Transition to IT from another field

Aliciabee

Hi everyone, I'm new here, trying to gather information about the possibility of transitioning to IT from my current career; any pointers would be very helpful.

I currently work in a private college development department doing data entry/basic database stuff. I have a bachelors and masters in music composition (don't ask me why). I worked in tech support doing very basic help desk and network stuff all through college, but this was 10 years ago now so my knowledge is a bit outdated. My undergrad degree is technically in music with emphasis in electronic media: I took courses in electronics, including soldering/building circuits, recording, classical and contemporary electronic music (working with analog modular synths and contemporary production software). I took programming classes in college, but all related to musical programming languages (max/MSP, supercollider) and I found the higher-level programming really difficult, so I'm not sure I really have what it takes to be a developer.

I'm just wondering if there is any real possibility of me being able to transition to IT and what the best route or job options might be. I think I could pass some of the CompTIA tests if I studied. Would that be enough to start applying to basic help desk jobs? What would be a good goal to head toward from there? I think I'd really thrive in a program to retrain/get some kind of degree, but are these all scams? Any constructive advice would be very helpful, no pointless negativity please. Thank you.

lsud00d

Aliciabee wrote: »

bachelors and masters in music composition

This alone tells me that you are intelligent and can understand complex thoughts/ideas/concepts. Music theory/composition will wreak havoc on your brain and truly involves both the creative and concrete aspects of our mental capacity.

That said, is there anything in particular you like to do? There are things related to music/design/human interaction which also touch on the development side and sometimes delve into human psychology.

Also, you don't need to go back to school. Most people that I know in IT have unrelated degrees, myself included. The trick is to play into what you studied as strengths applied towards the field.

Aliciabee

Hi, thanks for the thoughtful response. I hadn't gotten my hopes up too much as far as thinking about what I'd like to do - just trying to figure out if I could transition to any job at all.

Conservatively, I guess I was thinking that I could work my way up from a help desk environment to work in an IT department for an arts organization (maybe a symphony, opera, etc). I have some experience with web design.

If I could develop the chops, I would definitely be interested in doing development for music apps/software or things more design and arts-related, but that's a big if. I have a pretty solid background in basic acoustics/physics of music, but actual audio programming might be out of my league.

If you have specific things in mind that combine music/arts/design and IT I'd be very interested to hear about them!

Thanks.