1

So I have been with my current company for 3 years (I think, depends on how they tracked it, long story) and I am meeting with an advisor at school to see if I can use my internship to skip some classes. Only thing is I don’t know how best to word the stuff that I have done. Good with computers not so good with words. So I was hoping if I list of things that I have done yall could help.

I started as an intern just filling in for the system admin. Just started with the basics like hardware fixes, reloading machines, installing softwaring, etc. just normal helpdesk level 1 stuff. Then for about a month my boss had me set up our Trend Micro 11 server but I haven’t touched it since. I have dealt with ransomware by myself (which I claim as an achievement because that was within my first 2 weeks of me being in IT, because I was previously in Mechanical Engineering). Most of the stuff I know is desktop and laptops and software.

As far as server stuff it is mostly just setting up people in AD (Server 2003), groups in AD, permissions on our network shares, and installing programs on our terminal servers. Like I said I mostly deal with hardware and other random things and my boss dealt with servers.

I have fully rolled out and set up a new fleet of xerox copiers that we got last year( all by myself). I figured out how to properly set up HP 5740E Thin clients for what we needed them to do (was difficult because we bought them on ebay and the previous owners never wiped them). Got experience with CMM and CAD programs. Been fighting with Office 365 for the past few months. Heres some specifics to the softwares I have used.

  • Server 2003 and AD on Server 2003
  • Setting up iPhones for users.
  • NEC VOIP phones - I just know the basics like resetting pins, creating new users, transferring calls to certain phones when the receptionist goes out to lunch.
  • Trend Micro 11
  • Go to assist
  • spiceworks help desk
  • solarwinds help desk
  • dameware (this sucks)
  • Unigraphics \ AutoCad\ SolidWorks \PCDemis \Gibscam
  • Office 365

I am sure that there are things I am missing but I will be thinking hard on this. However, I should mention that EVERYTHING in the facility right now is old as dirt. We had an AS400 unit till it died, we still use peoplesoft, 85% of our servers are 03, we have a Novell server, our wifi access points are an old blue linksys and an Asus RT-N66U, we have 2 DOS machines and 1 WIndows 98 and 1 Windows 95. So the newest stuff that I have got to play with is 365.

BUT in the next couple months I will be invovled with a whole new rollout. We are going to be migrating to EPICOR and a lot of other newer stuff so that will be great. We will get all the new things. But since that hasn’t happened yet my advisor won’t care.

One last note, the contractor that we have working with us says that I am pretty much Level 3 helpdesk now.

Thanks in advance for the help.

9 Spice ups
2

From the options listed, I don’t see much of anything that would let you skip any classes. I could be wrong, but I would think a school would need more than a resume (Like certs or testing out “Showing your skills”) to allow you to skip classes.

5 Spice ups
3

For some reason I can’t reply to you Michael0205. But I wouldn’t mind “Showing my skills” to test out but they won’t even give me that option so maybe they will if I can show them on paper what I have done and talk to them face to face.

1 Spice up
4

Generally speaking I try and avoid phrases like “responsible for” that could be construed as negative. Lump your stuff together where applicable “Proficient with multiple ticketing systems including Blah, Blah, and Blah”. Just hit the high points, you want to create conversation starters about your skills but not give them a novel to read. Try and keep it 2 pages or less (one page front and back) and your last about 8 - 10 years of experience (or what you have if you’re not there yet). Save the full 32 page CV for when/if they ask for it. Keep the formatting consistent, don’t use bullet points in one paragraph in the middle but then never again. Make it easy for non IT person who will inevitable be reading it. I like to put my contact info in the header, list my certs, then my education, then launch into my work experience. Tailor your resume/cover letter for the position you’re applying for. Have a non-IT friend look it over when you’re done but avoid having someone edit it who is contractually obligated to tell you what you want to hear (like Momma). Be prepared to discuss anything and everything you put in your resume, don’t put tell them you have VOIP experience if all you do is plug in pre-programmed phones for example.

3 Spice ups
5

(Side note: Not sure why your topic was getting caught in moderation but I’ve fixed it. Sorry about that!)

2 Spice ups
6

Well what about being able to set up new mailboxes, forward extensions, change names in the servers address book, and even changed the time and updated all the phones with it? I know that is all easy stuff but still more than just plugged it in.

1 Spice up
7

Thank you! I was just about to find someone to ask lol. It’s cause I’m green isn’t it? :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Spice up
8

Who are you in contact with? Usually an Adviser does not have the ability to let you skip classes without approval from the dean / associate dean… I would get in contact with either the Dean of your program Or the associate dean (If they have one). Usually those are the people you need to prove your skills to.

I wouldn’t hold my breath though. I personally think you could only improve your current technical / non-technical skills by not skipping any classes at all. Server 2012R2 / 2016 and Server 2003 are two different beasts.

1 Spice up
9

Those are all perfectly legitimate things to add to your resume, you’ve got to walk before you can run and all that. I just meant to avoid padding your resume with skills you don’t actually possess.

1 Spice up
10

I know but at the same time. I feel like when I have a class that teaches me what a keyboard is and what RAM is…I feel like I should have been able to test out of that one. And I am taking a class in web dev right now. That I will probably never use and another class about operating systems. Why its called that? I don’t know because so far we have only been talking about the machine level stuff that I will never touch as a system admin. Could probably have skipped that one too.

11

Yea I don’t like to pad. I’m too honest for that. Plus my bluffing game is weak.

12

Usually, they’ll only let you out with transferred credits or a current certification that covers the course…

13

The school that I was at before we got forcefully merged with this new school would let us use our Internships if they were good long internships to replace the capstone course, which is the big final course. But they won’t do that anymore and I have been in school for 5 years already and this new school keeps messing with the course list and adding shit on and I just want to be done with it. So I am just trying to grasp any straw I can.

14

If you are heavily involved in an Epicor migration, that is some great experience. You have to know the application as well as SQL Server along with how to properly roll out the client to end users. That would be a great thing to put on a resume.

2 Spice ups
15

Not sure how involved I will be but I am hoping to be pretty involved.

1 Spice up
16

Ah I see now what you’re up to. I know exactly what you’re going though, I worked in IT for like 8 years before I actually went back to school and got my degree. I was able to talk to the teachers for the basic “this is a power button” type classes and test out of them. Step one is probably to talk to the teachers themselves, but you’re probably stuck with the web design class. You still have to follow their curriculum.

1 Spice up
17

Yeah I know but I still just want to see if I could get out of one or two classes. That would be nice.