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So I really want to make a transition into IT or possibly engineering further down the road (I'm definitely more of a left-brain, analytical type). I've always been a computer geek, and I have faith in my skills, but apparently that is not enough to persuade hiring managers to hire me. I have some experience from my younger days (I'm 24 now). I briefly did some web design and database design consulting. When I was in a tech school program, they flew me around the country to perform in competitions. Is this experience outdated, though, since it occurred when I was between the ages of 17-21?
Here's where it starts to get difficult for me. I already have a boat-load of student loans, so going back to an expensive college is not really an option for me. I think that I could self-teach myself the necessary skills for an IT profession, but I'm not sure how that looks to hiring managers. I assume they like to see a bunch of certifications and degrees as solid proof that you know your stuff.
So for my first question, is getting into IT is worth it? I hear the IT field is drying up, that it will be dead soon here in the US. The salaries are lower than they were during the "boom" years. Entry level positions are extremely hard to come by. Unless you have a ton of experience, forget about it. These statements are coming from hardened IT professionals. I look at the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, and it gives a much more promising outlook. But is this information outdated, useless?
Secondly, assuming the IT job market is not drying up, how can I break into the field without spending a ton of money for education? Is self-teaching pointless? Which certs are important to have? I hear A+ and MCSE are a dime a dozen. Are they worth the cost of books and test fees? Are there any certs that will really make me stand out? My interests primarily lie in Database Admin and possibly Network Security. I'm willing to put in the time and energy, I just can't afford the excessive cost of education these days.
IT is my passion. I love working on computers and I'd love to parlay my experience and knowledge into a potential engineering career. Do I have any hope?
This is only my .02. So take it for what it's worth. And my POV is only from a Tech. Ops side (LAN/WAN, Security etc.) - I'm not an applications guy.
As an IT director for a medium-large sized business. I'll tell you that certification may get you past the screening process when there are 1000's of resumes to go through - but when you sit in front of me at an interview, I don't care how many letter's you have behind your name (there are some exceptions that will still get my attention - CCIE, CISSP, mgmt certs. etc.). I'm more interested in your accomplishments / experiences.
In other words - in today's world, certs alone will not get you a job. Experience gets you a job, and experience gets you a cert too. For those jobs where the cert does matter (consulting, VARs etc.), no one really cares how you got it. Although I would say getting it via self study would be more marketable as it represents your skills better.
So bottom line - spending 10K on MCSE training may only get your resume into the small pile....
Also, in general - most managers look for the soft skills/characters that fit (organization, project/task management, ethics, motivation etc.) - I don't care how much of a guru you are at Cisco IOS, if you're a pain in the arse to work with... you won't be here for long. But if you show great potential through those soft skills.. I'll put you through a boot camp to get you the skills to complete the task/project. Its those soft skills that can translate to other areas (and give you more opportunities). The tough part is to convince someone of that through a two page resume and a 90 min interview (goes back to your catch-22).
As for the jobs in IT drying up - I think it more of a maturing process. In a way, many functions have merged.... so not only are there less openings, each opening requires more skills. I think this is a natural progression of any job. i.e, in 1996 - a LAN Admin was someone who can install NT4.0 and create user accounts. Today, a LAN Admin better also know clustering, SANs, Virtualization, data center buildouts, security, databases, disaster recovery etc.
My take - start small if you have to... find a local mom/pop that has contracts with local businesses if the larger companies aren't hiring.
I want to add that you have faith in your skills, but to be honest I've run into dozens like you. They had faith in their skills, and were really good at part of the picture. But when push came to shove they didn't have the understanding of the theory behind what they were doing, so when they ran into a problem, they were unable to resolve it.
These days "everybody" that can save a Word doc as html thinks they are a web designer. As someone who has been building web sites for 15 years--before IE existed--I can tell you that true "web designers" who understand how to design a usable GUI that is actually relevent to their audience, then create the graphics and tailor the content for that site are very, very few and far between. Far too many web designers design to show off their chops instead of designing to their audience. That's what seperates the weekend warriors from the pros in a nutshell.
I had a much smarter than me, hands-on instructor who taught higher level programming courses in a private college. I got this Programmer Analyst diploma in less than one year, was hired right away by a large company with aerospace projects. That instructor asked me to recommend him to this company, which I did. He was truly a self-made genius who I personally would not hesitate to hire if I needed to develop a piece of software.
The company did not even bother to check him out, seeing that he had no university Computer Science studies. I think I was hired because I had B.Sc. from my original country, - NOT because of that puny Programmer Analyst diploma from a local college.
Now that happened a number of years ago, may be older experience, it just left me with a strong impression about larger, impersonal companies which have HR departments that go by the rules - only considering someone with a proper degree on their resume. In that sense, smaller companies would be a better fit for self-taught people, since, like the above poster wrote, the owners/project managers will be talking to you, instead of this extra layers of gate dogs.
I was an app programmer and (maybe it's the "grass greener" effect) the back end (networking, connectivity) always seemed to me a more reliable occupation, since regardless of applications, everybody need to run their network.
Wireless look promising, too. RIM (the Blackberry maker) has built local offices here and there is no end in sight for their expansion. Wireless would be the way to go if I wanted to get back into IT.
Healthcare related IT is supposedly up and coming. Govt is mandating digital records by 2011 I am told. something to look into.
Consumer electronics are VERY cutthroat. I wouldn't go anywhere near them for a career.
I want to add that you have faith in your skills, but to be honest I've run into dozens like you.
Actually, you don't know a thing about me, so I'm not sure how you can know this. I also don't understand the point of your post. Were you only attempting to denigrate me, or do you have some useful advice?
I realize I have a lot to learn about the industry. I'm not trying to come off as some know-it-all young punk. I'm just saying that my passion is in IT and I'd like to know from experienced people in the field how to break into it.
So I guess for starters, do you guys think that buying a $30 CompTIA A+ book and taking that exam would be a waste of time? Which direction do you think I should start off in? Can you recommend any good certification programs to pursue for beginners that doesn't cost a fortune to prepare for?
My BIL just graduated from a 4-year a year ago and had an offer for $80k base plus overtime before he graduated.
He was making $60k while still in school part time I believe.
IT dead? Maybe the jobs where you work telling people how to reset cable modems, but from what I see absolutely not. Security is probably the best segment to be in for the future, as that role won't ever go away unless our economy collapses and the internet ceases to exist.
Actually, you don't know a thing about me, so I'm not sure how you can know this. I also don't understand the point of your post. Were you only attempting to denigrate me, or do you have some useful advice?
I realize I have a lot to learn about the industry. I'm not trying to come off as some know-it-all young punk. I'm just saying that my passion is in IT and I'd like to know from experienced people in the field how to break into it.
My useful advice is that without the education behind you, you aren't as knowledgeable as you think you are. It's constructive criticism, not a flame. If you want to break into it, get the education and as appropriate, the certification to go with it.
There are plenty of growing fields in I/T that pay well, but you're going to need to put out the cash to get the degree to enter them.
So I guess for starters, do you guys think that buying a $30 CompTIA A+ book and taking that exam would be a waste of time? Which direction do you think I should start off in? Can you recommend any good certification programs to pursue for beginners that doesn't cost a fortune to prepare for?
You and 80,000 other people. Anything you can learn by buying a book is probably not going to be a good career move.
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