Your Computer Questions Answered...

[Mike]

Ok, it was checked so I un/re-checked it. I also changed it to GMT-5 Eastern. It was set to Bogota. We'll see if that works it out.

[pparks1]

Mike,

I had no idea that you lived in Columbia

[atillia]

My fathers laptop went tits up(slow and terrible), and he begged me to reinstall windows for him, instead of trying to fix his problem. Its an old Dell, and they are pretty good at giving you a copy of Windows for re installation. It was quick and easy since I had a disk. All the dells Ive bought in the past have all come with a disk copy of the OS. Id not like it if I didn't get it.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by pparks1

Mike,

I had no idea that you lived in Columbia

No, I don't. But apparently it gives you like 4 different GMT-5 timezones to choose from. I just chose the first one I saw.

Hopefully today when I turn it on it's not set to CST.

[jimmy_Bish]

Ifti, question for ya. It's IT related, so it can go in here. Not worth a new thread.

So, I'm going to go to the UK still, but not next month like I planned. With the whole confusion with my girlfriend and all the training I have scheduled down here, it's not worth going up until after the new year.

So, what's the demand for MCSE's up there? I'm sitting the exam for SBS server 2003 tomorrow (MSCE elective), and I have an Office Sharepoint 2007 course next week, which is another elective to chuck on top.
If I were to go up there with these certs, an Altiris Wise Package Studio cert and a VMware cert (maybe scheduled for Sept), how much do you reckon I'll be on a year?

[Ifti]

To be honest mate, sorry to break it to ya, but since you are Australian, people wont employ you.

lol Im jus kiddin

When I was doing my MCSE a few years back it was big. If you had your MCSE you were guaranteed a job - and a well paid job at that, since there was a shortage of MCSE's. However, nowadays everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. OK this isnt all that bad, but it means the demand for MCSE's has reduced since so many of them are around.

Whats worse, is that there are now so many people studying to a basic level cheating their way through the exams, that its making the MCSE worth less. What you really need is work experience - which you have. Its the experience thats gonna help you a LOT. When you have experience to back up your MCSE, you are suddenly HUGELY more attractive to a prospective employer.

How many years experience do you have now? Also do you have a degree?

If its a decent amount of work experience, I think you could be looking at around £26k and above for network support. Move into network management and network engineering, and you are looking at around £30k and above I reckon.

Looking at what I know of you already, I think you could start applying for jobs around the £30k mark. Say £28-32. As you gain more experience you will move up pretty quick. I started work in 2002 on £15k, and quickly moved up to £26k when I moved into Network Management within a few years. Now, since my experience has grown a little further its more around £35k - and I have the network set so Im bored most of the time! I should really be looking to move in the next year or so and aim around the £40k mark. And thats all within 5 years.

Jobs are readily available, but since the number of people studying It is increasing rapidly, its becoming much more competitive to get the jobs. You really need to sell yourself, have a brillaint CV to get to the interview stage, and sell your skills and abilities at the interview. Most employers make you sit a test now, some of them can be quite tough, so that they know you havent cheated your way to your status.

When you are ready to start looking for jobs, gimme a shout and I can direct you to the best places to look. Try some basic sites like Jobsearch.co.uk to get an idea of what you could be going for and what to expect.

[jimmy_Bish]

Yeah, I was thinking the MSCE wouldn't be worth much. I read a job leaflet a few months ago from where my GF used to live up there, and there was a MSCE training ad on nearly every page! Madness!
It's a little similar down here. Not so much in Tasmania, though. We all just get paid shit down here, no matter what quals we have!

I don't have a degree, but I have a few years under my belt, with a massive range of clients (326, at last count!), all with their own software packages and various tweaks. I basically take on the client from the moment they want a quote on a new network, recommend them the setup that will best suit them, go about building the network and then manage it for them remotely from then on. But I've also done stints for large businesses for a few months at a time, being a network manager.
So I've covered everything from small businesses, to schools, to factories, to multi-site networks (and international), and government departments. So the couple of years I've had on the job have been a massive learning curve since I'm working on a different network every day.

I'm banking on the Altiris and VMware certs to go through so I can use them. I reckon they'll be the money-makers for me in bigger corporations.

[kevinisnasty]

Question: My comp has 224MB RAM. I'm looking to either get 1GB or 512MB more. Can anyone give me a link to what I need to buy?

[jimmy_Bish]

Originally Posted by kevin1927

Question: My comp has 224MB RAM. I'm looking to either get 1GB or 512MB more. Can anyone give me a link to what I need to buy?

I would, but you have to tell us what you have currently. Do you have a brand name PC? Maybe a model number of the motherboard or something?

Either that, or open up the case to your PC and have a look at the sticker on your existing stick of ram and write out the numbers and brand for us.

[Mike]

I have a question about batteries and charging my laptop. How long should I leave it plugged in for? Also, would it be worth the $150 or whatever to upgrade from a 6-Cell Lithium Ion to a 12-Cell?