Career Related Questions

[CinderBlox]

I have a few questions i'd like to ask and ANY help would deeply be appreciated.

1. Do you need to go to college to get any Certifications?

2. Is college a must for anyone who wants to work in a Computer or Computer related field?

3. Are there alternate routes or courses/classes someone can take after high school instead of College / University?

4. For a 15 year old High School student, can anyone recommend what I could do to basically get ahead? Courses/Classes I could take ( Not in school, I'm already taking Communications Technology/Computer Science/Tech Design )

5. I'm looking for a part time job, related to Computers in ANYWAY, can anyway suggest some good ideas?

 

[Elbatrop1]

1. No. Things like CCNA or A+ don't require any school time.
2. No. Some computer shops hire people who only have their A+. You could get a networking job with only your CCNA.
3. Yes. I kinda answered that above.
4. Kinda answered above.
5. Call centers, best buy, other retail stores.

 

[Elbatrop1]

1. No. Things like CCNA or A+ don't require any school time.
2. No. Some computer shops hire people who only have their A+. You could get a networking job with only your CCNA.
3. Yes. I kinda answered that above.
4. Kinda answered above.
5. Call centers, best buy, other retail stores.

Some links to learn about certifications:

http://www.comptia.com/
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/learning/index.html

Hope this helps

 

[Harper]

1. You don't need to. Some Certifcations and Qualifications can be done privately. And at the end, you only need to sit for a test.
Example :- My cabler's liences.

2. No. But the piece of paper or 2 does help with the first one or two full time jobs.

3. Traineeship. The pay might be bad, and you might have a jerk of a boss who is just putting you so he can exploit you. But expereince is a better teacher.

4. Traineeship. But I would recommend that you finish high school first before getting a traineeship.

5. Internet Service Provider Tech Support. But the hours can be bad. Like I an not sure how you are going to handle High School, Study / Homework and a 1 am to 6am Grave Yard Shift.
Otherwise, check to see if there are any companies that are putting on more system builders in the lead up to christmas time.
And check some of the retail stores too as they might need some extra staff.

 

[Larry K]

There is no right or wrong answer.... BUT there are answers that apply only to you.

Everyone is different and have different goals. When it comes to life and careers... You need to know WHAT you want out of it?

The decision should be thought about... no quick answers... I want this or that.

If you can't come up with a solid, truthful answer... then maybe you do "general" things until something stands out for you.

Maybe you can tell us what you like doing?
What are you goals?

 

[ayenem]

Larry's answer is the best. I'd like to spin off that and ramble for a minute.
I think you are looking for more of a structured path then you will ever receive. The IT industry depends A LOT on the way YOU want to go. It requires a self starter. Nobody will say "hey you are going to be a web designer and thats final" and pushes you into the "correct" courses to get you there, and holds your hand the whole way through. i.e.- If you take it upon yourself to go to the used book store and skim the spines of hundreds of computer related books until one topic catches your attention, and buy it for dirt cheap, take it home, and read it cover to cover then you will do great things in the IT industry- that would prove to yourself that you have the motivation and desire to do whatever it takes to get you where you want to go.

1. NO. you have an infinite resource to learn whatever you want at your finger tips- the internet. Be resourceful ;-]
2. It certainly helps, but no, not required. Experience + a Degree = more $$(on average)
3. internships and also some community colleges offer short term classes on various subjects. I can remember taking a week long course on photoshop and a 2 week course on DOS and win95, etc when I was first starting out. Look around, visit schools and ask if they offer that.
4. My number one peice of advice is to READ READ READ. While you are reading/researching have a computer next to you and get your hands dirty. Hands on learning is the best way.
5. Local ma 'n pa computer shops. Retail. Call centers. A job shadow might lead to an intership also.

Hope this helps. Good luck.