Personal computing discussed
Moderators: askfranklin, renee, emkubed, Captain Ned
Regarding your current position, what exactly is research and development, what kind of personality do you think compliments that particular field, and what is the best way to make my way into a position in R&D other than getting a degree?
Flatland_Spider wrote:The Bureau of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook is a good source for job descriptions.
This first thing to do is narrow your search down to one of the following:
Hardware
Networks
Software
Drawing pictures
Management
There are still multiple sub-options in each one of those, but it's easier to talk about what the sub-options are if a main option is picked.
pikaporeon wrote:This is a great starting point, though I'd break software into 'making it' (coding), fixing it (every kind of support ever) and 'sort of between' (DBA)
Washer wrote:Avoid IT like the plague. Never take a job that will require you to be on-call and all IT positions will require you to be on-call.
Washer wrote:Avoid IT like the plague. Never take a job that will require you to be on-call and all IT positions will require you to be on-call.
My honest recommendation is that I doubt you will find fulfillment changing careers. If you find yourself lacking in creativity then you need to find new hobbies outside of work. If you're still set on a career in "technology" (truly a worthless word these days, it means too much to mean anything) and going back to school then I hope you will stick to it until you attain an advanced degree and honestly I wouldn't stop until you have a PhD.
Airmantharp wrote:If you're worried about changing jobs/career, take a look at National Guard and Reserve positions available across the various services. I'm not one to stump for universal military service, but it's a seriously straight-forward way to get educated in a field, get formal education funding assistance, and get credible supervisory/management/leadership experience along the way.
If you're fit for it, that is!
DeadOfKnight wrote:LOL! Did I forget to mention I'm in the Marine Corps?
I'm just planning what to do with my GI Bill when I get out.
Washer wrote:Avoid IT like the plague. Never take a job that will require you to be on-call and all IT positions will require you to be on-call.
My honest recommendation is that I doubt you will find fulfillment changing careers. If you find yourself lacking in creativity then you need to find new hobbies outside of work. If you're still set on a career in "technology" (truly a worthless word these days, it means too much to mean anything) and going back to school then I hope you will stick to it until you attain an advanced degree and honestly I wouldn't stop until you have a PhD.
Washer wrote:If your life lacks excitement being the go-to-guy might drive you
Krogoth wrote:Care to enlightenment me?
Washer wrote:Completely untrue? Is that why IT careers always do poorly on large sample job satisfaction surveys? I enjoy my current job besides the on-call rotation. On-call means the inability to enjoy my off time because of the requirement of always being in the position to immediately respond to the issue. If your life lacks excitement being the go-to-guy might drive you but I don't like situations where screw ups because I had to jump on a server with two hours of sleep could result in $100,000+ contract hits. Maybe it's just me though. Personally, I rather recommend someone pursue a career that isn't a support position, such as getting an advanced degree and being the actual designer or engineer of the system, software, etc.
grantmeaname wrote:Washer wrote:If your life lacks excitement being the go-to-guy might drive you
That's real mature, jumping straight for the ad hominem as soon as somebody disagrees with you on something that's clearly very subjective.
Flatland_Spider wrote:We use a metric of "BS in CompSci or 3+ years equivalent work experience". This is a relic of the dot com era where a lot of people left school to start making money in the tech industry. I don't know of any technical jobs at my company that require a masters degree, although several of my coworkers have them.I only ever see government jobs that ask for MS in technical areas. MBAs are the only MS degree that I'd recommend IT people get, unless they want to get a PhD. PhDs are their own little world, but most employers will just ask for experience plus a BS for most jobs. I could be wrong, but that is my anecdotal evidence.
grantmeaname wrote:That's real mature, jumping straight for the ad hominem as soon as somebody disagrees with you on something that's clearly very subjective.
pikaporeon wrote:Thank you for your anecdotal evidence contrary to my anecdotal evidence, except for the fact your statements used carte blanche extremes never listing the facets of the industry you are not exposed to. Nor is every IT career support. But thank you for implying my life lacks excitement, it really lends credence to your statements. Maybe you should find a better job.