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instead of blowing 100k of my parents money on a bachelors degree from 00 - 04 i'd have had them give me the cash and flipped houses for 5 years
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Aug 6, 2010 23:58
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mr_cardholder posted:get out of IT and take on a less involved role but still be part of the tech world IT Analyst? How far away from IT do you want to get?
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Aug 7, 2010 01:35
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shredswithpiks posted:In my experience, there is no way out of it. I got out of "user" support by moving from desktop to Unix Server admin, and figured out that even when the people you support are in IT they do the same stupid crap your users do. Most of the time it's even dumber crap. I thought IT security stuff would be a little better in this respect and it's not. I get insane requests like "hi are you blocking port 5000 on the network firewall I can't telnet localhost 5000 SEND HELP OK!" all of the time. From senior IT employees making 75k+. 99% of the time it's some idiotic poo poo the client's network engineers did. They read about some feature in a magazine that they just have to implement, it ends up loving something else up, they don't tell us they hosed with the config, expect us to unfuck it, then tell their managers that the equipment we sold them hosed up. If you're a network engineer, you're most likely hideously incompetent and I hate you. Edit: The best/worst example of this is when one client randomly decided that he wanted to lock down network access based on MAC address. And of course, he did it in the middle of the day on a stack of switches that he, a couple servers, and about 100 other users on his floor were on. Needless to say he hosed it up, locked himself and everyone else on the floor out of the network, and I had to drive there and undo everything he did. The whole time, I had pretty much the entire upper management of the client's IT department looking over my shoulder and yelling at me like it was my fault. Hired Gun fucked around with this message at 03:57 on Aug 7, 2010 |
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Aug 7, 2010 03:41
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So I am about to start my 5th and final year of computer engineering at university of illinois urbana champaign, I am 22. I basically took my time with classes instead of taking all of the major workload classes at once so I have a year with 1 or 2 hard classes then just a few social science and humanities classes I dont have the credit for yet. So my mindset is that Im basically done and just need to use this last year to figure out what it is I plan on doing after. If there was one thing I learned in my major was that I am not at all a fan of programming, I can do it, it is just the least satisfying thing that I have done, even after coding an OS in C it just feels like the time I spent coding could have been spend better doing something else. I liked the hardware side of my major though, computer architecture is an area that peaks my interest, however from what I gathered anything to do with architecture job wise needs grad school and I have zero chance of getting into grad school (GPA of 2.25 Technical GPA of 2.7) So my marks arnt that great but Im also at one of the most prestiges colleges for my major so I am not to worried about that. I was planning on going into business but decided that Id try the harder major. I currently am working IT help desk for one of the computer engineering research buildings and am loving it. By the time I graduate I will have 2-3 years of experince from my job. As of currently I feel that my major basicly has two branches I can go into it, either being a code monkey or going into IT/sysadmin. I also am learning system administration things from my boss who is the sysadmin for the building, so one of my possible plans is to try to get a sysadmin job here at the university. The problem is, is that it feels like I am settling for my career, while I do enjoy IT because I use my knowledge of computers daily without the need of coding. I also love how the things I learn to be somewhat useful in my daily life. I however feel that I am suited for administrative positions and figured I could get into a business via IT, become the head of the department and work my way into higher positions that way, however I have little idea if this is even possible or the best course of action. This is also my only plan due to not really knowing what I can do with a CE degree that isnt coding or IT. I have been interested in getting my MBA, however thats something I may go into the field for a few years and then return to work on, or take MBA courses online. Any helpful suggestions for what I should do with my life?
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Aug 9, 2010 22:56
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Thunder from Down Under posted:So I am about to start my 5th and final year of computer engineering at university of illinois urbana champaign, I am 22. I basically took my time with classes instead of taking all of the major workload classes at once so I have a year with 1 or 2 hard classes then just a few social science and humanities classes I dont have the credit for yet. So my mindset is that Im basically done and just need to use this last year to figure out what it is I plan on doing after. If you're dead set on grad school, I'd try working for a bit, save some money, then do a master's. use that as a chance to boost your GPA while simultaneously getting some research experience (by doing a thesis). If you're more set on an MBA, the same logic applies (most MBA programs would not accept even a stellar student with no experience. If you could work for a while and get experience, then ace the GMAT you could probably get into a decent school) With a CE degree you could also be a business analyst (someone who comes into an organization, analyzes their problems, then suggests technology solutions. You don't actually end up implementing these solutions, just deciding what they need)
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Aug 10, 2010 03:40
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necrobobsledder posted:If you can't sell poo poo you think someone doesn't need, you probably can't go very far in sales. It's no different to me than working on stuff you don't really like - you're just a cog in the machine, your opinion is of little importance in the end... until you get to the C-levels or director, in which case you're so high up in the clouds you don't know if something's a lovely or terrific product anymore because everyone underneath you talks in business-ese rather than straight technical talk (because they assume anyone in that sort of role isn't that technical, which is reasonable). If I'm going to have little say in the matters and direction of a product, I'd rather just get paid more to compensate for the headaches and choose a battle not involving politics. I'm well-experienced in sales, but not specifically IT. I'd like a career change: either selling IT solutions (to build on my current strengths/experience) or designing/implementing them (to match what I would enjoy). Security is something that would interest me (and I suppose digital forensics). What's the recommendations for further education/certification? I am not convinced that an MBA is particularly respected (and they are expensive). Would something like a CCNA be useful, or a masters in a specific IT area. I don't see myself writing code, but if I am to sell a technical solution, I should have a good basic understanding of the broad technologies related to the solution, as well as an in-depth understanding of the specific technolnogies involved.
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Aug 10, 2010 06:53
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spog posted:I'm well-experienced in sales, but not specifically IT. I'd like a career change: either selling IT solutions (to build on my current strengths/experience) or designing/implementing them (to match what I would enjoy). Security is something that would interest me (and I suppose digital forensics).
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Aug 10, 2010 13:43
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Hired Gun posted:Sounds like you want to be a sales engineer. Generally you'd team up with a sales guy who knows frustratingly little about the products. He'd do the pitch then you'd talk about the more technical stuff. Certifications definitely help; if you want to do security I'd look into getting a CISSP. Ta for the guidance. I looked into CISSP: https://www.isc2.org/cissp-how-to-certify.aspx posted:
Kind of chicken and egg a little.
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Aug 10, 2010 15:30
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GregNorc posted:If you're dead set on grad school, I'd try working for a bit, save some money, then do a master's. use that as a chance to boost your GPA while simultaneously getting some research experience (by doing a thesis). If you're more set on an MBA, the same logic applies (most MBA programs would not accept even a stellar student with no experience. If you could work for a while and get experience, then ace the GMAT you could probably get into a decent school) I havnt really decided about grad school, I doubt I can get into anywhere great with my gpa. How would I go into becoming a business analyst, I have a few open credit hours I need to fill this year and I havnt taken any business classes yet would any specific classes help me to become a business analyst.
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Aug 10, 2010 15:47
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Thunder from Down Under posted:I havnt really decided about grad school, I doubt I can get into anywhere great with my gpa. How would I go into becoming a business analyst, I have a few open credit hours I need to fill this year and I havnt taken any business classes yet would any specific classes help me to become a business analyst. Accounting would probably help, as would finance. A large businesses hiring business analysts are financial institutions.
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Aug 10, 2010 20:42
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If I had to do it over again I wouldn't have taken an office job. Did Cultural Antropology for a year before deciding I didn't like it, then switched and completed a bachelors in business and IT. I've been doing it for 5 years now, just recently got certified as Service Manager ITIL v3 but at work I just want to shoot myself in the face most of the times.
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Aug 10, 2010 21:01
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spog posted:Ta for the guidance. Ah, the hilarious topic of certs. Besides getting past resume filters, I don't particularly see the point of certs. I've been pretty disappointed with the quality of "IT Security Professionals" I've seen come through my company who hold a CISSP. Right now we have two newer guys (to the company, not the field) who are pretty smart (but lack any Unix knowlege at all, and 70% of our server infrastructure is Solaris :V ), but a ton of the candidates we've gone through (hiring a whole new team this year) have had trouble with really basic stuff. Aren't certs supposed to guarantee some sort of minimum qualities?
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Aug 11, 2010 04:40
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shredswithpiks posted:Ah, the hilarious topic of certs. Besides getting past resume filters, I don't particularly see the point of certs. I've been pretty disappointed with the quality of "IT Security Professionals" I've seen come through my company who hold a CISSP. Right now we have two newer guys (to the company, not the field) who are pretty smart (but lack any Unix knowlege at all, and 70% of our server infrastructure is Solaris :V ), but a ton of the candidates we've gone through (hiring a whole new team this year) have had trouble with really basic stuff. Aren't certs supposed to guarantee some sort of minimum qualities? how about we just copy/paste the standard 3-page cert derail here and skip wasting everyones time
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Aug 11, 2010 14:32
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shredswithpiks posted:IT Analyst? How far away from IT do you want to get? Sorry its been awhile. I would honestly like to get away from actually doing anything with the in depth mechanics of the systems, such as system administration or programming. I think I would like to get more into the business side of it. After reading the job description, IT analyst would be a fairly good fit for what I want to do. I just wonder if there is any way to get to that position without going through the years of IT work.
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Aug 11, 2010 19:06
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mr_cardholder posted:I just wonder if there is any way to get to that position without going through the years of IT work. If you figure it out let me know. I've always wanted to be a rockstar but didnt want to go through the years of guitar practise. Skip right to the babes and coke, I say.
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Aug 11, 2010 19:58
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I've been in IT 8 years now, started with external technical support and now work as a Change Manager and Software Engineer in healthcare. I don't mind the IT path I'm on but would probably look at something outside of IT. I could probably easily branch to something with Six Sigma process improvement roles if I ever feel my current job doesn't challenge me anymore. Dream job was being a bartender at a local bowling alley or tavern. I did this during college days and was a ton of fun without having to deal with the lovely club crowd.
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Aug 11, 2010 20:36
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Saltin posted:If you figure it out let me know. I've always wanted to be a rockstar but didnt want to go through the years of guitar practise. Skip right to the babes and coke, I say. Suppose that answers my question. I guess I'll be looking for a career change then.
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Aug 11, 2010 23:25
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For those of you languishing in IT jobs, looking for better opportunities, my advice is to pull up roots and move to cities where all the action is. I understand that this is a lot to ask for many of you as you have friends and family you don't want to leave behind. However if you do happen to move to a large metropolitan centre like San Francisco, New York or London, the opportunities to learn new things and the exposure to large scale infrastructures will be invaluable in building your careers. Once you've put in a couple years and you're yearning to go home, you'll have the tools to get the plum jobs or maybe your company will oblige in giving you a transfer. There is a downside to all of this. If you work for a large company's IT department, you stand the risk of being pigeonholed into a job with very narrow responsibilities. You don't want to end up as a lever puller. This is where working in a small shop has its advantages. Especially Universities.
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Aug 22, 2010 13:43
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28, BsC in computer engineering, have been working full time for 4 years as a software developer. No regrets, I think it's a good field, making great money and it's cool to be able to write software and be able to do something that outsiders don't have the faintest clue how works.  I work in a laid-back office of a real-estate broker chain, doing internal systems, mainly backend stuff like frameworks, services, background applications and such.People looking to get into "IT" should know that there's a gigantic difference between the fields. Being a software developer has literally nothing in common with being a sysadmin/network/hardware guy, and sysadmins are quite different from support/helpdesk. In my honest opinion (without having tried it), support/helpdesk is the bottom of the barrel, and you should avoid it. It's just an endless stream of annoyed people with problems. It is in no way representative of the more advanced fields of IT. SplitDestiny posted:Luckily for a lot of you guys wishing to have gone into software development, it's a terrible field to get into if you are only interested in the money. The people I work with that only do it as a job are pretty terrible at it and usually never last compared to the passionate developers who are constantly learning and improving their skills in their off-time. I very rarely study or code in my free time (except for if I want to write a useful program for myself), and I improve plenty by just doing programming at work. I have many software dev friends that never program anything outside of work, and they are good at what they do. I also never had to do any of those stupid certifications, no forced courses/conferences or anything.
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Aug 23, 2010 00:22
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Tab8715 posted:I spent my earlier twenties in college being stupid and immature, so I obviously dropped out. Fortunately, I'm not completely retarded and I was able to land myself a mediocre IT Job. While the pay was a low, it was a job and not that bad. I stayed for a bit more than two years, learned quite a bit but the company crumbled I ended up getting laid off. I figured, I'd go back to school but after going I don't really feel motivated and given the time I'd take me to graduate - what's the point? Wondering if anyone could comment on this, it's a cross post from here.
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Aug 23, 2010 09:11
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Tab8715 posted:I spent my earlier twenties in college being stupid and immature, so I obviously dropped out. Fortunately, I'm not completely retarded and I was able to land myself a mediocre IT Job. While the pay was a low, it was a job and not that bad. I stayed for a bit more than two years, learned quite a bit but the company crumbled I ended up getting laid off. I figured, I'd go back to school but after going I don't really feel motivated and given the time I'd take me to graduate - what's the point? The point is getting past the HR resume filters and finding employment. Unless you're getting ready to retire, it's probably a good idea to grab a proper degree. Tab8715 posted:I've started looking for a job expect I haven't had a bit of luck. I've sent my resume around to over a dozen places, had a few interviews but no luck. And, I'm actually quite extensively networked around town since I live in a town of ~100k yet no one knows anything. I'd say yes, but I have a friend who never set foot in school after HS and is making around 90k/year as a general IT guy for some IT contracting company (he's in his mid 20s). Of course, we live in a town of 500k with lots of military and military contracting stuff. Tab8715 posted:Another thought did cross my mind, go for the two-year programming degree. Does anyone have experience with this? How will I stack up against in the job market against actual CS Majors? I can't speak to CS type jobs, but at my company and all the companies I've applied to in the past few years a four year bachelors is bare minimum, masters/doctorate preferred. The only exception I've found is some sysadmin work has been "or equivalent experience" (I haven't seen this at all for entry programming in my town), and IT Security has been all about certs. I suspect you're getting beat out by a lot of degree holder's because HR at whatever-company wants pretty paperwork. It happens all time where I'm at. We'll interview someone who is probably the best fit for the job, but upper management and HR will force the hiring of someone with better education on the resume. 3/4 of my old Unix team have masters in Math 
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Aug 23, 2010 13:05
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Tab8715 posted:Wondering if anyone could comment on this, it's a cross post from here. Questions like these are difficult to answer because there are so many different possibilities. Pretend you're asking if it's worthwhile to buy a 50$ GPS vs a 500$ gps for a sailing voyage across the Atlantic ocean. What I would say is that I've worked with lots of people who are extremely competent with nothing more than a high school education and lots of people with advanced university degrees who are also extremely comptent. It all depends on your circumstances and how intelligent and hard working you are. I also think that education will help but think of it as a building block, and a building block that doesn't always guarantee success. I think any sort of education will open doors but it's up to you to make sure that you don't get kicked out of the door.
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Aug 23, 2010 19:02
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Not getting a degree puts you at a disadvantage in your career. I'm sure there are plenty of people that get around in wheelchairs just fine, but it sure is a lot easier to have functioning legs.
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Aug 23, 2010 19:07
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This is similar to other questions that have been asked, but I've been in IT a number of years and am planning on going to university and getting a degree. I want to fill that slot on my resume for the moment for 'has degree' so that I'm not handicapped when applying for jobs but I'd also like to get something that allows me to move upwards into management away from the purely technical roles. Should I get a business major (like a BSBA with a MIS/IT concentration) or should I go with a CS/CIS major instead? I'm planning on eventually getting an MBA but my undergraduate choice is a little murky for me.
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Aug 23, 2010 19:53
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cepheusei posted:This is similar to other questions that have been asked, but I've been in IT a number of years and am planning on going to university and getting a degree. I want to fill that slot on my resume for the moment for 'has degree' so that I'm not handicapped when applying for jobs but I'd also like to get something that allows me to move upwards into management away from the purely technical roles. Generally the most successful people I've met have degrees in subjects that have been offered at universities for decades. Stuff like Math, Physics, Engineering and Classics. These subjects provide a sound basis for anyone aspiring to make something of their careers. That's not to say newer, more innovative degrees like business are a recipe for failure. It sounds to me that you don't really know the difference between what an MIS degree would offer over a CS degree and vice versa. That being the case, what makes you think you want to work as 'management'? I think an analogy that might apply to your stated desire is 'I wanna join the army as a Major not as a lieutenant'. What exactly is it that you want to do? What subjects did you like/do well in while in high school?
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Aug 23, 2010 20:21
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Cultural Imperial posted:Generally the most successful people I've met have degrees in subjects that have been offered at universities for decades. Stuff like Math, Physics, Engineering and Classics. These subjects provide a sound basis for anyone aspiring to make something of their careers. That's not to say newer, more innovative degrees like business are a recipe for failure. It sounds to me that you don't really know the difference between what an MIS degree would offer over a CS degree and vice versa. That being the case, what makes you think you want to work as 'management'? I've had experience doing project lead and I guess mid-level management for IT departments (budgetary stuff, managing people, project planning, etc) and have enjoyed those roles immensely. I like doing technical stuff and have no issues continuing to do it as my career progresses but my main focus in getting a degree is to move my career towards roles that I would consider 'management' although I guess that's the wrong way to put it. I don't really have a huge preference in what degree I get from an aptitude or whatever sort of aspect - I like IT and want to continue working in the technology field and CS or BSBA don't seem like they're directly related to what I do in a major way either way but either/or seems interesting. I mostly just want to take four years, get a degree, and move my career forward in that direction in the best way possible. This, if that's helpful. Sorry about the unclearness of my post and thanks for the information! cepheusei fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Aug 23, 2010 |
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Aug 23, 2010 20:37
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How do guy feel about - online classes. 
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Aug 23, 2010 20:54
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cepheusei posted:I've had experience doing project lead and I guess mid-level management for IT departments (budgetary stuff, managing people, project planning, etc) and have enjoyed those roles immensely. I like doing technical stuff and have no issues continuing to do it as my career progresses but my main focus in getting a degree is to move my career towards roles that I would consider 'management' although I guess that's the wrong way to put it. From my experience, I've had good bosses and worked with decent project managers who were both technical and non-technical. However, the exceptional ones always have an excellent grasp of technology and first hand experience in implementing said technology. It will be easier to get good grades in a business degree than it will be in CS. On the other hand, I think you would leave university without the skills that would make you an exceptional manager if you did a business degree. Oh yeah, I haven't mentioned it, but do *not* gently caress up your grades! You will not get into a good MBA program!
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Aug 23, 2010 21:15
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Tab8715 posted:How do guy feel about - online classes. I think they're fine as long as they're being taught by a good school. Stay away from 'for profit' schools.
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Aug 23, 2010 21:16
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Cultural Imperial posted:I think they're fine as long as they're being taught by a good school. Stay away from 'for profit' schools. Here's a link to the program - link Which actually does require some time spent in the class room. I actually don't find the networking stuff that interesting, I'd rather get involved in Sys. Admin work, thoughts?
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Aug 23, 2010 21:32
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Tab8715 posted:Here's a link to the program - link Which actually does require some time spent in the class room. I think the courses are fine. On the other hand, if you can get a job without taking the courses, that's fine too. You could probably learn everything listed there on your own with the help of google. You'll probably just need 3x the amount of time to do it.
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Aug 23, 2010 22:00
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If I want to do sys admin work, should I go for the networking program or go into programming? tbh, I already know a bit about subnetting,dns,dhcp,etc
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Aug 23, 2010 22:18
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Tab8715 posted:If I want to do sys admin work, should I go for the networking program or go into programming? An exceptional sysadmin is going to be able to handle network problems as well as programming. You could pick up high end cisco skills while on the job but it's more likely no one will ever kick your rear end into solving programming problems as a sysadmin. I would suggest the programming course but you may hate it. Have you ever coded?
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Aug 23, 2010 22:45
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Cultural Imperial posted:An exceptional sysadmin is going to be able to handle network problems as well as programming. You could pick up high end cisco skills while on the job but it's more likely no one will ever kick your rear end into solving programming problems as a sysadmin. I would suggest the programming course but you may hate it. Have you ever coded? Yea, I did but I didn't dislike it either, but it looks like I'm leaning more towards the Network Course. The Vo/IP stuff sounds interesting and I've heard more than once it's the future of phones and something everyone should know!
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Aug 23, 2010 22:50
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Mobius posted:Ah, okay. Epic is an electronic medical record vendor - the one I work for. How's that brainwashing working out for you? // fellow Madisonite IT person
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Aug 23, 2010 23:27
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Cultural Imperial posted:An exceptional sysadmin is going to be able to handle network problems as well as programming.
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Aug 24, 2010 04:05
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Mobius posted:Ah, okay. Epic is an electronic medical record vendor - the one I work for. We do a lot of active recruiting, so when you said you were "approached" for a job in medical informatics, it rang a bell. I got the job. It ended up being a System Administration position rolling out the EMR system for a regional healthcare system. I'm going to try a focus on EMR/Infomatics and make that my niche I've been looking for. It seems like a great growing company and there is a lot of opportunity. I'm psyched that I may be able to breathe some life in to my stale career and a bonus that I get to tell my current employer to suck it.
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Aug 24, 2010 17:31
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Luna posted:I got the job. It ended up being a System Administration position rolling out the EMR system for a regional healthcare system. I'm going to try a focus on EMR/Infomatics and make that my niche I've been looking for. It seems like a great growing company and there is a lot of opportunity. If possible, do not leave a job behind on bad terms. No matter how much you hate them, you never know when you'll come across ex-workers again and most IT communities are quite small.
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Aug 24, 2010 18:45
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Cultural Imperial posted:If possible, do not leave a job behind on bad terms. No matter how much you hate them, you never know when you'll come across ex-workers again and most IT communities are quite small. I have never left a job on bad terms. I always give a notice and leave my contact information with whoever is taking over for me in case they have any questions later. I still have friendships with most of my old bosses. My current employer is a bridge that needs to be burned. I think I have been treated unfairly and I do not owe them anything. Not even courtesy. They ask me to do work that is WELL outside the scope of IT and it is often dangerous. We have vendors that won't work on some of our poo poo because of the dangers. It is the shittiest job I have ever had and I want to completely remove the possibility of ever coming back here. (They have talked me into coming back twice in the past.) Luna fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Aug 24, 2010 |
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Aug 24, 2010 19:06
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Tab8715 posted:If I want to do sys admin work, should I go for the networking program or go into programming? I'd focus more on hardware, networking and tools. I think sysadmins typically write scripts, which can be more or less found in sample form online, and a large part of it is also finding the right tools for different tasks, like monitoring, distribution of software, etc.
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Aug 24, 2010 19:15
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