The work experience dilemma new IT graduates face

You've just graduated from university with an IT qualification, or just completed an intensive IT course with an industry recognized certification. You are all enthusiastic and looking forward to securing a relevant job in the industry. However your optimism may soon turn to frustration, and sometimes to bitter disappointment.

In your job search you will discover that virtually all the IT jobs on offer require that you have some work experience in the field. You are therefore faced with a situation in which you cannot get a job because you do not have the required work experience. But how do you acquire that work experience when employers are not willing to offer you a job because of the lack of the very work experience they demand? Lots of young new IT graduates end up in this catch-22 situation. They can't get a job without experience, and they can't get experience without a job. It does not sound fair at all. Or does it?

Now let's play devil's advocate for a minute. From the employer's standpoint there are at least two good reasons why they insist on this work experience.

1, They do not want to employ a novice to work on their IT equipment and applications – for instance important company production servers housing critical databases. No sane IT manager will want to delegate these tasks to a fresh graduate without any hands-on experience.

2, New graduates also need a considerable amount of training and practical hands-on work in order to be competent at most real life IT job duties in the corporate world. Many employers are not willing to take them on and give them this training because the majority of them won't stay long. Once they acquire a year or two's work experience they become very marketable. Let's face it, an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) or CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) with a couple of years solid work experience with servers and routers in an enterprise, is indeed marketable. Such IT professionals can be easily lured away with better compensation packages.

So, what is the way around this problem? One of the best answers can be found in the so called entry level certifications such as A+ and Network +. These are very important supplements to the big certifications. You may be an MCSE, but if you are a fresh graduate you also need that A+ or Network + certification. This will allow you to obtain an entry-level PC support position, for example. Managers will be comfortable allowing an entry level technician to work on PCs. After all, how much damage can you do on a user's PC? Granted, you may consider such a job as being “beneath” you as an MCSE. However, this type of work will give you exposure to a variety of tools and techniques, as well as opportunities to advance your career.

Once you get your foot in the door, so to speak, you can gradually find a way to work yourself into dealing with those all important servers and databases that your academic training has prepared you for. You can start off by taking on basic server duties such as backups, attaching and configuring network printers and UPSs, etc . If you can prove yourself to be a reliable worker you will be given more responsible duties to perform.

After you've spent a year or two working in this type of environment you should be ready to either seek a promotion at your current place of employment. You will soon find yourself as the company's database administrator, for instance. Alternatively, you can look for other opportunities elsewhere, armed with that all important work experience.

Another answer is to seek as much experience from wherever you can, to complement your degrees or certifications. Build home networks; strip and rebuild PCs; fix and upgrade PCs for friends and relatives for free. Yes, work for free if you have to. For instance, if you are an aspiring website developer without any work experience, consider volunteering your web design skills for NGOs. A lot of these organizations could do with a website, but cannot afford to pay for the services of a web designer. Since you are offering your services for free they won't be concerned about your lack of work experience. Take on a couple of these projects, before you know it you'll be a skilled web designer with a handsome portfolio to enhance your CV.

If you can converse proficiently with a prospective employer at an interview and demonstrate that you have some relevan real-world experience to go with your certification, you can convince them to offer you a job.

In short, don't expect that once you secure those enviable highly rated IT certifications or degrees you will be able to easily obtain a job that is in line with your qualification. It is often a slow and gradual process, and it demands a lot of discipline, hard work and commitment on your part.