Studied the wrong IT pathway

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RedDinosaur

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#288877 29-Jul-2021 13:47

I feel like I studied the wrong pathway. I have a degree and I took all the programming courses to become a web or app developer. Initially, I was going to become a game developer though became concerned I'd have trouble finding work. I felt ambitious, not really knowing if it was the best direction.

But as I'm trying to develop a portfolio and become confident I feel like a job that wasn't so mentally demanding would be better, such as down the network path. Is a network administrator for example as mentally demanding as a web or app developer? I only have a vague idea of what they do.

Mentally demanding as in currently I have to research how to do something, understand the code, apply and adjust it to my situation, debug, etc. Then I have to remember where this section of code is to make this change, learn this new framework or whatever. On top of that I'd like to actually get up and have to do some physical work.

Aside from this, let's say I want to become a network administrator, is there any free online courses or lecture slides that I could read up on, instead of having to pay money to take some more courses? The employer is not going to know the difference?

Thank you

kobiak

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#2751774 29-Jul-2021 14:01

I'm not network engineer/network admin, but I doubt it's arguable easier to config all the different network routers/switches/APs/etc.

If you have knowledge in web/app development using one particular framework - master it to the degree, you don't need to constantly google the answer on stackoverflow. Once you master the basic of webdev (CSS, HTML, vanilla JS) - it will be easy to work with frameworks (react, vue, angular). And most of the cases you will find that complex web apps - can't fit generic solution for all, thus you as PROFESSIONAL would need to make decision what to use and how to use and apply.

I'm sure the above could be said for network engineering

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pih

649 posts

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#2751784 29-Jul-2021 14:27

I might be misreading this, but I think you're probably just in the middle of a case of "new to the workplace blues". I too got my degree in computer science with a focus on software engineering and had similar thoughts when I started working in "the real world". These things take time, but if you stick with it you'll gradually find yourself moving up the ladder.

I've now been in software for over 20 years (wow, now I feel really old), and I still feel like that on occasion when I encounter something I'm not familiar with, particularly disconcerting when it's some tech that all the new kids learned at school 😄

As for the "physical work" side of things, yes, that's something you definitely have to manage or it could kill you. Develop good habits of exercise and breaks while you're young. Find a physical hobby outside of work and stick with it. This goes for almost any job in IT.

Give it a few years. If you really don't like it, you sound young enough to go for a career change without too much difficulty.

Good luck

Lias

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#2751789 29-Jul-2021 14:34

I'm not a network engineer as such, but I have worn that hat at times in the past and have my CCNA.

My 2 cents is Easier? No, not really, just different. I'd also argue more boring. Physical work is pretty minimal. In my experience the only IT jobs that involve much leaving your desk is desktop/field engineer type jobs (or some service desks, depending on how IT is structured).

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plas

455 posts

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#2751797 29-Jul-2021 15:02

RedDinosaur:

Mentally demanding as in currently I have to research how to do something, understand the code, apply and adjust it to my situation, debug, etc. Then I have to remember where this section of code is to make this change, learn this new framework or whatever. On top of that I'd like to actually get up and have to do some physical work.

There is no escaping this cycle even in infrastructure, with the migration to IaC I now spend more time in code than physical hardware.

plo009

107 posts

Master Geek

#2751798 29-Jul-2021 15:06

I think it is unavoidable to have some degree learning when you're new to the job, how much and how fast do you have to learn depends on the company. For some projects once you get the hang of it, the company may just needs someone to maintain the system and do some bug fixes and small changes occasionally which is pretty chill but you may also feel stagnated in the long run.

tchart

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#2751800 29-Jul-2021 15:11

My 2c

Starting any new job is exhausting. You will be tired etc becuase of your heightened anxiety of being new. It affects everyone.

As per others comments you really need to enjoy what you are doing. If you don't enjoy coding then it's the wrong thing to be doing. I've seen many people who want to be a programmer but really can't do it no matter how hard you try. On the other hand there are just naturals who just pick it up even if they didn't study IT or programming specifically.

I don't think forcing yourself to be an expert at one framework is a great idea. Things change very quickly in programming. Again it comes down the the how natural you are as you should be able to look at most code and understand it no matter what the language is.

Having said that a lot of new grads find out that the uni courses are on obsolete languages. There is some truth to this and moving from say Java to web is a very different paradigm that you may not have been taught.

If you are determined then stick it out then I'd give it a bit more of a go or perhaps find another job that has some different or shared tasks rather than just a developer.

gzt

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#2751922 29-Jul-2021 18:55

Does Geeks on Wheels or something like that appeal to you? I think that's good if you already like to do a bit of everything.

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gzt

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#2752058 29-Jul-2021 22:55

RedDinosaur: Aside from this, let's say I want to become a network administrator, is there any free online courses or lecture slides that I could read up on, instead of having to pay money to take some more courses?

Isn't there some govt subsidy for AWS cloud courses? That's the new network admin. Give that a go and see if you like it. Worst case - great skills for a well rounded web developer to have.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2847 posts

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#2752134 30-Jul-2021 07:26

I wouldn't give up on the development path so easily. Look for other opportunities in the field. I love writing code, I tap away at it most days, but I hated doing it as a job.

My first job sucked, if I'm being completely honest about it. They didn't develop me as a developer and after four years I felt a little lost. I was offered a part time fixed-term testing role, which I accepted. I had even less interest in that, but it opened up other opportunities. I ended up being there for eight years and responsible for performance testing amongst other duties. I got to build the infrastructure and in-house software and was able work with a range of stakeholders, including R&D.

As we moved more towards Agile, I was able to pick tasks from the board that also interested me, including those with more of a release management focus. I'm still a developer, or at least that's how I approach tasks, but I find the ancillary roles are of much more interest to me than actually writing code on a daily basis.

gzt

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#2752227 30-Jul-2021 09:25

RedDinosaur: But as I'm trying to develop a portfolio and become confident I feel like a job that wasn't so mentally demanding would be better,

I'd save yourself some time and effort there and get some advice from working professionals about what really needs to be in that portfolio to show the level of competency you have achieved.

Imo you're probably going bigger on the portfolio than you need to.

neb

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#2753058 31-Jul-2021 21:47

Another suggestion, there are quite a few IT meetups that often have a brief orientation session where people looking for work and people offering work put up their hands, they're typically free or with a token charge, you could maybe go to one or two of those to get a feel for what the work/environment is like and then possibly talk to people offering work...