Choosing what I do for the foreseeable future

[Helpful Tech Witch]

I'm going to get to choose what I do for a good part of my life (collage, highschool and a job).

I love tech in general, and would eventually love a job in IT, like a system administrator or something similar.

 

What should I do? What degree do I need? I'm guessing CS but I'm not sure

[Electronics Wizardy]

Really depends on your goals. Im a sysadmin now, without a CS degree, but CS is a good place to start.

 

Id try to get experience as well, look for internships, or IT related jobs you can get.

[The_russian]

If you haven't started college yet (sounds like you're in high school or about to start high school?), see what technical classes your school offers. Take a few different ones, for example IT essentials or some general intro IT class for basics, computer science, programming, web design, networking. That's what I did to choose what field to go into and to make sure I wouldn't end up feeling like I wasted my time going to school or getting a job I didn't enjoy doing. Regardless of what specific part of IT you end up choosing, taking a general intro class and computer science class would be a good idea to get the basics. 

 

Edit: I also second what @Electronics Wizardy said about internships or entry level jobs, IT hiring managers really like applicants to have experience, which is a bit of a problem if you only go to school and don't get any experience. 

Edited January 20, 2021 by The_russian

[Helpful Tech Witch]

33 minutes ago, The_russian said:

If you haven't started college yet (sounds like you're in high school or about to start high school?), see what technical classes your school offers. Take a few different ones, for example IT essentials or some general intro IT class for basics, computer science, programming, web design, networking. That's what I did to choose what field to go into and to make sure I wouldn't end up feeling like I wasted my time going to school or getting a job I didn't enjoy doing. Regardless of what specific part of IT you end up choosing, taking a general intro class and computer science class would be a good idea to get the basics. 

 

Edit: I also second what @Electronics Wizardy said about internships or entry level jobs, IT hiring managers really like applicants to have experience, which is a bit of a problem if you only go to school and don't get any experience. 

Yeah, I'm in 8th grade, we sign up for freshmen classes this year

[Helpful Tech Witch]

3 hours ago, comander said:

Some of my "general philosophies" on careerism and life. This is targeted at an 18 year old but if you do this at the start of high school your application to colleges will be better with way less effort. 

 

1. If you're not well-connected, going to an "elite" university helps. If you are... it matters less. If you're not at an "elite" place - transfer.
2. What you major in doesn't matter THAT much. Choose the easiest relevant thing. GRADE INFLATE. Screw "personal growth" and "I should learn this" prioritize easiness and gaming the system for a high GPA. If you feel you MUST study something... that's what minors are for. One good way to grade inflate is to pre-learn a subject during summer/winter/spring breaks. CrashCourse on YouTube is good fun. Khan academy can help too. If you have a rough feel for what a course is about before taking it (even if it's not a perfect match) and you watched it for fun and enjoyed yourself, you'll find that the stuff you hear in class makes a lot more sense. 
3. Plan your 4 year's of classes in advance (you can always change). 1-2 nights of planning can save you 1-2 years of correcting mistakes. 
4. Resume build and start early. Start SOMEWHERE (any job, any RELEVANT volunteer work, any club LEADERSHIP[member/attendee doesn't count]) and progressively improve (more relevant, more renowned). Worst case scenario you later say during an interview - "I did XYZ and my big take away from that is I want a job that _____ which is why I'm interested in THIS role." You should aim to be attached to impressive sounding things (big projects, important people) while putting in the least time/effort possible.
5. Resume prep HARD. https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/free-investment-banking-resume-template/ - https://mipt.ru/upload/medialibrary/644/consulting-resume-cl-tips-by-victor-cheng.pdf - use these concepts and adapt to tech/IT as an industry. It's worked for me (interviewed and got offers from places like Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc.). After you have an OK resume (for what content you have) get someone to suggest edits/improvements. Go back and forth until you get diminishing returns. 
6. Interview prep - take your resume bullets and write paragraphs for each one. Include [who, what, when, where, why, how, how much]. NAME DROP titles/companies/technologies used. Get someone to review your work. YOU WANT SOMEONE WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS. 

7. SAT/ACT/GRE/GMAT prep - DO IT. Get good at it ASAP. Get really good at BASIC math (arithmetic - get an app like King of Math), vocab (Magoosh SAT words) and practice active reading[summarize what you just read very briefly]. It'll improve your class grades. 100 hours and $100 of prep can get you $20,000 worth of scholarships. That's $200/hr... or if you're working at minimum wage that's ~1500 hours.

8. Don't do 500 different things. Do 2-4 core things at a time, VERY well. It might be something like [club board member + classes + sports] or [part time job + classes + large coding project].

ummm... wow. That's a lot of really helpful advice. Thanks!

I've already have myself set for a couple things it seems. I'm not really the most... Sports.... Person, but I'm in(or rather was pre covid) almost all of the academic extracurriculars (band, Lego leauge if you know what that is, schoolastic bowl, jazz band). Ive also already taken the ssat, which I've heard is good practice for higherlevel tests (like act, sat, etc.)

[Pixel5]

its very important that you first think about what exactly you would like to do.

 

There are many people here that like working on PC hardware and think being a sys admin will get them a job like that.

The reality is most sys admins dont ever work on any hardware beside plugging in some cables as companies buy hardware off the shelf so putting in harddrives or maybe a network card is usually as far as working on hardware goes.

 

 

[UpTheDons]

I'm in a similar sort of situation. Next year I'm going into sixth form (in the UK) and although I didn't pick any sort of computer science for my GCSE (mainly because I wasn't really interested at the time). I've become really invested in the general field of hardware and computers in the last couple of years. I do really hope to get a job in this industry later down the line and I definitely want to take the right steps to get there.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

2 hours ago, Pixel5 said:

its very important that you first think about what exactly you would like to do.

 

There are many people here that like working on PC hardware and think being a sys admin will get them a job like that.

The reality is most sys admins dont ever work on any hardware beside plugging in some cables as companies buy hardware off the shelf so putting in harddrives or maybe a network card is usually as far as working on hardware goes.

 

 

Yep. But I love hardware and software. And im pretty sure everything and half of what sys admins do is as software.

[Spindel]

Everything I write is from an assumption that you go the engineering route.

 

If you are going to university choose something that interest you. 

 

What you major in at university does not have that big of an impact on what you actually will work with as long as you have an engineering degree. To put it in over simplified terms, what you learn when you get a engineering degree is not the actual topic you major in but you get the toolbox to take in, process, and analyze data in a fast and effective way no matter what topic. That is what is of value for a future employer when you are fresh out of school, not the actual "facts" you have learned. 

 

 

Now the party pooper comment. 

Study and work with something you find interesting. But my general experience is that do not work with something you love as a hobby, because it's a great way to destroy your passion for it. 

[Tristerin]

Do whatever evokes real emotion out of you, in a positive way.  Anything else will be dissatisfying later.  My 2 copper coins.

[Frugivore8894]

Me and my friend are both in a similar position. I will make sure to share this with him. I have been wondering what things there are to do to get in to the IT and other tech spaces. Thx for the advice @comanderI am sure other will appreciate it too.

[FreddZeppelin]

20 hours ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

ummm... wow. That's a lot of really helpful advice. Thanks!

I've already have myself set for a couple things it seems. I'm not really the most... Sports.... Person, but I'm in(or rather was pre covid) almost all of the academic extracurriculars (band, Lego leauge if you know what that is, schoolastic bowl, jazz band). Ive also already taken the ssat, which I've heard is good practice for higherlevel tests (like act, sat, etc.)

Lots of good advice here.  My two cents:

• Think now, before you begin, about what courses you want to take in high school.  Does your school offer honors or AP classes?  If so, think now about what requirements you need to fulfill to qualify for them.  For example, math and science courses often have a strictly-tiered progression and it can be difficult to qualify for some of the more advanced classes later if you delayed the introductory courses.
• It sounds like your interests are in math and technical areas, which is great.  But also pay attention to those courses that round out your knowledge and skill set.  For example, it's great to know the technical side of things, but it's even better to also be able to write about it - to convey your technical knowledge in a way that the non-techies of the world can understand.  It's tempting to ignore that required English class or the seemingly irrelevant research paper for History class - but don't.  There are lots of people who have technical knowledge, but far fewer who can convey that knowledge in non-technical terms.  
• And after you've done all that (easy, right?), don't be afraid to take something just because it sounds interesting or different from your normal routine.  Your interests likely will change a bit over time and you'll likely discover areas of study that never would have occurred to you in the beginning - but you'll never know unless you look around a bit.  This is particularly true, and can be difficult, if your primary focus is in math, science or another technical field.  Does your school offer an Economics class?  Can't hurt to learn a bit about how that part of the world works.  Take an art class if you feel inspired.  You never know where that could lead - someone, after all, had to come up with the physical design for the iPhone.    
• If you find yourself having to choose between two otherwise equal courses, take the one taught by the teacher/professor who is really known for that class.  Far better to learn from someone who has a passion for their subject than someone who is just teaching a course.  My son, who had a heavy STEM focus, took a Russian literature course to fulfill his humanities requirement just because the teacher was known to be outstanding -- he says it was easily the most interesting course he ever took and, for that reason, the easiest and most fulfilling to write about, even for an otherwise tech-focused guy.       
• The advice not to load up on too many "resume filler" extracurriculars is spot on.  Far better to show passion for a few things than to dabble in many.  Pick something at your school that you enjoy and work to excel at it.  My two kids took very different paths - a sport for one and robotics for the other - but both demonstrated a commitment to their chosen endeavor that definitely helped them with college applications.  It truly doesn't matter what it is - just demonstrate a passion and commitment to it.
• Finally, think a bit about what you can do with your summers.  It's definitely OK to have some downtime - you really don't have to focus every waking minute on The Plan.  Can you do something really focused that will advance your goals in an extracurricular endeavor?  When in doubt, if you can, get a job.  Any job - fine if it meshes nicely with The Plan, but you'll learn lot about yourself and life just by working a job.  Simply put, nothing so focuses the mind on the value of study as punching a time clock.  

Good luck!    

[dizmo]

What part of the collage do you want to be on? I find the bottom right is usually the best spot, most people look there looking for the artists signature.

Jokes (kind of..)

 

Since you're quite young, take a bunch of classes in different things. Do not pigeon hole yourself into a single career path. You might end up actually hating it, or you might find something else that you've looked into is a far better fit. I know so many people that thought they knew what they wanted to be in high school, did the schooling, and ended up doing something entirely unrelated. You're (probably) 13. Your tastes and interests are going to change.

 

Take a hard look at what the career outlook studies are showing. They're usually pretty accurate at predicting growth, as they can not only look at market trends but also the age of the workforce, and the number of people due to retire. Not sure if they have it where you live, but here most provinces have sites that list stats for each job. With the fast pace of tech it's easy to take something only to find there's not much employment in that field by the time you're done.

 

Above all, though, make sure what you aim for is something you love. You're going to spend a great deal of your time awake doing it; if you hate it, you'll hate yourself. No one likes a miserable sod.

 

On 1/20/2021 at 4:43 PM, comander said:

Some of my "general philosophies" on careerism and life. This is targeted at an 18 year old but if you do this at the start of high school your application to colleges will be better with way less effort. 

 

-snip-

Lots of good advice here.

 

I'll mention a couple things though; Elite schools used to help, but that's rapidly decreasing (and, honestly, it was just as much making connections there as it is just having connections already, though you might have meant that) to the point where a lot of people are starting to consider Udemy/Coursera classes on the same level; as long as you can do the job, you're in. Google even has entry routes this way. It does change on career, mind you, like a psychiatrist from an elite school will probably be held in higher regard, perhaps a doctor. For what he seems to be mentioning I think an elite school would be a complete waste.

 

100% agree with interview prep. Hell, I'd even apply to a bunch of places, and just go to the interview for the sake of the experience; you don't have to accept if they want to hire you. It's something that you really have to go through a few times before you'll feel even remotely comfortable; as an older person who'd only been through 4 interviews, going again was rather nerve-racking.

21 hours ago, Ed-petit said:

I'm in a similar sort of situation. Next year I'm going into sixth form (in the UK) and although I didn't pick any sort of computer science for my GCSE (mainly because I wasn't really interested at the time). I've become really invested in the general field of hardware and computers in the last couple of years. I do really hope to get a job in this industry later down the line and I definitely want to take the right steps to get there.

Sixth form? When do you reach your final form? Is that actually what they call it? That's hilarious.

[UpTheDons]

2 hours ago, dizmo said:

Sixth form? When do you reach your final form? Is that actually what they call it? That's hilarious.

Well you get to year 11 then onto sixth form which has year 12 and 13 in it. After that university. It is a bit odd why its called sixth form tbf