I'm sick of direct patient care, I want to work in IT but terrible at math

LaurenAus

Hello everyone
 I work in a healthcare career and I chose it because I thought it would be a safe degree. Originally I was going for psych but that route was too long so I detoured and did healthcare and now I regret it. I don't like my career--I have very high student loans and I am sick of dealing with unmotivated patients day in and day out and the corrupt healthcare industry at least from a rehab standpoint. I am terrible at math but have always been interested in computers. Is there anything I do--any classes--certificates I can do to get the most non mathematical IT job possible? And what would that be?
 I've seen people state they've done SQL certifications and were bad at math but when I google those jobs they require a super analytical mathematical person?? Please help. Thank you

EANx

There's a big difference between the requirements to fulfill a degree in computer science and earning a certification. There are some certs that require a decent grasp of math and a whole lot where the only math required is understanding how the grading works. IT is a very broad industry, you should narrow down to some areas of interest and explore those more.

LaurenAus

I guess I'm looking for some pointers because I don't know anything about certs that don't require a lot of math or where to even begin looking

EANx

You need to get away from the focus on math. Once the people here know what you're interested in, they can provide advise within that that isn't math heavy.

Meggo

@LaurenAus here's a good jumping off point for you: https://www.cyberseek.org/pathway.html

JDMurray

I've made a good living as both a programmer and ITSec guy and have never had to use more than arithmetic for my job. The heavy maths are for the computer scientists.

LaurenAus

Jd to get certified as a programmer however didn't it require math?

JDMurray

I never needed a certification to work as a programmer. When a project needed math done a mathematician, engineer, or an economist was used.

LaurenAus

How did you become a programmer? Do you have a degree in computer science?

JDMurray

I taught myself to program when I was a teenager because I was interested in it. All it takes is a firm interest in how something works and making it your hobby to get you started in a new career path.

paul78

The thing about any career is that you really need to have a passion and belief in it to enjoy it and be good at it. There's really no magic bullet.

It sounds like you are unsure about where to start - perhaps you should consider a more survey-like certification like Comptia A+ to get a feel of some of the topics.

You could also start by building a small computer lab to explore various aspects of technology to see what you may want to focus on.

Jon_Cisco

I don't think math is going to be a concern. I think you need to look at the careers that are available and decide what you are interested in. This will help guide towards your career goals. Starting of with something like A+ will give you some exposure to computers but I think you should first spend some time researching careers. It sounds like your not happy with the pay and work environment in patient care. Are you sure that you will be any happier working in technology. I only ask because it is human nature to think the grass is always greener on the other side but the reality is that is just perception.

Good Luck

AvgITGeek

I agree with everyone here. I'm absolutely horrific at math. My brain just doesn't do numbers. I got through HS physics, algebra and trig but only because I learned the equations and had a calculator. I can't multiply or divide in my head to save my life and some basic addition and subtraction I need to think about and write out (don't even ask me to figure out percentages). That being said. It has been 20+ years since I've been asked to do any algebra or trig in my IT career. I wrote SQL queries and the front end VBA to support it and if I ever needed to know how to convert or do percentages or fractions, I googled it and threw it in the code I wrote. I'm running into my math issue now a little bit with my CCNA cert because it takes me a lot longer to do calculations with the 16, 8 and 4 size blocks and I don't have the use of a calculator so it is all by hand.

The certifications I have passed with my math deficiency:

MCSE NT 4.0 (with SQL Server 7.0 Admin)

A+

Server 2012 R2 Install-Config and 2012 R2 Administration

Not being great at math hasn't hindered me one bit so far.

LaurenAus

Avg did you take a certification to learn SQL? Whenever I look at job listings for SQL they want a quant person or list math somewhere in the listing 

AvgITGeek

My certification for SQL Server 7.0 was for administration not querying. There is always T-SQL that is used in the admin side but as far as learning the querying, I am self taught. I bought a book on SQL Querying by Itzik Ben-Gan back in 2003 or so and learned from there. You will need to roll your sleeves up and be prepared to spend a lot of time doing this. If SQL is your thing, download and install the Express edition with tools. I can't remember if that comes with Adventureworks database or not. You may need to download and attach that too.

Someone mentioned before, get over the math hurdle and get to learning. Even though you are bad at math, even if you apply for that job that requires SQL, you don't know SQL! Employers will often list qualifications the perfect applicant will fill. Not many people may tick the check boxes and those that might may not have the best personality for the job or team.

Take this one step at a time. You will need to start at ground zero be it SQL Server or Networking or PC Support Analyst. Get started. Don't worry about math.

scaredoftests

Sure, there is 'some' math, but not intense (and I have dyslexia).  Don't worry about that and find what you'd like to pursue.

NetworkNewb

JDMurray said:

I've made a good living as both a programmer and ITSec guy and have never had to use more than arithmetic for my job. The heavy maths are for the computer scientists.

 This ^^ I barely ever use anything beyond basic math skills.  And not sure why you are so hung up on SQL... First, it doesn't require a lot of math...  and I've worked in a lot of IT positions and haven't even used SQL very often. 

Pmorgan2

NetworkNewb said:

JDMurray said:

I've made a good living as both a programmer and ITSec guy and have never had to use more than arithmetic for my job. The heavy maths are for the computer scientists.

 This ^^ I barely ever use anything beyond basic math skills.  And not sure why you are so hung up on SQL... First, it doesn't require a lot of math...  and I've worked in a lot of IT positions and haven't even used SQL very often. 

I third this.  It's a notable event when I have to use a concept from algebra or higher.  Statistics though, that comes in handy and I suppose the pre-req for that is to know some trigonometry.

A lot of IT related degrees do not require much math above geometry and statistics so you should be good from an educational stand point too.

NavyMooseCCNA

Take the A+ certification and start there. The only math I've ever had to worry about was subnetting and once you learn the tricks, you can do it in your head. There are calculators available that can help you with that as well.