Main > Everything Else
IT field, jack of all trades, or specialized
mcseforsale:
Yep.
Step 1...learn Perl, VBScript, Bash and any other scripting language that can prepare you to read .NET (C#, whatever).
Step 2...use these tools to automate anything and everything. Check out products like Jenkins that you can set jobs up on.
Step 3...learn Linux....I mean LEARN it. Long before AD was licensed from Novell (Windows NT uses a modified version of Netware's NDS which is a visual x.500 security model), most of us were using Netware for file servers, routers, etc. and our workstations were just DOS machines with a Windows shell on them.
Step 4...learn the basics of computer networking and comm protocols. Don't tie yourself to any vendor (such as Cisco CCNA, etc) because if you don't know WHY you're typing stuff in, you will just make a mess.
YMMV.
AJ
--- Quote from: Drnick on April 02, 2013, 06:01:14 pm ---@Chadtower, That whole quote on methodology makes me want to scream, but unfortunately it is the truth "New Methodology" the computing wave of the future, it's all our bosses want to know, how can we improve on the way that we are providing services whilst saving money. I can guarantee that If you can come up with good ways of saving money then your job will generally be safe.
--- End quote ---
ark_ader:
Well whatever you do, make sure you have good references, also it would be a good idea to get some indemnity insurance for your first year.
Skills wise it is a mixed bag. Some server, some desktop, good people skills and the ability to improve. College is a great way to get ahead, but you can take some night school classes on business management, which will help you.
I remember working for a company (a well known one) I rather not name, that had a nasty tendency to fire people for restructuring. My boss would come up to me and say: " you know databases..right?" and I would go " uh..yeah, why?" boss: "Well I fired the database guy and now it is your job congratulations." He did the same to my support staff too. Did I get a wage increase? No. :lol
So you might get yourself a pretty good position, earn more money and buy more expensive things (like cars and houses), and the air goes out of another economic balloon, you might be under the same problem. So I would not give yourself too much of a good sell to you new employer. Sneak in under the radar with a position that allows you to go home before 7pm. ;D
If they ask you to be the boss, however tempting it might be, just be careful. ;)
mcseforsale:
I'd stay out of networking. The reason my career took such a left is because networking became MUCH more centralized. I was working on circuits in Germany from home here in Ga. Before digicams, we would have the staff at each of our offices take a picture of the computer rooms/closets and mail them to us. We were then able to get some secretary or something power on/off any devices we needed.
We'd also send a pre-configured spare of anything that could bring down the network so we could hire a local tech for a day to install and power it on.
Nowadays, the entire networks at large corporations are managed by the home office with little to no support staff in the branches. So, if you're gonna be in that role, NEVER, and I mean *NEVER* take a job as a network engineer or support person for a large corporation at a branch office. My last company just up and moved all the servers, source code, email, etc back to home base in the UK. Then they fired all 30 programmers and sales staff here in the US and shuttered the office. All without missing a beat.
Low skill CCNA types who ONLY do that type of work are a dime a dozen. The next generation of superstars will have skills with Linux administration (I mean REAL skills), automation using things such as scripting languages, and saving money by using open-source software and OS distros.
I've been packaging software for 12 years for distribution in large scale networks. That skill has been off-shored, then on-shored, then put in "packaging houses" where you pay by the package. Luckily, my skill set was broad enough for this company to take a shot with me and allow me to grow into a role that provides all of that ^^.
It's been hard for me since I hadn't had to update my skill set in a while, but it's starting to get less daunting and more fun. If you hang around here, obviously, you have a bit of tinker in you already. A good exercise would be to convert any MAME boxen into Linux. That'll teach you a lot and you can bring it up in interviews. I can't say how many people who I think are far superior to me in my workplace think I'm a genius when I show them the cabs I've built.
AJ
mcseforsale:
Oh, and I taught CCNA, MCSE, Net+ and A+ professionally part-time for over 5 years. I just recently taught a CCNA course at the largest cell/phone company at night and I'll tell you, the stuff is dated and these students will not benefit from it unless it's just another arrow in a very full quiver.
AJ
Dawgz Rule:
--- Quote ---If they ask you to be the boss, however tempting it might be, just be careful.
--- End quote ---
There comes a point where one has to decide to move towards IT Management or a Senior Technical role. I was asked to manage the department because IT was deemed "broken" by upper management and they thought I could make the necessary changes. It was a difficult transition but well worth it. I became known as the guy who fixed IT Departments and over a period of years went from one to a few different groups coast to coast. IT Management isn't for everyone though....a lot of "shaking hands and kissing babies".
--- Quote ---Nowadays, the entire networks at large corporations are managed by the home office with little to no support staff in the branches.
--- End quote ---
Very true. One of the reasons I left my last position was because I was a regional manager and it seemed like everything was being moved to corporate. With that in mind, I moved to a company where I am now working in corporate and we are moving in a similar direction. My infrastructure team is almost entirely based out of corporate with a couple of people at our overseas locations. Same for help desk. We have sites that have no support staff at all and have been able to do this mostly due to desktop virtualization.
--- Quote ---The next generation of superstars will have skills with Linux administration (I mean REAL skills), automation using things such as scripting languages, and saving money by using open-source software and OS distros.
--- End quote ---
Ditto. We are seeing an ever increasing role with Linux and open source. Both are stable and more cost effective. Our virtualized desktop environment is linux based on the back end.
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