Career Change
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The obvious tool that you will need to use to start telling employers that you have bridged the gap between the science world and the business one, is industry certifications. I'm not a huge fan of certs themselves (even though I write them) but I am a pretty big fan of the process that you go through to properly get a cert. Certs are best as a means of guiding you through a learning process.
I'm a big believer that anyone starting in IT should consider starting with the CompTIA Network+ (and never the A+) as a base level of knowledge that everyone should have. After the Net+, then look at a certification path that makes sense for your desired career path. The Network+ is really the only "general purpose" IT cert and is, in many ways, more of just demonstrating that you are a general purpose power user and ready to start your IT learning.
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@denis-d said in Career Change:
Hi everyone, wanted to hear your opinion on my situation. I finished college with a chemistry degree , and worked in the industry now for several years. Got really tired due to no job stability, low pay, and no honest chemical companies. I have been thinking of transitioning to IT for several months but honestly I am scared to make the move due to my education not being in IT, or computer science. I am thinking that by pursuing certification I would be able to prove to an employer that I have some technical knowledge. But I am just not sure. What are your thoughts? Can I make it in IT with a chemistry background? Will this path be much tougher then having a relevant background?
Yes, you can make it on IT. I have seen many helpdesk coming from Business Degree, Engineering and more become IT Helpdesk. There are many good IT companies but you might find many software and companies in general that are not all honest..
I have been in IT for 11-12 Years and I only have an Associate Degree in Information Technology. The most important part is to have experience which you will find by doing helpdesk, testing systems on your own and finding opportunities.
It shouldn't be tougher, since you have critical thinking and have the ability to resolve problems you are just applying to a different career.
You also should start looking for experience before getting into a certification, that way you are already in the path.
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I actually have a degree in IT, a Master's in fact, but it looks like I'm more of the exception to the rule than the rule itself.
You really don't need a degree to start in IT. Helpdesk is not entry into IT. It is another field of IT.
I'll quote Scott from above on some things. Start a home lab. You don't have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on hardware and licenses. You can spend $5-10/month on Vultr or Linode, get a vm with Fedora or Debian Linux and begin building stuff.
If Linux isn't you're thing, then you might want to check out VyOS for networking and switching, or get yourself some Ubiquiti equipment and do a small network at home.
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@denis-d said in Career Change:
I have been thinking of transitioning to IT for several months but honestly I am scared to make the move due to my education not being in IT, or computer science.
Fear is the greatest paralytic of all. If it interests you, jump on in! As far as education and formal training, you will find that participating in communities like this will teach you far more and different things than you will find in a course.
In my opinion you'll find that your self-training + community of experienced will keep you on the right path of thinking.
Despite all of that, I can empathize with your fear 100%.
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@nerdydad said in Career Change:
I actually have a degree in IT, a Master's in fact, but it looks like I'm more of the exception to the rule than the rule itself.
You really don't need a degree to start in IT. Helpdesk is not entry into IT. It is another field of IT.
I'll quote Scott from above on some things. Start a home lab. You don't have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on hardware and licenses. You can spend $5-10/month on Vultr or Linode, get a vm with Fedora or Debian Linux and begin building stuff.
If Linux isn't you're thing, then you might want to check out VyOS for networking and switching, or get yourself some Ubiquiti equipment and do a small network at home.
I too have a Masters in IT (will be paid off in 3 months finally), but I got that later in life when I was at AT&T and looking to move out of the Union and into Development.
Also IT from that college doens't mean IT. It means anything to do with a fucking computer.
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Have you thought of Development? I'm sure Chemist + Dev will be a killer combination for some companies. Getting your first Dev job might be harder than getting your first IT job though.
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Is it IT you like, or programming / software engineering?
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I completed the majority of a master's program from a respected college in NY... But after looking at the numbers I was surprised to see that, in IT, master's degrees actually earn less, on average, then people with no formal education.
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I've read articles of people with PhDs who can't buy houses because they have a million dollar education debt... Fine if you are a medical field doctor making a quarter million a year... but those aren't the only PhD holders...
I can imagine that a Masters degree is very expensive too.
So you need to make a lot of money to off-set the costs of having to pay back your school loan.
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I still have 10 months left on my school loan, but I'm not making big payments either... the interest is so low it didn't matter much.
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@jaredbusch said in Career Change:
@nerdydad said in Career Change:
I actually have a degree in IT, a Master's in fact, but it looks like I'm more of the exception to the rule than the rule itself.
You really don't need a degree to start in IT. Helpdesk is not entry into IT. It is another field of IT.
I'll quote Scott from above on some things. Start a home lab. You don't have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on hardware and licenses. You can spend $5-10/month on Vultr or Linode, get a vm with Fedora or Debian Linux and begin building stuff.
If Linux isn't you're thing, then you might want to check out VyOS for networking and switching, or get yourself some Ubiquiti equipment and do a small network at home.
I too have a Masters in IT (will be paid off in 3 months finally), but I got that later in life when I was at AT&T and looking to move out of the Union and into Development.
Also IT from that college doens't mean IT. It means anything to do with a fucking computer.
What school did you get your degree from?
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@tim_g said in Career Change:
I've read articles of people with PhDs who can't buy houses because they have a million dollar education debt... Fine if you are a medical field doctor making a quarter million a year... but those aren't the only PhD holders...
Quarter million is a terrible income for a PhD. LOL. That's a great example of how doctors could never justify the time and cost of school.
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Obviously depends on what kind of medical doctor you are:
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Considering the salary range for IT with NO degree... IT can do way better.
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IT obviously has a ridiculously large range of income that starts around minimum wage. Doctors lack that low end stuff. But when you compare high end IT, the people for whom a PhD or MD is an option, IT gets paid really high. For example, at CitiGroup, entry level system admin, no college, under two years of experience, was $105K to start and got up to $200K. And they were considered one of the lowest in the market. And that was well over a decade ago, so a lot more money by today's standards.
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@scottalanmiller said in Career Change:
IT obviously has a ridiculously large range of income that starts around minimum wage. Doctors lack that low end stuff. But when you compare high end IT, the people for whom a PhD or MD is an option, IT gets paid really high. For example, at CitiGroup, entry level system admin, no college, under two years of experience, was $105K to start and got up to $200K. And they were considered one of the lowest in the market. And that was well over a decade ago, so a lot more money by today's standards.
That's in a large company and is enterprise IT. Most of us here are SMB, and not making anywhere near 300k.
Just because something is possible, doesn't mean it's like that for everyone.
Find me an SMB who will pay an IT generalist 300k... you wont. Perhaps as you said, a specialized system admin for an enterprise.
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@tim_g said in Career Change:
Find me an SMB who will pay an IT generalist 300k... you wont.
Find me that, and I'll probably do some depraved shit for that job.
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@tim_g said in Career Change:
@scottalanmiller said in Career Change:
IT obviously has a ridiculously large range of income that starts around minimum wage. Doctors lack that low end stuff. But when you compare high end IT, the people for whom a PhD or MD is an option, IT gets paid really high. For example, at CitiGroup, entry level system admin, no college, under two years of experience, was $105K to start and got up to $200K. And they were considered one of the lowest in the market. And that was well over a decade ago, so a lot more money by today's standards.
That's in a large company and is enterprise IT. Most of us here are SMB, and not making anywhere near 300k.
But the jobs are out there. SMB doesn't have system admins, either. That's the actual difference in pay. System Admins make good money.
But it's not just enterprises paying that. Loads of 500 and fewer companies pay in that range.
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Today I learned I did everything wrong. CIS Degree, started at minimum wage, don't make anywhere near doctor money, don't have a home lab, never post on here, and don't blog. I still work in IT, live in my hometown, make ok money, and have a good time with people I enjoy. Cheers and good luck man! Get out there and get your feet wet.
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@scottalanmiller said in Career Change:
@tim_g said in Career Change:
@scottalanmiller said in Career Change:
IT obviously has a ridiculously large range of income that starts around minimum wage. Doctors lack that low end stuff. But when you compare high end IT, the people for whom a PhD or MD is an option, IT gets paid really high. For example, at CitiGroup, entry level system admin, no college, under two years of experience, was $105K to start and got up to $200K. And they were considered one of the lowest in the market. And that was well over a decade ago, so a lot more money by today's standards.
That's in a large company and is enterprise IT. Most of us here are SMB, and not making anywhere near 300k.
But the jobs are out there. SMB doesn't have system admins, either. That's the actual difference in pay. System Admins make good money.
But it's not just enterprises paying that. Loads of 500 and fewer companies pay in that range.
yeah - you say that, but I've never seen it. I know that itself is meaningless... but I'd really like to know where these 500 or less person companies are that are paying IT 300K +
and compared to SMB IT, how many are getting that? 10% of the industry? 5%? 50% who knows?
