Careers in I.T.

Your view is very narrow. Who aspires to work for a fortune 500 IT department? Go to any small to medium tech company. Guess what...the talent is mostly local. Proof? Read the job listings for the OP's job market. If you know Node and React you can literally have job within a week making six figures. I removed those skills from my LinkedIn profile because I was getting bombarded by recruiters daily asking if I was interested in whatever position they were offering. You may have experience with large corporate IT but there is a big opportunity out there for the OP that you seem unaware of.

https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=javascript&l=atlanta,+ga
You think a start up or medium size co. will pay a graduate 150k to start in IT hahaha. You be lucky that they pay you. Talk about delusional.
 
You think a start up or medium size co. will pay a graduate 150k to start in IT hahaha. You be lucky that they pay you. Talk about delusional.
Show me where I said a recent grad will make $150k.
 
Show me where I said a recent grad will make $150k.

In the interest of accuracy, my previous post should have read $130K US. Both her roles since she signed are nontraditional job types in the IT industry; the work is entirely remote which is great for lifestyle and controlling costs. Really opened my eyes to some of the new trends in IT; I was somewhat cynical about recommending IT as a career but changed my mind now it's one of the better areas to be in now as long as you are flexible and a go getter.
 
A programmer without subject matter expertise is like a chimpanzee or a doorknob, pick one.

This thread isn't just about programming it's about IT careers and what I've been witness to is there are new job types that are at the moment that pay reasonably well and provide a decent career path for recent graduates from numerous disciplines at school. The person I mentioned had zero formal IT training it's not a technical job.
 
This thread isn't just about programming it's about IT careers and what I've been witness to is there are new job types that are at the moment that pay reasonably well and provide a decent career path for recent graduates from numerous disciplines at school. The person I mentioned had zero formal IT training it's not a technical job.
I know someone that won the lottery also. Have you heard of a trader that turned 2000 in a million in less than a year. They're all over the internet. How about the kid that wore an antique metal jock playing outfield that got hit by lighting. These are all true ...
 
I know someone that won the lottery also. Have you heard of a trader that turned 2000 in a million in less than a year. They're all over the internet. How about the kid that wore an antique metal jock playing outfield that got hit by lighting. These are all true ...

The difference is I am outlining a real person doing well working for an IT firm. The fact that you continually deny this reality only helps highlight how out of touch you are concerning new trends in IT.
 
The difference is I am outlining a real person doing well working for an IT firm. The fact that you continually deny this reality only helps highlight how out of touch you are concerning new trends in IT.
I am not denying some people do really well. I am saying the future is grim due to IT outsourcing. I recommend an alternative domain with compsci elective. Read my post(s).
I'll repeat myself, maybe you'll get it, maybe you won't like the other guy. Programming by itself is useless without subject matter. More jobs developing content. For example, the other guy wants to code in html. OK, what are you coding, you're not a content expert. I guess he/she could code about coding but that's for an expert in developing computer languages, most likely an compsci engineer that specialize in computer languages. I spent 20+ years working with meta models. Programming (systems) automation will return. But that's whole different conversation.
 
Anyone here in the IT field? Personally, I'm looking at getting into the field and I've narrowed my specialty down to two. My job has a program where they will reimburse you up to 90% for any college tuition so long as it's job-related training and I'd like to move to their IT department.

My dilemma is that I can't decide concretely what path to take. I'm thinking of becoming a Full Stack Web Developer or getting into Cyber/Information Security. Web Development may be better suited to me because I have a background in coding but that was back when I was in high school, so I'm out of touch with what's going on today. Both fields, from my research, are really lucrative but Information Security seems to be more in-demand.

Also, udemy had a sale a week or so ago where everything on their site was $9.99 and I loaded up on courses in Web Development, programming languages, cyber security and hacking, etc. So, I plan to do both in the grand scheme but my concern here is which do I prefer to specialize in to get my foot in the door.

If anyone is in the field and can offer some practical advice, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Anyone here in the IT field? Personally, I'm looking at getting into the field and I've narrowed my specialty down to two. My job has a program where they will reimburse you up to 90% for any college tuition so long as it's job-related training and I'd like to move to their IT department.

My dilemma is that I can't decide concretely what path to take. I'm thinking of becoming a Full Stack Web Developer or getting into Cyber/Information Security. Web Development may be better suited to me because I have a background in coding but that was back when I was in high school, so I'm out of touch with what's going on today. Both fields, from my research, are really lucrative but Information Security seems to be more in-demand.

Also, udemy had a sale a week or so ago where everything on their site was $9.99 and I loaded up on courses in Web Development, programming languages, cyber security and hacking, etc. So, I plan to do both in the grand scheme but my concern here is which do I prefer to specialize in to get my foot in the door.

If anyone is in the field and can offer some practical advice, I'd greatly appreciate it.

As a Sr. Tech Acct Mgr. for over 15 yoe, coding/development/programming is the way to go. Other IT jobs like at the Sr. level like Network/Sys Admin or DBA are good too, but these require more experiences and certs to reach the top...entry level for transitioners will most likely be in a help-desk/call center environment. Since u been in the workforce and have some coding experience, I don't think u want this kind of a pay cut to make the transition. Coders are in the most demand and if u know a language that hardly anyone else knows then u can ask for almost anything u want with proven knowledge. To get knowledge check out FreecodeCamp course and join the GitHub community. In the meantime, u can ask the developers in your office what language they use and volunteer some small projects. This way u can get a feel for it. Now about Cybersecurity, it's a hot topic and u see it in all the headlines. All the websites are advertising come training with us in this lucrative field...don't fall for it. here's why: To get the highest pay, you need to be near a tech hub that values it like Metro D.C. (Fed Govt), Bank Centers (NYC, NC, etc). Small companies see the importance but will they pay 100k/yr for CISA for a 20 node office...they rather have their network admin do it who already knows the system give him the difference to keep him. Will they pay u w/ no experience and only education and certs? Good luck w/ that. Security Clearance is another major hurdle. The Govt. only wants people w/ security clearance (ck out USAJOBs.gov or another job posting sites). If u don't hv one, u need to be a sponsor by a contractor (if they do, they're not going to fork out the $$ to get u clearance and u walk away after a year) or having served in the military...no ways around this. Again, a contractor may hire u for minimum pay while they pocket the difference by saying u have certs but no experience or vice versa to justify their offer. CyberSec may "sounds lucrative" in the long run, but getting entry into IT via cybersecurity is hard as HELL. U rather be the guy/gal coding the software that identifies threat vectors and not be the one responsible for scanning ur network for breaches or discoveries to find out how the breach occurred...u can become a white or red hat but the required skills are acquired differently.
 
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As a Sr. Tech Acct Mgr. for over 15 yoe, coding/development/programming is the way to go. Other IT jobs like at the Sr. level like Network/Sys Admin or DBA are good too, but these require more experiences and certs to reach the top...entry level for transitioners will most likely be in a help-desk/call center environment. Since u been in the workforce and have some coding experience, I don't think u want this kind of a pay cut to make the transition. Coders are in the most demand and if u know a language that hardly anyone else knows then u can ask for almost anything u want with proven knowledge. To get knowledge check out FreecodeCamp course and join the GitHub community. In the meantime, u can ask the developers in your office what language they use and volunteer some small projects. This way u can get a feel for it. Now about Cybersecurity, it's a hot topic and u see it in all the headlines. All the websites are advertising come training with us in this lucrative field...don't fall for it. here's why: To get the highest pay, you need to be near a tech hub that values it like Metro D.C. (Fed Govt), Bank Centers (NYC, NC, etc). Small companies see the importance but will they pay 100k/yr for CISA for a 20 node office...they rather have their network admin do it who already knows the system give him the difference to keep him. Will they pay u w/ no experience and only education and certs? Good luck w/ that. Security Clearance is another major hurdle. The Govt. only wants people w/ security clearance (ck out USAJOBs.gov or another job posting sites). If u don't hv one, u need to be a sponsor by a contractor (if they do, they're not going to fork out the $$ to get u clearance and u walk away after a year) or having served in the military...no ways around this. Again, a contractor may hire u for minimum pay while they pocket the difference by saying u have certs but no experience or vice versa to justify their offer. CyberSec may "sounds lucrative" in the long run, but getting entry into IT via cybersecurity is hard as HELL. U rather be the guy/gal coding the software that identifies threat vectors and not be the one responsible for scanning ur network for breaches or discoveries to find out how the breach occurred...u can become a white or red hat but the required skills are acquired differently.
Thanks for your input! Since creating this thread, I decided to go the coding route.
 
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