Need some career advice.

caitchk

I graduated with a BBA in MIS May 2013. I have been working in Help Desk positions ever since I graduated since I thought I would be going into Networking then Security as an end goal. Lately, I have been thinking of going into a BI role with a focus into data analytics.

The problem I have is that I want to do so many different things in IT, networking, security, programming, databases, etc., that it's severely hindering my ability to progress my career. I know I have to just make a decision but it's proving very difficult for me to make that decision.

So I just wanted to ask what TE thinks of my predicament. Any advice, criticism, etc. is welcomed.

aftereffector

There are a lot of fun career tracks in IT - you mentioned quite a few of them already. Fortunately, though, they aren't mutually exclusive. You are doing helpdesk right now, and you could move into networking and then eventually security like you previously planned - or you might discover an opportunity in big data and move that way instead. For now I'd focus on the next step and not worry so much about the long term (20 year) plan. Where do you want to be next? What skills will help you get there?

MeanDrunkR2D2

Best way to gauge it is to either chat with folks you know in that role and ask them questions about what a normal day is like. Find out if there are anything crazy as far as situations go and how stressful they are and how they manage that. Find out how face paced it is and if you like that or not. If you don't have anyone in person, you may want to reach out to a local linkedin group and ask questions for them about what they like, don't like and the challenges that they face day in and day out.

You are fairly new in IT and it's understandable to be confused by all the different directions your career can take, and that's totally normal. Once you figure out what you want to do, it's trying to figure out how to get into those positions and to move forward to get to your end goal. And there may be a chance that you'll make a choice now, get into one of those roles and realize that it's not for you and that's fine as well. Many in IT will take different paths and find out that they may not like the direction they are going and make another change. You are young enough that you have time to find out exactly what you like and don't like.

TomkoTech

Nothing pigeon holes you. As long as you are willing to put in the work for learning the material you can always change later. Do some research on bls.gov and some of the tech websites as to which subsets have the best growth in your area right now. Use that information coupled with what you find easier/more interesting to learn. If that is networking so be it. If its security there ya go. I would suggest though that some of these options are vastly different than others.

For example networking and security can feed off of each other. You will learn some of the other while working on one. However you aren't going to learn much about programming(scripting aside) while focusing on networking. Figure out what type of work environment you would enjoy. Personally I hate programming with a passion. It bores the hell out of me. But it may be something you'd enjoy.

tkerber

aftereffector wrote: »

There are a lot of fun career tracks in IT - you mentioned quite a few of them already. Fortunately, though, they aren't mutually exclusive. You are doing helpdesk right now, and you could move into networking and then eventually security like you previously planned - or you might discover an opportunity in big data and move that way instead. For now I'd focus on the next step and not worry so much about the long term (20 year) plan. Where do you want to be next? What skills will help you get there?

I have to agree with this. Being in IT is like being a kid in a candy shop... You kind of want everything... I started by getting a degree in networking and absolutely dreamed of being a Network Admin or Sys Admin. Well last year I was a Sys Admin and I kind of disliked it. Today I am working in enterprise storage and so far think it may be 'the one' that I stick with and start specializing in. Either way branching out and trying different roles in different areas is not a bad thing to do for the first few years. I know I made several changes in different industries, roles, etc..