Where were you in your career at 25?

nosoup4u

I'm 25 right now, I'm a sccm/scom lackey and IT coordinator for my region (budgets, admin, ordering, ect)

Got all my certs within the last year and working on finishing my B.S.

carwashguy

That was almost 10 years ago for me. I was the Senior Preprint Tech for a national advertising company and learning to code on the side. I knew I wanted to get into IT, just didnt know where to start. I managed to start helping the server guy a little with backups. From there I went to a cable company and worked from being a field tech up to the engineering dept. It's been a long road, but worth it. Learned a lot and almost gave it up, but I kept just waiting a little longer.

prtech

I just turned 25 then, and I wanted to switch careers. So I quit my job and went back to college to get an AAS in Network Security. I got my CCNA the month before I turned 26 and got my degree shortly after. If I could go back to when I was 25, I wish I started working part time in the IT field while going to school so I would have had some experience when I got out. If I could go back to my teen years, I would have done A LOT of things differently.

MiikeB

Im 6 months in to being 25, working as a Systems Engineer in Afghanistan making a ton of money. Currently in the final interview for a job when I return home in June that is in the six figure range. I have a Bachelors of IT and will have my MBA before I turn 26. Certification wise I have MCSE and will have VCP as soon as I finish the class as well as some standard CompTIA ones etc.

Do I know what I want to do with my life? Sure, and its not this, but this pays well enough that I am going to keep doing it while I am young.

WiseWun

@thegoodbye, thanks for the advice. I like the elephant analogy!

@Irishtheangel, how did you land your first IT job on accident?

At 25, I completed my degree and was working full-time as a system/network engineer. This is also the same time I started my Masters program which I've now completed. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do security or networking but figured out they compliment one another. I haven't really received any solid advice outside of TE.

Xyro

*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?

Yes! I believe most people still are at age 25.

*What job did you have at 25?

None that I was paid for.

*What degree/certs did you have?

None - unless you count part of an English or Bio degree(s).

*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?

I've been given very little advice but of the few items I would select "use all available resources to achieve what you need/want".

*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?

Almost everything lol; however, if I had to sum it up to all 1 basic idea I would say that it would be to just take TIME more seriously & understand its high value.

ChooseLife

@ 25

Title: Senior Sys Admin
Experience: 6 years
Degree: finishing Bachelors
Certs: MCSA, CCNA
Advice/change: "Keep on going as you are, just do not stress over day-to-day stuff as much"

CodeBlox

I haven't reached 25 yet (Turned 24 in January)
* Currently working as a Systems Admin making some decent money for myself.
* Junior at a University (haven't made much progress on this at all ) working towards a B.S. in C.S.
* Still living at home :P

paul78

It's very interesting to read where everyone was at 25 of age. It just goes to show that there are all types of ways to grow a career in IT.

For myself, I was 25 over 20 years ago. I had to swim down memory lane to remember that far back.

*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
No - I wanted to be in IT (application development) and specifically IT serving the financial services industry. I was married and we were saving for our first house.

*What job did you have at 25?
I was a manager of a software engineering and QA team. Team of 6 people, including 2 QA engineers, 3 developers/engineers, and 1 architect. It was my first management assignment. I managed the development of a minor product that generated about 2 million in revenues.

*What degree/certs did you have?
None.

*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?
Yes, how you think and behave in your career is going to be different when you are 25 versus 45.

*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
Finish my degree.

gorebrush

*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?

Nope

*What job did you have at 25?

25 would put me 2008, I was a Senior Systems Administrator, so was 3rd line support, and eventually one man band for a SMB. I looked after everything network wise from desktops, to VoIP and setting up new sites.



*What degree/certs did you have?

MCSA, MCSE, CCNA and was progressing onto CCNP #1 (working on #2 now)

*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?

Not really

*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?

Nothing

chmod

That was last year(i'm 26), i was working as a project manager working on a project to reduce expenses in a way that every department could get involved so we could share the prize among the entire it department also for me it was a team building project.
I started my path to become a master in project management, i was also working on my pmp both are still pending(half way thru).

vCole

Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
Still am at 26.
What job did you have at 25?
Systems Administrator
What degree/certs did you have?
MCSA 2003, MCDST, MCITP:Enterprise Support Tech, MCTS,Vista
Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?
Focus more on work, less on women.
What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
Never gotten into IT/Went to college

MSP-IT

vCole wrote: »

What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
Never gotten into IT/Went to college

What other career would you have pursued?

YuckTheFankees

I was going to ask the same thing. ^

vCole

MSP-IT wrote: »

What other career would you have pursued?

Not sure, perhaps Psychology or Pharmacology.

Kreken

vCole wrote: »

Not sure, perhaps Psychology or Pharmacology.

I agree on pharmacology. Much easier way to make money than IT. The starting salary is around 70-80K for a pharmacist. Work a few years to save up money to start your own pharmacy. Wait one year until you get clearance to start accepting Medicaid/Medicare and you are set for the rest of your life.

YuckTheFankees

If only it was that easy....everyone would be doing it.

ArabianKnight

Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
I was an infantryman in Iraq @25 and all I can think about was leaving the military and coming back over here as a security contractor!
What job did you have at 25?
US Army Specialist Infantry
What degree/certs did you have?
none
Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?
Not so much advice as the realization that getting out of the army and doing security work overseas was extremely overrated, and that I should have never chose infantry, but IT or Intel instead.
What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
Joined the AF instead of army and either be in one of 3 fields: UAV's, Infosec, Intel

Now I am making up for lost time by pursuing my degree in IT, achieving certs, and gaining knowledge through self study on OS's, networks, security and scripting.

VAHokie56

@25 it was 2008 for me as well
Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
kind of...knew I wanted to be in IT by then just did not know what specialty
What job did you have at 25?
working at an ISP in call center, taking calls from residential and business users for DSL repair...this was the worst job in my life.
What degree/certs did you have?
None..got my A+ while I was there...maybe in 2009 EDIT: I had an associates in a unrelated field from good university
Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?
Careful with student loans, pick a specialty and go for it...
What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
I guess it all has been a means to an end, but I wish I had not wasted a lot of money on a for profit school and just went straight into Cisco =P

any who I do not really have regrets I have a good job as a senior network engineer at a company everyone has heard of and I make good cash...can not really complain

Qord

Oh man...feels like it was so long ago...

*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
-Nope, just hadn't ever given it much thought. Too busy having fun.
*What job did you have at 25?
-25 was my last year in the Navy reserves. Worked in a cargo handling battalion, mostly rigging and operating cranes.
-Outside of the USNR, I worked full time for a plant nursery/farm, a grass farm. One of the largest growers of ornamental grass in the U.S.
*What degree/certs did you have?
-No and No
*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?
-GI Bill: Use it, use it now. To anyone who thinks they still have "plenty of time"....you better check that. I thought my reserve time counted towards my delineating date....it did not. I "lost" three years without knowing until it was pretty late in the game. You win this round VA!
*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
-I'd like to think I would have wiser spending habits if I could do it all over, but I doubt that would hold true.

jus_kabir

I'm 25 now

*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
-Well after so long from slacking and 'travelling' i know i need to put my head down and start getting serious about life
*What job did you have at 25?
-Working part time in a supermarket. the same job i've had for the past 6 years
*What degree/certs did you have?
-Computer Science Bsc Degree
*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?
-Limit your fun time
*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
-Would choose to study Film in university instead of computer science

kriscamaro68

Were you confused about what you wanted to do? At the time I pretty much knew I wanted to go into security. That was then.

What job did you have at 25? At 25 I was the I.T. Team Lead that was over the helpdesk.

What degree/certs did you have? A+, Net+, MCP:XP

Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25? Don't be lazy.

What you would of done different if you could go back in time? Not be lazy. At the time I had only been married for a short while with no kids. I could have knocked out a lot more certs and been way ahead of where I am now in terms of my career. I also could have a BS in I.T. right now. I look back now at 29 and think of how stupid I was and regret it big time. I could be making a lot more money if I wouldn't have put things off. Now I am trying to get back into things just so I can get the MCSA for server08. I should already have the MCSA for 2003 and 2008 and be working on 2012 if not the CISSP by now.

My advice at 29 looking back over my 10+ years in I.T. Don't screw around when your young. Do everything you can to better yourself while you still can cause it doesn't get any easier when there is a wife and kids involved.

bryguy

For Example: *Were you confused about what you wanted to do?

I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but looking back I was likely confused.

*What job did you have at 25?
Life skill worker at a maximum facility for adjudicated youth. Also worked part time as a drug and alcohol counselor, and manned a suicide hotline on nights and weekends.

*What degree/certs did you have?
Degree in Psychology.

*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?

That as much as you like helping people, the field of human services doesn't pay jack and most of them don't want your "help" to begin with. If you're content working at poverty level wages helping people who hardly appreciate it, knock yourself out, otherwise stay with IT- you'll make 4 to 5 times as much money with half the effort.

*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?

I received an offer to work at a local ISP right out of high school from a 30 something friend of the family. I should have taken him up on the offer and gone the technology route right off.

instant000

YuckTheFankees wrote: »

*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?

Hah. I'm still figuring that out, over 10 years later.

*What job did you have at 25?

That had to have been about 2002.
Information Systems Operator/Analyst (74B > 25B) U.S. Army
Worked at the Area II Information Center, Seoul, Korea.
It was the summer of the World Cup, and also the summer when President Bush made the "Axis of Evil" comment. Turns out he decided to come over and visit after making those statements. I shook his hand.

I just realized that it's a really small world. I've seen the past two Presidents face-to-face.

*What degree/certs did you have?

NONE AT ALL.

I had no idea about IT certifications back then.

*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?

Yes.
I found out about certifications through a subordinate.
I actually had nearly zero knowledge of IT career options at that age.
I was from a small county in Mississippi, and didn't know anyone in IT. When I thought of using computers as a career, the only thing I could picture was a programmer.
Most people try to get a career in something they've heard of or seen someone else do.
Well truth be told, I chose my MOS after the recruiter told me I could have anything I wanted, and I watched the videos, and chose the one using computers that seemed to be indoors the most, LOL.

*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?

Since we're playing back to the future, I would do this:
1 - Completed my degree prior to Y2K
2 - Write code to fix Y2K bugs, to get a stockpile of cash
3 - Use the resultant cash to short the tech companies after the dot com boom goes bust
4 - Retire by the time I'm 25.
5 - Get my act together
6 - Meet my future wife at age 26
7 - Convince her to marry me then, instead of waiting 8 years before I got my act together

[Hey, I'm basing this upon the idea that I'd keep my memory of what's already happened, is that fair? LOL]

networkjutsu

*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
No, I've always wanted to be a network guy. Though, at 19-22 I wasn't really clear if I wanted to be in the Windows or Cisco side.

*What job did you have at 25?
Network Technician

*What degree/certs did you have?
AAS Computer Tech. A+ and CCNA.

VAHokie56

jus_kabir wrote: »

-Would choose to study Film in university instead of computer science

Really? I would be interested in the success/salary rates between film and CS/IS majors. I also understand you need to do what makes you happy

qwertyiop

At 25 I was a IT Manager for a small but growing Technical Services firm.

I currently hold a BS in Information Technology and a MS in Information Assurance.

I always knew I wanted to work with computers but at some point id like to switch over to a more security centric position

biggene

*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
Yes, I had no direction at all. I actually didnt get any real direction in my career until about a year ago when I decided I didn't want to do desktop support for the rest of my life.

*What job did you have at 25?
My dad owned a small remodeling business and I flipped back and forth between warehouse stocker jobs and working for him. When I wasn't partying it up and laying out of work for weeks at a time that is.

*What degree/certs did you have?
LOL, none. At the time I turned 25 in 1992, I am not sure anyone around had any certifications. I got my first and only cert, A+, in 1996, and it was still a combined exam and had Windows 3.1 questions on it.

*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?
Yes,there is. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
Go back to when I was 17 and go into the IT field in the Air Force, which was just kicking off integration of DARPANET, instead of joining the Army and being in the Infantry, because I thought it was cool to live in tents for 10 months of the year and shoot machine guns.

f0rgiv3n

Just turned 26 on March 8th... So 25 is quite fresh in my mind
*Were you confused about what you wanted to do?
Sort of... I always have had a plan but am still confused at where I'm going from this point. I recently decided that InfoSec is right at my fingertips and have pointed my compass in that direction.

*What job did you have at 25?
Network Engineer at a large corporation.

*What degree/certs did you have?
All that are on the left <--- + Bachelor's in Computer Networking

*Is there any advice you received through-out your career that you wish you knew at 25?
Chill out, man.

*What you would of done different if you could go back in time?
From my current point of view, nothing. I'm glad how everything has turned out and I'm not sure how I could have done anything differently.

flash27

I was in a community college, then I joined the military a year after.