Anybody working in IT? What is it like?

synthbuyer

I am considering a career in IT, which would follow a Hdip in Information Technology.

What does someone in IT, say a "Java Developer", "IT Manager", "Systems Adminstrator", "PHP Developer", "Software Developer" etc. do in their everyday work? (I am aware all these roles are different but any kind of info on IT work would be appreciated)

Zambia

Could I ask why your considering doing this line of work?

Gone Drinking

Java developer - Java is a programming language, its quite versatile (and unstable :P). So I suppose an average Java developer would be writing java for websites or applications.

IT Manager - Could be a lot of things but an example would be someone over seeing the work of an IT team or IT helpdesk. You'll be given a certain amount or level of work which you'll be expected to keep your team on top of. Its people and task management.

Systems Administrator - You're in charge of the backend IT systems. You aren't front line support for peoples computers. You're in charge of making sure the companies servers stay up to date, online and working optimally (this is a very broad description, there are SO many areas you can become an administrator in, so many environments etc).

PHP Developer - PHP is another programming language, you'll be programming.

Software Developer - Coordinating with a team of programmers to write software. You'll be expected to know a few programming languages. You'll be brain storming ideas, putting them into working models, testing them and modifying them. Unless its purely a managerial role, its more coding.

Very quick overview of very broad areas of IT

Cork24

What every you do, do not go into a tech support role, you will gain nothing.

Gone Drinking

Cork24 wrote: »

What every you do, do not go into a tech support role, you will gain nothing.

Sorry but I don't agree with this. There are a lot of very rewarding tech support roles. Even if you started in a very basic tech support role, you'll take something from it.

You work up your skills and experience over time. Tech support is a great way of doing that. You won't sit a few Microsoft server exams and walk into a job as a systems administrator for example.

You can take experience from every job, you just need to know when its time to move on.

I've worked in several tech support roles, I took something from all of them. Each job was a step up that I wouldn't have gotten had I not had the experience from the previous job.

Cork24

Gone Drinking wrote: »

You work up your skills and experience over time. Tech support is a great way of doing that.

Fine some places you might get lucky, others like Vmware, Apple not so much.

ok if you have 100 Level 1, 10 level 2 and 3 level 3 Stuff, just say one Level 3 person leaves that then has 10 people going for one spot, and 100 people going for that level 2 spot,

so for you to move up the food chain in Tech Support you will have to wait till someone either leaves, drop dead or moves up a level.

if someone wants to sit down all day talk phone call after phone call then its the job for them.

Gone Drinking

Your words: You will gain nothing

Just having worked in VMware on your CV is instantly making you more attractive to an employer..

I'm not saying you should work in technical support for your whole life, i'm saying that they are a stepping stone to better jobs.

You can't walk into a role as a systems admin without having some real world experience with various systems and setups. This is something you can get from working in tech support.

There are also many areas and ways to progress in IT. You could go from working in a technical support role to being a technical manager which would get you access to management training. You could go in the direction of a project manager for example. No tech support but a well paying technical role.

Cork24

Gone Drinking wrote: »

Your words: You will gain nothing

Just having worked in VMware on your CV is instantly making you more attractive to an employer..

I'm not saying you should work in technical support for your whole life, i'm saying that they are a stepping stone to better jobs.

You can't walk into a role as a systems admin without having some real world experience with various systems and setups. This is something you can get from working in tech support.

There are also many areas and ways to progress in IT. You could go from working in a technical support role to being a technical manager which would get you access to management training. You could go in the direction of a project manager for example. No tech support but a well paying technical role.

i know people that used to work in Vmware & Apple they never tech a System or setup a system during their 3 years at both companies just worked to the bone, their max time they could spend on each phone call was 20 mins, go over that and you got flagged.

some people are just lucky in how they get their system admin jobs.

HomeBuyer

Its great but going to university for it and coming out the other end to start a job on 30 - 50K is a joke.

HomeBuyer

...

worded

HomeBuyer wrote: »

Its great but going to university for it and coming out the other end to start a job on 30 - 50K is a joke.
I know this because I dropped out of college and am better of in IT because of it.

Fair fcuks.

So you progressed with no college degree ?

listermint

HomeBuyer wrote: »

Its great but going to university for it and coming out the other end to start a job on 30 - 50K is a joke.

Im not sure you constructed that sentence, or i clearly dont understand it ? is it your saying 30-50k for a job is a joke ?

CreepingDeath

synthbuyer wrote: »

I am considering a career in IT, which would follow a Hdip in Information Technology.

What does someone in IT, say a "Java Developer",... do in their everyday work?

Our multinational company has a large mature product for the financial sector.
As java developers, we work in an agile programming model, so we work in 3 week "sprints". So we've 3 week mini-deadlines to finish a set of tasks.
We must write automated tests for our Java code, so we write test code with JUnit ( java code testing ) and Canoo ( web UI testing )

Depending on the company/department you work in, a programmer can work on new development work, or bug fixing.
Typically new developers start off on bug fixing to gain knowledge of the product, then gradually are given new work.

When you start out in development, sometimes it's good to start in a small / startup company to gain experience of many areas of development.
If you join a larger company you can end up pigeon-holed into a small area of development, eg. the user interface, but not the server side code.

BGozIE

Cork24 wrote: »

What every you do, do not go into a tech support role, you will gain nothing.

Cork24 wrote: »

if someone wants to sit down all day talk phone call after phone call then its the job for them.

Disagree. I worked for a very large IT company as L2 support. I didn't answer the phone at all. L3 was development.

I learned an awful lot - granted, the setup in that company was based around very complex software/architectures and in an L2 role you had to have a solid understanding/experience of a lot of things (including scripting/programing). The L1 guys who did answer the phone were also very knowledgeable people with a lot of experience.

I understand this is company specific, but don't tar all support jobs as some call center environment were you learn/gain nothing, as there not.

To the OP - if you do consider a role in development, please ensure you enjoy programming.

HomeBuyer

...

HomeBuyer

...

listermint

HomeBuyer wrote: »

Sorry, I had a longer post that I edited.
What I'm saying is - Yes it is a joke if somebody doing the same job without a college degree is getting paid six figures.

Whether it is acceptable or not is down to the individual.

Well if that person is doing the same job without a college degree they have obviously worked from the bottom up collecting and enhancing their skillset along the way. Perhaps on the job training incorporating IT certificates during their career.

Its ridiculous to assume they just 'got' 6 figure sums. In fact is more perplexing that someone with a university degree would think that was the case ??

BGozIE

HomeBuyer wrote: »

I'm speaking from experience and I understand that you may not be aware of my background.

I'm not saying that these are bad roles, what I am saying is that people going into them in many cases (through no fault of their own), have varying ideas of career progression, how it should work and what the "definition" of success is.

Only an opinion.

I never disagreed with anything you said, my post was a direct reply to "Cork24".

HomeBuyer wrote: »

You'll find that the people that were on the phones and not doing anything else were doing that because they don't understand that this is not a "traditional" industry and passengers don't get rewarded. Those getting paid well in IT are the ones in it because they love it, the ones that are writing standards and RFCs, the ones that are coming up with new ideas.

Now that I have actually read your posts, I disagree with your opinion. I suppose that's for another day, what I will say is you have a very glamorous ideological view of the IT industry. This industry is a business and from a business sense, those people answering the phones, that you have such a negative opinion on, are as necessary to an IT business as the the people you refer too. What good is a magnificent piece of software, if there is no one to debug it when it all goes wrong?

Anyway I really don't want to be straying off topic. As I already stated, OP if you feel you want to develop, please make sure you do have a passion for it and you enjoy doing it. Because contrary to what HomeBuyer said, you are going to be working on projects that may not be particularly outstanding or interesting to you, its your love for coding that will keep you interested on said projects.

My views are based on my experience in both support and development.

HomeBuyer

...

excollier

No substitute for experience in any field.

adocholiday

I finished a conversion course that gave me a broad overview of most aspects of the IT industry. From systems admin to cyber security to programming and everything in between. While doing the course I had a part time job doing hands on tech support in a 100 person organization and I loved it. I learned a hell of a lot in the year or so that I was there and really enjoyed the work.

When I finished college I spent months looking for a software development position but I just didn't have enough experience. I eventually got a job as a software tester in a consulting organization and I love my job now. I spend a lot of my free time programming/web design and I love that stuff too.

My advise to the OP is try a course like the one I did and see what clicks with you. With IT, as in any job, you really want to find the area that you enjoy, and focus on developing it and getting a job in it.

Just my 2c.

synthbuyer

Zambia wrote: »

Could I ask why your considering doing this line of work?

Apparently there is a boom in the IT industry regarding employment (at least proportional to other many other career lines anyway). Some sources were saying that employment will increase by 50% coming up to 2016, making it a good future prospect (despite that fact that it i always developing and changing with time, making it hard to keep up with)

I am entering my final year of BA Media Studies and after searching for work all summer in journalism and not getting a single interview (not to mention the poverty of job availability in the area) i am deciding to consider the Hdip in Information Technology. Its a useful one year degree that I could travel with and hopefully have decent job opportunities.

I am very confident with computers, I have used them since the age of 12 and am 23 now. I also supposedly have a good aptitude for abstract reasoning and finished in top 3% in logic for philosophy in my BA (calculus, truth tables and all that) so i am a bit confident that i might be able to handle it despite being very intimidated by the course structure!