Fun in IT???

DDStime

I love technology. Before computers I worked avionics on fighter jets, security for the military and sales for a fortune 50.

I have always had a high pace, adrenalin rush kinda job and IT honestly has been a bore. I work sys admin for a cool agency, but its just so damn boring!

Anyone have any idea what kind of REALISTIC job can mix adrenaline rush and IT?

TheFORCE

Become a consultant, maybe you will find what you are looking for.

devilbones

Is the agency that you work for support the military? There are some pretty cool jobs that deploy with the military and get to do some cool stuff.

Pmorgan2

Army Cyber Operations Officer (17A)?

Perhaps you would like presales of IT solutions, although the rush in that is the same sales. It's only as exciting as you make it.

Penetration testing and auditing can be exciting, especially if get to incorporate the human and physical elements. But it can also be boring if you just sit at a terminal and type commands at an unseen box all day.

ITSpectre

DDStime wrote: »

I love technology. Before computers I worked avionics on fighter jets, security for the military and sales for a fortune 50.

I have always had a high pace, adrenalin rush kinda job and IT honestly has been a bore. I work sys admin for a cool agency, but its just so damn boring!

Anyone have any idea what kind of REALISTIC job can mix adrenaline rush and IT?

Hacking and penetration testing is cool.... it gets all the women

DDStime

TheFORCE wrote: »

Become a consultant, maybe you will find what you are looking for.

I thought about security consultant. I'm a GS right now so I would have to give it up, but its a struggle to keep my sanity at this point so I will def consider it. Have you tried consulting services before?

DDStime

devilbones wrote: »

Is the agency that you work for support the military? There are some pretty cool jobs that deploy with the military and get to do some cool stuff.

Yes, but its a high level engineering support so I work with engineers, physicists and such so almost all are GS or high level officers.I would love a job where I get dirty and do IT work but deployments are out of the question with kids and a wife..

DDStime

Pmorgan2 wrote: »

Army Cyber Operations Officer (17A)?

Perhaps you would like presales of IT solutions, although the rush in that is the same sales. It's only as exciting as you make it.

Penetration testing and auditing can be exciting, especially if get to incorporate the human and physical elements. But it can also be boring if you just sit at a terminal and type commands at an unseen box all day.

I'm ex mil so no reenlistment for me

What would a presales role be? Do you have exp with presales?

Also, social engineering/pen testing would be fun. But from what I can gather it reqs a high level of programming exp. I have exp with retina and ACAS doing vulnerability scanning and have novice exp with Kali Linux but I highly doubt its enough to land me a pentesting role. Even with my CISSP/CEH/Sec + I feel like a novice at pen testing.

DDStime

ITSpectre wrote: »

Hacking and penetration testing is cool.... it gets all the women

I did a stint hacking WiFi with aircrack with the military...kinda the opposite of fun.

I learned a lot, but it was very routine after the first couple.

aderon

I feel like you'd probably like a job where you get to participate in a lot of projects. Keeps things from getting stale and each project is a new challenge that takes a different approach. Might look into that direction to see if it interests you.

Or honestly perhaps looking into a startup could be more up your alley. Very high stakes, constant change, get to make a bigger more meaningful impact, etc.

UnixGuy

Honest answer: No. Not in IT. Find that rush after work.

^^ above is my personal opinion. Everyone's different.

Basic85

Try IT consulting as some of the others have mentioned. It's higher pay and I've seen IT folks transitioned into IT consulting probably because of the money.

Kinet1c

I work in IT because I enjoy working with technology and problem solving... this is what excites me but it's different for everyone.

TheFORCE

DDStime wrote: »

I thought about security consultant. I'm a GS right now so I would have to give it up, but its a struggle to keep my sanity at this point so I will def consider it. Have you tried consulting services before?

Did consulting/contracting in my younger years in my 20s, not anymore though because of stability reasons. I do have a friend that does consulting though and he likes it, sometimes the gigs he does last 6 months but the money he makes during those 6 months last him for 12 months, the rest of the year he spends it doing other stuff or going on vacation. It's not for everyone.Pre-sales is all about demoing solutions and doing WebEx to sell a solution, not very technical in my book. The rush is on trying to sell a product.

Danielm7

UnixGuy wrote: »

Honest answer: No. Not in IT. Find that rush after work.

^^ above is my personal opinion. Everyone's different.

I agree with this. You can enjoy your work, but a huge rush / high adrenaline in IT, I've never seen that. You'll find really stressful jobs where people expect you to work 20 hours a day and get treated like crap but I don't really qualify that as the same sort of rush, that's more just rage, hah.

ITSpectre

There are more pranks in IT then actual fun....

TechGromit

I don't know if I would call my job fun and exciting, but there are lots of other benefits. For example when I'm rebooting a switch, waiting for something to compile, do performing a virus scan, I can relax, post of this forum or watch a youtube video. The amount of time I'm doing actual work really isn't all that much, maybe 3 to 5 hours a day, at the most. It certainly beats other jobs like retail where your at a cash register ringing up a constant stream of customers. In IT the more you know the less work you do and the more you get paid.

ITSpectre

TechGromit wrote: »

It certainly beats other jobs like retail where your at a cash register ringing up a constant stream of customers. In IT the more you know the less work you do and the more you get paid.

I agree. I used to work in retail and I hated every min of it. nothing but standing all day, walking around begging customers to buy products.... and then you get yelled at and coached if you did not meet your monthly goals.

DDStime

Kinet1c wrote: »

I work in IT because I enjoy working with technology and problem solving... this is what excites me but it's different for everyone.

Its interesting don't get me wrong, but exciting is a stretch.

I'm more of a motorcycle riding, beer drinking, motocross kinda excitement kinda guy.

ITSpectre

DDStime wrote: »

Its interesting don't get me wrong, but exciting is a stretch.

I'm more of a motorcycle riding, beer drinking, motocross kinda excitement kinda guy.

I will have a beer for you this weekend

ITSpectre

DDStime wrote: »

Its interesting don't get me wrong, but exciting is a stretch.

I'm more of a motorcycle riding, beer drinking, motocross kinda excitement kinda guy.

Pizza, beer, wings, and GTAV is all I need...

DDStime

UnixGuy wrote: »

Honest answer: No. Not in IT. Find that rush after work.

^^ above is my personal opinion. Everyone's different.

That's kinda what I figured. The way I think about it is that I can only live in this earth once, might as well do the coolest **** you can while you still can. Money is not an issue, I am more concerned about being able to play with technologies and have fun.

...maybe with my background I can land a drone gig...hmmm

DDStime

Its not a total loss; I always think that experiences in life a additive. I will use the skills I learned over the past 5 years to do something cool.

My ADHD and attitude just don't blend well with admin/network IT type roles. I mightstart toying around with some hobbies I love to get some ideas of where I want to be in life.

All suggestions are welcome and any cool ideas of how to blend IT/technologies with fun would be helpful!

UnixGuy

Look IT is a great job to make money; so you can use the money you earn in IT do the stuff that you want. I know a guy who uses the money he makes from IT to sponsor his pilot training. Think about it.

Also, in any career, try to enjoy getting to know your colleagues, the business,...etc. It's a life experience, and having a roof on your head, and enough food and drinks and clothes and health care is something very valuable, and an IT job provides that.

ITSpectre

DDStime wrote: »

Its not a total loss; I always think that experiences in life a additive. I will use the skills I learned over the past 5 years to do something cool.

My ADHD and attitude just don't blend well with admin/network IT type roles. I mightstart toying around with some hobbies I love to get some ideas of where I want to be in life.

All suggestions are welcome and any cool ideas of how to blend IT/technologies with fun would be helpful!

Drones and RC Cars with gopro's attached to them.... drive them around.... RC boats too.
Robots and building cool stuff is a good hobby.

OctalDump

I've seen a few in IT create their own "rush" by creating failures, then being the 'hero' by fixing them. Completely unethical and a little bit sad.

DDStime

UnixGuy wrote: »

Look IT is a great job to make money; so you can use the money you earn in IT do the stuff that you want. I know a guy who uses the money he makes from IT to sponsor his pilot training. Think about it.

Also, in any career, try to enjoy getting to know your colleagues, the business,...etc. It's a life experience, and having a roof on your head, and enough food and drinks and clothes and health care is something very valuable, and an IT job provides that.

Hey man I understand completely. Money is not an issue for me because I have zero debt and am a DV from the military.

I switched to a completely IT role after really enjoying some website stuff I did for the mil. Looking back I think I made the right decision because even if I go back to avionics, robotics, aeronautics, I will understand what going on under the hood in more detail.

I'm def not putting down the IT field, I just have a different outlook on life. I personally think that you MUST do what you like in life. If you don't, what's the point. Sitting in a cubical and crunching a keyboard day after day reminds me of a trapped animal in a zoo. This is the first job I have ever had where I feel so strongly that I can't hack it.

DDStime

ITSpectre wrote: »

Drones and RC Cars with gopro's attached to them.... drive them around.... RC boats too.
Robots and building cool stuff is a good hobby.

I love drones! I actually thought about using drones to track animal movement using GPS. They already track animal movement with GPS, but having an aerial view gives you so much more information like the animals habitat interaction etc...

....but then there is the problem of fuel

beads

If your background was in development instead of administration I'd point you to malware research. Always cutting edge. Always interesting and always in demand.

- b/eads

ITSpectre

DDStime wrote: »

I love drones! I actually thought about using drones to track animal movement using GPS. They already track animal movement with GPS, but having an aerial view gives you so much more information like the animals habitat interaction etc...

....but then there is the problem of fuel

I want to use a drone to take sky pictures and use a RC boat and car to take videos of the world through a different view.... since I have a dog I would love to record when I walk him... "life through a dogs eyes". That is kinda a hobby I want to get into but can't right now due to lack of funds. other then that I have always wanted to build model trains (the big ones with the whole sets that you use to see on TV) or build model things etc...