I graduated this past december w/ a BS in computer science. I'm having the hardest time looking for an entry level position.

Do any of you Technology guys have advice on where to look? Where did you guys start? I've tried the major search engines (monster, hotjobs, dice), what are some other ones.

I figured I'd try technology consulting, but I don't know of any consulting firms.

How would I go about becoming a sys admin or network admin a couple of years down the line.

 

forget everything you learned in school and start hacking your own ideas. I don't hire programmers with CS degrees unless they have plenty of experience to go with it.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by The Unabageler
[B]forget everything you learned in school and start hacking your own ideas.

 

I graduated with a BS in CS in December of '99. Even then with the tech boom, it was somewhat difficult to get a job. My best advice is to get some experience. We have some people I work with who don't have CS degrees, yet making good salaries. I personally think they have no business in IT, but that's my thought.

Get as much experience you can, like building a website or application for your parents, or make one up. The more experience the better. I'm about to get laid off because of outsourcing, so I'm going to be in the same boat you are.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by The Unabageler
[B]forget everything you learned in school and start hacking your own ideas.

 

Start with "temp" agencies. Take the first job you get. Your first job WILL suck (either in pay and/or the work itself) so expect that. The good news is you won't have to do it long, less than a year probably. The bad news for CS majors is you learn NOTHING about how software is really created in college, that's why CS degrees are nice to have but, by themselves, won't get you a good job. The degree may open a few doors but it's usually the last thing employers look at.

 

Go it alone. I went straight out of college in Dec. 2000 with my bachelor's in CS and started my own custom software/consulting business. Now I have 5 full time employees and several contractors. Keep in mind that I got all of my shitwork out of the way working summers and off hours during college for several companies which later became clients. It obviously helps if you have a couple of contacts to get you started with a few jobs, but you can just build on that if you do a good job and get a good reputation. Word of mouth works wonders. I literally started with about $3,000 in my pocket for my business.