Thread: Computers!

People get into the IT field in many ways. Computers are an easy way to make a living in a fairly secure job market.

Probably two methods of going about it.

The blue collar method: Get your A+, Net +, and Security + certifications and get a job at a helpdesk. Defense contractors are always on the lookout, especially if you can get a clearance. The job will basically be coming up on the street the hard way. I would say that the time frame involved here, if you are smart, and hard working, and ready to get your ass kicked by hard work is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-7 years before you approach the senior level where you start making the good money and having others do the shit work for you. Somewhere between 7-10 years, your real world experience, combined with your ongoing commitment to upgrading your skill set constantly, will be put you where you want to be in terms of income, confidence, and job security. Don't get me wrong, you still have to work hard, assert yourself, and be ready to suffer in order to stand out from all the other schmucks who heard it was easy to make it in IT. They're everywhere.

The white collar method: Go to college, enroll in classes that people recommend. I believe that the strategy is to pay the price while going to college, and try to hit it big. You would probably go into a management roll quicker, but student loans, and also you have to be pretty smart to do it this way. I cannot be of assistance here as I am a blue collar type IT person.

Thats my take on getting into, and getting ahead in the cushy IT world.
Like I always tell my folks when they are looking stressed - Hey, its easier than digging ditches, and I've done both.

BTW - it helps if you like computers.

I think of Engineering, in general, as "creative laziness." That is, engineers don't feel like doing something the hard way. They would rather put their effort into using the rules and tools of their chosen field to do the job more easily.

For example, some old Greek dude didn't feel like carrying water up hill all the time. His name was Archimedes, and he came up with a better way to do it. Mechanical engineer.

Later on, some other dudes didn't feel like adding number up by hand. So they figured out how to make gears and cams do it for them. The first computer engineers.

After that, people figured out you could make electrical signals do the math thing more efficiently by moving 'ones' and 'zeros' around, and computer science/engineering moved into the world of electrical engineering.

Most engineering comes down to a thought process, a problem solving approach, and a set of preferred tools/rules to work with. If you go to college for EE/CS you are going to learn the underlying logic and rules of that trade, with the theory being that when you graduate you can start applying a wide variety of tools. So, you are (theoretically) equally well prepared to work in ADA or C++. You know the theory, so you apply whatever tools of that trade are then current.

The "work your way up" approach described by MSC comes at it from a different direction. You get a particular tool set to start working with, and learn the trade "hands on." People can and do move up starting that way, but it can be a grind. It can take a while to get the similar breadth of knowledge and the theoretical underpinnings that make you most flexible (and valuable.)

Sort of like the difference between working your way up as an enlisted man, vs. going through ROTC, right into OCS. The former enlisted guys who have made it into the O-levels are certainly have some of the broadest experience you're ever going find, but they did a lot of dirty work on their way there. The guys who go right into the officer ranks have been taught the basic framework right from the start, so they are viewed as the most adaptable, future high-level leaders, etc. But they can't tell you what it's like to clean the latrines/work the help desk, because they never had to do that.

Of course, the IT path is a different one from chip design, for example, but you get the idea.