explain your carrers please

[JaNuZ99]

first off i'm sorry in advance if this is the wrong forum to post this in
secondly in case my title wasn't clear enough of what i'm asking here it is:

I'm 15 a freshman in High school, yesterday we had representatives from colleges,universities and even military come to tell us how we should be thinking about the future and gave us all pamphlets for their colleges/universities.

I have an interest in the computer field and i was trying to find out what kinds of jobs are in that field, what the requirement are ,what exactly are the duties of people in that profession,drawbacks,benefits,etc

I'm pretty sure most of the member in this forum might have a few things to say so i was hoping that they could maybe give me some help deciding

thanks in advance

in case this helps i live in Florida so i was looking at University of Florida and Florida Institute of Technology as possible candidates for future universitites

 

[Lexluethar]

Man that is an extremely broad question. The IT field is just like any other field, extremely broad and depending on the position, company, industry and area every job is going to be different.

Since you have some interest in computers (and probably a few other fields) i would suggest possibly going to places and companies that focus on those fields and seeing what that field entails. Since you are interested in computers see if you can go on a field trip or visit a local company that fixes computers or see the IT department of a large organization. Then you can see first hand what a job in that industry does (this isn't perfect as all jobs are different, but it gives you a general idea of what to expect). I would suggest doing this for any field you are interested in. Interested in law, go to a legal department and take a tour. Interested in being a doctor, go visit a hospital (when i say visit i don't mean just go there as a customer, a lot of companies are more than willing to help local youth discover what they want to do by giving a tour of their complex and what they do).

Most important thing is to do what you enjoy (or believe you will enjoy) and realize people change careers all the time, so don't get all freaked out believing that you have to choose something now and you'll never get to change it.

A very general breakdown would be:

-Help Desk - found in large companies, these people answer phone calls and assist customers over the phone
-Hardware Technician - think geek squad, they are found at smaller companies and usually just focus on diagnosing and repairing computers 'hands on'
-Desktop Support - same as hardware technician, but desktop support is usually found in large companies, like the university you are thinking about has a desktop support team that goes to rooms / offices fixing computers
-Junior Admin - training to be an administrator
-Server Administrator - they usually control how users log on / off in a network and control resources like network shares
-Network Administrator - usually control the physical layout of a network, servers, switches, etc
-Software Engineer - programming software, games, etc

There are a ton more, but this gives you an idea of some of the jobs available. A simple google search will give you more details.

 

[DoubleHelix]

I haven't been a member here long, but I get the impression the average age is closer to yours than that of an IT professional. I've been working in IT for a while, and if I were to give advice it would be to pick a different career. IT jobs in the US are continuing to be outsourced to the cheap labor pool of India. Odds are the kinds of things you like doing with computers don't translate to jobs that exist which would allow you to earn a good living.

If that's really the direction you want to go, you have to get into a highly specialized area like software engineering or computer forensics and get a job with the government. You'll also need solid project management skills, excellent written and oral communication skills, and a focus on applications for a growing industry like finance or health.

 

[JaNuZ99]

I'd like to thank both of you for your advise

@lexluther well i like to mess aroudn with code, see how things work, then make them better,etc i was thinking something with a broad range such as comp admin or something along those lines

@Double helix.. hmm thats a little sad to hear.. still i have heard government jobs or big corporation are really the only good places to get a good job for people interested in a computer career

computer forensics sounds interesting..

 

[wafflehammer]

Well if you like problem solving and coding why not go out for a career in software engineering? Most people just think it's sitting in front of a computer all day but that's horribly wrong, in reality you only spend like 15-20% of the work hours coding..the rest is spent in meetings (problem solving) and talking to clients about requirements for the program.

And I think double helix is wrong. A lot of computer jobs actually can't be outsourced. Software engineering like I said, involves A LOT of communication with clients and stuff...so you can't exactly have your grunts over seas and still trying to do their job. Computer repair and helpdesk are still here...because obviously they require physical contact. Really the only computer jobs being outsourced are the support help lines for really large companies :|

Another career that lex left off is cyber security. Things like ethical hacking and penetration testers (Basically hack stuff to find it's flaws so a company can fix it before a real hacker causes damage). I think saxon is the resident pro at that so maybe give him a call if you wanna learn more about that.

I'll post back if I can think of anything else to say and goodluck on your search. Oh yea, and not to discourage you but any field involving computers requires a butt load of math :| so you better make sure you learn it and learn to like it now

 

[Lexluethar]

Low level IT jobs are being outsourced just like every other job in america. It is a sad fact of doing business. Call center type positions are being outsourced to other countries because of cheap labor and costs, but mid level and upper level jobs are staying right here in the states (or home country of the business).

A broad statement saying 'it jobs are being outsourced' is incorrect... well correct but not giving enough details to the situation. If you are a hands-on tech like desktop support, network or the like your job is almost impossible to outsource.

The majority of jobs being moved over seas are low level call center and low level programming jobs.

 

[jaeusm]

Well if you like problem solving and coding why not go out for a career in software engineering? Most people just think it's sitting in front of a computer all day but that's horribly wrong, in reality you only spend like 15-20% of the work hours coding..the rest is spent in meetings (problem solving) and talking to clients about requirements for the program.

It's not horribly wrong. On average, I spend 90% of my work day coding. We have meetings approximately once every month or 1.5 months. Every job is different.

 

[DoubleHelix]

I based my post on my personal experiences. What I've actually seen happen is not "wrong". Programming jobs are most certainly outsourced. I've seen it happen and have friends who have lost their coding jobs. All the communication between the business and the outsourced coders takes place through an analyst that doesn't do any coding and, frankly, does little with computers.

 

[wafflehammer]

I based my post on my personal experiences. What I've actually seen happen is not "wrong". Programming jobs are most certainly outsourced. I've seen it happen and have friends who have lost their coding jobs. All the communication between the business and the outsourced coders takes place through an analyst that doesn't do any coding and, frankly, does little with computers.

And what you have there is the line good and bad quality


Customers rarely know what they want..or how to say what they want...so how do you expect them to half *** explain something to a guy who is just going to half *** explain it to the coders who barely speak the language? You end up with a horrible final product.

Not trying to start an argument but as lex said, mid to high level computer jobs are here to say. Cheap labor results in a cheap product...and for companies that want custom software I'm sure they want a good quality product.

And thanks jaeusm for the input good to have the opinion of someone doing the job