(sigh) am I destined to be in I.T?

let me start by saying I appreciate any and all advice/guidance any of you give. I even appreciate brutal honesty because @ this point I feel like my life career wise is going nowhere.

Some background on myself (ill be as brief as I can)

I have always been into technology. Out of my whole family Im the one who 1st gets that " what does xyz mean or how do I do this?" question when it comes to computers and for the most part I am able to answer immediately or do some light reading and get one. I know how to setup a modem/router, static ip's, port forwarding etc on a small household level. all in all i'd say im computer literate (hate that term lol)

I have had tech support jobs before ( comcast, bellsouth business, voip) which were basic troubleshooting for the most part. Working these jobs has had me realize...I really dont like explaining technical things to people who are ignorant!

im sure most of you can relate but hey I guess thats the nature of the beast with those kind of jobs. With that being said ultimately If I do jump into this field the goal would be to go a route where in my career I would be working with like minded people where everyone was @ least kind of on the same page knowledge wise. Does that make sense?

Right now as far as school I went a totally different route,dental assisting. The goal was to be a Dentist but to be frank I have no interest really to continue in that field. Now as far as school Ive just started looking into a few.
Devry seems to be ok. I was planning on doing the NSA program http://www.nj.devry.edu/PDFs/nsa.pdf Seems to be a good line up of classes that should point me in the right direction. Im not sold on devry yet, its just an example. So yeah thats pretty much it for now i guess

sorry for the lengthy read and thanks again for taking the time to read.

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Comments

nhan.ng

No one like to deal with end-users but it's what you have to do if you want to do bigger/better things later. Stick with it, try not to get burned out. You'll be able to land something better soon.

Slowhand

It sounds to me like you might have two choices: stick with IT work and try to find a job that involves less end-user interaction, or find another subject to study in school altogether.

The first choice is straightforward, you just have to stick with whatever job(s) you get and work towards finding a more suitable position by learning as much as possible and getting plenty of experience under your belt. A senior-level or highly specialized position is probably what you're gunning for here, where you spend a lot more time doing planning and administration, as opposed to talking with end-users. Chances are, if you're good enough, you can also land a higher-tier position, where you're really only working with other IT professionals on a day-to-day basis. This one takes work and patience, you'll probably have to be in a user-support type of position for a while before you go anywhere else, (unless you get lucky right off the bat.)

The second choice is one you may have to give more thought to, but you'll always have it as an option even as you move forward in IT. If there's another field you're interested in, or simply another subject you'd rather study in school, you always do have that option. Whether it's going to be right now, or sometime in your future, that's up to you. Of course, working in IT and saving up some cash to help offset those student loans certainly doesn't sound too bad, does it?

ibcritn

If you want to leave a low-level support role then you must gain specialized skills with the technology you wish to work with.

Do you know the type of technology you want to work with? If you don't know what career path you want to go down it will be hard to work towards the subject matter expert level.

Networking - An easy way to jump in the field from my experience is grab some cisco cert(s) and you can land an entry-level NOC role that with time you can move up.

Point is you will have to start to be the go to guy in the support roles to move up....which is hard to do if you never push to gain the skills on your own.

Example: I was help desk who never got to touch servers....so I started to build the technology on my own and was able to present that knowledge in an interview that lead to a sys admin role.

Then I found my true passion with Security, so you guessed it I started to gain security skills own my own which I was able to present in an interview and landed a job in IT Security.

Degree is a good idea, but a main take away here is find your passion and learn everything about it.

Repo Man

If I could start all over here is what I would do.

~Go to a cheap community college for an associates. Spend saved money on Server/Networking gear.
~Get a BS from a recognized school
~Before graduation have some work experience providing hands on and phone support
~A decent amount of certs (If for nothing else then a higher starting salary)
~Invest time learning a 'rare' skill for entry level IT workers that will make you stick out (Databases, Scripting, programming language)

techieint11

thanks everyone. I truly appreciate the feedback

I still need to do alot more research as far as what field I want to focus on. Im thinking community college to start and then a better school for a BA as someone mentioned. I mean I dont wanna be 30k + in debt over an AA degree. I just wished I had started thinking this way @ 18.

djfunz

I think the only real way to tell if one enjoys something is to actually do it. I spent 7 years in Architectural drafting and finally got burned out and hit a glass ceiling. Lots of people like technology but it's gonna take doing a real Help Desk or Systems Administrator job to determine if this field is for you. I think that's normal in life though. Theory and practical application are two very different things. Plus lets not forget all the wonderful office politics that are naturally present in any job. That can make things a little less enjoyable as well. Lots of factors in play.

veritas_libertas

techieint11 wrote: »

thanks everyone. I truly appreciate the feedback I still need to do alot more research as far as what field I want to focus on. Im thinking community college to start and then a better school for a BA as someone mentioned. I mean I dont wanna be 30k + in debt over an AA degree. I just wished I had started thinking this way @ 18.

I'm shocked by the amount of people that just jump into a high priced University. Community Colleges are great, and usually have transfer agreements with state universities. Oh, and did I mention they are must cheaper

Do you have an Associate degree? Even if it's in a different field that doesn't seem to have much of an effect in the world of IT. I would get some certifications and see if you can find something better. If you really want (and you do have an AAS or AS degree) than go straight for a BS and don't get another Associate degree.

instant000

I'm surprised that no one at all here said that you should be looking at WGU Online University | Online Degree Programs, Accredited Bachelor's and Master's, instead of Devry.

It is probably on the same level, expense-wise, as a community college, and you can speedily finish up your degree, based upon the effort you expend. Also, you get certs while pursuing the degree.

If you really do like IT, then consider WGU as an affordable option that helps you get to where you want to be.

NetworkingStudent

veritas_libertas wrote: »

I'm shocked by the amount of people that just jump into a high priced University. Community Colleges are great, and usually have transfer agreements with state universities. Oh, and did I mention they are must cheaper

Do you have an Associate degree? Even if it's in a different field that doesn't seem to have much of an effect in the world of IT. I would get some certifications and see if you can find something better. If you really want (and you do have an AAS or AS degree) than go straight for a BS and don't get another Associate degree.

+1 skip devry I would go to a community college or tech college with 4 year transfer agreements. I went to a for profit college and it’s not Cheap!!

I would say start looking at personality tests, this might give you a better idea of what might be the best career path to take. Are you an introvert , or extravert?

These questions and more you need to have answered to better understand where you want to be. Also, take your general education classes ( at a community college or tech college that is regionally accredited) first and then you can specialize later on, after your general education is done.
One more note wherever you go to school, make sure it’s regionally accredited.

I hope this helps good luck

sentimetal

techieint11 wrote: »

thanks everyone. I truly appreciate the feedback I still need to do alot more research as far as what field I want to focus on. Im thinking community college to start and then a better school for a BA as someone mentioned. I mean I dont wanna be 30k + in debt over an AA degree. I just wished I had started thinking this way @ 18.

Definitely grab your AA from a community college! I'll admit, Devry has (or used to have) really nice Cisco equipment, but it isn't worth it when you end up spending over $20k just for an associates degree. You're much better off getting an AA degree, or even an AAS degree from community college for ~$5k.

If it's any consolation, the dental assistants I know make ~17/hr with a couple years experience. Not a bad trek if you're young or need a career change.

Turgon

techieint11 wrote: »

let me start by saying I appreciate any and all advice/guidance any of you give. I even appreciate brutal honesty because @ this point I feel like my life career wise is going nowhere.

Some background on myself (ill be as brief as I can)

I have always been into technology. Out of my whole family Im the one who 1st gets that " what does xyz mean or how do I do this?" question when it comes to computers and for the most part I am able to answer immediately or do some light reading and get one. I know how to setup a modem/router, static ip's, port forwarding etc on a small household level. all in all i'd say im computer literate (hate that term lol)

I have had tech support jobs before ( comcast, bellsouth business, voip) which were basic troubleshooting for the most part. Working these jobs has had me realize...I really dont like explaining technical things to people who are ignorant! im sure most of you can relate but hey I guess thats the nature of the beast with those kind of jobs. With that being said ultimately If I do jump into this field the goal would be to go a route where in my career I would be working with like minded people where everyone was @ least kind of on the same page knowledge wise. Does that make sense?

Right now as far as school I went a totally different route,dental assisting. The goal was to be a Dentist but to be frank I have no interest really to continue in that field. Now as far as school Ive just started looking into a few.
Devry seems to be ok. I was planning on doing the NSA program http://www.nj.devry.edu/PDFs/nsa.pdf Seems to be a good line up of classes that should point me in the right direction. Im not sold on devry yet, its just an example. So yeah thats pretty much it for now i guess

sorry for the lengthy read and thanks again for taking the time to read.

Interacting with people is something you have to work on if you want to get on in IT. Yes there are jobs that pay well and allow you a lot of abstraction from people contact, unfortunately many of those are presently held down by timeserved old sweats who are a long way yet from retirement. They get away with this because being timeserved they have a portfolio of accomplishments behind them at the company which allows them to get away with murder with their ways..

That's not the same situation for new people. Endusers can be challenging but so can working alongside a very busy technical team under pressure supporting major infrastructure, so you need those people interaction skills anyway. If you want to advance into the management or architect areas one day you will need to run meetings, present and develop first class face to face, written and verbal relationships to get noticed and really succeed. The is particularly so as you move into more commercially facing roles defining IT solutions for clients which is where the monied careers are. But you have to get there first, which requires development not only of your technical abilities, but your abilities to engage positively with people. There are no degrees or certifications that will teach you this and unless you are a magnetic personality it's something you really have to keep working on. The industry is run less by technocrats and engineers these days and more by management who are at best semi-skilled technically. But they hold many levers within organisations that will dictate how far you go. So get yourself in on the right meetings and make a positive impression on people. First by trying to understand what peoples expectations are, which requires listening, observation and reflection on your part, and secondly by acting positively on that analysis so you push the right buttons in your engagements with people.

There are many people having fabulous careers in IT who would be totally lost with a box. They sit at home in the evening with their children while you fight with that box way past midnight to deliver on their promises, and you do it with inadequate training and support. I recall someone I worked with who was rightly recognised as an expert in AS400 programming. His work over many years held the companies datalife together, but he was passed over twice for the top job essentially because he didn't get into enough meetings and was actually too good at his job. He quit in disgust to go contracting and a string of contractors came in to attempt to keep things running.

MentholMoose

sentimetal wrote: »

Definitely grab your AA from a community college! I'll admit, Devry has (or used to have) really nice Cisco equipment, but it isn't worth it when you end up spending over $20k just for an associates degree. You're much better off getting an AA degree, or even an AAS degree from community college for ~$5k.

The community college I attended had quite a capable lab. In the the Cisco networking and security classes I took, I had access to a lot of Cisco gear. During the lectures you had to share... for example, in the security class, three people would have to share a half rack of gear. But, you could almost always have full access to one of these racks during lab hours. I'm sure it was over $100K MSRP per rack.

tbgree00

I think attitude and expectations are going to play a big part in your career path. When you're choosing a program and eventually looking for a job realize you are going to be dealing with people who are "ignorant". If you work in a small office no matter how good you are with security or cisco you'll be removing malware. In bigger enviornments you'll be reporting to a manager who has no clue about the specifics on your technology. If you are the manager you'll have to explain to an owner or board why you're spending so much money and not bringing any in and why you need more servers since you just bought some three years ago.

Basically we're in a customer service job. No matter your role the expectation is that it will all just work and be smooth. People won't understand when it doesn't. I hope there are jobs where you only work with people who "get it" but, unfortunately that hasn't been the case in my experience.

techieint11

definitely alot to think about. since posting this ive gotten 2 calls, 5 emails and 4 of the same brochures from devry. a little excessive. as of now im trying to look for a community college that will suit my needs. (distance, online,in person, $$$) thanks for the recommendation of WGU ill definitely take a look. oh and i know starting out theres is no way to avoid help desk jobs so sorry if I came off sounding like I wanted top job and top pay off the bat. I was looking for longterm/ career goal. Im able to hold conversations and meet/greet/get along with new people ok. Now if I need to be super enthusiastic while doing it? lol i can work on that. im not going to be a motivational speaker anytime soon lol

tbgree00

Yeah, I realize I came off as grumpy. I'm sorry about that! I've worked four 12 - 14 hour days this week so I've been short (physically and emotionally!)

Enthusiasm can go a long way toward being successful. Even with my long hours I've managed to charm my way into favor with upper management through my current project. If you're going to a community college and need electives try to take a "soft skills" class. Communications, acting, public speaking, etc. I may have made some bad choices in college but taking acting wasn't one of them. I was a horrible introverted nerd and really needed to learn to get out of that. You many not be like I was but it's something to consider.

I found WGU to be pretty aggressive when I was talking to them. I decided not to go that route for financial reasons. They weren't nearly as bad as DeVry sounds. I hope they leave you alone without much fight!