Was a Tech Support for 1.5 yrs, want to be a programmer.I am very good in .Net. How do I make a career change?

Question

passed out as Mechanical Engg in 2002. Was not interested in Mech jobs and IT was sick at that time.So could not get into a software compny. Worked as Tech Support for a reputed MNC for 1.5 years, then I quit the job and learned VB.Net.ASP.Net,C#.Net, SQL Server. I seriously want to be programmer. But consultants and companies neglect tech support exp and do not care for anyone who wants a career change. How do I make a career shift? Do I have to fake my experience as most of the people do? Do I have a straight and honest way before I try the wrong way out?

Additional Details: I am a MCP (web apps with C#) and also have several Brainbench certifications. I am from India.

Answer 1

I'm sure there are companies who is willing to hire programmers with no experience. They may not pay as much as you like, but they are out there.

Another tip that might help is to get professional certification, particularly from Microsoft. The seal of approval will go a long ways.

www.devbistro.com and www.mindcracker.com
are a good web site to post your resume.

You may also want to try working as an independent to get some experience before entering full time position. www.scguild.org is a good site for IT consultants.

Best wishes.

Answer 2

I have been trying to do the very same thing for over five years! Here are your most likely barriers.

1. time- can you work a go-nowhere job for some months that affords you ability to search enough or work as a volunteer?

2. money- everyone says certs are the way, and yes they help; if you have 3,000 dollars for pass or fail!! if you can study to the point of being able to certify tomorrow people are more likely to look at you.

3. degree- I know this hurts the worst, but without the degree your odds of being the next Bill Gates (who was an AVERAGE programmer at best) are slim to none. Programmers should have a Computer Science degree NOT an Information Tech Science degree; most companies won't think that you can do both. (sad but true)

4. location- Being mobile and ready to go to another city i.e. Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle... is the best. If you haven't got kids and a family yet, don't start till you're hired!

5. samples- every one loves "try before you buy" and that includes programs. If you get together a website and put out some programs, you can just refer to the link and let your work stand for itself.

6. NETWORK- Lastly, most jobs in tech now are not gotten the old fashioned way of resume then hire (even if monster wants you to believe differently). Unless you get networking with other people, and tell everyone you meet you are a geek wannabe, the odds of you being picked out of the millions of other geeks are not good.

I hope this helps. No one told me when I started I could spend 5 years and 35,000 on a degree and still not be hired without these things in place. Good Luck