I wanna know how to get one of these damn jobs; I currently play with shit like Proxmox and high availability clusters at home just for a laugh, and because I enjoy it; but with no formal education - and I’m making peanuts at work rn. I wish I could break into this somehow.
This is my 3rd data center. Mainframe experience helps.
These guys claim to want a degree, but really will take a warm body:
https://careers-tierpoint.icims.com/jobs/2572/operations-technician-i/job
The pay is still peanuts, though.
Find someone (online) that can guide you. Make sure you do all the work though, and just let the senior put you KB the right track and only help you with things you’re really stuck at. That’s one way to get the experience you really need
How do you go about finding the mentor sort of person? I’ve never been able to develop a relationship like that online.
One way is LinkedIn, another would be to ask for a mentor in a small online community where everyone have a shared interest. I think the most safe bet however is to do this through the people you already know, they might know someone who knows someone who could take on the role of a mentor.
Discord channels can also be useful for that
First, was the layoff WARN compliant? The tldr is if 500 or 33% (whichever is less) people were laid off then you were required to receive either a payout of at least 60 day’s wages or a 60 day notice. Second, assuming you weren’t completely fucked by your company with that barebones requirement, what is the separation package? That is a major factor in how I would proceed.
If the package is substantial enough to live on for a while, try to slim up your budget a bit overall and treat yourself a little in the moment before looking for work. Keep a consistent schedule, and pick up some interests and active hobbies. Set aside at least 2 hours per day for submitting applications, and at least another hour per day on other tasks related to job searching.
Don’t let this time be miserable though. Make sure to find ways to relax, get outside, volunteer to a cause, get involved with community organizing, work on a personal project, whatever you feel is worth your extra time. There are a lot of ways to enjoy yourself without a lot of money, like going to your community library.
Not a mass lay off. Our department had 7, now they will be down to 2 or 3. I did get severance, they want me to sign a don-bash-the-company agreement. I really don’t blame them, I know they were struggling. They did give us paperwork for unemployment.
Sorry to hear that and I’m sure you’ll bounce back quickly.
Let me start by suggesting that if you can, take a week off so you can get in the right headspace for getting ready again to get out there again (if you can afford the time).
Is your resume up to date? If it isn’t, start by refreshing it so that you can start passing it along. If it’s not, use ChatGPT or any other LLM to help with this.
Do you have any friends at other companies or other people in your professional network? They might not be able to get you a job, but if they can cut through the first round of the cycle, that might make things easier.
Are you looking for the same type of job? If you are, are there any other skills/certificates that you can pick up to bolster your background?
Are you open to only staying in the same city or is moving elsewhere on the table? Assuming it’s the right thing to do for you/your family economically, perhaps a job in one city might be easier to acquire than where you are.
The last thing I’d ask you to keep at the top of your head is there is no shame in taking a lower paying job to keep yourself fed/clothed/housed. You know the saying, it’s always easier to look for a job when you have one.
Keep your positivity!
Feels like this comment was written with chatgpt
I’m not exactly sure what an LLM is. I don’t really mess with AI. I also appreciate the words of encouragement. I’ve eaten nothing all day and I don’t think I could hold down food if I wanted to.
An LLM is a Large Language Model, which is a fancy way to say that a computer was given a bunch of information across the internet and can reference it quickly to give you an answer.
Thank you
Start job hunting
Well, considering I am averaging an interview a dayz I’d say I am doing well with it.
Then what kind of advice do you need?
Anything.
I was also recently laid off. Regional management for retail support. Piggybacking onto this thread for any useful tips.
