Computer field

[Gregoshi]

Caius, I worked in the medical sofware field as a programmer for 18 years until I retired in late 2000 after saving my company (and the world) from the dreaded Y2K bug (and collecting my bonus check)

What I really liked about the field was the creative and problem solving aspect of software creation. It was very enjoyable analyzing, designing and coding a solution to the problem at hand. Tracking down bugs also had its moments. This was the "high" made the work fun.

The downside for me was testing and documentation. I also didn't like the often unrealistic deadlines set by some uninformed or optimistic managers..."but I promised them it would be done by this date!" Also, the mentality that by working harder, longer hours will yield the software faster. Unfortunately, software development is more of a creative process than assembling a car, and longer hours don't necessarily mean the work will get done sooner. The last negative for me was being on call. I hated having a pager on my belt over the weekend not knowing when it will go off.

I've been out of the field for nearly seven years now but I stay in touch with a few of my collegues and it doesn't sound like much has changed - at least where I worked.

I'm sure some of the others here can give you a different perspective on the computer field. It is a good field to get into if you like computers and the pay is pretty good too. Good luck in whatever you eventually decide to do Caius.

[Caius]

I'm sure some of the others here can give you a different perspective on the computer field. It is a good field to get into if you like computers and the pay is pretty good too

I guess Im going into the right field then.I started using a pc since I was 5, and I understood very easy on how to use pcs.

Caius, I worked in the medical sofware field as a programmer for 18 years until I retired in late 2000 after saving my company (and the world) from the dreaded Y2K bug (and collecting my bonus check)

Orgah saves the world! (joking)

Good luck in whatever you eventually decide to do Caius

Thank you, and thank you for spending minutes on writing this, Gregoshi

[Marius Dynamite]

Im probably heading into this field when I go to University aswell (If I make it, that is).

[SwordsMaster]

Computer Science grad here. Just finished writing my long and painfully boring thesis, so I'm open to job offers, if anyone has a company that would be willing to pay money for good looks, mild leadership, moments of genius, and a complete lack of interest in programming.

Anyway, my area of interest are mostly mobile communications, wave propagation, GPSs and such, and i find them interesting both in concept and application. Programming i dislike as much as a man can dislike programming, altough, obviously i had no choice but to learn what the course required.

I join Gregoshi's voice in that if you have a very strong interest, it's a great field to get into, but beware, just because in high school you built your own computer, doesn't mean you know anything about the field. That is NOT what this is about. If you wrote your own Haskell compiler though, you'll be in your element.

Sometimes it takes time, and trial and error to find exactly what you want to do. Think that you'll spend 20-30 years of your life doing it. So good luck, and enjoy the freedom.

[Gregoshi]

Computers covers a pretty broad field from hardware to software to communications to tech support to installations to database/datamining to integration of technologies and so on. There are many ways to go in the technology field.

I was an astronomy major at college/uni and had to take a computer programming course as a degree requirement. I loved it and was bitten by the bug. My degree was in astronomy but my career was in software development. It is funny how life throws you unexpected curves when you least expect it.

[SwordsMaster]

Computers covers a pretty broad field from hardware to software to communications to tech support to installations to database/datamining to integration of technologies and so on. There are many ways to go in the technology field.

I was an astronomy major at college/uni and had to take a computer programming course as a degree requirement. I loved it and was bitten by the bug. My degree was in astronomy but my career was in software development. It is funny how life throws you unexpected curves when you least expect it.

Curves eh? I see *wink wink nudge nudge*

Well, the education system over here is more rigid as far as picking subjects and minors, so I'm actually considering a transatlantic extrapolation of my educations.

[Togakure]

I work currently as a systems integrator for a major food retailer (Whole Foods). I used to work for a US state government, starting as a programmer and progressing over twelve years to systems analyst, lead developer, technical project leader, enterprise architect, and finally, enterprise IT consultant over twelve years.

After high school I followed my heart and played in various rock and roll bands for about five years. When I decided to go back to school, I was in a hurry. My goal was to gain employment in a field that started and progressed with good pay, had a wide variety of options as to what I could do, and that looked like it would have plenty of opportunities over many years. Information Technology was it.

While in junior college, I got a job with the state as a Student Assistant in IT. This was key. Once in, I learned that all I needed to test for Programmer I was 18 units of IT-related coursework completed. 18 units--six classes! After spending a year as Programmer I, I was eligible to test for Programmer II, which required a 4-year degree to qualify for otherwise. It was also laterally equivalent to an Assistant Information Systems Analyst position, which also required a 4-year degree.

My point is, you don't necessarily have to go the full university route to get into an IT job and make good money. Mind you, having a degree is a very good thing. The best case scenario is to get into a job with a decent employer as soon as possible. A shrewd opportunist who excels at his/her trade can manuever up into interesting, high-paying positions without necessarily spending 4-6 years just studying. And what you learn on the job will quickly outpace the value of what you learn in school .... Using this strategy, I went from $8/hour as a Student Assistant in 1988 to $55K per year as an Associate within three years. And at Associate we got three weeks of paid vacation, two weeks of sick leave, and 14 paid holidays per year. And a $1 for $1 match to our retirement. Well, the benefit perks are characteristic of government work, but still ... my point is, you can do a hell of a lot without waiting until you finish your degree. That's what most of the others will do. Act "out of the box" and you can do even better.

[Togakure]

Computer Science grad here. ... so I'm open to job offers, if anyone has a company that would be willing to pay money for good looks, mild leadership, moments of genius, and a complete lack of interest in programming.

... Programming i dislike as much as a man can dislike programming, altough, obviously i had no choice but to learn what the course required.

... but beware, just because in high school you built your own computer, doesn't mean you know anything about the field. That is NOT what this is about. If you wrote your own Haskell compiler though, you'll be in your element.

Sometimes it takes time, and trial and error to find exactly what you want to do. Think that you'll spend 20-30 years of your life doing it. So good luck, and enjoy the freedom.

The beauty of IT is that there are many functions that do not involve programming: network support, telecommunications, business and systems analysis, IT project management, enterprise architecture, consulting, yada, yada, yada. You might need to write a few scripts, but just about anyone can learn how to do this, particularly with good mentors.

The fact that you built your own computer might qualify you for entry-level help desk work or PC support. While doing that, you'll learn about the most important aspect of IT--Customer Service (yep, you heard me right),--and you might learn about both client-side and server side network support. While doing that you might learn about software applications support and integration, basic database administration, more advanced networking protocols, and IT project management. After spending time doing these things, you would be a good candidate for the management of the infrastructure domain of an enterprise architecture.

Take what you've got and do something with it. Learn more, do more. Take advantage of available resources. Don't stop. You are your own limit.

[Marius Dynamite]

Plus if you need some extra money, you can work in a shifty computer store installing removeable HDD and HD DVD players into peoples PC's

[mightilyoats]

I am an electronic engineer. I am SUPPOSED to design circuits... But, as it turned out, I was never that good at electronics... weird, don't you think?

I started specializing in software development, ranging from low level micro processor programming (assembler), all the way up to C++ and C# (.NET) programming. In the end, because of PC's, I ended up with a rather extensive and impressive skill set.

Going into the computer related (lets rather call it technology related) fields is always a good idea. It is a good place to see the newest things and solve the most interesting problems.

It is not about what you know now, it is about what you are willing to learn. If you like solving problems (and creating them sometimes), then this is the place for you!

Read Gregoshi's first post again. It is very accurate also for me.

Good luck with it Cauis! And have fun!