Posted: 7/12/2010 5:30:34 PM EDT
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Been reading the site for a while and noticed a few in the IT/Programming/Security fields. Here's the situation, just lost my once thriving biz of 7 years in the oilfield, tried my best to save it but has been in a tailspin since Barry took office and the moratorium just sank me.
Anyhow Im 33 and have about 100 hrs at my local college, need 124 to graduate but will likely lose 20-30 hrs due to a Major change to CompSci. I have no experience in a field I know almost prefers exp. to a degree but my age combined with possibly only 1.5 to 2 more yrs for a degree makes me think the degree is the way to go instead just working at the very bottom....help desk or something like that to build exp. Just read Java developers are at a premium right now, would getting my degree then a Sun etc Java cert get me into any respectable position? Not talking big buck just more than 25k a year help desker. Would you recommend just parlaying a degree into IT work OR programmer/"software engineer" ?? I know outsourcing is cutting into the field a bit as well. Not sure which direction to go, any and all input is welcome, thanks. |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security
you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. |
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Most of the CS guys i went to college with (grad 2007) are working outside of their field in a generic cubical type employment. Dang, not sounding too good fellas. I live 3hrs from Houston and would be willing to move for a good job, it just seems that in a city of 4 million I could get a gig somewhere. But I have been wrong before. |
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Quoted: IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand, get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. In my thread, I was told that an IT degree was bad together and CS was the monies. Why is this thread flip floped?
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand, get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. In my thread, I was told that an IT degree was bad together and CS was the monies. Why is this thread flip floped? there is a difference between IT and IS. IT is something you can get at pennco tech or chubb institute. IT sets you up for a job at the help desk. an IS degree that has a technical curriculum (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MIS WHICH IS BULLSHIT) is a strong degree i graduated from NJIT, our IS degree and CS degree are identical for the most part with IS focusing on databases, network infrastructure, OS design, and CS focusing on algorithms and software engineering make sure your college is accredited and your degree isn't from the school of management or liberal arts |
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Been reading the site for a while and noticed a few in the IT/Programming/Security fields. Here's the situation, just lost my once thriving biz of 7 years in the oilfield, tried my best to save it but has been in a tailspin since Barry took office and the moratorium just sank me. Anyhow Im 33 and have about 100 hrs at my local college, need 124 to graduate but will likely lose 20-30 hrs due to a Major change to CompSci. I have no experience in a field I know almost prefers exp. to a degree but my age combined with possibly only 1.5 to 2 more yrs for a degree makes me think the degree is the way to go instead just working at the very bottom....help desk or something like that to build exp. Just read Java developers are at a premium right now, would getting my degree then a Sun etc Java cert get me into any respectable position? Not talking big buck just more than 25k a year help desker. Would you recommend just parlaying a degree into IT work OR programmer/"software engineer" ?? I know outsourcing is cutting into the field a bit as well. Not sure which direction to go, any and all input is welcome, thanks. CS Skills + a security clearance are worth money. Java's old news and you can get a good book on C# and learn from that. Microsoft *wants* people to learn their technologies, so there are lots of resources available. Try Rob Vieira's Professional SQL Server Programming book. That'll get you started. |
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The question is can you use some of the knowledge that you gained in the oilfield in conjunction with an IT degree? It will give you a leg up in the job market and something to study. Things will turn around for the oil industry. possibly even research closer to shore or on land.
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Been reading the site for a while and noticed a few in the IT/Programming/Security fields. Here's the situation, just lost my once thriving biz of 7 years in the oilfield, tried my best to save it but has been in a tailspin since Barry took office and the moratorium just sank me. |
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Been in IT for almost 15 years. Aside from a Nortel layoff in 2000, it has been solid. My advise would be to focus on security. Learn the technologies and it is just a matter of figuring out which button to push on the Juniper/Cisco/PaloAlto/etc...
I have seen more than a few consultants (contractors) with minimal experience pulling 60k, especially in and around fed contracts. |
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Quoted: Quoted: IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand, get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. In my thread, I was told that an IT degree was bad together and CS was the monies. Why is this thread flip floped? It depends on your degree and what you do. If you want to be a software engineer you need a CS degree. If you want to be a programmer you might get by with some other type of IT degree, it is unlikely that you will make what a software engineer makes. There is a big difference between a software engineer and a computer programmer. My youngest brother just graduated with a bachelors in CS, but decided he didn't want to do any sort of programming so he found an amazing job as a network engineer. It can work both ways. |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... those are strong certs. if you ever move out to NJ/PA, let me know... 
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand, get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. In my thread, I was told that an IT degree was bad together and CS was the monies. Why is this thread flip floped? there is a difference between IT and IS. IT is something you can get at pennco tech or chubb institute an IS degree that has a technical curriculum (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MIS WHICH IS BULLSHIT) is a strong degree i graduated from NJIT, our IS degree and CS degree are identical for the most part with IS focusing on databases, network infrastructure, OS design, and CS focusing on algorithms and software engineering Would you recommend just focusing on CCIE and CISSP ( or (ISC)^2 in my case bc it requires 5 yrs exp to get CISSP) or both of them AND the degree? Not being lazy its just that at my age if I can shave off 2 yrs of school by just getting into the field with certifications that would be a plus. Both at the same time would be pushing it as my school is math heavy and will have my hands full. CCIE seems almost unattainable in itself. |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... Do you have a degree? If not do all those certs require at least some knowledge of C+ or other programming skills? |
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I have no experience in a field I know almost prefers exp. to a degree but my age combined with possibly only 1.5 to 2 more yrs for a degree makes me think the degree is the way to go instead just working at the very bottom....help desk or something like that to build exp. Just read Java developers are at a premium right now, would getting my degree then a Sun etc Java cert get me into any respectable position? Not talking big buck just more than 25k a year help desker. So, the code monkeys are all in foreign lands. But there still have to be smart people here to tell them what to do. Problem is there are no junior positions left for developing talent into those smart people and it's hard to break in at the top. (Maybe with a PhD, but you have no hands on experience with that) Honestly, the foreign developers don't have the initiative or creativity to figure out how to do stuff, but they are good at following specs. It's a screwed up situation that will only get worse. If you do go into CS. Don't worry or focus on a language. Rise above that and figure out how to solve problems with whatever is available to you whether it be scripts, applications languages or TCP/IP over carrier pigeons. That is where the real interesting work is now. |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... Do you have a degree? If not do all those certs require at least some knowledge of C+ or other programming skills? No degree for me...just 4 years in the navy and lots of hard work...you need to at least have a basic knowledge of how read certain codes and scripts, as well as a basic understanding of network protocols, but even with a degree and some certs, with no field experience you will still be hired as a junior,which will allow you to learn as you go, while still making a decent pay check, which as an intrusion analysis should be roughly 60-75k a year. |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... Do you have a degree? If not do all those certs require at least some knowledge of C+ or other programming skills? No degree for me...just 4 years in the navy and lots of hard work...you need to at least have a basic knowledge of how read certain codes and scripts, as well as a basic understanding of network protocols, but even with a degree and some certs, with no field experience you will still be hired as a junior,which will allow you to learn as you go, while still making a decent pay check, which as an intrusion analysis should be roughly 60-75k a year. Any chance to get hired on with a buttload of certs and no degree? Would a C++ cert plus 3-4 security certs at least open some doors? |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... Do you have a degree? If not do all those certs require at least some knowledge of C+ or other programming skills? No degree for me...just 4 years in the navy and lots of hard work...you need to at least have a basic knowledge of how read certain codes and scripts, as well as a basic understanding of network protocols, but even with a degree and some certs, with no field experience you will still be hired as a junior,which will allow you to learn as you go, while still making a decent pay check, which as an intrusion analysis should be roughly 60-75k a year. Any chance to get hired on with a buttload of certs and no degree? Would a C++ cert plus 3-4 security certs at least open some doors? thats exactly what I did...mind you a security clearance does help if your looking to work for the .gov |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... You can be a systems admin and make six figures. And that's without a degree. |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... Do you have a degree? If not do all those certs require at least some knowledge of C+ or other programming skills? No degree for me...just 4 years in the navy and lots of hard work...you need to at least have a basic knowledge of how read certain codes and scripts, as well as a basic understanding of network protocols, but even with a degree and some certs, with no field experience you will still be hired as a junior,which will allow you to learn as you go, while still making a decent pay check, which as an intrusion analysis should be roughly 60-75k a year. Any chance to get hired on with a buttload of certs and no degree? Would a C++ cert plus 3-4 security certs at least open some doors? thats exactly what I did...mind you a security clearance does help if your looking to work for the .gov Nice. Thanks again and good luck to you. |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... You can be a systems admin and make six figures. And that's without a degree.  Not sure where but...ok....most sys admin jobs both around here (STL area) and Seattle (Where I lived before I move here) where barely paying 50k...
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... You can be a systems admin and make six figures. And that's without a degree. Not sure where but...ok....most sys admin jobs both around here (STL area) and Seattle (Where I lived before I move here) where barely paying 50k... Im sure he means after yrs of exp.
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... You can be a systems admin and make six figures. And that's without a degree. Not sure where but...ok....most sys admin jobs both around here (STL area) and Seattle (Where I lived before I move here) where barely paying 50k...We're talking about your basic Windows system administrator/Linux Sys Admin/AD Admin type stuff, right? Yeah 50k is on the low end. That is not just pulling numbers out of my ass. At our company, we pay slightly above "industry average", which is calculated by Gartner. A quick google search for "average pay for Systems Admin" turns up around $70k. Now, with more than 5 years experience, and knowing more than just the basics, you can make quite a bit more. At my employer, a "system admin" type role will pay you anywhere between $65k all the way up to $110,000, depending on role and experience. |
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IT work with strong background in networking and security you'll always get the programming background, and you can always pick up programming later networking and security will always be in demand and it's too much of a liability to ship that overseas (especially in finance and defense), get your CCIE and CISSP, even as a programmer knowing how the network infrastructure works and being able to employ good security practices in your programming will be huge. last year at age 28, i made close to six figures, with an IS degree and a CISSP. This I dont have my CISSP, but I do have my Security+, GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), and the GPEN (GIAC Certified Penetration Tester) and am working on my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)...and at 23 am making close to six figures myself. Security is and will continue to be in high demand, but with all the right certs, you still have to know who to market yourself to, having all the certs in the world won't help if you are still just a systems admin... You can be a systems admin and make six figures. And that's without a degree. Not sure where but...ok....most sys admin jobs both around here (STL area) and Seattle (Where I lived before I move here) where barely paying 50k...We're talking about your basic Windows system administrator/Linux Sys Admin/AD Admin type stuff, right? Yeah 50k is on the low end. That is not just pulling numbers out of my ass. At our company, we pay slightly above "industry average", which is calculated by Gartner. A quick google search for "average pay for Systems Admin" turns up around $70k. Now, with more than 5 years experience, and knowing more than just the basics, you can make quite a bit more. At my employer, a "system admin" type role will pay you anywhere between $65k all the way up to $110,000, depending on role and experience. Depends on where you are too. In the DC metro area 60-80k is table stakes for a Jr sysadmin. If you have a clearance then they'll teach you anything you need to know so that they don't have to do a clearance on someone else. |