Anyone else have this experience? Luckily I went into telecom which is great money but terrible hours and stress. Maybe because government money is a huge source of income in any expansions or projects.
I’ve been steadily looking at IT positions, mainly network techs, database tech, sysadmin type roles which is all I’m qualified for. The pay is absolutely awful. Helpdesk is 15/hr average because it’s an entry level position. Database techs average 15-20. Still not great for the amount of experience and skill base needed.
And sysadmin make MAYBE 20-25 average.
And any network engineer or network administrator is a requirement of 10 years worth of knowledge on everything to do with networks.
And sometimes they’re stupid enough to ask for network engineering degrees. Where the fuck do you find this mythical degree program?
Also something I’ve noticed is they all want a Bachelors In CS. CS is just programming now!!
CS is completely fucking useless for any networking or sysadmin type jobs, and yet it’s the only degree program for IT in 90% of colleges in the US.
So i can go into 100k in debt for a BA in CS and only be qualified to make 20/hr MAX with nothing but my degree. And good luck getting a job with just a degree and no real experience.
IT hiring firms I’ve noticed after a few years are the worst as well. They are clueless as to what any of the positions are or what they do. They just get a list and use keywords to find candidates.
This is just a rant. Coming because I received my 20th interview and job offer for an IT job that will only pay 20/hr max with no fucking benefits!
Fuck entry-intermediate level IT, I can’t imagine being in debt and fresh out of college and finding this out. So please… self teaching and provable personal projects of your own is the only real way to go. Along with certification programs it’s the only real way to get a decent job anymore.
Computer Science is a Psychology degree at this point. And unless you enjoy software engineering or programming you will hate it
I do find it weird that they are requiring a BS in CS (lol, that’s kinda funny). If someone has the right certifications, what point would there be to have a diploma?
Pretty much every company is using staffing or contracting firms at this point and after talking to dozens kf recruiters they are clueless on basic IT level knowledge.
It’s only worth it to do a vocational or other tech school for Networking and IT. Pretty much the only way to learn if you don’t teach yourself, or pick it up on the job. And they at least prepare you for some of the certs. The others you can pick up as you go.
Bachelors degree in CS is worthless torture if you’re not into programming.
I wish I could like my IT jobs that I get off and on. I liked what I had in HS because I basically ran the building for my boss. That was fun. And I was learning about novell and studying to take a cert test for my boss so that he could manage the other schools and I could do the HS (which had 3X the machines of all the other schools combined) but then novell closed
I got an associates degree in network security, and all it got me thus far is a job starting at $11 an hour doing bulk laptop repair for schools.
Hours are acceptable but the stress is through the roof because the supplier of parts is garbage and has the most idiotic system imaginable for doing bulk work, because they think we don’t do bulk work. (they even limit the number of screws we can order at a time)
At least where I’m going, Penn State, World Campus, its a BS in IT which is broken into two different paths:
Integration and Application
Integration and Application Option:Explore the role of information technology within and between businesses. The Integration and Application option (ITINT) prepares you to use IT to support high-level strategic organization and problem solving. You can learn to analyze the needs of an organization, formulate and implement technology-based solutions, and evaluate outcomes. You can also learn how technology impacts the world at large, and what you can do with this information to shape the future. Coursework in this option consists of team-programming experiences.
Design and Development
Design and Development Option:Create software and applications to drive technology forward. The Information Systems: Design and Development Option (ISDEV) helps you expand the skills needed to develop advanced information technology systems. You’ll use state-of-the-art tools to learn how to develop applications and software, troubleshoot existing and new technology, and solve complex coding challenges. Coursework in this option is project-oriented and consists of team-programming experiences.
I feel like the Integration and Application side is more sysadmin-like and what I want to do career wise.
I looked at changing careers, worked out it’ll be 5+ years to get back to my current income. I’m a forklift technician, qualified auto-electrician but 15 years experience doing electrical and mechanical on cars before moving to forklifts and learning hydraulics and higher voltage AC/inverter stuff.
So yeah, throwing that away to start again is pretty shit; I guess it’s like any career, you work your way up and if things fall right you can end up in a good role with decent pay.
I’m moving into an ITC field from a law background.
I did the university thing, and am looking at nearly $60K/p.a loss before taking into account the difference in pay increases based on experience.
The thing is, you’ll find a lot more of the entry level jobs with good companies will include a certain level of certification training and development which can be costly to self fund… in my previous career, there was little training beyond mandatory professional development, and a greater emphasis was placed on how much I could be doing in the space of a 15-17 hour day while only being “paid” like it’s a 10-12 hour day.
When you take these things into account, the lower stress, and better quality workplace almost pays for itself, even if you living standards do need to be reduced.
This isn’t to say one way is better than the other, but more that the value placed on salary can be super misleading unlessf you evaluate all the differences.
You know all that silicon valley “learn tech” and “coding is literacy” evangelism?
How about the unilaterally pushed narrative that IT, Programming, etc. are highly skilled labor with severe shortages?
This isn’t done for any altruistic reason. There’s no philanthropic body behind this messaging.
Cali technocrats want to push this narrative so that they have a more replaceable labor force, that they can pay and treat worse. That’s it. If everyone knows how to code and work in IT, then they don’t have to pay their nerds six figures for keeping them obscenely rich.
It’s already worked on the lower rungs and margins of the industry, as you and others are experiencing.
On the other hand Programming will pay more than Sys-admin. Which is what @_hill is after. But I remember in my University CS degree had lot of maths in it. IF you are not good at maths you will struggle.
Mabie that how it is in U.S.A but for me in Canada my experience so far is that jobs that are govement IT are well paid im a IT Technician and is making 20/hr. But you have to look at work benefits and other condition i would take 15/hr if there where more benfits and a better job working condition any day.
ps sorry for bad grammar english is my second language.
