Im 19 years old, and looking to start some sort of career in IT. I have about 2 semesters of college under my belt, I was pursuing a business degree. I recently decided that since Im always on the computer and have always been pretty comfortable with a computer since I was a kid, I'd be much better suited trying to get an IT job. I wasn't enjoying business much and finding it hard to study and do quality work, though I've still maintained a 3.25 GPA. Anyway, I think I want to do something programming related. Possibly web development and app building or something. Ive messed around in photoshop as a younger kid, and I got pretty decent with it for a period of time, but I dont think I have much interest in the design process. Id like to be the one coding and actually bringing it to life with UI. Although I probably will dabble in designing, my question is do I have to be a good DESIGNER as well, or are there plenty of jobs out there for just code men. Sorry, I dont know the terminology lol. The thing is, some classes Im required to take for my degree program are going to provide with the info i need for my A+ cert. From what Ive read so far A+ and Network+ and all the comptia certs are for troubleshooting, help desk type options. Im not saying I'm opposed to that, just that maybe thats not what I wanna do forever or become great at... This is getting long so let me try and wrap it up. I guess what Im saying is that I need some help trying to narrow down a path. I think if I decide exactly what im trying to be, it'll be easier to get there rather than saying oh yeah something in CPU.... Heres what Classes my degree program is made up of, so you guys can get an idea of what type of jobs I'll be looking at when Im done. Some classes Ive already finished but since I was in a business degree before I took some useless classes. I have a ways to go I just wanna know what type of jobs I could qualify for after this is done. What would you all do in my situation? Thank you so much for the time to read this! If i left anything out please ask. Summer Session II SDV 100 Fundamentals of College Study 1 Fall Semester CMP 104 Introduction to Programming 2 CMP 107 Windows Operations 3 CMP 115 Fundamentals of Computer Architecture 3 ENG 101 Fundamentals of English I 3 MTH 154 College Algebra and Trigonometry 4 SPH 101 Fundamentals of Oral Communication 3 Spring Semester CMP 117 Visual Programming 3 CMP 120 Operating Systems 3 CMP 150 Introduction to Networking 3 ENG 151 Fundamentals of English II 3 GEN ED Biological/Physical Science Requirement 4 Fall Semester CMP 210 Programming Structures and Applications 4 CMP 214 Programming Applications for the Internet 3 CMP 220 Internet Design and Applications 3 CMP 225 Data Communications and Networking I 3 CMP 255 Database Design and Management 3 SDV 101 Career Development 1 Spring Semester CMP 222 Advanced Internet Design 3 CMP 226 Data Communications and Networking II 3 CMP 240 Help Desk and User Support 3 CMP 245 Computer Security 3 CMP 260 Computer Technology Field Experience 2 GEN ED Social/Behavioral Science Requirement 3
I think im pretty much interested in programming and the internet. Is there a mix of web development and software development? Id love to build websites, and I'd also love to build apps and sell em lol. Or maybe programs.... Or for instance, theres this thing for music producers called myflashstore.net. Its like a beat player that automatically emails the beat to the artist upon purchase, plays protection tags over your beats while artists listen, has ability to do trackouts and send contracts with purchase, all kinds of neat stuff. Dude gets like 100/yr from lots of producers to use this player. Programming something like that and the site to put it on would be sweet!
You can certainly get a job without being a great designer. I'm not a good designer and it's never kept me from getting a programming job. I have the A+ and Network+ certs and while I don't really need them for what I'm doing, they certainly haven't hurt. Depending on the type of projects you are working on, having a solid understanding of networking/network protocols can be a major asset. As far as programming for websites vs desktop apps it's really up to you. I've done both and if you have a good understanding of programming you should have no problems doing either one or both. If you get a job and all you're doing is coding desktop apps, you can always do freelance work doing website stuff or develop a mobile app or something. There are certainly others on here who can probably give you better insight, but I figured I'd at least share my experience and maybe it'll help.
I have found that, in my experience, it is much more beneficial to be a 'jack of all trades' type when it comes to the extremely broad IT field. Ive dabbled in everything from app development to web development to helpdesk to scripting to design (terrible at design) and currently database programming (pl/sql specifically). If nothing else, my degree in CompSci gave me a solid foundation of all things computers. There are admittedly areas that just dont really jive with me: like hardware and/or advanced networking... anything more than maintaining home wireless and basic networking troubleshooting is generally where I draw the line Anyways... By having a solid foundation, you can then bounce around in a few different places until you find something that youre truly interested in making a career. You can strengthen specific aspects of your resume with real-world experience and then decide where you want to focus your efforts.
This is great advise for IT, become the swiss army knife, good at everything, expert in things you need to be as they come up. My biggest suggestion for IT is to get a job, even a part time help desk job to build that resume. ANy job you'll really want in IT will require some experience and then they sort of look at those low level certifications a lot of times if you're lacking in experience. I didn't do any certifications, I still don't hold a single one and it took me about 10 years to be an IT director. Get your fingers into everything you can in a real world environment so that you can put it on a resume. School and your degree help but remember who you're graduating with, they've all got the same degree and likely the same certifications. You know those annoying computer lab people, server maintenance people on campus or guys working at geek squad that you see in class? They'll get the job over you!! Do those jobs, get that experience under your belt and keep a log of all of the technology that you play with so that you don't miss any on your resume! As for programming, no you certainly don't need to be a designer to be able to code/implement things. IT depends on the company, smaller houses won't have a dedicated UI designer, larger firms have a whole team or outsource it. I've been in both. I'd say a mix of both is good to have if you can help out it really can set you apart from other people applying for the job, but it isn't a must to be a designer and a programmer if you want to program in the long run. As for programming experience, check around your campus, local job sites/classifieds/craigslist for little projects that people need help with. Hell, your professors probably have projects they need help with. Get it done, get it on the resume! Otherwise you're just another grad with no experience begging for a job. Good luck!
Well I applied for a 'work study' program at my college, and if I get a slot I'll be working in the computer lab. Probably helping students with login issues or shit idk hopefully not a tutor cause I suck at math! But yeah the career services lady was saying thatd be a good place to start building some experience. After I get my A+ I'll probably start applying all over as part time while I still go to school. I wouldnt mind being a double agent with geek squad. Not forever obviously but just to get some resume candy. And the pay isnt AWFUL for the type of work maybe in comparrison to rest of the field, but as a 19 year old that never made more than 7.50 + tips anything sounds good to me lol. I really appreciate all the responses guys! I guess Im just gonna keep going in my program, grab A+ and Network+ cause I can lol and just keep learning. Im hoping once the next semester starts and I get in these classes I can kinda see what I like best and what comes easiest and all that. I think it would be dope programming those apps that sell for 1-5 dollars. Also taking a psd to html and a live site is cool. Im not a great designer but im not the worst either. Really Im decent at anything I try. And if I keep at it I think I could get really good if not great....I just never really stuck at anything in life before haha. Programming apps for websites and widgets would be cool too. Or games....shit its so broad its hard to narrow down what you wanna really try to pursue. I think what Im gonna do is keep learning html/css in my spare time and on break, then just feel out the classes. Getting A+ should be literally a breeze for me and then I can just go from there. I was thinking with the A+ I could even go to office type settings and ask if they have IT guy's or if they need one.