Career Change Noob
DoctorYikes
Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hello,
My road to IT has been long, winding, and probably a bit odd. I'm beginning what will be my second major change in direction, vocationally. I'm entering a local CC program that with a little tweaking, I'm fitting into the 2+2 requirements at another local University. The path will be AAS Information Security --> BAAS CIS Information Security concentration.
I'm currently a respiratory therapist, specializing in neonatal and pediatric intensive care. It's not that I don't enjoy it at all... In fact, I'm planning on maintaining my licensure and doing some home health and/or prn work on the side as I go along. However, it's a fairly limited career. I've pretty much peaked at five or six years in and even the potential for future advancement is near zero.
I'd always been The Computer Guy in my various non-computer jobs. I received my A+ and a couple of MCP certs back in 1999-2000 when I was working for the goverment. I had hoped that I would be able to transition into a more dedicated computer role then, but instead I simply ended up absorbing all of my department's IT needs in my existing job description (Without a raise, of course, ha ha).
Anyway, I'm just poking my head in here to get a feel for the industry these days. It's been almost a decade since I've taken a -serious- look at the field, but with my new classes coming up soon, I'm all-in. I might end up staying in the medical field (Informatics demand is booming with recent regulatory changes), but I'm keeping myself wide open to any potential avenue.
My AAS coursework has a few options... Right now I'm targeting a course that'll end me up with a CCNA and some Linux certs. Also going to pick up a Sec+ at some point. With an eye toward the bachelor's 2+2 program, I'm adding in some Java-based programming.
Guess I need some more specific questions, here, but I'm so early in the process I'm a bit too ignorant to come up with any good ones. Given the above, what else should I be looking into? What sort of role might the listed education most readily transition into? (CCNA, Linux+, Java?)
Thanks, all!
My road to IT has been long, winding, and probably a bit odd. I'm beginning what will be my second major change in direction, vocationally. I'm entering a local CC program that with a little tweaking, I'm fitting into the 2+2 requirements at another local University. The path will be AAS Information Security --> BAAS CIS Information Security concentration.
I'm currently a respiratory therapist, specializing in neonatal and pediatric intensive care. It's not that I don't enjoy it at all... In fact, I'm planning on maintaining my licensure and doing some home health and/or prn work on the side as I go along. However, it's a fairly limited career. I've pretty much peaked at five or six years in and even the potential for future advancement is near zero.
I'd always been The Computer Guy in my various non-computer jobs. I received my A+ and a couple of MCP certs back in 1999-2000 when I was working for the goverment. I had hoped that I would be able to transition into a more dedicated computer role then, but instead I simply ended up absorbing all of my department's IT needs in my existing job description (Without a raise, of course, ha ha).
Anyway, I'm just poking my head in here to get a feel for the industry these days. It's been almost a decade since I've taken a -serious- look at the field, but with my new classes coming up soon, I'm all-in. I might end up staying in the medical field (Informatics demand is booming with recent regulatory changes), but I'm keeping myself wide open to any potential avenue.
My AAS coursework has a few options... Right now I'm targeting a course that'll end me up with a CCNA and some Linux certs. Also going to pick up a Sec+ at some point. With an eye toward the bachelor's 2+2 program, I'm adding in some Java-based programming.
Guess I need some more specific questions, here, but I'm so early in the process I'm a bit too ignorant to come up with any good ones. Given the above, what else should I be looking into? What sort of role might the listed education most readily transition into? (CCNA, Linux+, Java?)
Thanks, all!
Comments
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Everyone
Member Posts: 1,661
As much as I hated HealthCare IT, an RN that can do IT can make pretty good money. -
sieff
Member Posts: 276
random rant: at off all the different types of customers i've consulted for Healthcare was the absolute worse....
good luck. the IT field is booming. security, virtualization, voice/video (collaboration) are all hot sectors. pick one and dig in."The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept were toiling upward in the night." from the poem: The Ladder of St. Augustine, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -
DoctorYikes
Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
(Update
)
Hello, all...
I'm currently working in the medical field, pediatric and neonatal intensive care. If nothing else, I have the 'works long hours' and 'good with high pressure' traits taken care of. My troubleshooting work with modern ventilators probably implies a good bit of technical aptitude, but of course it isn't particularly relevant for IT.
About twelve years ago, I received an A+ cert and a few MCPs when I was trying to make a hop over into IT back then. My job at the time simply piled on some computer duties into my job description and I stayed put for a while before getting into the medical field.
In any case, I've recently started rebuilding my IT portfolio and getting stuff back up to day. I've begun an applied associate's program in Information Security & Assurance, eventually planning on rolling it into either a WGU BS or the local 2+2 program (also InfoSec). I've thrown a bit of Java into the mix just to get some exposure to the programming side (Probably not a useful tangent at this point, but it satisfied a curiosity). Where I am now, I'll probably be looking at a CCNA in another six months or so. Quite a bit of good hands-on lab work with this college... (Our prof seems to intimidate a lot of people, but I think it's pretty fun... he basically turns us loose on some routers and says, 'Figure it out'.)
So -- I guess I'm looking for a bit of direction with regard to the job market with regard to what I might be able to start looking for at this point. Staying put is an option, but the reasons I want to make a change aren't going away so it isn't the most palatable one. Currently, I have an outdated A+ (One of the old ones that doesn't expire, but it's been a little while), expired Microsoft certs worth pretty much zilch (Old NT 4.0 track, and TCP/IP), and working toward a CCNA (Plan on sitting for a CCENT in April).
What should I be looking for? I'm living in a pretty large (and growing) IT market. I'm thinking I should lean toward putting together a functional resume, but would any of my ICU experience (I'm thinking... time management, working autonomously, high pressure, 'soft skills', dealing with secure information, etc) stand out?
Any other tips as far as getting started and making a smooth transition would be appreciated.