Careers Advice - Please Read & Change MY Life 4

[Part2imepsycho]

Good morning everyone,

My name is Andy. I am posting here (no doubt in the wrong place!!) to seek advice from you guys. Before I continue perhaps I should let you know my background. I am 35, live in the UK and have been a middle school teacher for the last 14 years. Two years ago I was almost killed (shot in the chest 3 times) but survived, physically anyway. Upon my return to work I discovered that all my passion for this career had evaporated, plus I associate it with what happened to me and thus have decided to get out. This is not so easy, since I need to work to live obviously. So I did some soul searching and decided I want to do something else for which I have passion, not just any old job, as I can't handle the boring 9-5 thing at all!!

I have always been very interested in IT and it is my main hobby, so it would be great to get into this field as a professional. This is where you come in. I have contacted the Open University (distance learning) here and they sent me a great prospectus. I would like to study something that would help me get an interesting, challenging, well-paid job WHERE I WORK MOSTLY FROM HOME, since these days I am unfortunately still avoiding people somewhat, which is the opposite of who I used to be.

Anyway, the degrees offered are:

1.BSc (Hons) Computing
2.BSc (Hons) Information and Communication Technology
3.BSc (Hons) Information Technology and Computing (joint)
4.BSc (Hons) Computing and Psychological Studies

Any advice you can give me is definitely appreciated, since I have to take the jump shortly.

Best regards and thanks in advance

A

 

[DonQuichote]

Well, programming is usually a 9-to-5 job, system administration is not. But IT customers are the most unreasonable you can find. They all expected you to be a cum laude graduate from Hogwarts School of Magic. Are you sure you want to go into IT?


+++ Despite being wrong in every important aspect, that is a very good analogy +++
Hex (in Darwin's Watch)

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Well, programming is usually a 9-to-5 job
On what planet? I want to move there.


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[tcsbiz]

I've been in I.T. since 1981 and have not had a job where you can work mostly from home. Some companies allow it; some prefer it. But, you'd have to find just the right company. Maybe help desk support would provide that.

Most of my jobs in programming and development have involved working directly with people. I.T. may seem like a solitary endeavor but it isn't.

 

[ousoonerjoe]

My experience in the past with telecommuting has been 6 months to a year in office to learn the systems and prove yourself to management that you can work on your own. After that, you still have to come in once a week for progress, directive meetings.

With that said, most employers I've encountered have resended their telecommuting policies and pulled what programmers/testers they do have back in to the office. Once the economy gets stable again, the telecommute jobs may return, but for now, they seem to be a thing of mythical status, these days... at least in my part of the States. I can't really speak for UK.

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[tonykent]

Andy, Back in the 90s I decided I wanted to change direction and get into IT and decided to take a part time degree (in the evenings) whilst still working. I found a place (actually just across the road from the Open University) that offered a BSc in Computer Science over 5 years. It was hard work, two evenings a week after long days at work, but I eventually got the degree.

At the end of it I realised that I had actually learnt next to nothing that was of practical use in getting a job in IT.

IT employers want skills in specific practical areas, for example - SAP, programming in particular languages, Oracle or SQL database admin, Clearcase, Websphere, Unix admin etc etc (the list is endless). What, in my experience, they are not interested in, is general IT theory of the sort taught on generalist IT degrees.

Some employers do limit job applicants to those holding degrees, but given your background I expect you will already hold one of these (the subject is irrelevant). A general IT degree will not advance your cause with such companies over someone holding a dregee in Art History who also has 5 years practical programming experience etc.

If you can do a degree that is wholly (or principally)software engineering, and if programming interests you, then go for that. If that does not appeal, I'd recommend forgetting the degree and go and do some practical training in a specific IT area that does interest you - for example, Microsoft or Linux certification etc.

 

[kmcferrin]

I haven't seen many telecommuting jobs in IT for a long time. When I do they're usually of two varieties:

1. Company outsources with a developer who's a rockstar in his field. He telecommutes because that's what he does.

2. Company outsources operations to a company in India (or Iowa, for that matter) where the employees of the Indian/Iowan companies work in an office but have remote access to the original company's infrastructure and work remotely.

I think that situation #2 has killed a lot of the telecommuting ability in IT these days. If people don't have to be in the office to work then why would you pay someone in town $80,000/year when you can pay someone somewhere else to do it for 1/3 of that?

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
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MCSE:Security 2003
MCITP:Server Administrator
MCITP:Enterprise Administrator
MCITP:Virtualization Administrator 2008 R2
Certified Quest vWorkspace Administrator

 

[tonykent]

Regarding the working from home angle, I have to concur with kmcferrin. I've been working in IT in the UK for 14 years now and I haven't worked anywhere that allowed people to work from home except on the odd occasion. In my last but one place they used lots of Indian programmers, but they shipped them over to the UK for the duration of particular projects then sent them all back once the projects finished!

 

[Part2imepsycho]

Hi everyone, thanks for all your replies

Taking into account everyone's input, lets say I gave up the idea of working from home and am very interested in system security (hackers/viruses etc) what then - is it an interesting career and does it pay well? Is there a particular field I should study in order to pursue this goal?

In addition, if you could have your time over, what would you do differently career-wise and which fields do you think will be most in demand 10 - 15 years down the line?

Thanks

Andy

 

[tonykent]

Andy, system security is not my area of expertise so I cannot give specific advice on this. However, I expect the general principles that apply to my area (configuration management) will also apply to security. If I was starting out again I would find out the main tools used by the major companies and go and get certified in the use of those tools. It's then a matter of applying and applying until somebody takes you on.

Good luck!

 

[MDXer]

The best job in IT is the one where you do something you enjoy what you are doing and have a passion for what you are doing. The worst job in IT is the one that pays a lot. Yes we all need jobs that allow us to live and prosper the way we want but if you don't enjoy it and don't have a passion for it you probably won't last very long.

 

[DonQuichote]

... and am very interested in system security (hackers/viruses etc) what then?

System security is a wide area, as wide as IT itself! Any weakness in the IT infrastructure can be abused. So security is a part of programming, of system design and maintenance, of company policies, etc. Pick any field you like and security is a part of it. Of growing importance. If you are interested, read some good books about it. For instance Innocent Code.

... and which fields do you think will be most in demand 10 - 15 years down the line?

Organic farming ;-). Apart from that, networks won't go away. Programs won't go away either. Nor will hardware, helpdesks, management, etc. Picking a field you are interested in will keep you in the field for 10 - 15 years. And you don't have to decide beforehand. You can make a switch later.

+++ Despite being wrong in every important aspect, that is a very good analogy +++
Hex (in Darwin's Watch)

 

[Part2imepsycho]

Thanks guys, you have been a lot of help

I will check that book out too, appreciated

 

[jshurst]

I'm a Microsoft .NET programmer (mainly ASP.NET and SQL Server) and work from home 3 days a week. Some people work from home every day, in fact I have many friends who work from home in private industry as well as government. It is true that most companies want you to come into the office, but there are many out there that will let you work from home (I've had friend move out of the country and still keep their same jobs).

I wouldn't expect this when you are first starting out though. Like others have said, you will more than likely have to prove yourself first. In fact you will probably need some guidance because school isn't going to teach you anything! After you build an impressive resume (and make sure to get reference letters from past employers singing your praises). Also, make sure to get some certifications in a specialized field (.NET, SQL Server, Oracle, PHP, etc).

The highest paying jobs just aren't worth it (IMO). There is too much stress and no amount of money can relieve that (personally I don't want to be on call 24/7 x 365). But it's realistic to expect to make some good money in IT (programming anyway). IT is a wonderful field though with a ton of jobs out there.

BTW, a little background info on me. I graduated (MIS degree) in 2004, so not that long in the scope of things and I get job offers pretty regularly and have plenty of opporutunity for side work too. I'm not saying this to brag, I just want to give you some encouragement and to point out that it doesn't have to take a long time to break into this industry (I've always been 'good with computers' - so take from that what you will). I'm not saying that finding your first job will be easy (it usually isn't in any industry).

Even if I wasn't doing this for a living I would be doing this for a hobby - and I think employers can tell my enthusiasm for it.

Good luck!

J

 

[stackdump]

I was lucky enough to work my way into the top 10% of the earnings scale. As others have said, it isn't worth it. After years of stress, enduring politics all day, a heart attack, domestic disfunction, depression, you name it; I stepped back into a role many notches down the seniority scale and now have never been happier. I have a lot of friends at work now, when I was a senior guy I had very few. I earn less, but I also found I need less (when I earned a lot, I seemed to need a lot!). I have a lot more free time, so my non-work time is better too.

I can't really advise you on what path to take, because I kind of discovered what interested me as I went along, just with time and experience. If you're able, I would consider getting 'a job' in IT and studying part time. A good place to look for a basic job is actually educational establishments like schools, colleges, universities. They always seem to have IT posts available and which only get advertised on a solitary notice board somewhere on the campus. They won't be high paying jobs but it's an income and you'll get some exposure to what's hot and cold in IT.

It's a sad state of affairs but when you complete your studies, an employer i slikely to be more interested in your IT work experience than your qualifications. So having both is the best circumstance.

 

[hinesward]

My advice to you is to get the hell out of the United Kingodom!

 

[Part2imepsycho]

*high fives the H-man*

 

[hjgoldstein]

get the hell out of the United Kingodom

To where?

 

[Glenn9999]

I have always been very interested in IT and it is my main hobby, so it would be great to get into this field as a professional.

I know this is a little late but...to remind you of some things.

1) In most IT jobs, you actually do what you're trained to do about 15-20% of the time. The rest is nonsense chronicled on Dilbert. If you don't like office politics and pushing meaningless paperwork, you won't like an IT job. This is the stuff that they won't tell you in the IT classes, or train you for in the course of the IT degree program.

2) It was my main hobby too, but I found taking a real job to be like this. Most of us love ice cream, but they don't love it when ice cream gets shoveled down you by the gallon. Be cautious - I'm speaking from experience, notice I said "was" there.

It is not possible for anyone to acknowledge truth when their salary depends on them not doing it.

 

[Glenn9999]

My advice to you is to get the hell out of the United Kingodom!

And the US isn't much better and probably worse. I guess you got to go to India or China if you want to work in IT now.

It is not possible for anyone to acknowledge truth when their salary depends on them not doing it.