Programming or IT or Networking?

[Jeroen1322]

Hi guys! 
 
when i finish high school i need to pick a career direction and follow a "training?" i think i don't know how to call it in english.
 
I don't know what to choose! 
 
I love programming but they will just hire some people in other country's to program for them.
 
I love working with hardware and all that stuff.
 
I love networking and learning more about it.
 
 
I don't know where the money is, i like every one of them so i'll probably be happy when i take that job, i just need to know where can i earn the most money.

 

 

Thanks! 

[squirrl]

programming is more creative but you need to know a lot of maths, hardware is fairly easy but the least paid, and networking has a lot of theory that needs learning but is probably paid more when you become a manager or something. Basic networking is usually involved in working with hardware though unless you are something like a system builder.

[IdeaStormer]

All of the above, why limit your horizons.

[Nallown]

Programmers are paid one of the most, server side programmers one of the least but still quiet allot (ofcourse depending on where you work). We can't choose for you, just go for whatever you enjoy since you'd put more effort into it and eventually you'd get paid more and more for your hard work, so even for the least payed job out of them you'd still end up getting paid good because you'd be promoted

[Moviana]

Well, which one do you like better? Honestly I would go with programming. 

[iPhoenix]

Never go for money. Do something you like and the money will follow if you're passionate and good enough at it.

[MatheusSanzo]

It's up to you, but both are great.

[Bouvie_11]

I Did bsc computer science for 1st year... mainly programming involved. Programming is like marmite; you either love it or hate it. I didn't like it at all, i changed course to computer networks Bsc for 2nd year and i love the subject, very interesting and so much things to learn. But having said that i had already taught myself quite a bit in the networking area beforehand. I personally see a big future in networking since there has been a lot more reliance on networks and the internet today, same thing can be said for programming. Just choose the course which makes the most sense to you. but i would always look at what the IT industry as a whole are looking for, so i take that into consideration. Hope it helps

[ygohome]

I prefer software development and diagnosing/problem solving, but lately I've been more IT and sysadmin type. 

 

I say do it all

[Misanthrope]

I disagree with the "follow your heart" and "don't go just for money" type of comments. The amount of people that get to follow their dreams and live off being artists, game designers, and yes youtube video makers, are TINY. Like insignificantly so, in reality you have to look at what sells in the job market. I'd go for Networks myself but I wouldn't focus just on that, take some general business administration with it too, there's some careers that include both networking and server management along with day-to-day business management. That way you are still doing something you like but you'll be quite a bit more visible for management positions than a guy that knows only technical stuff: Executive types like to talk not only to a knowledgeable guy but also a guy that can speak in their terms.

[IAmSkip]

Definitely don't do it for the money, the amount of people I see drop out of Engineering after first year is astronomical, all they are doing is racking up a lot of bills/loans and getting nowhere for it.

Chase what you love doing, not money. If you love it enough, you'll put more work in and become better at it, and in all likely-hood earn more money from working your way up the ladder.

[Vader]

When I'm done with highschool, im doing a mix of both. itll pay well being well rounded in all of those fields 

[deafboy]

Look into being a Server Ops Engineer.... pretty much covers all of those.

[Misanthrope]

while every one needs money I'd rather live paycheck to paycheck doing what I love then making a ton of money. The catch is if I made a ton of money I could do what I love.

 

In this case, even if not the same all 3 career choices are profitable enough with plenty of day-to-day jobs needed. But I always tell people to be realistic since there's a very minimal ammount of programmers that get to program games for example, even if you find programming fun once you're asked to write scripts to process tax returns or automatized server and database maintenance scripts it won't seem all that fun anymore.

I don't mean to discourage people, but I also don't think it's realistic to just "follow your dreams" since you'll eventually have families, people who will depend on you and yourself to feed and those art major and graphic designers will have a tougher life than somebody who was more realistic about his profession, after all we all have time for hobbies and such, "dreams" might happen but the world needs office employers, car mechanics, store employees, etc. A society with nothing but game designers and musicians wouldn't function and creating unrealistic expectations for like 99% of the population it's kinda cruel to me.