Finding The right IT path?

Wazz Upp,

Some of you have read my previous thread about computer hardware engineering but my question is from what I describe about myself what is the BEST IT path I could take? I moslty have experience in just fixing any kind of broken pc no matter what it is. Right now im learning some networking and might take the Network+ exam. I find more of an interest in working with the components like installing new harddrives, mobo's, basically the whole building a computer thing and then repairing it if anything goes wrong, i also find it kool that if I could understand how to "design/make" the reason why is because I took a few architecture classes in my school and really didn't find the "feel" for architecture but I had mad skillz in it though, 3d ipods, gameboys and other stuff ( end of school year was boring me had to do something). I'm not a person who can just sit on there butt all day I have to move around.

So I ask my teacher knowing what you know already about my skills good and bad what should I do? The teacher told me go more on the hardware side of things because PC tech people will always be needed and go to this school we have in the St.Louis area called Ranken Technical Institute- and focus on the hardware side in the Computer Networking class like getting a CCNA, MSCE and etc.

The school from what I've heard from others is really good and gets the job done, They teach you everything you need to know about the subject you are in. They even help you find a job and have a 97% job placement in the first 6 months. Its all on the website

http://www.ranken.edu/

So from reading everything there is it really a good choice for me or should I purpose something else in the IT field or should I just do something else in life and do my computer hobby on the side?

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bjaxx

Shiz Stain wrote:

Wazz Upp,

Some of you have read my previous thread about computer hardware engineering but my question is from what I describe about myself what is the BEST IT path I could take? I moslty have experience in just fixing any kind of broken pc no matter what it is. Right now im learning some networking and might take the Network+ exam. I find more of an interest in working with the components like installing new harddrives, mobo's, basically the whole building a computer thing and then repairing it if anything goes wrong, i also find it kool that if I could understand how to "design/make" the reason why is because I took a few architecture classes in my school and really didn't find the "feel" for architecture but I had mad skillz in it though, 3d ipods, gameboys and other stuff ( end of school year was boring me had to do something). I'm not a person who can just sit on there butt all day I have to move around.

So I ask my teacher knowing what you know already about my skills good and bad what should I do? The teacher told me go more on the hardware side of things because PC tech people will always be needed and go to this school we have in the St.Louis area called Ranken Technical Institute- and focus on the hardware side in the Computer Networking class like getting a CCNA, MSCE and etc.

The school from what I've heard from others is really good and gets the job done, They teach you everything you need to know about the subject you are in. They even help you find a job and have a 97% job placement in the first 6 months. Its all on the website

http://www.ranken.edu/

So from reading everything there is it really a good choice for me or should I purpose something else in the IT field or should I just do something else in life and do my computer hobby on the side?

Catchy name,

The thing about the job placement is a little sketchy, I know from experience. They will count if you complete your tenure at school and you end up not finding a job in IT, so you settle for banking somewhere. This will count towards there Percentage.

I went to a tech school, not that I regret it but if I could do it all over again I would of went to a university. Things I liked about the tech school was you get a variety in a short amount of time. I say get through the program and then choose your field. Get every cert that the courses throw at you.

And good luck.

skrpune

if you're not too big on sitting for prolonged periods of time, then you might have issues with studying/preparing for those certifications. It takes a lot of practice, but also a lot of reading & studying to prep for CCNA & MCSE. I'll be honest though, if you're interested in hardware, I'm not really sure how going for an MCSE would be helpful to you.

I think you should find out what interests you and then follow that. I don't know anything about Ranken, but if you check it out and it seems reputable and you like the programs and can afford it, then go for it. The tuition does seem a little on the high side for a technical college though. Have you looked into community colleges to start with? They're probably going to be a lot cheaper and you can take some classes "ala carte" and see what is to your liking, rather than blowing nearly $12K/yr to find out what it is that you like.

If you're trying to figure out what certs might match up with your likes/dislikes, then you can check out the CompTIA Tech Career Compass site & the IT Interest quiz, you might find them helpful.

Shiz Stain

This might sound like I'm slow but CCNA and MCSE are just like Server based cert or something? Meaning you are the one running the server or is it something else?

I don't mind studing for tests/certs I just don't want to end up in a job where I sit all day and type on the keyboard I have to move around lmao. Computer Engineering on the hardware side sounds nice because of the descriptions I read about it.

Any other suggestions?

skrpune

Shiz Stain wrote:

This might sound like I'm slow but CCNA and MCSE are just like Server based cert or something? Meaning you are the one running the server or is it something else?

I don't mind studing for tests/certs I just don't want to end up in a job where I sit all day and type on the keyboard I have to move around lmao. Computer Engineering on the hardware side sounds nice because of the descriptions I read about it.

Any other suggestions?

MCSE is a relatively advanced certification that consists of 7 separate exams on different server-related topics. It generally assumes you can manage an environment with multiple servers. CCNA has little to nothing to do with servers - it's Cisco's intro level cert on routed/switched networks, and can be done with a one-exam or two-exam path.

From what I can tell, there isn't much moving around involved with Computer Engineering - it sounds like there's a lot of calculations, designing, etc...and that's going to involve a lot of sedentary time. If you're really married to moving around, then you're best off going down the road of being a technician of some sort. It will somewhat limit your career and income potential though.

UnixGuy

I think it's really too early for you to decide which field you really like, because you haven't really seen much of the IT world.

As suggested before, get your education and during that you can see more of the IT world, then you can decide for yourself.

My opinion is, try to avoid PC maintenance because you will find a lot of people doing it and the pay is not really great.

What is close to PC hardware is Server maintenance and support, this is a more rewarding job, and you can take a look at CompTIA Server+ certificate, or before that you may want to take A+ & Network+.

Shiz Stain

ah ok thanks, I dont care if I really sit I just don't want to be planted on that chair all day. So computer engineers make/design the hardware? What would be a good degree in that AS or Bachelors and hows the job placement there?

UnixGuy

Shiz Stain wrote:

ah ok thanks, I dont care if I really sit I just don't want to be planted on that chair all day. So computer engineers make/design the hardware? What would be a good degree in that AS or Bachelors and hows the job placement there?

If you really want to do Hardware design/Architecture, then definitely go for Computer Engineering BSc, and probably you're gonna need MSc, because this is more of R&D type of job. It's not easy to get a job in a reputable company and join the Hardware design team. I think you need a lot of higher education and you will need to climb the ladder and build up years of experience. It's not an entry level type of job trust me.

See this interesting program, it's a community by Sun Microsystems to involve student in R&D kind of projects.

http://developers.sun.com/students/community/map.jsp

you can join the software open source community, open storage and open sparc for hardware design stuff.

If by "Hardware design" you mean just setting up servers and connecting them together, then as I told you in my previous post in this thread, try Server+ course and try to get a job in server support environment. Again you're gonna have to climb the ladder to become IT Solutions Architect.

you'll have to sit on a chair anyway, part of the fun

stlsmoore

Shiz Stain wrote:

ah ok thanks, I dont care if I really sit I just don't want to be planted on that chair all day. So computer engineers make/design the hardware? What would be a good degree in that AS or Bachelors and hows the job placement there?

Hey "Shiz Stain" I'm from St. Louis also and I do hear very good things about this school and a lot of credits can be transferred to a University unlike ITT (where I went). It seems that you don't what type of technology you enjoy the most quite yet so I would say the best bet is to dig right in and try and see what you like. Try out and research the different exams and types of IT jobs available and that should help out a lot...good luck!

Shiz Stain

Thanks for the help everyone, I guess I will just do some more exploring into different IT careers.

Shiz Stain

Reading stuff about it networking doesnt sound bad and is actually fun. It involves (from what I've read) installing/configuring routers/bridges/switches/firewals, running servers installing NIC cards, and finding out ways how to connect like for example 100 computers together.

I've had a interested in this, but i was just afraid that it was a boring desk job that's all. I have a kind of urge to switch out my networking class because of the only reason that one else is in there now besides me. My friend switched out because he said he doesn't care for networking and wants to work more at his job. The class was fun everyday but I could tell he really didn't have an interest in it. Now if im lucky enough I could do an internship with the IT lady at my school ( for free of course).

I dont mind learning more and more about networking because every chapter gets to be interesting. We also have 2 Cisco Routers/ Switches which I plan to learn something on hopefully. The thing I don't understand and I know all people are different is from my point of view, people at my school really don't like computer networking because the opportunity is there and back a few years ago instead of getting your Network+ Cert. you could of got the CCNA.

I doubt that there are a low amount of networking "engineers" ( i dont really know the true job title) in the St.Louis area but the more and more ask people, they don't really seem to care about computer stuff. I'm pretty sure that are alot of people in this Field of IT in the St.Louis area but just can't seem to really find out.

kalebksp

If networking is interesting to you then go for it. While you're learning networking I would recommend trying to get a helpdesk type of job. In IT (and most other fields) you have to have experience before you can get the more advanced jobs like network engineer. If you start gaining experience while your in school it will help you greatly later on. If you get a helpdesk job you'll also be exposed to other areas of IT so you can see what each of the jobs are like, maybe you'll find something you like even more than networking.

You may also want to look into getting a entry level cert like A+, it's a very common requirement for helpdesk type jobs. Certifications aren't everything, but when you have no experience they can help you get that first job.

Most every IT position I know of does have a decent amount of desk time, but some more than others. I doubt you would like something like programming, since that is almost completely a desk job.

Good luck!

Shiz Stain

Yeah, I plan on doing an internship this semester with the IT lady at my school. Going to do it for 5 months everyday for 3hrs + I have fix peoples computers at home = Would this be considered as Experience? Or do I need to first get the A+ and then go find a real job in the IT field like a helpdesk job?

Just a question when you said
"If you get a helpdesk job you'll also be exposed to other areas of IT so you can see what each of the jobs are like, maybe you'll find something you like even more than networking."

What are some other IT fields besides networking?

kalebksp

I think that internships are great for experience, depending on what you'll be doing and in what type of environment. Fixing your friends/families computers isn't usually a big selling point for a job, there is a big difference between fixing a friends computer and working in professional environment. Something goes wrong and a file gets deleted at home, usually not a huge deal. When it happens with business related information, it can become a huge deal. Companies also want to know that you can handle yourself professionally, no getting angry and yelling at customer or users, things like that.

I would start looking for a job while your doing the internship.

As for other IT fields, the broad titles I can think of are Systems Administration, Networking, Security, and Programming. I'm sure you've heard of all those before, but there are many different areas of each one. For example, systems administration could be on Windows, Linux, Unix, or Macs; web, desktop, servers and mainframes. When you think of networking you probably think of routers and switches, but there are people that do nothing but storage networks (something I don't know a lot about, but it's a completely different specialization). Programming has such a huge variety in it that it's would be hard to give examples and do it justice. Security is also a big field, there are some guys on these forums that could probably give better examples of the various security jobs than I can. (Actually there are guys [and gals] on this forum that could probably give you better examples of all of this, it's the best I could do in my tired state.)

Every one of those areas intermingles, to some degree, with the others. A good IT professional has some knowledge of each area.

MCPWannabe

There is almost no demand for people fixing other's computers at home. Not with the razor tight margins on cheap computers and the warranty packages these days. But it is what it is -- where many of us got our starts. I was so proud of the first time I resolved a hardware issue 10 years ago.

All of the techs at the call center thought they were geniuses because they could replace a motherboard or hear a grinding noise on a fan.

I miss those days sometimes.

Now, every once in awhile, I'll meet someone from my first hardware troubleshooting job. They are either poor, have went to a completely other field, or have changed emphasis from hardware to something else.

There just isn't a market for it. It's nice to learn as a starting point but you should definitely be looking at more advanced options later.

seuss_ssues

Unfortunately IT does primarily involve sitting in a desk.

I guess you could be an "onsite technician" but once you reach the location its sitting.

You could also be a cable puller, but dont expect much money.

Shiz Stain

Well the thing is I don't mind if I sit. Average job is what 8hrs a day? If I can walk around and help people out 1-2hrs of the day without sitting its good for me. I know what you mean by saying IT technicians don't make that much cash so I figured I might as well take it a bit further and go into complex stuff like networking. At least in networking you get to hook up routers, switches, bridges, etc by using cables and even setting up servers so its all good.

Like you have said before there are alot of IT positions to choose from and I could give systems administration and networking a try since I really don't have the brains for security and patience for programming.

I just want to thank everyone so far that has taken the time and replied to my thread and questions about the right IT goal for me. It really means a lot when professionals can give you their point of view and advice on things to a newbie like me.

So thanks for all the help and support everyone ^^

Shiz Stain

I don't mean to bring up this thread again, but after reading and researching I have decided to attend the community college in my neighborhood.

St.Louis Community College - Forest Park

The best part I believe is this.....
St. Louis Community College :: Programs :: Cisco Academy

Also here is what they offer for specific things you study
St. Louis Community College :: Programs :: Information Systems :: Information Systems - Program Options

The price is REALLY cheap compared to the technical colleges
( District residents-$83 per credit hour) and I can transfer my credits to get a bachelors

So if you ask me this is pretty good so far, now i just have to finish my fafsa and apply to some scholarships....chances are I wont get squat.

markk2008

I know this is going to sound a bit corny, but I would just say to follow your heart, and just do what you feel is right. If you are really interested in the hardware side of things then go for that, if not pursue something else, the onky person who can actually make that decision is you. Good Luck.

carboncopy

markk2008 wrote: »

I know this is going to sound a bit corny, but I would just say to follow your heart, and just do what you feel is right. If you are really interested in the hardware side of things then go for that, if not pursue something else, the only person who can actually make that decision is you. Good Luck.

I agree. Why not get paid for doing something you love.

djhss68

If you like to move around, drive, travel, whatever, then you should apply to Field Tech positions. Get A+, Network+, Server+, in that order. And then apply to some places and see what happens.