What is working in IT like?

happyviolet

I am doing a course in Media, but people keep telling me to do computing and web development instead because I am more likely to get a job in it.

The thing is while I do want a job in something, the only problem (I apologize if I am stereotyping here) is the thought of sitting at a computer as my career for the rest of my life is very off-putting. The only reason I wanted to do Media is that is could give me a chance to do something new creative wise. But doing things like designing a website just sounds like a lot of dull work to me, to be honest.

Not only that, but when I think of computer work and sitting at an office, I think of loads of people just sitting in silent doing the same work while you would have a difficult boss who probably loves lording over people, with a few bullies thrown in too, to makes things even more difficult, and I say sitting in silent because I would imagine these people not being very socialable, as I know some people who I heard works in IT but have very poor social skills.

Also being at a computer all day sounds very exhausting, I can be on my computer for about an hour, and I can feel my neck and back straining, a headache coming on, and my eyelids drooping from staring at the computer for that long, so I'd hate to think what that be like if I was working on one all day, everyday.

Of course all these stereotyping applies to me as well, I don't have a lot of friends and trying to work on my social skills more, but I don't really like the though of working in a workplace where people don't try to know each other at least. It will just feel like my social skills will not be improved in anyway possible.

Again I know I am stereotyping and I apologize, I just might as well give ye my honest opinion on what I have always thought it was like, and to see if people can prove me wrong or not.

Is it possible to work in IT as a stepping stone at least, to move on to something in Media I would prefer more?

Cuddlesworth

You say "Media". And yet when I hear media, I think of sound Engineers, Camera Men, Screen Writers, Presenters(TV/Radio), Journalists, Producers and all the host of other varying roles I haven't even heard of.

And most of them would spend a fair portion day sitting at a desk looking at a computer. Most office jobs involve computers to a large extent.

IT roles are as varied as any other generic label for a industry. And can involve huge amounts of creativity, just not in areas or ways that are overtly obvious to people.

As for the IT people are socially awkward. Some are, some are not. Only difference between IT and other jobs is the overwhelming male ratio in almost any role. This creates a environment in which most women I have met feel they may have been treated differently. And most have.


I think the most obvious problem here is that you don't actually know what it is you want to do, like most other young people. So here is a dose of reality, you are most likely going to have the next 40-50 years to work before you stop. Any job you get is probably going to be boring, because jobs are repetitive and repetition is boring. And the first few years of any decent professional career suck.

So good luck with that.

meoklmrk91

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

You say "Media". And yet when I hear media, I think of sound Engineers, Camera Men, Screen Writers, Presenters(TV/Radio), Journalists, Producers and all the host of other varying roles I haven't even heard of.

And most of them would spend a fair portion day sitting at a desk looking at a computer. Most office jobs involve computers to a large extent.

IT roles are as varied as any other generic label for a industry. And can involve huge amounts of creativity, just not in areas or ways that are overtly obvious to people.

As for the IT people are socially awkward. Some are, some are not. Only difference between IT and other jobs is the overwhelming male ratio in almost any role. This creates a environment in which most women I have met feel they may have been treated differently. And most have.


I think the most obvious problem here is that you don't actually know what it is you want to do, like most other young people. So here is a dose of reality, you are most likely going to have the next 40-50 years to work before you stop. Any job you get is probably going to be boring, because jobs are repetitive and repetition is boring. And the first few years of any decent professional career suck.

So good luck with that.

Hi cuddlesworth, I am a female planning a career in IT, I knew it was a male dominated field and I have no problem with that, could you expand a bit more on what you mean by women feel that they have been treated a bit differently?

happyviolet

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

This creates a environment in which most women I have met feel they may have been treated differently. And most have.

In what way have they been treated differently?

Cuddlesworth

happyviolet wrote: »

In what way have they been treated differently?

I'm speaking from a IT support background with nearly 8 years experience in multinationals, the company's with the closest ratios of male/female staff.

Obviously some of the men can be difficult interacting with initially, especially if there was not a female on the team before. You will also garner a lot of physical attention. Keep in mind, you might be one of a handful of women during the Christmas party.

But the biggest issue is that many women in larger company's are hired or promoted to a position of ineptitude for deeply technical roles. This is due to the fact that the company's HR desperately want a stronger female ratio within technical departments.

This is bad for a number of reasons.

Stronger more qualified candidates lose out, bad both for the teams and the company as a whole.

The women themselves find the jobs too difficult and stressful, being placed into a role so far above your head can overwhelm most people. Most tend to avoid the technical work and busy themselves with organisational or other non technical work. Which while commendable, only compounds the problem as they gain no valuable experience in the role they were hired for and the role they will be on paper most qualified for moving on.

And the women within the industry, who are qualified and technically able might find themselves questioning their own hiring or skillset simply due to their interactions with other females staffers.

K.O.Kiki

Working in IT:
Sit at computer all day.
Browse boards/reddit sneakily.
Get free lunches.
Get paid more than minimum wage.
Usually right next to a bus route.

Yeah it's alright.

NothingMan

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Get free lunches.

Where do you get these free lunches? Can I just walk by the till in the canteen and say "it's ok, I work in IT." Awesome .

OP, you make some valid points about work in IT but these points aren't true in all roles. I personally work in IT support and yes, I do spend most of my time at my desk remotely fixing issues and working on longer term projects but I also do as much desk side work as possible, basically anyone who is in the building I will go to even if it is just to get away from the desk for a while.

I have also a little field engineer experience and that is definitely not a computer based role. A lot of your time can be spent driving which I love.

As for the social side, yes it is very male dominated. I have only worked with 1 girl in 8 years who was in a technical role but this is true of a lot of technical and trade roles not unique to IT. There are a lot of typical "nerdy types" in IT and honestly most of the guys I have worked with do enjoy Sci-fi and computer games but very few, like less than 5% were socially inept, you may not get big club loving, chino wearing fashionistas but almost all lads of a certain age will be up for some beers, a late bar, rock bar, gigs, cinema etc... in fact in some companies I worked in the IT section were the most active in social clubs and even just going for beers on Fridays.

Computer programmers now... they're all clichéd revenge of the nerd types who play D&D and have never been laid .

Amirani

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I'm speaking from a IT support background with nearly 8 years experience in multinationals, the company's with the closest ratios of male/female staff.

Obviously some of the men can be difficult interacting with initially, especially if there was not a female on the team before. You will also garner a lot of physical attention. Keep in mind, you might be one of a handful of women during the Christmas party.

But the biggest issue is that many women in larger company's are hired or promoted to a position of ineptitude for deeply technical roles. This is due to the fact that the company's HR desperately want a stronger female ratio within technical departments.

This is bad for a number of reasons.

Stronger more qualified candidates lose out, bad both for the teams and the company as a whole.

The women themselves find the jobs too difficult and stressful, being placed into a role so far above your head can overwhelm most people. Most tend to avoid the technical work and busy themselves with organisational or other non technical work. Which while commendable, only compounds the problem as they gain no valuable experience in the role they were hired for and the role they will be on paper most qualified for moving on.

And the women within the industry, who are qualified and technically able might find themselves questioning their own hiring or skillset simply due to their interactions with other females staffers.

I think that's a bit of a generalisation to be honest.

Dravokivich

happyviolet wrote: »

Is it possible to work in IT as a stepping stone at least, to move on to something in Media I would prefer more?

Only if working in an IT environment that supports a media environment. Although for the most part, the only relevance to the client from an IT support perspective would be how critical an issue would be, depending on that client's needs. As IT Support, It doesn't matter if you if know how to use media editing suites, just how resolve any issues which may come up from them (If they are in your scope of support...).

Anyway, it all depends on what you mean or understand by "IT." There's a lot more to it than swapping parts out from PCs and resetting account passwords.

NiallSparky wrote: »

I think that's a bit of a generalisation to be honest.

I second the motion. At a multi-national company myself and rarely found confidence/competency/ability to work be based on where the balls are.

Cuddlesworth

NiallSparky wrote: »

I think that's a bit of a generalisation to be honest.

Nothing I have said is something that I have not encountered multiple times. But you do need to move away from the entry level roles to see it.

I also didn't say that men can't be incompetent in the role. Rather that women can be hired with obvious incompetence before even starting simply because they are women.

Khannie

OP: Give it a whirl. Fire up a java tutorial on youtube (there are good ones) and see if you enjoy coding.

Maybe do a linux install to see if you're enjoying just messing around.

If the answer is "neither" or "not arsed", well there's your answer.

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

women can be hired with obvious incompetence before even starting simply because they are women.

I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't make sense to me. Why would you hire someone who is obviously incompetent based on their gender? It makes more work for you and should therefore be self correcting.

I have been involved in the hiring process many times and I couldn't care less about gender. Knowledge, ability to apply it and likeability are the keys to being hired from my experience.

c_man

happyviolet wrote: »

I am doing a course in Media, but people keep telling me to do computing and web development instead because I am more likely to get a job in it.

Really bad reason to pursue any field tbh. IT is a fairly broad term also encompassing a huge range of roles. As said, try out some "techie" stuff and see if it appeals to you. Say what you will about "sitting at a computer all day" but the thought of doing a job I don't like or enjoy for 50 years is far far more depressing.


Just on the sitting at a desk, I wish I got some more time to do that at work these days! It's rare enough to get even half an hour to concentrate on a problem, or even a decent block of time where I am at my desk!

happyviolet

c_man wrote: »

Really bad reason to pursue any field tbh. IT is a fairly broad term also encompassing a huge range of roles. As said, try out some "techie" stuff and see if it appeals to you. Say what you will about "sitting at a computer all day" but the thought of doing a job I don't like or enjoy for 50 years is far far more depressing.


Just on the sitting at a desk, I wish I got some more time to do that at work these days! It's rare enough to get even half an hour to concentrate on a problem, or even a decent block of time where I am at my desk!

In bold, that's what I have been saying to people too!
I mean, look, I am not stupid, I know it is risky trying to get a career in something like Media, especially these days when even your best work is not to the perfect standard people these days are looking for or the fact that there is not much media-related to begin with these days.
But even if jobs in IT are stable and have good pay, I just don't think I could stick at it if I just don't like it or not passionate about it. It's just pissing me off though that no one in my life would listen to me.

nialler39

Obviously some of the men can be difficult interacting with initially, especially if there was not a female on the team before. You will also garner a lot of physical attention. Keep in mind, you might be one of a handful of women during the Christmas party.

Crap

There are guys who are married, guys who have kids, guys in relationships. They all work in IT. The people who work in IT are varied for sure.
It is a huge and varied field. With varied roles. And varied people.
I have worked with girls and still do in IT and not once have they ever garnered physical attention.


The women themselves find the jobs too difficult and stressful, being placed into a role so far above your head can overwhelm most people. Most tend to avoid the technical work and busy themselves with organizational or other non technical work. Which while commendable, only compounds the problem as they gain no valuable experience in the role they were hired for and the role they will be on paper most qualified for moving on.

Utter Crap.

Again some of the women iv worked with would run rings around the guys. Its not about gender but aptitude. Is it something your suited for? Can you work under pressure? Think on your feet? Are you good on the phones? do you have a clear phone manor? These are all things that need to be considered. Walking into any job finding your not suited for it, and just being miserable is not something anyone wants.

BillG

happyviolet wrote: »

In bold, that's what I have been saying to people too!
I mean, look, I am not stupid, I know it is risky trying to get a career in something like Media, especially these days when even your best work is not to the perfect standard people these days are looking for or the fact that there is not much media-related to begin with these days.
But even if jobs in IT are stable and have good pay, I just don't think I could stick at it if I just don't like it or not passionate about it. It's just pissing me off though that no one in my life would listen to me.

I have spent over thirty years in I.T and can honestly say that I have regretted none of that time. I.T. as has been mentioned is a huge area but broadly there are two categories. One is what I would term ICT, this is all about infrastructure, networks, servers and personal computers. The deployment and administration of same.

The second track is design. The writing of code, programs, web-sites. The testing and productisation of same. This, I would guess, is where you would find most interest.

Web development is not a lonely exercise. At the very least you would have a running dialog with the client to ensure what you are creating is what the client wants. Beyond that it is not normal for web development to be invested in one person. It is more normal for a web development team to include roles such as project leader, programmer, graphic designer, video editor, sound editor, media consultant, brand manager and so on. Large websites can have large teams. It is not that any web-development project will have all of these roles at any one time (or some of the roles at all depending on the project) but web development isn't usually an endeavour of a single person.

As to the people in IT. All I have met have been a real mix. From larger than life characters to quiet folks in their corner. Lasting friends to enjoyable acquaintances. A bit like any job I guess.

As to what you should do for your career. This is a hard one and only you can answer. There is a lot to be said for following your dream but then that has to be balanced out with earning a living. Personally, I always found the creative side of IT to be very satisfiying and fulfilling but it isn't for everyone.One thing I will say though is that I.T. isn't the career I started out with and my youthful years where spent trying to find an area that didn't bore me. My first choices weren't terribly successful :-)

Now I have held every job in IT from Programmer to Chief Solutions Architect on the design side and Engineer to IT Technical Manager for a major corporate on the ICT side. I was sounded out for a CTO role as well but it coinsided with the offer of the CSA role which sounded more interesting at the time. During all that time I have never regreted the career choice and the stereo-types you mentioned in your original post only really exist in film-writers imaginations.

Hope that helps.

Wompa1

Please don't go for a job in IT. I've been working in IT for 7 years. I have worked with many men and women in the different environments who got into IT for job security and a 'relaxed' work life. Mostly people in their 30's who's guidance counsellors told them to go for it during the original IT Boom. People who couldn't navigate command line! It causes a serious grind on the people who are motivated by the work and to eager to learn. These people who just do it for the sake of doing it are dead weight that drag good tech people down with them.

moc moc a moc

Never mind IT, I would advise against starting a career in any field you don't have an existing interest in. You'll be miserable, and then you'll have to start again from scratch and compete with people 10 years younger than you when you inevitably try to change careers later on.

Figure out what you are interested in, then try to do that. There are already too many people working in IT who shouldn't be.