How hard is it for people with sub-par intellects to get jobs in this field.

cooldudemanus

Allow me explain my background.

- I couldn't comprehend material at 12
-I struggled with basic math at age 12
-I love learning about computers

So, overall I am a stupid person. I also have aspergers(not a good combo).I have Aspergers friends who have atempted degrees such as Computer Science and failed.


I am interested in IT as I enjoy learning about technology and how it works. However, I don't feel I would be able to keep up with all the rapid updates within the field. However, it just seems what you guys do is incredibly cool. I played around with hmtl and javascript(joke languages). Didn't have too much trouble and I had fun



From browsing these forums, it appears that I would be competing against a lot of relatively intelligent people as well making it very difficult to get a position in this field.

BigTex71

I would recommend you just stick with IT as a hobby. It can get cutthroat.

I think being a professional baseball player would be incredibly cool, but I doubt I have the skills to get paid to play.

earweed

People have different areas where they are weak and strong. Find your area and you'll probably find you're not so "sub-par" after all. Yours may be programming, try learning another proigramming language and see how you do.

cooldudemanus

BigTex71 wrote: »

I would recommend you just stick with IT as a hobby. It can get cutthroat.

I think being a professional baseball player would be incredibly cool, but I doubt I have the skills to get paid to play.

This is what I was hoping you wouldn't say, but no one said the truth would be easy.


Can you clarify on that though? How hard is it to get a job paying say 40kish a year in the field of IT.

I'm just looking into getting a bachelors degree and making a decent living. It's all I really want.



Surely, you don't have to be Albert Einstein to do helpdesk support?

undomiel

I've found a number of incredibly unintelligent people in this industry. Since it seems like you're interested in learning you should pick an area and start really digging in. Get as hands on as you can and see if there is anywhere in this field that you would enjoy and feel that you would be good at. If you're learning and growing then you'll find you're more intelligent than you thought.

cooldudemanus

undomiel wrote: »

I've found a number of incredibly unintelligent people in this industry. Since it seems like you're interested in learning you should pick an area and start really digging in. Get as hands on as you can and see if there is anywhere in this field that you would enjoy and feel that you would be good at. If you're learning and growing then you'll find you're more intelligent than you thought.

I just want a job where I get to have involvement in managing a website and use software like drupal.


Dunno if any of you are familiar with drupal......probably gods gift to computers.

You can create modules using hmtl/php...very handy tool

BigTex71

I have worked with some relatively 'dumb' people in HelpDesk positions and I wondered how they got the job. You may be able to handle it after all.

cooldudemanus

BigTex71 wrote: »

I have worked with some relatively 'dumb' people in HelpDesk positions and I wondered how they got the job. You may be able to handle it after all.

Do they keep the job though?

earweed

I doubt all of them do but my ISP (ATT) still employs a few judging by the ones I've talked to..lol

cooldudemanus

earweed wrote: »

I doubt all of them do but my ISP (ATT) still employs a few judging by the ones I've talked to..lol

This made me laugh.


Meh, I guess intelligent people really do have it better than the rest of the world. They get to see and understand cool stuff..........


lucky bastards lol

pwjohnston

You know cooldudemanus that's all BS. If you think you're dumb than you're not going to measure up in anything that you do. I'm not saying "think happy fuzzy thoughts" and you'll be just fine you have to be realistic about your abilities, but you have to have some drive and some confidence also. Clearly you have the drive.

If you love computers you have a few routes you can go, but I'm going to take a swing and ask do you love working with your hands and building computers? If so you might work on your A+ and try to get a job as a system builder at your local computer shop.

The thing to remember is that there are a lot of things to do and try. Don't assume that just because you had problems with math that you're dumb. Maybe math just isn't your thing. Explore what is out there, do what you like, and don't let the douchebags of the world tell you you can't.

JoJoCal19

First I wouldnt sell yourself short and say you have a sub-par intellect or are stupid. I doubt thats true. If you took the time to learn HTML and Java even at a basic level, then you're obviously smart enough to learn and do well. And even having the desire to learn and contribute to society makes you smarter than a lot of other people.

If you're not good with math and maybe comprehending difficult material then I would say a CS degree would not be ideal. Heck I consider myself pretty smart and am working on a 3rd degree and I thought CS degree requirements were too much for me.

If you have a decent understanding of programming I would go that route. Teach yourself more languages. Master them. Also start at your local community college taking courses and see how you do. You could work towards a A.S in Programming.

cooldudemanus

pwjohnston wrote: »

You know cooldudemanus that's all BS. If you think you're dumb than you're not going to measure up in anything that you do. I'm not saying "think happy fuzzy thoughts" and you'll be just fine you have to be realistic about your abilities, but you have to have some drive and some confidence also. Clearly you have the drive.

If you love computers you have a few routes you can go, but I'm going to take a swing and ask do you love working with your hands and building computers? If so you might work on your A+ and try to get a job as a system builder at your local computer shop.

The thing to remember is that there are a lot of things to do and try. Don't assume that just because you had problems with math that you're dumb. Maybe math just isn't your thing. Explore what is out there, do what you like, and don't let the douchebags of the world tell you you can't.

Man interesting post lol.


I enjoy working html,javascript and the like.


While I am on this sub-section of the forum. How do you determine the most cost effective parts for a network? I assume you factor in






-cost of the part
-how much it uses energy relative to other parts

what else?

cooldudemanus

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

First I wouldnt sell yourself short and say you have a sub-par intellect or are stupid. I doubt thats true. If you took the time to learn HTML and Java even at a basic level, then you're obviously smart enough to learn and do well. And even having the desire to learn and contribute to society makes you smarter than a lot of other people.

If you're not good with math and maybe comprehending difficult material then I would say a CS degree would not be ideal. Heck I consider myself pretty smart and am working on a 3rd degree and I thought CS degree requirements were too much for me.

If you have a decent understanding of programming I would go that route. Teach yourself more languages. Master them. Also start at your local community college taking courses and see how you do. You could work towards a A.S in Programming.

I read on the boards that "Computer Information Sytems" and Management Information Systems....aren't very good in the IT world.


I would have to disagree as they teach you how to manage a network in a business and FINE tune that network to the business' needs.


Are you going to DESIGN a network like the Computer Science major? No. However, guess what? Someone has to MANAGE the network and make sure it has enough security even AFTER it's up and running. I sure as heck think a knowledge of business will be good enough to tweak a network suitable to a business.

subl1m1nal

cooldudemanus wrote: »

I just want a job where I get to have involvement in managing a website and use software like drupal.


Dunno if any of you are familiar with drupal......probably gods gift to computers.

You can create modules using hmtl/php...very handy tool

You may want to try a web design company or a web hosting company. You may have to start out as a night tech at a colo center or something. To be honest, I went to school with a guy who was mentally challenged, but was a savant when it came to linux. The kid was smart when it came to computers. Sad thing is, he has no people skills. I'm unsure if he has a job in IT.

cooldudemanus

subl1m1nal wrote: »

You may want to try a web design company or a web hosting company. You may have to start out as a night tech at a colo center or something. To be honest, I went to school with a guy who was mentally challenged, but was a savant when it came to linux. The kid was smart when it came to computers. Sad thing is, he has no people skills. I'm unsure if he has a job in IT.

aspergers......

Devilsbane

Nobody here can tell you if you would make it or not. If you are willing to commit to the learning process (which isn't too bad since you want to learn, much easier than sitting in an English class where you don't care about the material and just want a passing grade).

That being said, it still isn't easy. The tests are designed to make you fail, and while you don't need them you do help. Don't go into the field thinking "I know a bit about computers, I will be able to easily do this." While sometimes that is true, at some point it won't be. As soon as you stop learning, you are 3-5 years from being obsolete.

KGhaleon

I don't know math that well and could probably be considered a really dense person, but I'm one of the better techs at my company. I'm bad at a lot of things, but I've focused solely on improving the skills needed for the job.

Just because you aren't smart doesn't mean you can't do the job, just that you'll have a harder time than other people. That's from my experience.

pml1

Does intelligence play a role in a successful IT career? Sure it does, but there are also many other factors that play in. In my opinion, a love of computers, and a drive to be successful, could far out way any deficiency of intelligence you have.

Furthermore, I'm not convinced you are an "unintelligent" person. School performance is a very poor indicator of intelligence. Maybe a teacher was forcing you to learn in a method you aren't good at. Maybe you had other life issues going on that distracted you. It's obvious from your discussion here, that you a far from being totally void of intelligence, and you seem to have fairly good communications skills. If you enjoy web development with Drupal, go for it! Pick up some resources on basic web development (HTML, CSS, Javascript), PHP, and MySQL. See if any of it clicks. If you have already identified a clear area that you enjoy and want to succeed in, you're already way a head of a lot of people.

cooldudemanus

pml1 wrote: »

Does intelligence play a role in a successful IT career? Sure it does, but there are also many other factors that play in. In my opinion, a love of computers, and a drive to be successful, could far out way any deficiency of intelligence you have.

Furthermore, I'm not convinced you are an "unintelligent" person. School performance is a very poor indicator of intelligence. Maybe a teacher was forcing you to learn in a method you aren't good at. Maybe you had other life issues going on that distracted you. It's obvious from your discussion here, that you a far from being totally void of intelligence, and you seem to have fairly good communications skills. If you enjoy web development with Drupal, go for it! Pick up some resources on basic web development (HTML, CSS, Javascript), PHP, and MySQL. See if any of it clicks. If you have already identified a clear area that you enjoy and want to succeed in, you're already way a head of a lot of people.

Thank you for the encouraging talk.

I am 21 btw...little late.



It would appear that ANY field you go into you constantly have to update your knowledge base.



I should add that I am really just looking to make 35k-40k a year. Not really looking to support a family. Just me,myself, and I.

that salary should achieve that well

chmorin

cooldudemanus wrote: »

Allow me explain my background.

- I couldn't comprehend material at 12
-I struggled with basic math at age 12
-I love learning about computers

So, overall I am a stupid person. I also have aspergers(not a good combo).I have Aspergers friends who have atempted degrees such as Computer Science and failed.


I am interested in IT as I enjoy learning about technology and how it works. However, I don't feel I would be able to keep up with all the rapid updates within the field. However, it just seems what you guys do is incredibly cool. I played around with hmtl and javascript(joke languages). Didn't have too much trouble and I had fun



From browsing these forums, it appears that I would be competing against a lot of relatively intelligent people as well making it very difficult to get a position in this field.

Love of computers is a great motivator. However, certifications and degrees might not be your thing, which is rough. If you really want to get into the business, you are going to have to work a grunt IT job for practically free until the years of experience build up and get you somewhere.

If you want something go for it, but with your situation it could be hard.

Worse off people have done better things. So don't give up, and get inspired!

cooldudemanus

chmorin wrote: »

Love of computers is a great motivator. However, certifications and degrees might not be your thing, which is rough. If you really want to get into the business, you are going to have to work a grunt IT job for practically free until the years of experience build up and get you somewhere.

If you want something go for it, but with your situation it could be hard.

Worse off people have done better things. So don't give up, and get inspired!

is the degree harder than most of the certs? I am sure there a few certs more challenging than the degree...but ya

jeanathan

cooldudemanus wrote: »

Allow me explain my background.

- I couldn't comprehend material at 12
-I struggled with basic math at age 12
-I love learning about computers

So, overall I am a stupid person. I also have aspergers(not a good combo).I have Aspergers friends who have atempted degrees such as Computer Science and failed.


I am interested in IT as I enjoy learning about technology and how it works. However, I don't feel I would be able to keep up with all the rapid updates within the field. However, it just seems what you guys do is incredibly cool. I played around with hmtl and javascript(joke languages). Didn't have too much trouble and I had fun



From browsing these forums, it appears that I would be competing against a lot of relatively intelligent people as well making it very difficult to get a position in this field.

I still struggle with math.
I never was on the deans list in college; never on the honor roll in high school.
I score pretty high on the Asperger's Quotient test. Though have not been diagnosed with Aspergers (Never been to a shrinks office).

I had a GPA of 2.57 in college. I went to a community college not a university. It takes me 2hours of work for every 1 hour that someone good at math does, when writing programs. But, I did eventually graduate.

With networking and IT I am as good as any math major could hope to be. I don't think IT really requires the mathematical overhead that programming does. The intense changes are a plus if you like learning new things. You'll be in school the rest of your life, but it does get easier with time.

cooldudemanus

jeanathan wrote: »

I still struggle with math.
I never was on the deans list in college; never on the honor roll in high school.
I score pretty high on the Asperger's Quotient test. Though have not been diagnosed with Aspergers (Never been to a shrinks office).

I had a GPA of 2.57 in college. I went to a community college not a university. It takes me 2hours of work for every 1 hour that someone good at math does, when writing programs. But, I did eventually graduate.

With networking and IT I am as good as any math major could hope to be. I don't think IT really requires the mathematical overhead that programming does. The intense changes are a plus if you like learning new things. You'll be in school the rest of your life, but it does get easier with time.

It becomes easier to learn new material over time?

Turgon

cooldudemanus wrote: »

Allow me explain my background.

- I couldn't comprehend material at 12
-I struggled with basic math at age 12
-I love learning about computers

So, overall I am a stupid person. I also have aspergers(not a good combo).I have Aspergers friends who have atempted degrees such as Computer Science and failed.


I am interested in IT as I enjoy learning about technology and how it works. However, I don't feel I would be able to keep up with all the rapid updates within the field. However, it just seems what you guys do is incredibly cool. I played around with hmtl and javascript(joke languages). Didn't have too much trouble and I had fun



From browsing these forums, it appears that I would be competing against a lot of relatively intelligent people as well making it very difficult to get a position in this field.

You do not have to be a rocket scientist to work in IT. Many of the entry level roles these days are broken down into very accomplishable bits with assistance you can tap into if things get hairy. There are exceptions of course, but generally things are much more structured than they were 10 years ago where you walked in and had to cope with everything with little or no reference points or assistance going for you.

Focus on what you have to offer.

I dont know how you can describe yourself as a stupid person and aspire to getting a bachelors degree. While I admit I have encountered a number of folks who were far from the sharpest knife in the drawer at University I dont think I met anyone who was completely stupid who spun out with a degree in anything.

Stupid is as stupid does. Just because you have problems grasping things doesn't make you an idiot or incapable of being an effective contributor somewhere. There is lots of assistance today for people with learning difficulties and education is far more responsive to those needs and generally much more accessible than it was a few years ago. If you can tap into the help that is available both educational, social and medical you may be surprised what you can accomplish. You probably won't split atoms but then again neither can I.

Some people you might consider as being smarter than you dont actually get through their degrees. Some less able people do. So who then is stupid?

I would say work on some self esteem and attempt something you can accomplish in the educational sphere first, or try the A+ or something like that. Really apply yourself and you will get somewhere and feel proud of your accomplishment.

Some people sail through exams and things and more power to them. You will be stretched to accomplish this sort of thing but if you pull it off you will be a stronger person for confronting and overcoming difficulties those same people would never be able to comprehend because they never had to deal with that sort of problem. If the roles were reversed and they were dealt your hand would they do as well as you? Perhaps not. A bit of adversity is character building and to be honest in my line of work there are times when I will take character over intellect when Im counting on someone to get the job done. It's actually about being professional and both a savant at quantum mechanics and someone who has problems with basic mathematics are both potentially either good or bad professionals. Attitude counts for a great deal in the world of work my friend.

There is a tendency for people to get hung up on their personal evaluation of their abilities. I can tell you that some people who are Gold in some situations are flat out Bronze in others. Life is rather complex. You may not be a great *figure it out* person but you may be able to empathise with and motivate people or be an otherwise effective team player and reliable on a level you are comfortable with. You may be able to organise and sort out things well. You may be very patient and cool underpressure. You may have a great work ethic (Trust me you can offset a lot with that in this game there are many prima donnas out there)

There are all kinds of situations that arise in work that require different qualities if an individual is to be seen as good at handling things and well thought of. You dont need to be a wizard at Calculus to punch your weight in many of those situations.

jeanathan

cooldudemanus wrote: »

It becomes easier to learn new material over time?

Yes topics like signaling and TCP/IP are universal so you learn about them then something changes and you are already familiar with their current incarnation so learning the changes is easier than starting over from scratch.

cooldudemanus

Turgon wrote: »

You do not have to be rocket scientist to work in IT. Many of the entry level roles these days are broken down into very accomplishable bits with assistance you can tap into if things get hairy. There are exceptions of course, but generally things are much more structured than they were 10 years ago where you walked in and had to cope with everything with little or no reference points or assistance going for you.

Focus on what you have to offer.

I dont know how you can describe yourself as a stupid person and aspire to getting a bachelors degree. While I admit I have encountered a number of folks who were far from the sharpest knife in the drawer at University I dont think I met anyone who was completely stupid who spun out with a degree in anything.

Stupid is as stupid does. Just because you have problems grasping things doesn't make you an idiot or incapable of being an effective contributor somewhere. There is lots of assistance today for people with learning difficulties and education is far more responsive to those needs and accessible to everyone today. If you can tap into the help that is available both educational, social and medical you may be surprised what you can accomplish. You probably won't split atoms but then again neither can I.

Some people you might consider as being smarter than you dont actually get through their degrees. Some less able people do. So who then is stupid?

I would say work on some self esteem and attempt something you can accomplish in the educational sphere first, or try the A+ or something like that. Really apply yourself and you will get somewhere and feel proud of your accomplishment.

Some people sail through exams and things and more power to them. You will be stretched to accomplish this sort of thing but if you pull it off you will be a stronger person for confronting and overcoming difficulties those same people would never be able to comprehend because they never had to deal with that sort of problem. If the roles were reversed and they were dealt your hand would they do as well as you? Perhaps not. A bit of adversity is character building and to be honest in my line of work there are times when I will take character over intellect when Im counting on someone to get the job done. It's actually about being professional and both a savant at quantum mechanics and someone who has problems with basic mathematics are both potentially either good or bad professionals. Attitude counts for a great deal in the world of work my friend.

There is a tendency for people to get hung up on their personal evaluation of their abilities. I can tell you that some people who are Gold in some situations are flat out Bronze in others. Life is rather complex. You may not be a great *figure it out* person but you may be able to empathise with and motivate people or be an otherwise effective team player and reliable on a level you are comfortable with. You may be able to organise and sort out things well. You may be very patient and cool underpressure. You may have a great work ethic (Trust me you can offset a lot with that in this game there are many prima donnas out there)

There are all kinds of situations that arise in work that require different qualities if an individual is to be seen as good at it and well thought of. You dont need to be a wizard at Calculus to punch your weight in many of those situations.

Very motivating post. Trust me my work ethic is legendary....I really doubt you will find anyone who can work as hard as me.


started off as 120 pound guy in high school...bulled a lot was in special ed

lifted weights and I now wiegh 180 pounds....it took 8 years but i finally got muscles. Considering going back and confronting that bully.:) Whenever I see some douche bag on the light rail picking on some teenage kid(I drive my car to the light rail at work), I go up to his ass and confront him.


Anyway, my point is that I can work really really really hard....I have a good additude too.

pitviper

The funny thing is – the real stupid people that you encounter in the work place don’t actually realize that they are stupid.

Just by your opening statements I would say that you aren’t giving yourself enough credit. Just find your niche (the IT world is vast), and run with it. Why not?

cooldudemanus

pitviper wrote: »

The funny thing is – the real stupid people that you encounter in the work place don’t actually realize that they are stupid.

Just by your opening statements I would say that you aren’t giving yourself enough credit. Just find your niche (the IT world is vast), and run with it. Why not?

Hahahaha. Stupid people not realizing they are stupid...


Final question. It seems this field is probably one of the lesser secure fields.

Are there more secure fields than others?

vCole

Like others have said - you're not giving yourself enough credit!

You seem articulate enough, and if you enjoy computers/IT the way you say you do, then you'll be fine.

Also, what's the harm in trying? You will find out one of two things. a.) you're good at it or b.) you're not so good at it.

Keep your head up, and go for what you want. The only thing in your way is you!

SrSysAdmin

cooldudemanus wrote: »

I just want a job where I get to have involvement in managing a website and use software like drupal.


Dunno if any of you are familiar with drupal......probably gods gift to computers.

You can create modules using hmtl/php...very handy tool

It should be clarified that programming isn't the same thing as IT, it is development...it is amazing to me how many people confuse the two.