IT Industry (Score 1)

I speak to folks in your situation everyday. I am a recruiter for a Technology Staffing firm. My business is technology people, specifically those on the infrastructure/support side of IT. There are really two worlds when you are speaking about IT. There is the Full-Time Employee world and there is the Contract world. These two different worlds require different things as far as requirements for positions. The Full-Time world will want to see a Degree or an attempt at a degree for the most part. They also will be looking for experience with very specific technologies. Know that I am speaking of the IT support for most medium (500+ end users) to large (1500+ end users) sized companies. Most hires are done by HR and they do this through requirements given by IT managers. Most of the time if your resume doesn't specifically match the criteria given, you will not get a call back or even a letter stating they received your resume. Now for the Contract side of the business. This is where you will find the most opportunity. First off don't think of this type of work as "un-secure" or "I could get let go at any moment". Any person in any position can be let go regardless of there status due to most states and companies having "at will" agreements with their employees. Most people I deal with your in shoes are looking to go Full-Time with a smaller or medium sized company so they can get more "hands on" experience, or do something besides dispatch techs and update ticketing databases. This is good for you for two big reasons, most smaller companies have an "IT Manager" who can not handle everything on there own, or have a group smaller than 5 or 6 and really need someone who can do a bunch of stuff. The IT Managers at smaller shops are typically Microsoft Admins and your UNIX skills would complement that nicely. Secondly most small shops like the Contract to Hire model. This gives them flexibility and gives you and them a chance to feel each other out. More and more companies are turning to this to save money and time instead of searching for someone on there own. If you do want to look at just contract you will get a lot of experience doing so. Most of the time it's the IT manager who directly hires these folks in and knows what the company needs on the IT side of things. This will also allow you to network with other IT people in your IT community. In smaller markets this is huge, because if something does happen where a budget falls through and they can't keep you working, typically you can get a referral to one of his gaming/golfing buddies and land on your feet almost instantly.

So take it or leave it those are the two sides to the IT employment story. You have IT experience and the market is tight right now for good IT professionals. I would definitely test the waters and see what is out there. If you are not networked get a hold of a large IT placement firm and have them assist you with your search. I am also curious of how you were hired into your current role. Where you placed by a firm or did you just apply to your company and get hired on.

One last thing, I know I spoke very vaguely and very much in general in the above paragraphs. There are a lot of specifics left out, being that my lunch break is only 30 minutes long. I will reply to any questions anyone has.