Career change, advice welcome.

amp2030

Thanks all!

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Sounds like a good plan except I would not wait until MCSA to look for work. The sooner you can start gaining some IT experience the sooner you will move up to higher level positions. Are you currently employed? If you are and can't afford to take a low paying job you might at least try to find some part time computer repair work. Anything to get that initial IT experience on your resume I think will be helpful in addition to pursuing your certifications.

nel

not to get sidetracked but....Have you ever thought about programming? as most people who excel at math are good at programming?

moss12

congratulation you done one of the hardest degree maths

you got to be smart

Sepiraph

It really depends on which area of IT would you like to specialize in? e.g. Programming, networking, system, etc. Also I'm curious in what area of mathematics did you specialize it, I always liked math as a subject in University.

the_Grinch

I second you going for programming! That coupled with your math background could definitely prove to be useful in the private sector and the government. Quite a few government agencies that would love those skills...

mamono

I was under the impression that Cisco Design professional certification track was heavy on the mathematics. That's something that you might want to look into.

Slowhand

It sounds like you're giving this a lot of thought, you're analyzing all the options, (which I would expect from a math-major,) and those are all plusses for career-change. If you're interested in working with Windows Server, then you're definitely in good shape to start studying for the MCSE and upgrade to MCITP: Enterprise Administrator. The Cisco path is very different, but having those skills help you on your way up the admin-ladder. (On the same note, having some server administration skills won't hurt you if you decided to work more on the networking-end.) My advice, begin studying both of these technologies, maybe look into working with software development/programming, and even some Linux/Unix technology. Once you find out what, exactly, you enjoy working with and want to do, then hit it hard and climb the cert-ladder, as well as the IT ladder in general. Don't underestimate the power of having a scientific, technical, or mathematics degree under your belt. The certs will be icing on the cake, in addition to the degree and the studying you're about to embark on.

I can't tell you what path to choose, only to explore all of IT and find out what you like, (and what you don't like). Having a background education, you could even go into training and teaching IT, once you feel comfortable with the technologies you're working with. Of course, nothing says you could never go back to school. You might find, one day down the road, that you feel rejuvinated and want to give that PhD another shot. Or, you might find that you're gung-ho to further yourself by going and taking a graduate degree in Computer Science or CIS/MIS. You're burnt out, you want a change, so give yourself some time to explore and re-spark that enthusiasm I'm sure you had when you set out to get yourself through school.

And, of course, welcome to the forums. I hope this won't be the last time we hear about your progress, and I certainly hope that your cert-list will grow from the single XP exam to a whole mess of acronym-soup.

amp2030

Thanks all!

Sepiraph

mamono wrote: »

I was under the impression that Cisco Design professional certification track was heavy on the mathematics. That's something that you might want to look into.

Judging from what's on the CCDA and ARCH, I wouldn't say it is 'heavy' on mathematics at all. In fact, none of Cisco Cert. would/should be considered as 'heavy' to a math major.

amp2030 wrote: »

@nel and the_Grinch: While I can program (mostly in C if given the choice), it is the aspect of computing that I find least appealing (to me, personally). I'll do it if I have to, but I would not pursue it as a full-time job. Two summers of research where I was the team "programmer" because I was good with computers have convinced me of that. I guess it is strange for a mathematician, but programming really is applied math, while what I was pursuing was theoretical.

@Sepiraph: The two aspects I would like to specialize in are networking and system administration, which is why I am aiming for MCSE and CCNA at first. I believe finishing these will give me enough insight into which path I will follow, at this moment I find them equally appealing. Also, what job I eventually get will probably play a role in what certification I go for next. As a mathematician I specialized in topology, more precisely knot theory. I was also quite fond of geometry and combinatorics.

That's really cool (funny that's the area of mathematics where I don't really have much knowledge). Usually for a math undergrad program, intro. topology would be a 4th year course. Knot theory is graduate level. Those are the type of mathematics that a string theorist would use!

Interestingly, I can personally relate to your experience with programming. I had 4 different work terms during university where all my jobs involved some sort of programming. By the end of my undergrad, I thought I never want to touch programming again and I used to have a view where I'd consider computational physics to be inferior to say doing *real* physics (e.g. learning and deriving equations).

But then something changed in a few years later that once again changed my perspective and now I actually find programming to be engaging and interesting. It is also the reason why I went into networking.