"You'll never amount to anything in IT"

MrXpert

I'm just wondering what obstacles people have had in the work place or while building a career in IT and whether you have managed to prove people wrong in the process. Maybe it caused a co-worker great embarrassment? or a jealous supervisor eager to hold you back or prevent your development? any interesting stories in the workplace or while on your IT certification path whether it be self studying or while in college?
I guess my question seems a bit arbitary but i don't often see it being asked. I actually thought of it this morning while remembering my time in college.
My story was that when I attempted to Computer Science at College, i walked into my lecturer's first lesson of the term and he told me to get out, that i didn't belong here and that "you'll never amount to anything in IT". It caused me great shame because he said this in front of a few other students. I left very upset and it dented my already fragile confidence. My dad then had a word with the college head principal and I got myself back onto Computer Science although it was a difficult two years and I ended up failing everything including other subjects.

That was about 15 years ago. Guess I proved him wrong.

the_Grinch

My high school guidance counselor didn't like me very much and in my senior year I had to meet with her several times to discuss my future plans. In one of those meetings she told me I wasn't college material and I should consider the Army as an alternative. Eight years later I graduated from a very good school and have a job. Also graduated with a 3.42 gpa

Roguetadhg

Wait. Your story sort of.. ended abruptly. You failed everything, including other subjects, after someone said you'll never amount to anything in IT. I was expecting a "Up" to the end. Like "I then found X job because I failed, and now I'm getting the big bucks"

For me: Workplace doesn't want me to get certifications. I don't get to work on any equipment, or get to be apart of planning for anything, I can't even sit on any plans of the sort. I'm hungry to get those experiences, so I'm trying to talk my boss, through many ways, to let him to take a chance on me. Bosses know that I work under the pretenses that I don't actually have a 'home', but they don't know my fiance and myself take days when we can eat food. Go figure. Today's my day to fast

I, however, I don't have an "Up" to my story. Yet. Im working on that part! Comon better pay/more responsibility!

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" – Thomas Edison

kgb

Roguetadhg wrote: »

... Bosses know that I work under the pretenses that I don't actually have a 'home', but they don't know my fiance and myself take days when we can eat food. Go figure. Today's my day to fast ...

Can you elaborate on that? That statement confuses me (granted I'm still on cup#1 of coffee).

pram

Why would a Professor tell you to get out on the first lesson? How did he even know who you were?

RouteThisWay

This may sound like a victim mentality, but.. my age has been a roadblock.

When I was working in a Help Desk role, I was ready to jump up to the System Admin position. A position opened up- my boss (managed the IT team from tier I - admins) approved the idea, but was vetoed by his boss (the CIO). His reason was blatant- I wasn't old enough. I was 22 at the time and he felt I wasn't old enough to do the job, whatever that means. I ended up leaving 2 months later for a System Admin position- and my boss at the time gave me glowing reviews and is still a good friend/mentor.

I was asked on about day 4 how old I was here- unfortunately, I just wasn't prepared for it. I told them the truth obviously, but some people were very surprised when I told them I was 25 (87 Model I was called ha). I think the "IT Grays" in the hair, technical knowledge, married w/ kid on the way, etc all made them think I was a bit older. Not sure how to recover from this but continue to make myself an asset and contribute- but I am hoping this won't impact my progression here in the future.

Roguetadhg

pram wrote: »

Why would a Professor tell you to get out on the first lesson? How did he even know who you were?

It was his first coffee, too

kgb wrote: »

Can you elaborate on that? That statement confuses me (granted I'm still on cup#1 of coffee).

I've let my bosses know I live out of my car. I would rather keep them in the loop of personal information so they might be able to expect things. So if I say "I have to go" It's because they know a family member passed or such.

However, they don't know I only eat every other day because I need to make the money I make stretch for two people.

Legacy User

Yea what were you doing to cause him to tell you to leave. I had that done once when I showed up late to a business class I walked in 10min after because I was running late and he said nuh uh leave my class.

There has to be more to the story. It wouldn't make sense if he told you to leave and you won't amount to anything in i.t. out of the blue.

zrockstar

the_Grinch wrote: »

My high school guidance counselor didn't like me very much and in my senior year I had to meet with her several times to discuss my future plans. In one of those meetings she told me I wasn't college material and I should consider the Army as an alternative. Eight years later I graduated from a very good school and have a job. Also graduated with a 3.42 gpa

I kind of had the same situation (although mine must have secretly liked me). Anyways, I was a turd in high school. I skipped school every day and was on track to not graduate. I never, ever went to my PE class, so when the rest of my class was off for senior week I had to make up every class of every day that week in the PE gym. My counselor (was actually a truancy officer) actually bet me $20 I wouldn't graduate. Well when I squeaked by with a GPA in the bottom 10% of my class and got my diploma, I opened it up and there was a $20 dollar bill in there. I definitely wasn't college material though, so I went in the Marines. I got a little bit of discipline, a little maturity, and I came out and now am going to graduate in 9 months with my CIS degree currently at a 3.92 GPA, and I have 11 months on my bachelors and am on track to graduate Magna Cum Laude. I guess it really isn't an IT set back, but in around about way, it effected everything in my life, at least it was for the better.

Now as far as OP goes, there is definitely more to the story (at least I hope so, I don't think any teacher can be that big of an a-hole unwarranted). I could imagine a CS teacher saying something like that if someone showed up really late on the first day and full of excuses. One of my networking teachers starts off the very first day of the Cisco introduction class with a 100 mph lesson and activity on subnetting. If anything, it wards off the financial aide leaches, but we have to understand that there will always be tests and naysayers, but we have to do our best to keep our eye on the prize. Looks like everything worked out for OP, hopefully others will find inspiration in this thread.

thronetm

RouteThisWay wrote: »

I was ready to jump up to the System Admin position. A position opened up- my boss (managed the IT team from tier I - admins) approved the idea, but was vetoed by his boss (the CIO). His reason was blatant- I wasn't old enough. I was 22 at the time and he felt I wasn't old enough to do the job, whatever that means. I ended up leaving 2 months later for a System Admin position- and my boss at the time gave me glowing reviews and is still a good friend/mentor.

I was asked on about day 4 how old I was here- unfortunately, I just wasn't prepared for it. I told them the truth obviously, but some people were very surprised when I told them I was 25 (87 Model I was called ha). I think the "IT Grays" in the hair, technical knowledge, married w/ kid on the way, etc all made them think I was a bit older. Not sure how to recover from this but continue to make myself an asset and contribute- but I am hoping this won't impact my progression here in the future.

I can kind of relate to that, I am 20 years old, my current Manager thought I was older and was surprised when he asked me my age after the first week of working for the company. Some of the other engineers where surprised when I told them.

My previous employer never matched the offer I received from my current employers because he didn't think the wage bill matched the Job Title he given me (in other words he never thought I had the skills to match the money he would of had to pay, is he blind? Lol) .

So here I am, with a 9.5k$ increase in wages and offering my new company much more technical assistance that I wasn't allowed to offer my previous company probably because he only trusted the older 30+ year old engineers in the business.

I guess for my age I have progressed well in IT, now I am going for my 2008 exams then straight into 2012 exams. I am continuously learning, (and wanting to learn at that). It's not about age, I have great determination and push myself to the limits to improve, improve, improve and improve some more. I'm not doing anything special other than being determined. You can do anything you set your mind to in life.

Everyone

I was once told by a manger that I'd never make the salary I was asking for without a degree. A few months after that I got a job making $15k/yr MORE than what I had asked him for, and that's just base salary. Still don't have that degree.

dave330i

RouteThisWay wrote: »

This may sound like a victim mentality, but.. my age has been a roadblock.

Used to run into that all the time. Now its lack of experience. One of the reasons why I rail against experience = knowledge mentality.

the_Grinch

Only issue I have is I was pretty good in high school. A and B student for the most part, also I graduated from an engineering program at my school. She just didn't like me lol

Hypntick

It's taken me a good bit of time to get where I am. I graduated early from a home school program, rather than go to school I spent a good bit of time indulging myself. When I finally did decide to go to school, it was for a CS degree, I didn't take it seriously at all and flunked out miserably. With around 27k in debt from that little venture I went on to work a few dead end jobs and ended up in a help desk that actually caught my fancy. So i'm 30, going on 31 and still trying to reach the point I should have been at around 24-25. Playing catch up sucks, but i'm certain I wasn't mature enough to handle what I have to handle now back then.

MrXpert

Roguetadhg wrote: »

Wait. Your story sort of.. ended abruptly. You failed everything, including other subjects, after someone said you'll never amount to anything in IT. I was expecting a "Up" to the end. Like "I then found X job because I failed, and now I'm getting the big bucks"

For me: Workplace doesn't want me to get certifications. I don't get to work on any equipment, or get to be apart of planning for anything, I can't even sit on any plans of the sort. I'm hungry to get those experiences, so I'm trying to talk my boss, through many ways, to let him to take a chance on me. Bosses know that I work under the pretenses that I don't actually have a 'home', but they don't know my fiance and myself take days when we can eat food. Go figure. Today's my day to fast

I, however, I don't have an "Up" to my story. Yet. Im working on that part! Comon better pay/more responsibility!

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" – Thomas Edison

yes of course you're right! after college, off I went to get my first job in an office. I spent the next 10 years going from sales jobs to the odd retail IT job and then finally i realized enough was enough, IT is what I love and i'm going to try my hardest to get there and here I am now happy. I gave up my sales job and put time into studying and looking for that good entry level IT job. I'm pleased because i'm now in my early 30s and although I started believing IT wasnt for me early on, it just goes to show you can sometimes surprise the doubters (had lots of those) but even yourself.

It does amaze me how many of us are often told things like "you're no good at this" or "you'll never be good at IT" by people in apparently venerated positions (teachers, lecturers etc) and then we end up making them eat their words.
I believe even Einstein was told that he was terrible at Maths as a young boy but obviously something snapped inside of him later as look how he ended up?:D we're not all Einsteins..in fact hardly any of us but just shows never underestimate the underdog. hehe!

MrXpert

lfcgeorge wrote: »

You can do anything you set your mind to in life.

That's a beautiful quote and anyone feeling down or maybe having doubts about their careers (we all sometimes do) should read this and take solace in the fact you're not alone.

Roguetadhg

I'd like to think those that say "You'll never amount to anything" actually get a sense of pride. More so than those that did not get those small talks. The way they'll see it as "I made this person work harder" and by doing that, they've lit a fire in your belly that'll last.

Of course, there's those that take what they say to heart and keep thinking "I'll never amount to anything in IT".

Use Stubborn people need that reverse push, instead of the cradling care of "Everyone's a winner" mentality.

Second place is the first loser :P

MrXpert

pram wrote: »

Why would a Professor tell you to get out on the first lesson? How did he even know who you were?

I had been in his GCSE Computer studies class the year before. GCSEs are the standard school certs we have in the UK. I passed my GCSEs and then had to choose to do 3 A-Levels (passing these then leads to a place at University if one wishes). I chose to do A Level computer science. It involved things like basic computer architecture and Turbo Pascal programming
When I arrived for my first lecture he saw me and was surprised i'd been allowed to take the course as he felt it would be too much for me to handle. He was more interested in pass rates and i think didn't want the extra work of needing to nurture me along.

emerald_octane

RouteThisWay wrote: »

This may sound like a victim mentality, but.. my age has been a roadblock.

When I was working in a Help Desk role, I was ready to jump up to the System Admin position. A position opened up- my boss (managed the IT team from tier I - admins) approved the idea, but was vetoed by his boss (the CIO). His reason was blatant- I wasn't old enough. I was 22 at the time and he felt I wasn't old enough to do the job, whatever that means. I ended up leaving 2 months later for a System Admin position- and my boss at the time gave me glowing reviews and is still a good friend/mentor.

Don't worry man i'm in the same boat. My (current) boss told me point blank that because he didn't make a certain amount of money at my age (several years my senior) that he wouldn't pursue getting me wages that matched my skill set or contribution to the company. So I am busting my ass hardcore to get CCNA, VCP, wait for my CISSP to mature up, spam my resume to the job boards then i'm out of here like a ghost. Keep in mind I have more technical knowledge on certain subjects and certs than this individual.

QHalo

emerald_octane wrote: »

Don't worry man i'm in the same boat. My (current) boss told me point blank that because he didn't make a certain amount of money at my age (several years my senior) that he wouldn't pursue getting me wages that matched my skill set or contribution to the company. So I am busting my ass hardcore to get CCNA, VCP, wait for my CISSP to mature up, spam my resume to the job boards then i'm out of here like a ghost. Keep in mind I have more technical knowledge on certain subjects and certs than this individual.

Sorry but wow, what a huge d-bag that guy is. And also, discriminating on age is just that, discrimination. Whether you're young or old.

kriscamaro68

My story is a little different. My older brother was always on my case cause I would play counter-strike/team fortress all the time and not do the things he liked to do. He said I was lazy and anti-social and that it was stupid. Well wanting to play those games lead to me building my first computer, networking windows 98 computers together so my buddies and I could play, and lead to my interest/first I.T. job. He kept at the popularity contest and I stayed doing what I enjoyed. Over the years he has worked a ton of dead end jobs and is about to be out of a job here in 2 weeks and is going to be a stay at home dad while his wife works. Myself on the otherhand I worked a couple of mechanic jobs but then eventually went back to I.T. and have never been without a job for longer than a month. I am now married, have a son and a little girl on the way, bought a brand new house, my wifes car is paid off, I bought me a 2006 STI, and pretty much everything but the STI is paid for in my house. He lives in an apartment with 4 kids and his wife, has 2 cars that barely make it out of the driveway and nothing to show for all of his years of being the cool guy we wanted to be. He is pushing 33 and I am pushing 29.

RouteThisWay

I will admit kris, I am the same way ha. Tons of CS/WCIII LAN sessions back in HS. It really taught me the basics of networking, IP addressing, etc. Plus the physical hardware upgrades etc.

Plus, it helps I am a 2nd gen IT guy haha. My old man is a .Net developer/IT team manager. I don't have the patience for dev like he does- but we often talk shop even though I moved about 16 hours away. We always talked about a software idea he has that he would sell via a package deal with the physical infrastructure- funny.

I grew up with the "mad at my dad" teenage angst that many teenage boys go through. 10 years later, I have turned into my dad. It's scary.

VAHokie56

Roguetadhg wrote: »

It was his first coffee, too



I've let my bosses know I live out of my car. I would rather keep them in the loop of personal information so they might be able to expect things. So if I say "I have to go" It's because they know a family member passed or such.

However, they don't know I only eat every other day because I need to make the money I make stretch for two people.

Jesus man that sounds awful, where are you located? might be time to look for another job. It sounds like your making less then minimum wage????

olveramarturo

Lucky you... Where I am, over 35 is too old. You don't even get interviews if you put your age on the resume. And yet, you keep hearing stories of how much experience people is needed... go figure!!

NetworkingStudent

olveramarturo wrote: »

Lucky you... Where I am, over 35 is too old. You don't even get interviews if you put your age on the resume. And yet, you keep hearing stories of how much experience people is needed... go figure!!

Why are you putting you age on your resume? Do you live in the Untied States?

Iristheangel

I had a help desk lifer try to speak poorly of me to my superiors when I was green in the IT field. I was learning and I talked big about what I wanted to do with my career. This apparently rubbed him the wrong way since he felt that if he couldn't succeed, then no one else could. It's now 5 years later and he's still sitting in the same tax bracket without a degree and certifications.

Roguetadhg

VAHokie56 wrote: »

Jesus man that sounds awful, where are you located? might be time to look for another job. It sounds like your making less then minimum wage????

South Carolina. Been looking for a second job, but the times at my career change from 9 hours to 24+ depending on amount of work. I've been looking for another job. But no go yet However, I fixed someone's Alienware laptop yesturday (Dell needs to put thermal paste on their processors). I try to do side-jobs when possible but there's not a lot of activity I'm finding.

I'm actually making more than minimum. (12 per hr). However, It's a combination of bad circumstances: High cost of living, high unemployment, apartment renting that's more than my car bill, I'm the sole breadwinner I'm paying 2 cars, car insurance, gas, just got my car out of the shop and hers needs to go in the shop because it's just not right... all the while trying to get certs and equipment to get the hands-on experience. Not to mention her school loans, soon will kick in... so... Living in the car is the last effort of trying to get rid of debt/pay off things. The way I see it, at least I still have a roof over my head. It's not that uncomfortable after a while. Except for the damned seat belt clicker likes to be in a bad spot.

I'm paying close to 1k in car bills - not including gas/oil changes/upkeep.

Oh, did I mention I make too much to get any help government wise? Bills don't count :P Eh, whatever. It's making me a better/older/wiser man.

I'm not included with any network discussions, no planning, not even just to look over. So I don't get help at work. But it is some type of experience in IT. I'd rather be in my situation than be without a foot in a door. I just gotta get a networking job. I'll be happier, I think. Atleast I'd enjoy my work

RouteThisWay

Thats horrible dude.

I hope things get better for you man... and I will def be counting my blessings tonight.

Hypntick

@Iris Yeah I got some of that here as well actually. After knocking out my CCENT and my first MCTS I was told by 3 of the other guys that I was making them look bad. They had all been here over a year with nothing new to show for it. I then received a promotion and a pair of raises that were announced by management, let's just say i'm not generally liked by those guys.

Akaricloud

olveramarturo wrote: »

Lucky you... Where I am, over 35 is too old. You don't even get interviews if you put your age on the resume. And yet, you keep hearing stories of how much experience people is needed... go figure!!

Uhh.. Then don't put your age on your resume? -This isn't a normal thing to do it all. In fact they can't even legally ask for your age and might be afraid to get in contact because you could potentially claim age discrimination if you don't get the job.

On topic:

I got told that I wouldn't amount to anything and that my parents weren't going to pay for my college. It's been a bit of a personal goal to prove them wrong. I personally just take things like these as challenges and they help motivate me.

Legacy User

@Rogue

Sorry to hear that bro. Since your practically mobile have you ever thought of applying to different states?