More advice and tips from over 35+ years of working in I.T.

Although I drop by quite often, I have not posted for some time now. Some of you may remember my posts here in the general forum especially for the newer people getting into information technology. Or other people later in life that are switching careers (even 40+). Here is some venerable tips, to pass down to you. I hope this stays with you for the entire career.
I’ve really
come “full circle” now in regards to my career… I really can
not go higher than where I am at now. Really, no big ego here.. just
facts. And honestly… after all said and done, if I could go back to
being a PC hardware technician and “survive” on that salary
(which unfortunately, is lower nowadays than it used to be, many
reasons why that is) I actually WOULD. And with that.. here is some
main tips to remember as you go forward. Again, I am “not”
perfect.. I have failed exams in the past 35+ years and hopefully
these tips below will keep you moving forward:
1) You get
certified for “YOU” and only “YOU” that should be your main
motivation followed by job needs, and company “last”.
2)
Remember, once you get your next certification YOU DO NOT NEED TO get
a “higher one”! Don’t get caught up with “oh you need to keep
going” if you are happy on where you are at, don’t let “anyone”
tell you you need “this cert… or that cert”! Remember 1) above.
Honestly, if I was told that I could only keep “one”
certification, even if I tack on 10 more new ones... It would be
CompTIA A+. Again, encompasses all fields of I.T., and gives / shows
great core troubleshooting.
3) No matter what certification you have or even if you have “no certifications”, keep building your real world experience. Keep up on current trends in your area of work even hardware or software.
4) I have dealt with many publishing companies, book publishers, and also I have helped out well known book authors over the years. The majority (there is very few that are not like this) only want “your $$$money$$$” and that is it. This is also true, for the certification vendors themselves (the actual company that have xyz certifications.. "some" have very poor ethics and integrity). Sad but true, the certification business is a money driven business. Learn from many resources, learn from more than one book, is needed.
5) Another great tip
for all of you starting out, and a BIG one... if I could do it all
over again… don’t stay at one job for too long. Really, and
please “remember this” if you are at a job for 5 years and you
are not seeing that much in regards to raises or promotions. And also
there is no “upwards mobility” in regards to going into another
area at that current job location. Start looking elsewhere. You can
WILL get “comfortable” in regards to the way “things are”.
DON’T BE. Write out a plan and a back up plan and act on it. Trust
me on this, companies used to value their employees, and the employee
would work for one company, for YEARS until retirement. While an employee who shows loyalty to a company is "great", know that there are "many" people in corporations who do not have "one shred" of that same mentality.. nor ethics or integrity. Being loyal to a company, is not
the case anymore. Your a number and that is it, I don’t care what
company you may work for now.. you are just a number. And even if you
are there for many years, you can be “let go” even in regards to
“slightly off the mark" reasons.. simply in regards them saving money.
Trust me.. it took me many years to understand that. Don’t 100% trust who you are working for. Remember
that.
6) College is
not needed to work in information technology. Real world experience
is key, followed by the certification of your choice. I have said
this for years up to current, and I still 100% stand behind that
statement. You “may” find, that some jobs postings put in college
degree xyz into a job description, perhaps to try and get “younger”
people to apply (and also offer a smaller salary as well. Ya.. You
like that one?) One thing that is of “great benefit” if you want
to work in information technology “management”. Then yes,
it “IS” of benefit to get a degree in business administration
followed by ITIL and PMP for program management certifications.
7)
If you can, and it is hard to do this just for the sake of time management, try
to have a part time business in information technology.. I.T.
consultation, network configuration, PC / Server repair, even printer
repair, or application / web site development. Anything that you can
do part time as a small business, you get A LOT of experience with
real world troubleshooting and building. But also with dealing with
clients/customers as well. A lack of great customer service / facing
is the number one failure of any companies out there. Always work on
your customer service / facing skillsets no matter what you do.
8) Remember equipment, networks, servers, workstation, ect.. do not break daily, but “hourly”.
9) There has been “great people” that have helped me out along the way. Even though I have seen a lot of people over the years that do not have any sort of integrity and ethics in what they do, there has been a lot of great people that have helped me. When you get to “end of the road” as I am now, I hope you help out others that are just starting out.
10) One last thing, you may find that the physical area that you are currently living does not have a lot of I.T. jobs to go into. The job market there may be saturated. One thing that many people do, and I have done in the past.. is move to another location where the work is. This takes a lot of research and a bit of faith to make that commitment. Also remember that some of these places that are looking for a lot of help, the cost of living may be very high, or the location itself may be in a “bad part” of that town so a lot of people may not want to move there. Also, keep in mind that is the job that you are getting in that location, is that salary close to what other jobs are in that area? Sometimes you’ll come across a really well paying job somewhere else, but that is the “only” job in that area that is paying that salary. If something happens to your new job, you may end up moving somewhere else if you can not get the same salary in that location. Just some things to again, keep in the back of you mind.
Good Luck to all of you and your future. - Geelo
Comments
You are Welcome. I am also thinking back today, reflecting on all the software and hardware that I have worked on over the years as well. I have installed almost all Windows Operating systems from 1.01 up to current, including sever O.S. I also have been using Linux almost since inception. I beta tested Debian for a while, and also Ubuntu when that distro was created not to mention early on Red Hat (Fedora) and Mandrake (was Mandriva now forked).
Not me, if I had to deal with stupid users again day in and out again, I would be under a suicide watch. Didn’t matter what the pay would be you couldn’t pay me enough to take that kind of stupidity again.
I don’t agree with this advice, while it may be true most of the time, if you find yourself working for a really good company, try to move up within it, not out. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. I worked for some really crappy companies in the past, so I know what it feels like to be taken advantage of. Here’s your $50 ShopRite Xmas bonus gift card. If your in a company that have good benefits, has a training budget, you’re not consistently working 60 hour a week, gives you a yearly bonus that equal to 5, 10, even 15% of your salary, think long and hard before jumping ship for a few more thousand dollars. Positions at good companies are few and far between, when you get into one hold on to it. I think you need a different vendor, the Cisco equipment in my network has been extremely reliable, even in hash environments. Last switch failure I that was 2 months ago, and before that, it has been at least a year. Servers are very reliable, but definitely have more failures than network equipment. Work stations, printers are pretty good, the biggest issue will be software. Every time they update or patch, something enviably breaks. But at my level, I really don’t deal with end user issues for the most part, let the PC techs have all the fun. The biggest issue I have is when network switches fail in the plant, they are radioactive, not something I can ship back to Cisco for a warranty replacement.
Security Engineer/Analyst/Geek, Red & Blue Teams
OSCP, GCFA, GWAPT, CISSP, OSWP, AWS SA-A, AWS Security, Sec+, Linux+, CCNA Cyber Ops, CCSK
2021 goals: maybe AWAE or SLAE, bunch o' courses and red team labs?
I agree with the aspect of the computer tech job, I currently work as a PC hardware tech and some help desk and I honestly cannot wait to quit. It is the most repetitive, mind-numbing job and There is zero growth within the company. Im sitting for my CCNA next month and then after that I’m going to start looking for a more networking-related job but honestly if I can get something different in IT and it pays better and I can actually grow and learn, I’d be happy.
Goals: CCNP Enterprise(ENCOR + ENARSI), AWS CSA - Associate, Azure AZ-104, Become better at python, learn docker and kubernetes
Degree: A.S. Network Administration
Pursuing: B.S. in I.T. Web and Mobile Development Concentration
Security Engineer/Analyst/Geek, Red & Blue Teams
OSCP, GCFA, GWAPT, CISSP, OSWP, AWS SA-A, AWS Security, Sec+, Linux+, CCNA Cyber Ops, CCSK
2021 goals: maybe AWAE or SLAE, bunch o' courses and red team labs?
If someone wants to be a a break fix technician on the lower end of the totem pole you may need the CompTia trifecta (A+,N+, S+) and possibly a vendor cert (DELL and/or HP) so they can work for an approved vendor certified technical support location. This is not like the 90's where us old farts knew what we were doing, busted our backsides, make a name for ourselves and people come in droves to see us. Now it may just be cheaper to buy a new PC. If someone wants to move up as an IT / LAN administrator, or a System Engineer he/she needs an education and credentials to be better than the next person
@TechGromit - Christmas bonuses? Those exist?