Best Long-Term IT Career Path

Forums › IT Pro and developers › Best Long-Term IT Career Path

Kiwidood

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#112126 27-Nov-2012 11:24

Hey guys,
I'm interested in what you believe is the best long-term IT career path?

I'm trying to figure out what to pursue, thought it would be a good idea to get some input from other people in the industry... Here's some information about me:

I'm 21 years old, been interested/working with computers/tech since I was 10.

Administrated linux servers: inc. game servers, mail servers, web servers, forums, help desk software.
I've been learning: C++, PHP, HTML, CSS also LUA.
I've done a bit of graphics design for some companies in photoshop/illustrator.
I've done some web design and development.
Been fixing computers for years, virus removal, optimization, hardware replacement and the like.
Troubleshotting hardware/debugging software.
I'm also interested in business development.

I practically love everything IT and believe I could learn pretty much any part of it long term, I feel this is what I want to be doing all my life paid or not as long as I could cover expenses.

I live in Whangarei and I haven't seen any IT jobs available here at all in a long time, but I'm looking for my future so was hoping you guys could shed some light on what you believe to be the most likely field to get a job/with the most future regardless of location.

Cheers!

magu

Professional yak shaver
1599 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

BitSignal

Lifetime subscriber

#723525 27-Nov-2012 11:25

Welcome to Geekzone.

I'd start by looking at what other hobbies you have besides IT, then looking for something that ties the two.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

reven

3743 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#723527 27-Nov-2012 11:27

personally I would get a BSc in Computer Science and get into programming, there will always be jobs out there for good programmers, the pay is pretty good, and is fun if you like programming.

thats what i did :)

chopcomputerrepairs

12 posts

Geek

#723556 27-Nov-2012 12:03

Start your own business. Especially if there are no jobs available you can create your own!

gehenna

8518 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#723593 27-Nov-2012 12:57

Have to laugh at this, sorry.

Guarantee after a few years doing whatever it is you end up doing, you'll find yourself moving into an area you had no idea you had any interest in. ;)

Kiwidood

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#723603 27-Nov-2012 13:11

You're probably completely right! I'm enjoying the journey regardless of where I end up :D

I guess I came here to get some ideas of what other people have done and had success with and perhaps some guidance into a sustainable field to get into as there are so many paths.

Regards the other posts: I currently enjoy programming the most, so perhaps that is a path to go down. I have also always wanted to start up my own company, so that's a goal too.

Thanks for the replies!

tatbaird

142 posts

Master Geek

#723617 27-Nov-2012 13:28

Dude, you really have answered your own question. If you enjoy programming the most, go for that.

Kiwidood

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#723644 27-Nov-2012 14:16

Thanks Tatbaird,
I guess I was worrying that programming jobs may be less available and perhaps they would be out-sourced vs. say a system admin/networking type career.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

tatbaird

142 posts

Master Geek

#723657 27-Nov-2012 14:39

Good point, but you can't outsource really top talent. If you do it right you're conference calling with Silicon Valley big noters who are tripping over their expense accounts trying to hire you. Would take a lot of work to get to that point, but still possible. Good luck.

reven

3743 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#723658 27-Nov-2012 14:48

personally I wouldnt worry to much about outsourcing programming jobs. if you do a search on seek there are a lot of them.

the general opinion i hear is outsourcing programming usually goes terrible wrong and needs a lot of rework done.

it can take a little while out of uni to get a job, but once you get your foot in the door, its a pretty steady climb, assuming you're not terrible at it :)

just make sure you do a real programming degree (BSc in computer science or software engineering), pay attention to your grades (thats all you really can put on your CV at first), and you should be alright.

gzt

17153 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#723669 27-Nov-2012 15:02

+1 on programming. Still far more demand than anything else.

Anything can be outsourced, but it is difficult to get it right. Technical programming more than anything.

Comp-sci is good and there are other approaches. You should not necessarily expect comp-sci will teach specifically the ins and outs of a particular language or platform. It is a common complaint from people who expect that.

If your question is really 'regardless of location and also in Whangarei' then the answer might be a bit different. I'm sure there is a lot of programming going on in Whangarei but it is probably not advertised and you would not expect many positions overall anyway.

Looking at your profile - you are building a lot of basic skills and are no doubt advanced in some areas as well. If you are not already working in the industry I'd encourage you to chat with people working in that area locally and see what their requirements are. Formalising some of your skills and experience with A+ and the like would be easy for you.

mikerussellnz

283 posts

Ultimate Geek

#723684 27-Nov-2012 15:20

Don't worry about outsourcing if you want to do programming.

Most companies that have a clue have stopped outsourcing due to the fact that usually it results in a mess that the local staff have to clean up. As well as that if they were outsourcing to low wage countries, it is increasingly becoming less of a price advantage as wages go up as the country develops and it is becoming less and less of a costing saving, especially if you want good people.

sidefx

3713 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#723689 27-Nov-2012 15:24

reven:
just make sure you do a real programming degree (BSc in computer science or software engineering), pay attention to your grades (thats all you really can put on your CV at first), and you should be alright.

This.

I went the engineering route and while there was no specific software engineering degree when I did it (many years ago) I did a mix of engineering and compsci papers and found that the engineering papers tend to be more hands and also covered more lower level concepts, embedded programming, communication systems, hardware design, etc. While these may not be things you'll need day-to-day if you're aiming for a straight programming career they're very good to know and I think give a wide range of possibilities for careers.

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

Kiwidood

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#724072 28-Nov-2012 11:20

Very useful replies, thanks!
That does seem logical regards outsourcing - thanks for easing my mind. I've even had trouble outsourcing small web projects.
Looks like I'm going to be asking around what's required locally and get into formalizing my skills, good advice.
I'd love to get into computer science/engineering perhaps in the future, but there's really no availability for learning that locally I don't think. Perhaps there's some online courses for more specific programming areas.

I'm heading towards becoming a web developer seems to be a lot of demand for PHP/Java type skills, so went to check out computerpowers courses and all that, found this to be amusing connecting to computerpower.ac.nz lol...
Database Error: Unable to connect to the database:Could not connect to MySQL

Truly learning from pros.

timmmay

20587 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#724086 28-Nov-2012 11:38

Look at software development as a whole, not just programming. I was a programmer, then a developer, now moving toward architect. People skills and writing skills become as if not more important than programming skills.

gzt

17153 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#724095 28-Nov-2012 11:44

Kiwidood: I'd love to get into computer science/engineering perhaps in the future, but there's really no availability for learning that locally I don't think.

Massey Uni offer distance learning in some areas of comp-sci. One or two papers are always an option and can be cross credited almost anywhere if you later choose to go full time study.