IT: Goals Vs Reality

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Hi

With the news of Rafeks new job, it prompted me to ask you all a question. To those of you that are currently employed in IT in some shape or form, does your job match with what you originally set out to do, or have you now headed in a totally different direction/working for a completely different sort of company than what you did when you first started?

I'm still a base learner so haven't even begun looking for a job, but I have already gone from starting out wanting to work in server and network maintenance to my new goal of IT security.

I'm just curious to see the to what extent changability occurs in IT and how goals really do match reality.

Thanks chaps

 

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ok, here is my side.

when i left school, i done nvq IT in level 1, level 2 involved getting a job, and the training centre i was doing the nvq's in, did not have no contacts for IT. i ended in pensions and investments, to complete my IT level 2.

i was there for 3 years, my passion for IT disappeared, i completed level 2 & 3 in business admin, and was hoping to become an IFA, but the place went bust! and had to find another job...

i temp'ed around, eventually found a "proper" job, it was in admin, the team were IT illeterate, they questioned me alot as i was doing a PC Maintenaince course on the weekends, and due to their questions, i starting playing around with computers alot (at home)...

the company used a domain, and had a network something i never knew / heard about, and started to learn about this. the passion grew stronger and harder, i then wanted to work in IT, supporting users, as more knoweldge i learnt, the more i was supporting users in the building...

IT wouldn't have me, as i was quickly learning, and quickly identifying the (basic) faults within the network and finding easier ways to get around problems... i know thats a good thing, but not when IT preferred to take their time...

i eventually was offered a marketing role, where i "sold" leased BT lines, but unfortuately the week i left the old role and to start the new role (had not signed the contract yet) i fell long term sick.

i was on death door for almost a year, unemployed, i read a couple of pc mags, and couldn't be arsed to do much (also suffering from depression) and on was £40p/w with no car.... when i started to recover, i also started to apply for jobs, then this jan, an email came to me saying that my there was a vacancy with one of the sub-contracters company to we had given work to had a vacancy suitable for myself, but i had to sign with an agency.

i signed the following day with the agency, and gave the contact details, but was offered a different role in "back end web administrative db work" collating data from the net (basically browsing the net and making an access db (thats how i found CF))...

in june this year, the project had been completed, my contract was to expire, i helped a few people around on their computers, then one of the managers offered me a role, he said, it would only be for two weeks on 1st and maybe parts of 2nd line support.

Hell did i think twice about the offer, straight yes was the answer!

so here i am, doing my A+, completing the role, now although this is what i have always wanted to do; now that i have had some solid experience in this, i found its not what i actually want to do...

my goal has now changed, i still want to support people, but not in this type of IT, im want to get involved in Network Security...

Im sure with the help of CF, and will power, my goal can be achieved, and will be achieved when i sort certain aspects of my life out...

This is Mr. Cheeks story, whats yours?

 

Wow, that's a hell of a tale mate

As I mentioned, for me learning IT is a new thing. I have been in print media production for quite a few years now and have kind of plateaued, top of what I am doing but just falling short of managerial. I have been tinkering around with computers since I was a kid, I normally have been asked to sort out basic IT issues in whatever office I have been in and spent a chunk of my degree helping people out in the computer lab. Then I heard the expression of 'the worst IT job is the one where you're not being paid for it' and thought I'd do something about it

I just enjoying fixing things. Nearly became a car mechanic when I was kid. So I thought it was about time to stop fannying around and do something about it, hence why I am here.

 

It's pretty much went the way I was expecting and hoped. I've gained a lot of knowledge and experience in my two jobs in IT. I'm a 2nd line engineer but want to move on into other areas in the future but before I do that I want to get a good grounding in IT and then move away from desktop support.

Basically IMHO there is no bounds to what you can acheive as long as your realistic and don't expect to make £50k in a year. Becoming a well paid worker in your field takes time to gain experience and make the right career choices. Early on I set out a plan for myself to meet salary and qualification goals. So far I've met them all...

 

Well I am just glad to be working in the IT sector.

I have been learning about computers since I was 16. I am more use to hardware side. Building and repairing and configuring systems. In my appraisal yesterday my Line Manager asked me what skills do I possess that have not been used yet and i mentioned I am good with hardware and would like to end up in the workshop department in a year or so.

Over the years I have built systems for people and its been good. I did have a period like Cheeks whereby I was out of a job and on the dole. On top of that the system I had 4yrs ago got nicked (we're talking about £1000 worth) which got me down even more.

However things picked up after that, I built my new system in 2004 which has now been replaced by the dual core machine I have. So I am pleased that I am finally in the job I have wanted for a long time. I am not bothered about the pay cos at the end of the day, if I love the job and I love the people I work with the pay is not a problem. But I know once I establish myself, then I will shall reap the rewards

 

haha if I had time to write a detailed response to this i would love to
my career has opened up so many different doorways and paths that it would be a fair old tale to tell

I did my NT4 MCSE when I was 14 off my own back and did work experiance at a Net Cafe as a result, this got me more involved in the networking side of things
After that I did NT consultancy during the time I took my networking skills up a few notches both with experiance and certifications
i then had more generic sysadmin roles encompassing everything from desktops to SANs, and whilst studying for my 2k MCSE i got into vmware as a training tool
after working in finance i moved into a security role due to my firewall/ids experiance and thought that was where i wanted to be, however my calling changed once again and I became a consultant, specialising in networking but being involved in pretty much everything from voip to AD
now my role is similar but i specialise in storage and virtualisation architecture

from starting 10 years ago on that 10mb network I definatly feel my career path has been more like that game 'pipe dream' than a ladder of such, but its that variety and disparity in my skillset that keeps me keen and makes me good at my job!

Lets see what the next few years bring

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm impressed with the posts so far, especially Ryan's motivation at such a young age. Talk about born for IT!

 

Clearly u have not spoken to jackd then... just ask simongrahamuk...lol...

 

It's an interesting question.

Goals vs Reality?

Is it wrong to set yourself goals that aren't based on reality? Wouldn't that be foolish?

On the other hand, is it not foolish to refuse to modify your goals when reality offers you a chance?

Hmm...

 

Even though I've messed with computers since I was 10, I never wanted to be a computer tech... I wanted to keep computers as a hobby. I really wanted to be a scientist, so I got my Chemistry degree (research in Computational Chemistry) with a Physics minor. Found out the hard way that companies want Chemists with Masters degrees, not Bachelor degrees - only job I was offered was one washing out test tubes for $25K... now how in the world can you prove your worth washing test tubes? So I started as a Field Service Tech making $11/hr (approx $22K per year), and my career took off from there.

Although I knew I'd enjoy teaching, I never thought that I would write practice exams for the leading practice exam provider at the time, and finally create my own company doing the same thing.

So, was it what I expected? No. Is it what I want? Most certainly. If I didn't... I'd have changed it along the way.

Side note - before I went to school for Chemistry, I was an Intelligence Analyst / Linguist in the US Army (out of necessity - at the time, I had no transportation, and was stuck in a dead-end job).

 

I left school at 15 and got a job as a trainee TV engineer (tech for the US guys), this is what I had always wanted to do, well since I can remember I have always had a knack with electronics. My father was an Engineer with the BBC, so I suppose it ran in the family. I went to college and did 5 years at night school C&G getting certified in what I loved to do. After eight years doing that, I got offered a job on a plate which promised more money, a better company car, training and other benefits like private health care. I took it, even though it was moving away from radio and TV.

I found myself fixing photocopier and fax machines, it was still a role where I could excel, as my electronics experience was significantly higher than most of the other techs. I got a string of promotions and ended up as District Engineering Manager, which basically meant, I was responsible for about forty staff and sat behind a desk answering the phone all day.

I got headhunted by a previous colleague that had started his own office equipment company. He offered me a job as a digital product specialist. This is where the fun started. Computer networks and office equipment had always been two separate entities but now copiers and fax machines were being networked. I was one of the very few people at that time that had a home PC and understood DOS (much of the early networking fax software was DOS based. Then the company wanted to go computerised, so I naturally got involved as I could speak some of the lingo. From that point on and for the next seven years, IT was yet another hat I wore, I was the fleet manager, the IT manager and the service manager. To be honest it was way too much and I did not enjoy one minute of it but by this time I had another agenda which was unknown to my employer. Packing my bags and heading for the land of Oz with my beautiful Australian new wife

I decided, rightly or wrongly to firstly do the MCSE, mainly just to give myself a goal and see if I still could pass an exam. And secondly, to start my own IT company. Why not, I had nothing to lose.

So here I am, my career path has swung dramatically from where it started but I am now here, doing my own thing and really enjoying it. I will never earn the salary I used to get in London but I couldn't care less. I am once again doing something which is interesting and enjoyable - what more could a person ask?

Note; beginning to end of this story covers over 35 years.

Next..

 

Boyce's turn,

Growing up we had computers in the house from day one. We had everything from a BBC, C64, Amiga (didn't get the 520ST), Apple (can't remember the model now- had a few beers! The one where the monitor held the entire bundle with a floppy on the front). Games machines- NES, SNES, Megadrive
Wish I learnt to program them! I remember the Amiga was real hot at the time. The games were ahead of it's time, and it was a very stable OS. We used to CTRL + ALT + Delete into a earlier version of the OS for some game compatibility. This older OS had an image of a hand holding a floppy.

I have always been interested in electrics, electronics and eager to know how things work. I went through high school with two main interest's- Electronics and Cars.

I used to order project kits from Maplin (before they had their shops- just the mail order from Essex) and RS via the ICT teacher. I helped the ICT teacher build several lab setup's and eventually used to design and make my own PCB's. These *projects* usually revolved around the IC555 timer and included everything from a burgular alarm to mains powered Christmas tree osscilating (check spelling) light's.

By 14 i was driving Petrol powered Go-Karts at a local track and
turning my attention to nut's and bolts opposed to IC's and solder.

At sixteen I left school with eight good GCSE passes but wanted to do something practical. I applied for an apprenticeship with
DARA (Aircraft repair) and a big car manufacturer.

To cut a long story short, I was offered a prosperous position with the car manufacturer two weeks before an offer with the MOD and by that time had already accepted.

On the 8th year working as an Auto electrician, I had my yearly appraisal with my mananger (in a pub, of course!) and had a heart to heart with him.
I explained that I always had a passion for IT and hope it isn't too late to try something new. He said I was a valueble member of his team who could return anytime, but had a son the same age as me and off the record told me to do it now before it is too late. He said *if you don't do it now, you never will do it*.

I started looking in to Certification and attended CATS for a PC build classroom course. The course was so good, I signed up for their advanced course. I returned (140 miles from home) the following month. By this time, I was truely *hooked*.

I signed up for the A+ and studied like mad- I was re-learning the material which I was familiar with years ago and not just studying to pass two exams.

I gained A+ and was *hungry* for more. At this time, i realised if i wanted to make the break I would have to give up my decent salary and company car.

If you are still awake, that brings my story up to date. I am looking forward to the future in IT. Good luck to every other career changer out there.

Regards

Si

 

Its fantastic to read these stories as someone just starting out on the carrer path after studying in IT for a couple of years now and they bring inspiration. GOOD THREAD!

 

my tale started when my dad bought a sorcerer computer back in the early 80's back with 8' floppies lol. i learnt programming basic just little games and blowing out my parents phone bill calling interstate to get on BBS's with my uber 9600 modem.

I played more with computers and looking over the system admins shoulder and getting his log/pass and checking out other students work, school had a dozen or so BBC's. made it to the last year of school. i got a offerd a bakery appreticeship so i gave away school and started work the next day at 2am. i did that for 10 years my pc work died off since i was sleeping mostly.

i got the bug again and paid out 10 grand for a win2000 server course which i thought was a bit steep because all of the classmates had never touched a pc before. only 8 passed out of the 20 people. i continued looking for IT work, couldnt get anything so back to bakery i went. I got the call 1 day for a job i applied for 5 months earlier saying they might have a position for me at a telco. went for the interview with the temp agency got another call 5 mins later to meet the client. went to that and got a call 30 mins later that i got the job. Its not a IT job, i just call the techs to send them to fix PABX's around ausssie. It's a foot in the door, at least thats what im using it as. Never lose sight of the goal.... and what u enjoy..

 

I agree Kev. The more people I talk to, the more I hear *oh, yeah i used to be a .......*

CF is living proof that *you* can make things happen. I would say the key is;

* The desire to do something. You need to want the urge to eat, live and breath something to change career. Don't change career because some clown in a suit with a price list informs you can earn a million pounds a year.

* Keep your chin up. Changing career (or even starting a new one for that matter) is hard- You are starting all over again.

* Practice, practice, learn and ask as many people as you can get hold of.

* Once you have the *foot in the door* keep it there and prepare to equal your rivals. Do that little bit extra and study for certification.

* Don't be afraid to ask. I have never (and don't think i ever will) be afraid to ask for further information.

* Sit back and enjoy the rewards.

Si

 

Spot on Si!

As i said i have just got a start myself as field service tech in the NHS and it all started by doing volunteer work for them.. not a jot of experience behind me, just the eagerness to learn something new, following on from that a secondment post came up at the start of the year for three months, no doubt because of the volunteering that landed me that post and now i'm in there again.

Enthusiasm, not affraid to ask, say if you don't know, good positive attitude and i think those attributes can help anyone out there that has concerns about getting a start with no experience.

Trust me, i'm, living proof!

 

Kev,

Good on you!

I notice a lot of the NHS ad's are posted as *this is for internal candiates only* even though they are on the internet. They seem to like their CISCO too....

Si

 

Yeh i have noticed that too Si, i think they just make up the one form then just post them on both internet and intranet but i see your point.

As for the Cisco malarky thats something i want to be quick to find out about when i get in there and i will keep you posted. The network manager has already said he will let me take home some equipment for when i start my CCNA so thats a real bonus!

Apologies for running a little off topic!

 

Kev,

You haven't run off topic at all matey.

I think you are right with the ad's - what harm can it *do* when advertised as internal? Nothing.

That is kind of your boss to lend you equipment and share his knowledge with you.

Best of luck.

Regards

Si