IT Career Advice

[ZacoAttaco]

Hi everybody, hope you're all doing well.

 

I'm in my late teens and looking to start my career in the IT Field, I've always been interested in the field and studied every related course in high school, I'm learning Python online via Udemy, as it was recommended by someone who interviewed me and I've had experience with HTML and CSS. But ultimately I don't know which path to go down.

 

IT is such a broad field and most jobs require formal education. I'm torn between a job in software and a job dealing more with hardware like server side and Networking.

 

Any of you out there working in the industry? What's your job like and what do you enjoy about it? What advice would you have for someone trying to figure out their career path?

 

I appreciate all your replies and advice,

Thanks, Zac.

[jde3]

I've worked in the field since the 90's my advice. run screaming..

 

There are so many great fields to work in that don't involve the headache, computer in general never run right.

[ZacoAttaco]

1 minute ago, jde3 said:

Run screaming..

I notice you're a Systems Admin, you don't enjoy the work?

[jde3]

4 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco2 said:

I notice you're a Systems Admin, you don't enjoy the work?

I don't.

 

I got into the field because I was good at it. I wish I focused more in music however. In all my years of working IT I've rarely even been thanked by people for fixing computers. Where as in art people tell me I changed their lives.. kind of makes one seem more rewarding.

 

There is a term used on the No Ajenda show called "Dude named Ben" for IT people..and when you work IT.. people don't even know your name.

 

You can make a lot of money.. but money isn't everything.

[rYzYr]

Why not do both? Companies like Amazon hire software development engineers for low level development that involves working closely with hardware. This can be devices like the Amazon Echo or servers and networking gear used by AWS.

 

Here's one job posting from Amazon Go that combines both interests:

https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/651770/senior-embedded-software-engineer

[ZacoAttaco]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

I mean if you factor in the people they have to deal with daily...

I have experience in retail and enjoyed it, so I don't know if that would be a negative factor for me...

[ZacoAttaco]

2 minutes ago, rYzYr said:

Why not do both? Companies like Amazon hire software development engineers for low level development that involving working closely with hardware. This can be devices like the Amazon Echo or servers and networking gear used by AWS.

A mix of hardware and software would be nice!

[ZacoAttaco]

14 minutes ago, jde3 said:

I don't.

 

I got into the field because I was good at it. I wish I focused more in music however. In all my years of working IT I've rarely even been thanked by people for fixing computers. Where as in art people tell me I changed their lives.. kind of makes one seem more rewarding.

 

There is a term used on the No Ajenda show called "Dude named Ben" for IT people..and when you work IT.. people don't even know your name.

 

You can make a lot of money.. but money isn't everything.

So even though you have an interest in IT, working as a System Admin doesn't really feed or ignite into that interest?

[rYzYr]

3 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco2 said:

A mix of hardware and software would be nice!

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/3343/how-to-become-an-embedded-software-developer

[jde3]

12 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco2 said:

So even thought you have an interest in IT, working as a System Admin doesn't really feed or ignite into that interest?

I like solving problems. So much of what I do isn't about solving anything though, its working with broken crap you can't fix and putting out fires all day that shouldn't exist to begin with.

 

Someone once told me, if aircraft were as reliable as computers everyone that flew would be dead. The culture in the industry isn't to make reliable products. They don't engineer solutions properly they just throw shit at the wall and when it sticks well enough it's done.

[AskTJ]

I would suggest learning one language at a time. Python pays a lot so stick to it and work your ass off.

[ZacoAttaco]

6 minutes ago, rYzYr said:

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/3343/how-to-become-an-embedded-software-developer

Thanks for the link, I'll have to more research on Embedded Software Development, thanks for the lead.

8 minutes ago, jde3 said:

I like solving problems. So much of what I do isn't about solving anything though, its working with broken crap you can't fix and putting out fires all day that shouldn't exist to begin with.

 

Someone once told me, if aircraft were as reliable as computers everyone that flew would be dead. The culture in the industry isn't to make reliable products.

I can understand why that would be frustrating...

[ZacoAttaco]

1 minute ago, AskTJ said:

I would suggest learning one language at a time. Python pays a lot so stick to it and work your ass off.

I'm definitely going to keep learning Python but I'm not sure whether a career in Software Development will be satisfying to me personally though. Do you have any experience in Software Development?

[jde3]

2 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco2 said:

Thanks for the link, I'll have to more research on Embedded Software Development, thanks for the lead.

I can understand why that would be frustrating...

It's not that I hate it completely and I make a lot of money compared to my friends.. but if I had to start over, this probably isn't the road I'd take not sure.

[ZacoAttaco]

13 minutes ago, jde3 said:

It's not that I hate it completely and I make a lot of money compared to my friends.. but if I had to start over, this probably isn't the road I'd take not sure.

So if you could start over, you wouldn't even pursue a career in IT at all? If that's too personal, feel free to ignore. 

[jde3]

22 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco2 said:

So if you could start over, you wouldn't even pursue a career in IT? You'd pursue Music and have IT as a hobby or side project?

Not sure man. No sense looking back now.

[Teddy07]

51 minutes ago, jde3 said:

I've worked in the field since the 90's my advice. run screaming

 

Well I would not work in support or similar entry jobs where I have to deal with all the retards. I think IT is great but you have to dodge the crappy jobs. 

[AskTJ]

4 hours ago, ZacoAttaco2 said:

I'm definitely going to keep learning Python but I'm not sure whether a career in Software Development will be satisfying to me personally though. Do you have any experience in Software Development?

I'm just a teenager that started coding last December. I am currently building a PHP and MySQL application, just to get experience.

[GrayFox1991]

I started in a 1st line role, and now work as a Network Engineer for a hosted services provider. One of the things that helped me was joining a company that was pretty small. I found that it opened opertunities to try different services and solutions without getting tied down. Some companies will just be looking for people with enthusiasm, and others are expecting you to come in with more of a skillset. If you know what you want to do, get accredited with the right vendors (MS/CISCO/Mitel or whatever your vocation is). This will get you through the door. Past that, you are just going to be working with smart people, and if you show that you are willing to learn it will get you far.

[BaronButtsie]

I started my IT Apprenticeship back in early January doing software developing at Fujitsu. They have their own way of dealing with the software they use, as what they use is like 40 years old, so having to learn knowledge that spans over 40 years,which is quite daunting, but I'm enjoying it so far. Managed to travel all over the country and even had a trip to Belfast for a week. I feel like ive settled in the work environment, coming straight from college, and its just the beginning for me.

[ZacoAttaco]

21 minutes ago, GrayFox1991 said:

I started in a 1st line role, and now work as a Network Engineer for a hosted services provider. One of the things that helped me was joining a company that was pretty small. I found that it opened opertunities to try different services and solutions without getting tied down. Some companies will just be looking for people with enthusiasm, and others are expecting you to come in with more of a skillset. If you know what you want to do, get accredited with the right vendors (MS/CISCO/Mitel or whatever your vocation is). This will get you through the door. Past that, you are just going to be working with smart people, and if you show that you are willing to learn it will get you far.

Thanks for your reply, I'm heavily thinking of going down the Network Engineering pathway. Seems like something that would suit me quite well. How do you enjoy the work?

[ZacoAttaco]

9 minutes ago, BaronButtsie said:

I started my IT Apprenticeship back in early January doing software developing at Fujitsu. They have their own way of dealing with the software they use, as what they use is like 40 years old, so having to learn knowledge that spans over 40 years,which is quite daunting, but I'm enjoying it so far. Managed to travel all over the country and even had a trip to Belfast for a week. I feel like ive settled in the work environment, coming straight from college, and its just the beginning for me.

I actually went for work experience at Fujitsu, although at that stage, I didn't know much about the language they were using C# so I felt a bit out of place 

[BaronButtsie]

1 minute ago, ZacoAttaco2 said:

I actually went for work experience at Fujitsu, although at that stage, I didn't know much about the language they were using C# so I felt a bit out of place 

Yea they're using C# for their new modern platform there developing, since alot of the old stuff is still SCL language and like noone uses it lol

[beersykins]

Which one do you like more?  Go with that one.

 

I was really indecisive when starting out, had an interest in computers since being a kid which didn't span into a particular area.  Learning a bit of everything helps as it's hard to tell what specific opportunities are available in a given market at a given time.  I only ended up a network engineer since there was an opening that paid 4x more than working in the computer shop I was at, but that only happened due to having an interest and studying across multiple IT disciplines.

 

Scripting languages like python will augment your abilities in pretty much every other subfield, as well as strengthen your programming logic.  A lot of network and server gear is going the way of devops and automation, so it does blend together to a certain degree.

[Unhelpful]

5 hours ago, ZacoAttaco2 said:

A mix of hardware and software would be nice!

There's so many fun niche fields in IT! Industrial control systems / SCADA, cyber-security, security systems (totally different from cyber-security), mainframe developers, data engineering, industrial IoT engineering, automation, industrial QA, the list goes on! Or you can go the more known, less niche stuff: programming, networking, data center operations, help desk, systems administrator.