Thank you for the advice. I'm not just worried about the pay, but I also do want to do something that I enjoy as well as success. The last thing I want is to work at a job I hate for years. Speaking of programming, I should probably work on my math skills for the field as well.
IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)
- Thread starter fendi_mane
- Start date
What's your major in college?
I'm not in college, I'm in a trade school (if we want to be technical)
How old are you? Write down 5 things YOU LOVE to do, then look up job descriptions for these things, then find the salary ranges and write down the MINIMUM salaries for these jobs in your city, now rank them from high to low, after doing that google the path it takes to do them, now to yourself compare the Pay to the time you would need to invest in order to do it and pursue the one that makes most sense.
You probably won't even find yourself until your 24 or 25, so all I will say is right now don't take on any debt for anything you are unsure of. Granted I knew what I wanted to do since I was 10, so I`m a rare case and that being said I know a lot of people who simply went through life doing stuff they actually didnt want to do but more so society told them to do and they end up wasting time. I have seen tons of folks get College Degrees in stuff they didnt even care for and end up in jobs that dont require degrees or even going to trade schools after getting college degrees.
You do have a point, but I can't just sit here and wait until that 24-25 to figure out what I wanted..can I?
Idk how my credit is, but I have never taken out a loan, so I think I'm good on that part.
and agreed, that's one of the few reasons why I haven't (still won't) go to college. I don't want to waste 4 years, just to find out I can't get a job in that one field, and even if I do - I don't want debt hanging over my head and still have to pay it back at the age of 65.
tbh, all this is frustrating
You do have a point, but I can't just sit here and wait until that 24-25 to figure out what I wanted..can I?
Idk how my credit is, but I have never taken out a loan, so I think I'm good on that part.
and agreed, that's one of the few reasons why I haven't (still won't) go to college. I don't want to waste 4 years, just to find out I can't get a job in that one field, and even if I do - I don't want debt hanging over my head and still have to pay it back at the age of 65.
tbh, all this is frustrating
Nothing wrong with Debt as long as you are investing in something you actually want to do, at the end of the day it takes money to make money. The issue today is folks take on debt for stuff they hate or something jobs dont exist for. Luckily in the internet age you can look up free tutorials on different thing to learn basics then if its something you enjoy you can go to school and become official. Most of the guys in this thread are on the Operations or Info Sec side so many of them big up Certs, but Certs arent needed for things like Software Dev, Web Dev, Project Management, etc. which is why I said you should find what you like then set up a plan of accomplishing your goal. One thing I will say is you should try to get a gig with an ISP or Wireless Company like AT&T or Verizon in their sales or customer service/tech support areas as they have HUGE Tech devisions that cover all areas of IT and working there they do things like tuition Reimbursement too, and they pay good enough where you can make a decent living while doing school or self study on the side and eventually try to transition to the Technical side of things.
Just hit Senior Manager level. Need to finish my Bachelor's and work towards getting Director level. I'm also getting towards the 'underpaid' level in my opinion so may look to make a jump after all my current projects are deployed.
1. the low level/entry level IT jobs - not really....because call centers always need people
2. yes..one thing about IT is in order to make it, you gotta pay some dues...everyone pays dues...you got to want to do it
3. in your case you should hook up with an IT job recruiter firm of some sort...thats what I did after i couldn't extended my 3 years on and off internship any longer
4. not as much as your last name
..im half serious though
the wonderful thing about IT sweetheart is its broader than programming..there's plenty of IT positions that you dont need to learn how to write code...programmer does need to have good math skills but more importantly even stronger logic...if you feel programming is the direction that you want to head in....youre a newbie to the IT game...you're going to have to grind to develop a skillset AND pay some dues.
Has anyone ever been audited by Microsoft before? The company I work at is in the process of it. I didn't even know this was a thing until today.
FastEddie215
Rookie
3 to 4 hr a day study sessions...about a month and a half between each exam...took me about 5 months to pass all 3 exams
You do have a point, but I can't just sit here and wait until that 24-25 to figure out what I wanted..can I?
Idk how my credit is, but I have never taken out a loan, so I think I'm good on that part.
and agreed, that's one of the few reasons why I haven't (still won't) go to college. I don't want to waste 4 years, just to find out I can't get a job in that one field, and even if I do - I don't want debt hanging over my head and still have to pay it back at the age of 65.
tbh, all this is frustrating
I don't know what community college is like today, but you should be able to do a 2 year degree with little or not debt. This should hold true if you're attending a community college in your home state. Like someone mentioned here, get a job at a college or community college in IT. See if you like it. One piece of advice is try as many different things as possible while you're young. You have nothing to lose.
We can all say we love XYZ. However, until you do it for a consistent amount of time, you might just think you like doing it. Unless you have family that is going to hand hold you all your life, this isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself. Get out there and fall down a few times. It's the only way to learn.
I know working out in the gym sounds cliche, but it's a good starting point. If you can start to maintain a consistent workout routine, you will start seeing results. As you visually see results, you will realize learning anything else is very similar.
These past few months of studying, I have cut down on going out with friends and casually drinking. The part I hate about drinking is the wasted time dealing with a hangover. Even if it's not bad, I still feel sluggish enough to where it stalls my learning. A couple of friends have got on my case about not going out. You know what, at the end of the day are they going to pay my rent? If they can't understand what I'm doing, screw em.
Take advantage of your youth. If you sacrifice now, you will be better off than a majority of this country in a short amount of time. Are you in a fairly large city? Look up Meetup.com and find groups related to IT. Go to the events and meet people. You will stay motivated if you find others that are doing what you want to do.
I don't know if this video will post correctly, but Steve Harvey makes a great point about not wasting your 20's.
When I worked at an MSP companies would get audited once in a great while. I wouldn't worry about it too much; as long as you're trying to be compliant MS will work with you.