How did you... 5

[Icebergoner]

get to where you are today?

Was it worth it?

Any regrets, things you found out later an said "i should have done it this way"?

etc...

I recently was presented with a good problem, if you can call it that, an have come across some money that I'm going to use towards school. I'm looking for a little direction as to what I should do, or what you think would be the best way getting into IT. I only have say... a couple thousand to spend, and finally I can put money, even if its a small amount, into my education an progression and I don't want to blow this so any feedback would be good. Thanks in advance.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I'm a proponent of the 4 year computer science degree route. At a good university, a 4 year computer science curriculum will obviously teach you programming skills, but also will expose you to many other aspect of the IT field: data structures, database theory, operating systems, programming languages (compilers), architecture, and so forth. You will most likely find that you enjoy some classes more than others, and that should provide some insight into which areas of IT you find most pleasant. I've also found that those people who understand at least to some degree, the theory behind the technology are much more able to adapt to changes, and generally produce more efficient solutions.

One cannot apply theory to real-world problems if one does not have some understanding of the theory.

In additon, a normal BS/BA degree program will also provide exposure to other non-IT related areas and thus helps to provide a good well-rounded background. When you consider that a large part of our job is acting as an interface between the end-user community and techno-world, you soon realize that the ability to interact and communicate with users is a critical aspect of job success. Having the well-rounded background of the 4 year degree helps a great deal with that aspect of the job. Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[heyitsthephoneguy]

Good question....

I got into IT because it was a hobby and one of my friends at the time became a manager...he had an opening for a Hardware tech and suggested I try it. From there I learned about LANs, PBXs, etc.

I am now a telecommunications admin. I owe this position to luck, personality & the experince I got from the last job.

If I could do it all over, I would have spent more time in college and been more serious about my studies. At the time I had a job in a retail outlet and I was making decent money for a kid living at home. I had no idea about the outside world...and as much as my parents were pushing me for school, I finally dropped it.

I joked with my wife that if I won the lottery I would quit my job, get my BS and then open my own business.

 

[AIXSPadmin]

As I have said many times before, enjoy what you do! If you find out that you don't enjoy data structures, operating systems and other such classes then study in another field.

At the company I work for they hired our former summer intern who has a computer science degree. She changed majors a few times and decided to just stay with it. During her interview she told one person that she could not decide between programming and systems administration; then she told me she hated programming and did a cut and paste out of a book of some java code and turned that in for her project. She has said many times in the past 9 months that she doesn't care what she does there as long as she gets a paycheck.

If you go into something don't do it so you "just get a paycheck," believe me, the results speak for themselves.

I don't remember the statistics, however, it is around 70% of all people never get a job in their major field of study. Combine that with changing jobs and careers a few times in your life (this isn't the old days where you work for the same company for 40 years!), and you will find that a degree, even maybe in English or History would be beneficial. Computer science would be good, and then maybe follow it up with an MBA if you want to go into management someday.

Good luck!

 

[schase]

Personally I also think a general degree is good to have, gives a good round overview of different areas - I know I'll never complain about Marketing again.

But I do not think a degree in CS is necessary to learn. As a manager I would always hire the grass roots-roll up sleeves and dig in type of person over a graduate. Well I should partly take that back - unless I sensed the same hunger for knowledge as I have for the grass roots type person. At that point - a degree had no additional bearing on my decision - I'd base off of personality.

Having said that however, I have no doubt some of the theories you would not learn unless you went through a cs degree. And chances are usually better with the degree for employment - along with that is money.

By no means am I bashing CS Degree - just stating my personal preference and what I look for as a manager.
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

-Adm. James Farragut

Stuart

 

[DonQuichote]

I have been a technical draftsman in the past. Worked with AutoCAD and programmed as a hobby. Because I am 'actively lazy', I programmed sometimes in AutoLISP as well to speed up my work.
Later on I got hired as an AutoLISP programmer. Learnead a lot about LISP and it's structures and user-machine interaction. From there, I started to learn VBA and finally Visual Basic. I kept following newsgroups and websites for technical documentation. So I know something about objects and designing object structures, extreme programming and lots of other things that I find very useful now.

So really what I did was keeping my eyes and ears open and taking the opportunities I got.

 

[dogbert2]

As a 20-year veteran of Info Technology, I started in the
trenches as a tutor (when I was going to college), and then
became a lab assistant (this was back in the days of 110 baud, punched cards, and teletype). I then became a systems
operator, database programmer, test engineer, etc...

These days I do systems and network administration, and
i'm also working on finishing up a degree shortly. If I
had to do it all over again, I would probably go into
another profession, even though I enjoy the work, I
would like to see what other fields offer

 

[CTekMedia]

The brutal reality is having a CS degree makes it much easier to move up the IT ranks and that trend will continue. However, money and career progression might not be the end all for you - especially if you are young lol.

If I had only 2k to spend I would decide what in IT looked interesting, and would buy some popular hardware and software tools that I could use to train myself in that niche. Throw in several books (buy used) and set aside some money for certification tests. After a few to several months of self study start knocking on doors. Pick out a company you want to work at and take any job you can to get in the door. Then market yourself to the IT department.

The degree is easier in the long run. I usually advise against debt, but a CS degree has a good cost/benefit ratio. Get a student loan and go to a university with a name. Peace

http://www.bluetone.biz

BT

 

[Icebergoner]

I appreceate all of your help. I'm sure this information can be used by more then just me. It's helping me alot, I can't thank you enough. Thanks again, and for all the rest of you don't be shy, share something.

 

[Craig0201]

Well, the UK has a further alternative.....

British Computing Society Professional Development Programme provides professional training in the same way that there are Chartered Accountancy training, Chartered Engineering, Chartered Institute Of Purchasing etc, etc.....

I'm at the Diploma stage, equivalent to a US Associate's Degree....next year, Professional Diploma, equivalent of a BSc.....

Craig

 

[brightstar]

man, i really didnt fancy the degree route. i'm not that academic, i'm not stupid, i just hate doing work that seems to have no use. so i finished A-levels, joined the civil service and got them to pay for training at a london basd educator, it's not microsoft but it's a big independant trainer, and now i can do the job. Which is, by the way, designing and implementing MS office solutions. Now im starting my own company, becuase i decided i knew enough and i enjoy meeting and working with people - something i think is just as important as being able to program. I picked up clients quickly and im doing quite well for myself now. In comparison my best is still doing his computer science degree and is in £9,000 worth of debt. Chances are he'll land himself a sweet job, once he has experience too, but i'd prefer to work on my own.. so i dont feel that i need a degree - ive got nobody to prove myself to. take a look at my website when it goes operational end of Nov.

http://www.brightstar.me.uk

 

[mirty12]

Hi Ice,

I was working as a writer/editor for 10 years before I moved into the IT field.

When I moved from Indiana to Texas, I found that writing jobs were scarce but IT jobs were plentiful.

I had always been "good with computers" and had a few programming courses under my belt. Also, I had done some freelance desktop publishing before. OK, not much to start from, but that's where I was.

To make a little money, I was working as an administrative assistant. Since I had to use all the MS Office programs, I quickly became the office expert on Excel and Word. I began to realize I had some skills when I went to attend an "expert" level Excel class and I knew more than the instructor.

At that time, Dell Computers was advertising positions open for Tech Support. I interviewed and got in with their new "software support" queue. Hated it! But I learned a lot in the year I stayed at Dell. While I was there, I studied Netware and soon afterwards took the test and got my CNA (Certified Novell Administrator).

With just that rather minimal experience, I sweet-talked my way into a Network Admin position. (Looking back, it's hard to believe!) I was a bit panicky, realizing how little I knew. I was running a network for a small legal department. But I learned on-the-job and made good.

From that point on -- this was in the mid-1990's -- I was in a position to pick and choose the jobs I wanted. I also pursued my MCSE certification, which I now have. I pretty much rode the wave of the high-tech boom and enjoyed it very much, learned a lot too.

I'm now working as a Sys Admin. My main expertise is in Windows NT and 2000, including scripting, administration, and security.

I do regret a few things along the way. Looking back, I would have done better to relax more and take it easy, not be so intense. Surprisingly, the world does keep turning without my help.

 

[CharlieJax]

A few thousand to spend humm...

Well, it all depends on you. Do you study well just pulling information out of books and learning on your own or do you need a school enviroment?

Do you want a degree or a cert? What is more important to you? Do you want either?

Choosing a career in IT is a fools quest to find the end of the learning trail, every day I study something or review something I have forgotten, but as for advice on how to start, it really comes down to you. Just because something works for me doesn't mean it will work for you.

But, here is my advice... There are currently quite a few colleges that are offering distance learning at some affordable prices and community colleges can offer an excellent education for the price... Choose one of these depending on how you learn, if you can do it yourself go for the distance learning and you might be able to get a BS, if you need the classroom go to the community college.

I would stay away from the "cert schools" because they will tech you want you need to know to past the tests, not what you need to know to get a job.

That is my advice... as for how I got to where I am, well I started in a resturant, worked hard, moved to another resturant, got promoted, got promoted again, got managment experence, moved to a technical support position, got technical experence, opened my own non-profit offering web development, got web experence, moved to my current job doing Sr. level support on the web, cisco equipment, Windows servers and desktops and so on... I answer to one person (the CIO) and enjoy my job, not because I enjoy working with computers, but because of the people I work with.

My last peice of advice... make mistakes; life sucks if everything works out the way it should CJ
- If chickens could fly would they egg ugly people?