What certification do I go for?

[Excelsior]

Hello all,

I'm posting this topic here in the Off Topic section as I don't think this subject belongs in any other section.  If I'm wrong, please move this thread to a more suitable section.

 

Now, I've just graduated from an Engineering college specializing in Computer Science and Engineering.  I say "just" but it has been nearly 7 months since then.  I got selected by a software company called "Tech Mahindra" during my 7th semester (Oct 2016).  I've been waiting for a joining date from them for the past 7 months and nothing substantial has come yet.  From July 2017 to December 2017 I had turned my laptop into a hackintosh, brushed up my web development skills, learning new things like ReactJS, AngularJS, Laravel, Node and many other web development technologies (just the basics,  I find Traversy Media in youtube to be the best at this.) just to keep my mind off of the Tech Mahindra situation.

 

In December, I received a mail from them stating that I'd be subject to an "assessment" to test my employ-ability.  In January, I got a date for my assessment.  On 31st I gave my assessment and it was easy enough for me.  I had questions from RDBMS, Software Engineering, Programming Techniques and Java.  I had to code in Java as well.  It all went fine.  Still, nothing regarding the joining was mentioned.

 

I'm thinking of taking up certified courses from Microsoft and add to my resume.  I'm thinking of moving on from Tech Mahindra in search of a job elsewhere.

 

I'd like a pointer to what courses would be helpful to me.  There are a couple of courses I'm interested in but don't know where to start.

[Grimfrost769]

I would recommend MCSA or anything SQL.

 

If you want to work for the DoD(IF you live in the USA) that then I wholeheartly suggest CompTIA Security+. Move along from that company and find a job. As many contract positions that are available(once again if you live in the US) You should not have a problem.

[Excelsior]

The CompTIA certifications completely escaped my mind.  Is that something I can go for?  I'm not residing in the USA, I'm in India.

[Canada EH]

7 months for an employability assessment then you do one then you still wait, now 2 weeks and no word.

Skip them!!!!!

Find a job elsewhere!!!!!

[Excelsior]

7 hours ago, Canada EH said:

7 months for an employability assessment then you do one then you still wait, now 2 weeks and no word.

Skip them!!!!!

Find a job elsewhere!!!!!

Yes, I'm thinking to do the same.

[wasab]

12 hours ago, Excelsior said:

Yes, I'm thinking to do the same.

7 months? Bloody hell. The average time for a recent college graduate to find a job is 3-6 months. You are already pass due. Please tell me you sent out at least 2 job applications each day because that is also the average if your internship during school years had not yet guaranteed you a job.

[Nicnac]

Edit: what the hell wrong post....

[Excelsior]

12 hours ago, wasab said:

7 months? Bloody hell. The average time for a recent college graduate to find a job is 3-6 months. You are already pass due. Please tell me you sent out at least 2 job applications each day because that is also the average if your internship during school years had not yet guaranteed you a job.

Unfortunately no.  That is due to the fact that many of the Indian Tech companies have delayed taking in freshers.  I mean, nobody ever gave even tentative dates as to when joining would be issued.  But by the end of January, most of my peer-group have received a joining date.  Receiving a joining date and getting assigned to a project are completely different things.  Many of them have undergone training and are made to sit on bench, waiting.

 

Also, I've come across people who have applied to various jobs.  They get called in for interview and get told to wait a couple months.  The IT field as a whole is going through this phase.

 

That's why I'm thinking of getting a certification from Microsoft.  An engineering degree from a regional college won't cut it anymore.  I've come to understand that it is better to have a certification from Microsoft rather than CompTIA.  Is that true?

[Excelsior]

Bump.  I've had no communications from the software company regarding joining as of yet.  I've decided to go with MCSA certification in Cloud Technologies.

 

I'm looking into cloud technologies and infrastructure because I understand that even if I get a joining date and get into the company as an Associate Software Engineer; I'd have to undergo training and if I'm lucky enough to get a project, I'd be working.  Else, I'd have to be on bench and after some time I'd be let off.

 

Every company needs a person to handle their infrastructure and the requirement for those posts don't dry up unlike a developer role in India which mainly relies upon work being outsourced.

That's why I've been thinking I'd benefit from getting a certification in hardware and infrastructure.  But my worry is that MCSA has prerequisites like experience for a couple of years managing IT.   I'm fairly adept at technology and I'm sure I can crack the exams but is it appropriate for me as a fresher right out of college.

[Guest]

35 minutes ago, Excelsior said:

Bump.  I've had no communications from the software company regarding joining as of yet.  I've decided to go with MCSA certification in Cloud Technologies.

 

I'm looking into cloud technologies and infrastructure because I understand that even if I get a joining date and get into the company as an Associate Software Engineer; I'd have to undergo training and if I'm lucky enough to get a project, I'd be working.  Else, I'd have to be on bench and after some time I'd be let off.

 

Every company needs a person to handle their infrastructure and the requirement for those posts don't dry up unlike a developer role in India which mainly relies upon work being outsourced.

That's why I've been thinking I'd benefit from getting a certification in hardware and infrastructure.  But my worry is that MCSA has prerequisites like experience for a couple of years managing IT.   I'm fairly adept at technology and I'm sure I can crack the exams but is it appropriate for me as a fresher right out of college.

Have a look at the NextUp program if it’s availible in Indian. I know they’ve just done a heap of the 70-5xx exams on it here in Aus however it was partners only. 

[Excelsior]

I couldn't find the NextUp program in India.  How is NextUp program different from MCP?  I understand that NextUp offers classes on accreditation exams but all the classes and exam locations are in Australia.

 

I'd like to know if going for a certification would be beneficial to me now.  Should I try for other jobs for now?  I pretty much have no idea.

[Guest]

On 2/26/2018 at 1:08 PM, Excelsior said:

I couldn't find the NextUp program in India.  How is NextUp program different from MCP?  I understand that NextUp offers classes on accreditation exams but all the classes and exam locations are in Australia.

 

I'd like to know if going for a certification would be beneficial to me now.  Should I try for other jobs for now?  I pretty much have no idea.

Learn to quote people. Here i have done this for you this time, but next time i will not be around. Use the little arrow symbol behind the message, or type @Windspeed36 .. Windspeed look at the text i have quoted, that was a question aimed at you.

[straight_stewie]

On 2/15/2018 at 3:18 AM, Excelsior said:

I'm thinking of taking up certified courses from Microsoft and add to my resume.  I'm thinking of moving on from Tech Mahindra in search of a job elsewhere.

I would say that you shouldn't burn the bridge with them, but you should definitely start looking for other work. The US really conditions students to find work within 6 months of graduation, as that's when government backed student loan payments start coming due. 

 

On 2/26/2018 at 5:08 AM, Excelsior said:

I'd like to know if going for a certification would be beneficial to me now.  Should I try for other jobs for now?  I pretty much have no idea.

In the US many engineering/CS students will start working on getting some certifications (those that don't require years of professional experience) during their junior or senior years of university. 

In the general case, by my logic, having proof of knowledge, or having more knowledge in general, can almost never hurt you.

[wasab]

On 2/17/2018 at 12:47 AM, Excelsior said:

Unfortunately no.  That is due to the fact that many of the Indian Tech companies have delayed taking in freshers.  I mean, nobody ever gave even tentative dates as to when joining would be issued.  But by the end of January, most of my peer-group have received a joining date.  Receiving a joining date and getting assigned to a project are completely different things.  Many of them have undergone training and are made to sit on bench, waiting.

 

Also, I've come across people who have applied to various jobs.  They get called in for interview and get told to wait a couple months.  The IT field as a whole is going through this phase.

 

That's why I'm thinking of getting a certification from Microsoft.  An engineering degree from a regional college won't cut it anymore.  I've come to understand that it is better to have a certification from Microsoft rather than CompTIA.  Is that true?

Perhaps consider free lance work in the mean time until you come across an opportunity? 

[wasab]

On 2/26/2018 at 5:05 AM, Excelsior said:

Bump.  I've had no communications from the software company regarding joining as of yet.  I've decided to go with MCSA certification in Cloud Technologies.

 

I'm looking into cloud technologies and infrastructure because I understand that even if I get a joining date and get into the company as an Associate Software Engineer; I'd have to undergo training and if I'm lucky enough to get a project, I'd be working.  Else, I'd have to be on bench and after some time I'd be let off.

 

Every company needs a person to handle their infrastructure and the requirement for those posts don't dry up unlike a developer role in India which mainly relies upon work being outsourced.

That's why I've been thinking I'd benefit from getting a certification in hardware and infrastructure.  But my worry is that MCSA has prerequisites like experience for a couple of years managing IT.   I'm fairly adept at technology and I'm sure I can crack the exams but is it appropriate for me as a fresher right out of college.

Project and joined date? You sound more like a contractor than an employee for that company. If you joined, then you work. I really don’t understand what waiting for a project means. Are they paying salary or wage? If not, I strongly advice to get out and look elsewhere. 

[Excelsior]

I'm terribly sorry for bring unresponsive.  I received email communication from Tech Mahindra on Thursday that I'll be getting the offer letter and my date of joining is March 20.

 

I'm yet to receive the letter as this is kind of a long weekend here in India.  Therefore I don't know about how long the training period will be for me.  I did well in the programming test and its said that candidates acing the programming test would be put on a fast track.

 

On 3/1/2018 at 11:12 PM, wasab said:

Project and joined date? You sound more like a contractor than an employee for that company. If you joined, then you work. I really don’t understand what waiting for a project means. Are they paying salary or wage? If not, I strongly advice to get out and look elsewhere. 

Most of the work in software companies are outsourced to India, because its cheap. And the fact that most software companies are service oriented, the demand is volatile.  I was selected by the company in the campus placement program, not officially termed as an employee. So, no salary.

 

This is exactly why I think its beneficial to get certified in hardware and infrastructure.  Or get a better job after contract expires.

[wasab]

10 hours ago, Excelsior said:

I'm terribly sorry for bring unresponsive.  I received email communication from Tech Mahindra on Thursday that I'll be getting the offer letter and my date of joining is March 20.

 

I'm yet to receive the letter as this is kind of a long weekend here in India.  Therefore I don't know about how long the training period will be for me.  I did well in the programming test and its said that candidates acing the programming test would be put on a fast track.

 

Most of the work in software companies are outsourced to India, because its cheap. And the fact that most software companies are service oriented, the demand is volatile.  I was selected by the company in the campus placement program, not officially termed as an employee. So, no salary.

 

This is exactly why I think its beneficial to get certified in hardware and infrastructure.  Or get a better job after contract expires.

Well, such placement program should be something you had done while you were still in school. Now you are looking and needing full time work correct? I suggest you just apply elsewhere instead of volunteering here and there for free. Economy is not that bad. 

 

Edit: do any jobs full time or part time while you job search in your field. Certification to me is like education. It is something you should’ve gotten when you were in school.