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Hi,

If you need help on a pressing or challenging issue, you’ve come to the right place!

You may get my help by posting the toughest questions facing your career at the moment!

I will answer your questions and help you just as I’ve answered and helped others.

Your questions may be about how to get a job in a tough and competitive job market!
Perhaps your question is about how to earn some income or pay bills without a regular, full-time or nine-to-five job!
Or you would like to find out how to become better, more competitive or skilled at your job.

Post your challenging issues as a comment on this post and I would be glad to answer it for you.

I may answer it by writing a new article addressing your situation or by posting a comprehensive reply to your comments just below your question!

Ask your Toughest Questions

Take advantage of this opportunity to deal with persistent, challenging or important issues facing your career at the moment … you can find out:

How to change careers or get a better, more fulfilling job … even when you’re over 40!
How to get a job without experience – “The Classic Chicken or Egg Which Came First” problem!
How to discover your strengths, passion or interests, so you can love what you do!
How to protect your career by becoming an expert, top performing worker
How to market your career to the hidden job market using PULL rather than PUSH techniques.
How to become the best at what you do.
How to learn the hottest, latest in-demand skills and technologies.
How to choose the right career track based on your skills, background or interests
How to become a leader and get the jobs you want!

Post your questions on this page and get creative, practical solutions to challenges facing your career now.

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Scott

I have been in IT for a number of years.

I have a BS in Electroncs Management and two years ago recieved my MBA in Information Seecurity with a 3.85 GPA.

I also have several Microsoft and CompTIA certifications.

Despite my background and education, I am unable to advance or gain additional experience.

I am currently employed and there are no advancement opportunitoes available. Any suggestions?

IT Career Coach

Scott:

I answered your question here: How To Solve Chicken or Egg Career Problems

let me know if you need any clarification or help.

Thanks

Kathy Reznick

I want to learn many programming languages including C/C++, Java, PHP and Microsoft .NET Framework because this will make be very good at programming and employable.

What do you suggest? Are there languages I should learn first or not learn at all?

What’s the best way to go about learning many programming languages?

IT Career Coach

Kathy:

I wrote an article to answer your question here:
http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/10/how-to-learn-many-programming-languages/

Please use the “tell a friend” button to tell your friends about this website, so they can get their own questions answered too!

ANNIE caribbeandesign.hdfraser.com

How to market your career to the hidden job market using PULL rather than PUSH techniques.

IT Career Coach

Annie: I just answered your question in this post titled: How The Starving Artist Achieves Career Success Using Social Media .

Please be sure to Tell your Friends about the post.

Thanks

Victor

I desire to become a seasoned analyst especially in the aviation sector or transport management and logistics area and need all the necessary assistance i can get to sail through this aspiration.

currently i applied to a leading airline as a business analyst of which i know nothing about…I am A BANKER by profession and wish to change career due to the long run benefit of becoming a business analyst.

I want this job seriously to develop my new career interest but how do i become relevant to them if i happen to be called

If i am called today how do i respond to questions to be perceived as good candidate for this dream job

IT Career Coach

Victor, I answered your question here … in the post titled Why Employers Stopped Hiring Junior Business Analysts

Please send the article to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button / Link.

Thanks

Rocco

I’m reading an Ad for a BA job and one of the requirements is;

‘Experience in Business Process Design’.

What does this mean and could you give me an example?

I am trying to ascertain whether there is more to business process design that I should know.

Thanks
RR

mehmood

I am about 45 years & strong accounting background but i want to change the field i want my career in computer

which is best for me programming or system analysis

Thanks regards

Mehmood

melusi

hi i’m doing my 3rd year this year(ND Information Technology).so i like to know that do help student to find internship

thanks
best wishes

amos

I know nothing about programming, although we are taking it now at our university,
we are studying java language, we started the introduction about it seems as I’m creaming the syntax behind, I don’t understand it? 4real it seems too tough, although I pass well in my exams on java,
Can you help me to give some srategies to master well java instead of just creamig the syntax?

Mallory

I have started an account on scriptlance which is for programmers. However I am not a professional programmer.

I joined because I was looking for genuine data entry jobs i could do as a freelancer.

Do I need to be a professional in order to get jobs on that site or will they use newbies.

My second question is how can I go about learning my first language.

I am familiar with excel and microsoft word which are software.

IT Career Coach

Mallory:

I answered you questions, click here to view it

Please don’t forget to recommend this article or any other that you like to your friends using the “Tell A Friend button”.

Read your answer here: How To Become A Freelance Programmer

Zwelani

I got a back ground in developemnt with various technoloigies and now am dealing with application servers from the infrastructure perspective.

Am feeling like am am not thinking smart enough the way i used to. My interest now is in moving towards the business side of IT /management … leaving the technical world.

What procuder should i follow to move up

Michael Phillips

I read your reply on how to learn many languages.

I wanted to ask if it was wise for a novice programmer to learn 2 different platforms eg. web programming (with php mysql) and desktop (with java)… instead of mastering one and graduating to the other because in a way they’re different

thank your

I read your reply on how to learn many languages. I wanted to ask if it was wise for a novice programmer to learn 2 different platforms eg. web programming (with php mysql) and desktop (with java)… instead of mastering one and graduating to the other because in a way they’re different

thank you

IT Career Coach

Michael:

That’s a great question … and I will be glad to answer it for you.

A Novice Programmer should focus on one programming platform at a time.

Examples of programming platforms:

1. ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET, .NET FRAMEWORK, SQL SERVER

2. PHP, MYSQL

3. HTML, XHTML, CSS

4. JAVA

It’s better to finish learning all the technologies in one platform before jumping to another because when employer’s or clients hire you, they will usually hire you for one platform skill set.

These skills work together in groups so, learning a bit of PHP and a bit of Java … doesn’t help that much.

Did I answer your question?

Good Afternoon,

My toughest challenge I face today with my career is I am itching for a move within the company I work for. However, don’t know which direction to go and what course to take that will help to enhance my skill knowledge.

Currently, part of my roles and responsibilities include weekly data pulling (raw) and manipulating the data to build personalized reports for upper management.

I use Access (where i pull the data from), and Excel (where I transfer the data to and use multiple worksheets to compile the required reports needed for management).

Now my interest is becoming a Data Analysts, but I do not know what applications I need to focus my attention on, and possibly register for the courses (in class) to either know or advance my current knowledge and skills by December 31, 2009.

Your response is greatly appreciated!

IT Career Coach

BJ:

I answered your question in this post titled: How Do I Transition Microsoft Access or Excel Data Analyst Skills?

Please use the “tell a friend” button to send this post to your friends.

Thank you

Yue

Thanks for posting those great articles regarding careers and job hunting.

I am an international recent graduate here. Obviously, this market is even tougher for us than for others.

In spite of all those resume related questions, two major challenges for me are:

1. Status. Requiring on H1 Visa sponsorship scares a lot great opportunities away.

2. Lack of experience. Because we’re all fresh. How can we make our resumes look appealing to hiring managers if we don’t industry experience?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Fahim, Dubai, U.A.E.

Dear Kingsley,

Having come to be known about you as a pioneer IT Coach, I need some information from you if you can help me.

At present, I am reading a book Microsoft Office 2003 bible which includes all the basic and in depth functionalities of excel, word, powepoint, access, outlook, frontpage, etc.

It’s a huge book with 1200 pages. I’d like to know how I can memorize this book quickly and efficiently.

There are other books on programming to be memorized. in this age of information overload, everyday we are presented with lots of paperwork, reports and books to remember.

As an IT coach, could you please show me the techniques to remember this amount of information so as to get the job done on time and move along with the rapidly changing technologies.

IT Career Coach

Fahim, I answered your question on this blog post titled: “Free E-Book On How To Stay Ahead of the Technology Curve”

I will send your bonus gift in a separate e-mail

Please be sure to send this post to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.

Thanks

James Cayo

Hello,

I am sending this message with regard to my career.

I currently work as an IT-Intern on a project involving ODBC and Web-Application Development.

Since there is a rumor that the government may lay off 1000s people this upcoming year, I would like to know what would be the best option for me currently.

I will be attending an advance institution while working on the technical project as an IT-Intern.

My main goals are to further education and work at a technical venue to gain valuable experience.

What option must I decide as an IT-Intern. Please provide some input.

J.C

Anthony

Hi there,

First off, thanks for writing these articles. I’ve found them quite informative and insightful to a career in which I am very interested, but don’t know enough about.

I’ve searched through your articles, but did not find one related to my situation, so I’m hoping you can provide some guidance/suggestions.

I completed a bachelors degree in Computer Science (with a minor in Business Administration) and am now finishing up my masters in CS. I also have about two years of experience (through co-op and other work).

Although I completed a minor in Business Admin, I don’t have any real experience in business and am wondering what the best way is to present myself as someone who is ideal for a BA position.

Any advice regarding my resume, cover letter, recruiters, and other job search strategies would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I live in Toronto, in case that changes things at all (although I doubt it would).

Thanks in advance,

Merry

I recently graduated from university with a BSc degree in Computer Science. I am now doing a Business Analyst Internship at an IT company in RSA. My contract with the company is expiring in the next four months.

My greatest concern now is how do I go about finding the perfect position that meets my qualifications,skills and experience. The other challenge is that hiring managers or companies themselves are looking for people who are highly experienced and I only have one year experience.

As I was reading some of the articles published here, I learned that you say people should not aim at getting Junior Business Analyst positions as employers are not really looking for Junior Business Analysts.

Now my questions are with the little experience that I have and still need more exposure in this field(IT Business Analysis) what kind of positions should I apply for? and which steps must I take in order to become the best business analyst and for me to be considered for Business Analyst positions?

Thank you for your time. Looking forward to your response

Regards

IT Career Coach

Merry:

Congratulations, I just answered your question in this post titled; 8 Tips for Business Analysts: How to Stand Out in a Crowded Job Market

Regards