Ask HN: Recent graduate with no experience

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9130373

by akaij • 11 years ago

8 10 11 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hello.

I received my MSc in Networking from a top UK university in October. Since then, I've been applying for Graduate Schemes as I have no relevant work experience. I've never had an internship either and all my work experience consists of summer jobs.

Now, my goal is not to get "any" job for money. I want to learn my field the best I can, and I learn best by watching and interacting.

My questions are:

1) Are there any companies that would let me intern with them, with little or no pay? And would it be worth it? How does one go about finding about small companies that aren't listed on, say, Milkround?

2) Would it be worth it to take a long time off and learn stuff online? I know we should always be learning something new and I am passionate about it, but I think I would be better motivated (and not depressed as I am right now) if I had an actual job involving computers.

3) What would you recommend?

Thanks!

techjuice• 11 years ago

You should submit your resume to popular job sites and directly to companies. Skip the internships as you are way past that especially with a Masters degree (would have been ok if you were just starting college, but your have moved past that part now).

Since you have a Masters degree you are worth more out of the box now then before you started college. Since you had summer jobs that counts as work experience but it is concerning, you should be able to get a job as a network administrator if the work you did earning your degree was more practical than theory which it should have been. If not you might be in trouble if you do not know the basics to at least intermediate of setting up a network by yourself. If the latter is the case then you have some serious work to do. By now you should have earned a few certifications (CCNA, MCSE, etc.) to help supplement your academic course work, if not I would recommend getting these out of the way so when you do apply for jobs the employers can take you more seriously as you would have a standardized knowledge base but no long term work experience.

Something else you should also have is a home test rack setup if you had a degree of any kind in networking, which would be the same for someone that took computer science, engineering, software development, etc. all students that normally excelled and were serious about their work had something at home physically or virtually to hone their skills. If this is the case with you then you should have some serious fun at interviews when it comes to the whiteboard questions as you have been through the network setups thousands of times by now and they should be very easy for you by now since you should have mastered it by now.

I would also recommend applying for jobs as big companies like Amazon, Facebook, HP, etc. along with government contractors in your area. As some of the government contractors have the funds to bring you on and train you up in your weak areas all while paying you a very nice salary.

Also no need to take time off, you can work on learning new things when you get home from work

bjwbell• 11 years ago

2) no.

3) Get almost any job remotely related to computers and grow from there. My first job after university was as a temp doing data entry. It paid minimum wage (US). But I met a guy there that gave me a rec. for my next job doing programming. At my next job if I'd wanted I could have gone into networking.

In 1 year it's possible to go from taking almost "any" job to the job you want.

Does it suck that you can't immediately get a job in your field? Yes!!

I went on many interviews and got turned by every one due to lack of experience. It wasn't until I decided to take any job remotely computer oriented that I had success.

akaij3• 11 years ago

Thank you. This gives me hope.

codeonfire• 11 years ago

1) yeah there are lots of places that like free work, but in my opinion no one with a degree should be doing that unless it's charity. How do you find small companies? Easy. Just go to places where you are likely to meet people working in your field. Seminars, meetups, conferences.

I don't know about the UK, but here I would not even apply for jobs online. That is "front door" job hunting and it is a waste of time. It is so much easier just going to an event and telling everyone I meet "I have a degree and I'm looking for work."

funkylexoo• 11 years ago

1/ For reasons explained in other comments, I would search for a full-time job rather than an internship. To find small companies, check out the most prominent VCs present in the UK and check out what startups they have invested in (it's almost always publicly listed on their websites).

2/ No. Get a full-time job. While you're job hunting, work on a personal project that will further your skills and expertise. You will almost certainly be quizzed on that (at least, if you try to join successful startups)

3/ See above. In case you're interested: we're based in London, UK, and are currently hiring for 3 positions: https://pusher.com/jobs

Good luck!

akaij3• 11 years ago

Seeking a full-time job seems to be the best course of action.

About your company: it does seem interesting but again, I don't seem to fit any of the descriptions because of lack of experience.

WednesdayBass• 11 years ago

The best advice my dad ever gave me when looking for jobs is that even if you only match the description 50%, apply for it. Don't be put off by the list of skills/qualities they want.

Show that, while you don't meet all of the criteria on the job advert, you're keen and have a good head on your shoulders.

I'm in the UK as well and I know it's a tough market. But I agree with what others have posted - take anything even vaguely related to IT. The only jobs I had before I got a placement/internship were working in a shop and doing data entry.

EnderMB• 11 years ago

I can only speak from my own experience, but here goes:

1. A lot of graduate internship schemes in the UK are partly funded by the universities themselves for graduates from their undergraduate courses. This makes getting one on the back of a MSc a bit more tricky. Either way, I'd go with the advice already here, and look for a full-time job if you can. There's plenty of advice already here for finding the sort of companies you'd want to work for, all I can say is that it's a decision that you shouldn't rush, but don't take too long on either. Spend some spare time over a week looking over companies and see where you'd like to work, then send out some cover letters.

2. It's really not necessary. That time would be better spent in a job. If you want to work on a personal project there's nothing stopping you from doing so while you're applying for jobs.

3. Build a list of the places where you want to work, and just apply there. Outside of my first job, every job I've landed was without a formal ad being placed. Honestly, don't worry too much about your chances of getting hired. There is lots of work out there for those that are willing.

akaij3• 11 years ago

You mean applying for positions that might not exist? I understand that it might be easy if you have an impressive CV and apply to a company with "exceptional applicants welcome at all times" attitude, but it doesn't seem realistic for someone in my position to do that. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

JSeymourATL• 11 years ago

Does your school have a good alumni directory? The old-school tie a good way to connect and start building a professional network even with strangers. Start identifying well placed graduates. Reach out, ask them for advice and specifically, ask them if they know anyone looking junior/entry-level hires. Incidentally, Linkedin is also a good place to find new contacts.

Here's a solid overview by Ramit Sethi on networking> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb03mTqI2Io

Ask HN: Recent graduate with no experience

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