. We don't get to re-image laptops.  We don't get to create new users in Active Directory.  All of those tasks belong to different contracts. 

    After taking a couple of weeks off from studying, I thought that the next logical step was to start studying for CompTIA's Network + certification.  I then opened one of the Network+ study books that I own and began to work my way through the book.

    Talk about a mistake...

    I own at two books for studying for the CompTIA Network+ certification exam.  One book I received from the A+/Network+/Security+ course that I took at UMBC.  I bought the second Network+ book from Barnes & Noble.  After spending several months studying for Network+, I came to the realization that the Network+ certification is a complete mess. From what I could tell, in order to really know the topics for the Network+ exam, one needed to know how to use Microsoft's Active Directory and Server Manager. One of the Network+ books made numerous references to Microsoft's now defunct equivalent to WireShark. On top of all of that, the Network+ exam also covered the usual networking topics such as switches, routers, fiber optic cable, Ethernet cable, and IP sub-netting, among other topics.  Despite focusing exclusively on Cisco products , CompTIA wanted you to know that the Network+ certification was "vendor neutral".  I even paid several hundred dollars for the Network+ online tutorials offered by CompTIA.  Those tutorials were rather underwhelming.   

    After getting bogged down in studying for the Network+ certification exam, I decided to kick Network+ to the curb. 

    Since I was already bored with working at the Tier 1 help desk at the Social Security Administration, I started to look for an IT certification that could get me into a new IT position.

    I tried learning about Ubuntu Linux. I bought one of those glossy magazines at the bookstore that gives the reader a crash course in how to use Linux. I learned to how to install Ubuntu Linux on my Dell laptop. I learned how to use Oracle's Virtual Box. I learned several basic commands for Linux.  The subject was interesting. Unfortunately, I pushed learning Linux to the side because my current job doesn't use Linux. Everything that we do at the Tier 1 help desk at SSA involves using Windows. 

    I tried learning about WireShark. I downloaded WireShark onto my computer.  I bought the 500 page training book from Amazon. I worked through a couple of the introductory chapters.  Network analysis is an interesting subject. One thing that I liked about WireShark was that you could see the different OSI model layers in each packet.  You could actually see the OSI model at work by starting WireShark, play around on the internet for several minutes, and then stop saving traffic.  You could see the source address, the destination address, the port numbers used, the different protocols involved, and so on.  However, my knowledge of networking is very rudimentary.   

    I also tried working on the free online course Microsoft offers for Azure.  Cloud computing is an interesting field. Moreover, there's A LOT of demand for people who are certified in either Azure or Amazon's AWS.  Indeed, someone on LinkedIn, who had read about by struggles with studying for Network+, recommended that I get an IT certification that was in high demand, such as Azure or AWS.  I progressed to the part of the class where you setup your first Azure environment.  As started making progress, other things came along and dominated my time.  

    While studying for Network+, I came across Cisco's Packet Tracer program.  I tried taking the free online course offered by Cisco.  It was a surprisingly user-friendly program to use.  Since I don't have several hundreds of dollars to spend on used Cisco networking equipment from eBay, I liked how you could set up a simple network in Packet Tracer and then "see" it work. 

    I explored further into what Cisco offers for certifications and online training materials.  I went to Barnes & Noble and Book-A-Million and leafed through Cisco's own training manuals. I was impressed with everything that I saw.  I also liked how Cisco has its own version of CompTIA's Security+ certification.  Being a former intelligence analyst in Army, that captured my interest.  As a result, I went on to Amazon and bought both volumes of the CCNA 200-301 certification book by Cisco. 

    While reading the introduction to the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 book, I came across a passage that discussed career goal setting. That's probably the main problem I have.  I'm trying to figure out what my next step in the world of IT will be. After working as a Tier 1 help desk specialist for the Social Security Administration for nearly five years, I need something new.  I have had enough of dealing with callers that lost their PIV card, cannot connect to VPN, are locked out of the mainframe, need to order a new maintenance kit for a printer, trying to convince callers to purchase an Ethernet cable, and so on.  It's mind-numbing work.  As a result, a system administrator position sounds interesting. 

    So far, I have read the first three chapters of the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 book.  Yes, the information covered in the introductory chapters is a repeat. However, it is important to learn about the 5 Layer TCP/IP Model, the properties of Ethernet and fiber optic cables, the basics of IP routing, and so on.  However, I do think that I am starting to get bogged down on the introductory chapters, so it's probably time to move on to the next section of the book.  

    As a result, the other night I started reading chapter 4, where you learn about the basics of Cisco's operating system for routers and switches. As I progress through the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 certification book, I am going to try to post updates to my blog  as I progress.