Switching between software and systems/network engineering?

Anyone else go through this time to time? Get bored in one sector and gain interest in another?

I have a bachelors in computer science and a masters in systems/network security - I'm currently working as a systems engineer in the financial sector and have an amazing job, but all of a sudden I see a quantitative trading algorithm developer position open up here and my interest in it skyrockets.. I have a background in C++ programming and think this could be very interesting

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NinjaBoy

kenoo wrote: »

Anyone else go through this time to time? Get bored in one sector and gain interest in another?

Yes, every couple of years or so.

kenoo wrote: »

I have a bachelors in computer science and a masters in systems/network security - I'm currently working as a systems engineer in the financial sector and have an amazing job, but all of a sudden I see a quantitative trading algorithm developer position open up here and my interest in it skyrockets.. I have a background in C++ programming and think this could be very interesting

Go for it, if you can

Not sure what you mean when you say "background in C++ programming", do you mean work experience or academic studying?

I attempted to switch from Support (servers, networks, telecoms) to software engineering a few years ago as I was going thru a "bored in one sector and gain interest in another" period and while I could have made the move (I had several programming related academic qualifications as well as a BSc in Computing specialising in Software Engineering) I would have had to take a big drop in salary as I didn't have the relevant experience.

kenoo

NinjaBoy wrote: »

Yes, every couple of years or so.

Go for it, if you can

Not sure what you mean when you say "background in C++ programming", do you mean work experience or academic studying?

I attempted to switch from Support (servers, networks, telecoms) to software engineering a few years ago as I was going thru a "bored in one sector and gain interest in another" period and while I could have made the move (I had several programming related academic qualifications as well as a BSc in Computing specialising in Software Engineering) I would have had to take a big drop in salary as I didn't have the relevant experience.

All of my working experience has been on the systems/network side, however I am very adept at programming and try to apply it as much as I can on the systems side with scripting things. Four years of programming in undergrad gave me some good skills.

I'm in a tough predicament, on one hand I'm 24 and young enough to afford to switch jobs, on the other hand I landed a very lucky opportunity as a systems engineer in the financial sector in the city and it would be tough to leave.. my salary is in 6 figures plus bonus and it would be tough to drop, ahhh decisions decisions

joshmadakor

I wouldn't do it. If you're happy in your current six-figure job, I would highly discourage leaving it. Too risky.

JDMurray

I just made the jump from 20+ years of software engineering to network security. Engineering (product development) and IT (installation/managing/troubleshooting) each have their different ups and downs, and the grass always looks greener on the other side. Make the jump only if you can jump back if you find where you landed to be intolerable.

LinuxRacr

No matter what your career is in life, or how much money you make at it, if you are miserable, it would be time to make a switch. Do you enjoy your current position? If you make the jump, does the pay match up, or is it a significant drop? If a huge drop in pay, any family obligations to consider?

instant000

kenoo wrote: »

All of my working experience has been on the systems/network side, however I am very adept at programming and try to apply it as much as I can on the systems side with scripting things. Four years of programming in undergrad gave me some good skills.

I'm in a tough predicament, on one hand I'm 24 and young enough to afford to switch jobs, on the other hand I landed a very lucky opportunity as a systems engineer in the financial sector in the city and it would be tough to leave.. my salary is in 6 figures plus bonus and it would be tough to drop, ahhh decisions decisions

Hrm. depends on your mindset.

If you really want to do programming, you could ... I dunno, write programs to make system engineering easier. As one yourself, you'd be in a unique position to actually write useful programs that provide meaningful error messages to ease troubleshooting.

Real life story:

Went to the test center the other day, and a guy was apparently in there for 2 hours before his test would work properly. It just crashed in the middle of his starting the test, and the only message was "Error". If it had given a meaningful error message, the test center administrator would have figured it out right away. With the message being so cryptic, the test administrator spent two hours on the phone with her support trying to figure out what to do ... apparently the issue was that the administrator couldn't download or launch "this particular test" using the account she always used for every other test?! However, the error message was so useless, there was no way to tell what the problem was. A simple "insufficient permissions" would have probably saved her two hours on the phone.

When the guy finally went to go into his test, the other bystanders remarked: "It already feels like a pass" just for the joy of going in to take the test. --- Hahaha, he was so frustrated (and the invigilator, even more so -- I could see her hair frizzing up before my very eyes). It helped lighten them both up a little.

Moral of the story: Go ahead and write some good programs now. We could need them out here. No need to drop your current job first. Unless, as you said, there is a happiness factor that is not present.

P.S.: Always wanted to use "invigilator" in a sentence! (Pee-Wee Herman style: "Everyone scream real loud!!!")

JDMurray

<=== I've always wanted to have a job title with the word "Invigilator" in it.

instant000 wrote: »

P.S.: Always wanted to use "invigilator" in a sentence! (Pee-Wee Herman style: "Everyone scream real loud!!!")