Moderator-Julie: Welcome to today's chat. Our guest is Matt Colarusso, IT recruiting expert and branch manager of the Sapphire National Recruiting & Strategic Accounts Team. He will be answering your questions on the IT job market or anything else you want to talk about.

Matt_Colarusso: Welcome and good afternoon everyone. I'm looking forward to today's discussion on today's IT job market....fire away when ready!

Education, certifications and degrees

Djstorm: Hi Matt. I am A+, N+ certified and working towards my CCNA certification. I am currently a CAT Scan Engineer for Siemens, looking for work in networking with a strong interest in Cisco. What qualifications do I need, to break into the networking field? What kind of salary should I expect with the certifications I have so far? I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you.

Matt_Colarusso: Hey dj. Great groundwork so far for where you want to go and anything in telecom/communications is hot right now. CCNA is a great start. Certifications add spice to the resume but an employer wants to see real-world experience. Compensation will be based on location. Research your market and you will get a great idea as to where the salary packages are at.

Moderator-Julie: You can find regional information about salaries through Network World's 2007 Salary Survey. Also, check out our salary calculator. It will give you a more personal view of what you could be earning.

Djstorm: How can I get real world experience and keep my salary competitive with a CCNA and minimal experience? How would I go about doing that while changing careers? I live in NYC.

Matt_Colarusso: Your example doesn't have a simple answer and I would be more than happy to follow up with you. I suggest you focus on where you want to get to. I always also suggest for people to NETWORK. This means with everyone neighbors, online user groups, friends, alumni. Get your foot in the door. You'll be surprised how many opportunities you will uncover that are not posted on a web site anywhere.

Bryan:  I’ve been in IT going on 5 years. I’ve been debating the idea of going back to school. I currently have two associate degrees and a bachelor of arts in corporate communications. If I wanted to get out of the trenches of IT and go towards the consulting or management side of IT is it necessary to have a masters degree in business? What masters programs are well respected in the IT world?