Information Technology (IT)

[legreyfoxx]

Meant to answer your questions but got busy. But to be honest start networking now within the IT dept and see if you can do a shadow job here and there to see what it really likes. Ask your windows admin to see what it took to get that spot they have now and just watch them when they're doing a project, pick their brains, i did that pretty much for all the infrastructure team since i work closely with them when i was doing Service Desk. (Desktop Engineer, System Admins, Networking and sometimes the PMO)

If i were you id start taking an hour here and there and start studying on something you want to do. Service Desk is a good foundation and its an open road that will take you anywhere where you want to be, just don't be stuck there for a long a time.

As for me, when i started the company was still small enough to the point that everyone was doing everything. I was just a quick learner that to the point where i started taking ownership on some of the stuff that nobody wanted like for example asset management. I was doing this on some systems that we use too. Then got my break when they asked me to be a ServiceNow admin and ended up with a new title as an Application Engineer. I own pretty what what i've been doing anyway but now with pay and title. (O365, Box, Sharepoint, ServiceNow) are the stuff im responsible for.

thanks for the tips, I'll def constantly work to advance upwards in the field. I'm wanting to lean towards the networking side.

 

[dathbgboy]

Great point, forgot how cats put u in a box that you had no intentions on being in and it's even worse here since the area is still relatively oblivious to IT if it's;lol not healthcare related outside of Google, and the banks. I've been looking at the ITIL and Scrum, and even Agile certs, that damn CSM course is a cool stack plus though not counting the exam cost

Appreciate the input bruh. Gon write down a road map of what to study for so I can get things into perspective and shoot for Dec to have the education before I graduate.

CSM is about a rack but you literally show up and get the cert lol. Once you have it on your resume recruiters will blow you up just because of the key word. When I did ITIL and CSM literally a week later I had 5 interviews and ended up getting the job I got now.

At the end of the day all these certs are a waste of time, its literally just to fluff your resume. I will say the ITIL and CSM gives you good foundation knowledge that can help in interviews if you dont have experience at a shop that does ITIL or SCRUM.

Word, I just downloaded the ITIL exam study guide. I'll focus on that after I take the CAPM this summer and try to take that in November or December. I'd have to turn some tricks in order to get the cash for the CSM so that's gon have to wait

 

[Mark Antony]

Been slacking on that ITIL forever. It's not difficult, may as well knock it out.

 

[dathbgboy]

Been slacking on that ITIL forever. It's not difficult, may as well knock it out.

Get on it bruh.

 

[bayyrd]

Glad i found this thread...Recently graduated a couple of weeks ago majored in MIS

Kinda embarrassed to admit...but im not really sure where to start.....currently working front desk at my university's IT department...

Anyone with a MIS degree, how did you break into the field? Reading around, seems like most recommend a help desk job to start...although I recently had an Interview for a computer tech / help desk opening at my current job, i feel like i bombed it :\

I was also looking into certifications like A+ and Networking +

Any help and advice is appreciated

 

[yeah]

Is a bachelors degree a necessity if wanting to get a higher up position in IT, I hear different things? I have taken some IT courses in college, made it to my senior year but couldn't finish due to financial reasons. I'm working a level 1 IT job right now, and my goal is to obtain certs starting with A+. Also, are MOS certs beneficial? Another question for higher up positions in IT, does appearance matter? I don't have face tattoo's or anything just curious.

Unless you know someone who does the hiring and firing, a bachelor's (or better) will be a requirement depending on your goals. A+, MOS, and literally any other cert will only be as beneficial as you make them. If you spend hundreds of dollars getting a Security+ cert, only to find out you actually hate what those types of jobs entail, that cert wouldn't be very beneficial regardless of how lucrative the career path may be. Where do you want to end up? Will a particular cert help you forge a path in that direction? That is what you should focus on.

Your appearance is important regardless of your position. Dress for the job you want. If you want to be in a "higher up" position in IT, you will be expected to interact with your "higher up" colleagues - attending meetings, giving presentations, etc. If you think you can pull that off in boot cut jeans, more power to you.

Yall out here eatin huh? Might have to throw all of yall a party

And here I'm out here shootin for $50k

Don't be wowed by the big numbers. $60K/year in Georgia will give you a better quality of life than $100K/year in NYC. Quality over quantity.

 

[AZwildcats]

My entry level support job required a bachelor's degree, even though my degree is in biology it fulfilled that requirement

 

[legreyfoxx]

My entry level support job required a bachelor's degree, even though my degree is in biology it fulfilled that requirement

What do you do at your current job?

 

[dathbgboy]

Need some advice. With my MBA-MIS and CAPM, I still don't have a particular concentration area career wise. What would yall suggest? I see a lot of yall into the networking and security, but don't see too many in the programming realm of things, even in our Programming thread for the most part. Just trying to get some ideas of what I should start focusing on now before December.

 

[capital sb]

Don't be wowed by the big numbers. $60K/year in Georgia will give you a better quality of life than $100K/year in NYC. Quality over quantity.

Not like you can't have a good quality of life in higher cost of living areas and a high salary. I also know people making 70K in Florida fresh out of college .

There's money to be had.

@Dathbgboy You have to figure out what concentration you would enjoy . Any of the realms are a good choice just depends on what you prefer.

 

[yeah]

Need some advice. With my MBA-MIS and CAPM, I still don't have a particular concentration area career wise. What would yall suggest? I see a lot of yall into the networking and security, but don't see too many in the programming realm of things, even in our Programming thread for the most part. Just trying to get some ideas of what I should start focusing on now before December.

Is your objective to do something you enjoy, or to get paid? What do you like more, or what is your ideal salary range? It really just depends on where you're trying to go with it. I would suggest avoiding Networking, though. Despite a lack of focus on it, automation will displace people in the IT industry, and unfortunately a lot of that displacement will be within Networking.

I'm a DBA, but I do some programming as well. My job title doesn't say it, but my agency's structure requires us to do some programming. Funnily enough, I do more in my current role than I did as an Analyst if you count PL/SQL.

Don't be wowed by the big numbers. $60K/year in Georgia will give you a better quality of life than $100K/year in NYC. Quality over quantity.

Not like you can't have a good quality of life in higher cost of living areas and a high salary. I also know people making 70K in Florida fresh out of college .
There's money to be had.

No one said you couldn't, just a warning that bigger numbers don't always mean better lifestyle.

 

[capital sb]

Agreed, especially when bigger numbers equate to a bigger lifestyle for most people.

 

[dathbgboy]

Don't be wowed by the big numbers. $60K/year in Georgia will give you a better quality of life than $100K/year in NYC. Quality over quantity.

Not like you can't have a good quality of life in higher cost of living areas and a high salary. I also know people making 70K in Florida fresh out of college .
There's money to be had.

@Dathbgboy
You have to figure out what concentration you would enjoy . Any of the realms are a good choice just depends on what you prefer.

Yea, that's where I'm at right now, trying to figure out what I'd enjoy. I think for the most part I have to start studying and learning more things and getting back into things I let fall by the way side.

Need some advice. With my MBA-MIS and CAPM, I still don't have a particular concentration area career wise. What would yall suggest? I see a lot of yall into the networking and security, but don't see too many in the programming realm of things, even in our Programming thread for the most part. Just trying to get some ideas of what I should start focusing on now before December.

Is your objective to do something you enjoy, or to get paid? What do you like more, or what is your ideal salary range? It really just depends on where you're trying to go with it. I would suggest avoiding Networking, though. Despite a lack of focus on it, automation will displace people in the IT industry, and unfortunately a lot of that displacement will be within Networking.

I'm a DBA, but I do some programming as well. My job title doesn't say it, but my agency's structure requires us to do some programming. Funnily enough, I do more in my current role than I did as an Analyst if you count PL/SQL.

How do u like the DBA realm? I've been interested in that field since I have an interest in the web app development and know that knowing how to study and create databases is important for the most part but never got a chance to actually try it out. Couldn't learn how to access the MySQL or Oracle servers when I tried learning them a couple of years ago. Now I'm doing the Salesforce Trailheads in my spare time.

 

[Scarborough]

what are your guys opinions on SQA( software quality assurance) salary and starting point in an IT career?

 

[yeah]

How do u like the DBA realm? I've been interested in that field since I have an interest in the web app development and know that knowing how to study and create databases is important for the most part but never got a chance to actually try it out. Couldn't learn how to access the MySQL or Oracle servers when I tried learning them a couple of years ago. Now I'm doing the Salesforce Trailheads in my spare time.

I absolutely love it. I went to school to become a DBA and it's everything I hoped it would be, and more. It's a chore setting up any database structure, and I had those same struggles . If you seriously want to try to get into it again, I'd recommend checking out 2 Day DBA - it's kind of a guide that will show you how to set up, log in, and begin experimenting on your own database instance. All you have to do is create a free account on Oracle's website and you can use just about all of their software for free, as long as it's for learning/non-commercial purposes. Guide can be found here: https://docs.oracle.com/database/122/ADMQS/toc.htm

what are your guys opinions on SQA( software quality assurance) salary and starting point in an IT career?

QA can be a great place to start in IT. Your experience will depend on your agency's structure - some QA departments are siloed and literally only deal with the same kind of stuff every day, whereas others will offer you a more diversified work load. It's an excellent job if you want to go down the Analyst path more so than the programming/hardware ones.

 

[dathbgboy]

Good lookin out yeah hopefully my account didn't expire w/ Oracle. I was trying to learn the 11 or 12g some years ago but it wasn't rockin me for some reason

 

[AZwildcats]

My entry level support job required a bachelor's degree, even though my degree is in biology it fulfilled that requirement

What do you do at your current job?

Tech support, which is a fancy name for help desk

 

[Scarborough]

QA can be a great place to start in IT. Your experience will depend on your agency's structure - some QA departments are siloed and literally only deal with the same kind of stuff every day, whereas others will offer you a more diversified work load. It's an excellent job if you want to go down the Analyst path more so than the programming/hardware ones.

thanks for the response. is there significant difference between taking it in college vs taking a 8-12 week course? Some of the courses I've seen are half the cost and time it would be takin in school

 

[ricerocket1]

I hate outsourced QA team. We have our in house but they mostly do the day to day and or test environment. Our service desk do the major incident management. 9/10 every time theres a release something breaks that leads to an outage and it always pass QA

 

[Mark Antony]

Not sure there's anything I love about this field anymore. Then again I've been on the support/management side too long which is soul crushing. Going to take the next year to figure **** out and even fall back to something entry level if I have to. I'm tired of just going through the motions.

 

[dathbgboy]

Not sure there's anything I love about this field anymore. Then again I've been on the support/management side too long which is soul crushing. Going to take the next year to figure **** out and even fall back to something entry level if I have to. I'm tired of just going through the motions.

Sounds like it might be time to branch out on your own bruh.

 

[ricerocket1]

Not sure there's anything I love about this field anymore. Then again I've been on the support/management side too long which is soul crushing. Going to take the next year to figure **** out and even fall back to something entry level if I have to. I'm tired of just going through the motions.

Time to get that consulting money lol

 

[capital sb]

Not sure there's anything I love about this field anymore. Then again I've been on the support/management side too long which is soul crushing. Going to take the next year to figure **** out and even fall back to something entry level if I have to. I'm tired of just going through the motions.

Make that switch bruh to get what you feel you are missing . I understand where you are coming from, we gotta grind to get into a position we enjoy.

 

 

[yeah]

QA can be a great place to start in IT. Your experience will depend on your agency's structure - some QA departments are siloed and literally only deal with the same kind of stuff every day, whereas others will offer you a more diversified work load. It's an excellent job if you want to go down the Analyst path more so than the programming/hardware ones.

thanks for the response. is there significant difference between taking it in college vs taking a 8-12 week course? Some of the courses I've seen are half the cost and time it would be takin in school

Depends on the institution and it also depends on the course instructor. If you're already in school and looking for a class to fill your schedule, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take it. If you're already in the work force and looking to get the best value for your money/time, I would go the 8 week course route.

 

[Scarborough]

Depends on the institution and it also depends on the course instructor. If you're already in school and looking for a class to fill your schedule, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take it. If you're already in the work force and looking to get the best value for your money/time, I would go the 8 week course route.

oh okay. i just have one more question lol is it important for me to learn about Selenium as well for this field?