Career Advice

First I would like to say I just recently found this site and I love it. This is a great site kudos to the people working on this site. Now on to the point of this post...


This summer I will be receiving my Computer Maintenance and Networking Associate. With this associate I can go for a Computer Science Bachelor or a Networking Bachelor. I would prefer to go for the networking bachelor as I would enjoy that more, but I feel that options are more limited in the networking field. If I cant find or have trouble getting a networking job then what are my options? If I go for the Computer Science degree I more types of jobs available to me. Also it seems that the salary cap in the networking field is lower than the cap in the computer science field. I am not looking for you guys to tell me which to pick, but just enlighten me with your views or if I am wrong about any of this stuff. I am just trying to get more information to think about. Thanks for you help and insight.

Hello Chap,
you are in the correct track.

For me you go to the heart of the matter when you said "I would enjoy that more". The basic question is, do you want to maximise your earnings potential and career options, or do you want to go for the future you feel you would enjoy more? Only you can make that choice. I'm now aged 40 and counting, and when I was younger I went for the 'money and options' outlook but now I am glad to be able do do something I enjoy and get paid a decent living for doing it. However, as Helensmith rightly says, whichever you choose you are going to do well

I have spent the last three years working as a contractor after well over 10 years working up from helpdesk to 3rd line server manager for a large public organisation.

In that time I have seen the industry change and grow up quite a bit. These days there are a lot of people competing for work in the PC/Server maintenance arena and the users themselves are becoming a lot more savvy in how they use their equipment. Natural evolution really.

The network maintenance arena still lies pretty much in the realms of the basement boffins. A lot of potential techies are scared away by the minimum knowledge requirement "guard dogs" like IP addressing, OSI/TCP models, structured cabling and how to use those strange little cisco boxes that live in the machine room with all those flashing lights that seem very important for some reason.

In my opinion, this is where the future of IT techies lie driven by the benefits to organisations of the internet. Internetworking, VOIP, and very definately, Security are going to be the next part of this technical revolution and consequently, where the money will lie.

Apart from all that, you wrote "I would prefer to go for the networking bachelor as I would enjoy that more" ! I think you have answered your own question. The networking work will be there when your done and it will be there for quite some time to come.

now I am glad to be able do do something I enjoy and get paid a decent living for doing it.

Is there any jobs going at your place then

Hi JHeezy,

I do agree tat at present the software field is shining & undergoing an excellent boom. The growth rate in software in now unparallel. But that still isnt reasons enough to choose software over wat u really enjoy doing.

As for me, I chose this field rite when i was doing my engineering in Electonics. While most of my classmate ran for the software boom.. I decided tat i shud stay back.( Although frankly i was tempted , but the tot of writing raw codes just turned me off.. i knew it wasnt for me). I started off doin my MCSA while others in softwares already had ter first appraisal.. And i do agree the growth rate is quicker in software tan in netw, but if u really put in the rite effort n patience then salary and rest will definitely follow u.

If u r really determined then go for CCIE, its the top most IT certification available and will make all your dreams come true(monetary n otherwise)
Well i too plan to do it some day, for the time being its still in my dreams

Oops, i dint expect to write this long , hope it will be useful for some atleast

Follow ur heart!

TC
NetIvy