I need some opinions!

Hello,

I am 26 and am currently working in the finance sector but have been interested in IT since highschool. I took finance in college because at the time there were a lot of jobs in that sector so I was basically guaranteed a job when I finished school. Ever since I have been doing this I have hated what I do. The money is decent but the actual work load is killing me. In April 2012 I got my A+ certification and have been applying businesses around my city. I got an offer at a place where I would be "working on the bench" to start out. My goal is to become a network admin hopefully. I have my A+ and am working on my CCNA. The job pays 14$ an hour but the experience would be great for me to get my foot in the door. My current Job pays me 36k/yr+bonus so roughly 40k a year, or 21$ an hour. 14/hr @ 40 hours a week would be $26880 a year. I do have a mortgage and a family so if I were take a huge pay cut it would hurt us financially a little bit. I don't really know what to do. Should I pursue something I love and hope I can get paid more? Or should I give it up knowing I can make good money in my current field?

If you were in my position what would you do?

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Comments

ptilsen

I say do it. Without translating $14/hr in Ontario to something I can appreciate, I'm inclined to say that's a reasonable starting wage. Work at that for a year or two and move up. I would say you'll be back to your current salary by 2015. If you're good and apply yourself, you can even exceed it in that time frame.

On the other hand, there's some thought to waiting for your CCNA and trying to get something more network-specific. However, unless are confident you are very close, I would say getting an IT job now will be your best bet long run. Even starting at the bottom gives you extremely valuable experience.

Enjoying your work is just as important as getting paid well. If you can handle the bills on a lower salary for a while, there's no question to me that you should pursue your goals.

martaw

A few thoughts.

1. You can definitely make a LOT more than 40K in IT. If you can deal with making ends meet for a year or so, your next job could be 40K. If you can't survive, then maybe wait until another job that pays more comes along.
2. If you want to get involved in networking, I don't know if a PC tech or bench tech of job is best entry point. Sometimes people can end up being pigeon holed along a certain path. Maybe you can wait until you get your CCNA and get an entry-level NOC job. Making the jump from NOC tech to network admin is a shorter leap than bench tech to network admin.

lordy

I think working on basic PC stuff ("working on the bench") is not going to get you far.

Your potential lies in combining your financial background with IT knowledge. A friend of mine is working at a bank as a database administrator and he tells me that the people that do payment processing are in high demand and well paid. This job requires a combination of financial knowledge (accounting) as well as technology (secure data transfer, databases, etc.).

If I was in your spot I would work on my IT skills (definitely including databases like Oracle) and then gradually make the transition from pure financial to a mixed role. Good luck!

jasong318

Is there any IT department in your current company? Any IR teams or compliance/regulatory auditors? You might be able to leverage your experience in finance into getting on with them if infosec interests you. Try looking at tbig auditing companies like PwC, they love IT + finance experience

Good lucK!

Akaricloud

Couple things.

First, $14/hr is over 29k annually, maybe not as bad as you thought. You could always try to pick up a few hours of overtime or pick up a part time second job if need be. Also, have you tried asking for a few more dollars per hour? -They might be willing to work with you on this.

While it may be lower at first, it's not something that you need to stay in long. I would suggest taking it, continuing to grow yourself and moving up within 6 months to a year. Anything in IT is a start and once you have an IT job it's much easier to get others.

ptilsen

I see that hamlin69 has posted an annualized figure for 48 weeks of 40x$14. Is the job only 48 weeks a year?

WiseWun

Are you located in Toronto because cost of living can be high. It all depends on your finances and you would be taking risks. Could you sacrifice your income and/or adjust your lifestyle? If I were in your shoes, I would stick with my current job and wouldn't gamble knowing that I have a family and they rely on me. Advice; complete my CCNA and possibly CCNP then apply again. You can land a job that pays 60K or more in Ontario.

hamlin69

I am not in Toronto, I am in Thunder Bay. The cost of living is lower than Toronto. There are not many networking jobs here. In the past year I have seen one network admin job posted for the Police service here.

For the financial IT jobs....they don't exist where I live. Maybe it's time to move!

For the Salary, I seemed to calculate it wrong! Good thing I don't want to stay in my field

WiseWun

hamlin69 wrote: »

I am not in Toronto, I am in Thunder Bay. The cost of living is lower than Toronto. There are not many networking jobs here. In the past year I have seen one network admin job posted for the Police service here.

For the financial IT jobs....they don't exist where I live. Maybe it's time to move!

For the Salary, I seemed to calculate it wrong! Good thing I don't want to stay in my field

Come to Toronto mate! It's competitive but there are lots of jobs and the pay is not bad. Shoot me a message anytime your in the big city.

hamlin69

I called the guy back to decline the job. I think the best bet for me is get my CCNA and see where I can go from there. Aside from getting a CCNA, what other certs would benefit me? Also since I don't have a degree in IT, will an employer hire me if I have my CCNA, A+ and maybe some other certs?

WiseWun

I don't see why not. That shouldn't be the only deciding factor. Depends on a lot of things such as the job duties, person interviewing you, your luck, etc.

Your resume should be good enough to get you an interview. Even if you have all the certs in the world, you still need to nail the interview.

GAngel

If it's a possibility move to Toronto or a suburb on the Go line. IT doesn't pay well outside the big cities in Canada generally. Unfortunately you're not exactly near any major cities so salaries will reflect that. $14-20 an hour would be entry level anywhere in the GTA. Having a finance background will help immensely if you're applying to Bay street. Money isn't an issue if you get in with one of the big firms or boutiques.

Calgary and Edmonton are desperate for good techs as well so pay is higher than Toronto with a lower cost of living.