Career Advice

Hello all.

First things first, My hearty congratulations to exforsys team for maintaining this site. Keep up the good work guys.

I need some help here. I almost completed my Masters program in Business and i will be graduating this august. I would like to know if there is any consultant who takes non-IT students and train them and provide jobs. Is it a good idea for me to go to a consultant? Do I stand a good chance in getting job if i get trained in some testing tools. For joining a consultant what are the requirements? I woould greatly appreciate if any help me out and give a sound advice.

Vasu Garu , i would be happy if you give some input on this issue.

Thanks
Anand.

[Vasu]

Anand,

It is tough to answer your question at this point of time.
As your major is Business, it is bit difficult to find out consultancy who can train and place you. Let me talk to some companies and i will get back to you on this.

I guess you applied for ur OPT. Hope you mentioned OPT start date after Oct 1st 2004, so that no need to worry regarding H1 sponsor this year itself.

If you applied ur OPT start date after Oct 1st 2004, then we will see any options to get a job in your related area. Parallely i will talk to some companies. ok.

Dont worry.

[tyagi]

Anand,
In addition to what vasu said, just try to be cautious about choosing a consultant. Many of them are just out there to make money out of training fees, they might even promise getting you jobs and fall back on it.
If possible, before joining a consultant, talk to the guys who have already completed the training there. See if they have the potential to file your H-1/GC etc.
Even if you are lucky enough to join a good consultant, it might take up considerable time to actually get a job, initial days can be a little painful!
Have you tried jobs with your matching background?
I\'m looking for a job too and about to graduate soon, luckily I have a technical background.
Just thought that my experience might help you!
Good luck

Thanks Vasu Garu.

I will look forward for your reply.

Tyagi Garu. Thanks a lot for your input. Regarding your question, Yes I have tried for jobs in my business area but I couldnt find any. As most of the companies I have approached preferred Citizens/Work permit holders.

And regarding my OPT date, Yes I have mentioned the start date as OCT 1,2004.

Thanks.

Welcome to Exforsys.com..

First, congrats on completing your masters! Not to discourage you in any way, but most of my friends who completed their MBA, either work as Technical Recruiters in consulting firms or work in technologically less intensive but analytically more intensive jobs with titles like QA Analyst, Business Analyst, Technical Writers, Systems Analysts etc. Simply because, they found it hard to get into a core area in IT like Java, .NET, etc. It is important to assess your skill level before you sign up as a consultant to undergo training. There is no point in joining a consultantancy and getting trained as a Java programmer if you did not have any inclination towards becoming a programmer but you joined that consultancy company simply because you wanted a H1. Not only are you wasting your time, but you are not doing what you wanted to do! Some may argue, but from my perspective look for a consulting firm who can listen to you; not the other way. A lot of consulting firms are simply sweatshops! You are simply the sling for a shot at a position -Its either a hit or a miss. If its a miss, they don\'t give a damn. They will try for the next shot.
Make sure you get everything you agree, written and signed on paper!

Good luck!

Praveen Garu

Thanks for the welcome and the valuable input. At this point I am planning to get into some area(technologically) where I can be comfortable with. Although I have little knowledge of Java(very basic) I dont intend to get into programing. I have a very good background in Accounting and Finance and some of my friends suggested me to get trained in SAP. Are there any good consultants around who provide SAP training and more importantly how much computer knowledge do one need to get trained in SAP? I would be glad if you provide me some input on these issues.

Thank you.
Anand.

[tyagi]

Second question first.
You definitley need to be familiar with database concepts to understand the architecture first. If you already know things like database structure, tables, queries, retreiving data, and reporting, it will be very helpful.
Good that you have a finance background. You can get trained in the FI/CO module.
I didn\'t have database knowledge before and had to work really hard to understand that first and then know what SAP is.
Well, about consultants, again I would say, be very cautious about choosing one.
Not many good ones are there. Big consulting companies too take freshers, but don\'t sponsor visas anymore.
hth
Tyagi