Career Advice

[chrisdc]

Hey all, recently I've been thinking a lot about what career I want to go into when I graduate and what to study. I'm currently 16. I really want to go into a computer-related field as I'm really savvy with computers. I was wondering what area is overall "better" for myself, either IT or computer engineering. I don't like software programming, I like working with hardware, I'm very logical and can fix problems easily. I'm not that great in math if that's a factor too. I heard that it's much easier to land a job with IT rather than the latter. What do I need to study for IT/Engineering ? Anyways, I'm looking for some wise advice from people who know this kind of stuff. Thanks

 

[gopunk]

my wise advice is to keep your options open and be open-minded... what you want now will likely be different from what you want later.

also, CE is vastly superior to IT in terms of marketability... i'm not sure what would make you believe otherwise. if you're not good at math though, CE is probably not a realistic option.

 

[habib89]

well my friend got a BSCS and ended up with an IT job.. a couple of my friends that got BSCompE are working at a company that makes ICs.. one guy designs the actual chips, and the other writes firmware... umm.. it sounds like you're more into putting computers and stuff together rather than building the actual chips.. i think you can probably get a CS degree and make it into IT.. a lot of those jobs look for people that have some experience with programming.. i think you can go for something like CIS/MIS (computer / management(?) information systems) too and that'll be a direct lead into the IT field...

after all that crap, my suggestion is to look up some jobs that look appealing to you on sites like monster or dice and look up the job descriptions and requirements.. then try to acquire those skills..

 

[everman]

Just because it's a hobby doesn't mean you'll like it as a job. Have you had an IT job like that? If not, try it.

 

[jaybert]

what do you mean by "working with hardware"? Plugging in cards into PCI slots? Or taking apart electronics/soldering chips onto xboxes, etc?

 

[chrisdc]

Originally posted by: jaybert
what do you mean by "working with hardware"? Plugging in cards into PCI slots? Or taking apart electronics/soldering chips onto xboxes, etc?

Both. I'm talking about hardware in general.

 

[boggsie]

Health Care ... the Baby Boomers are starting to retire and are going to be around for quite some time. If you want to have maximum viability, go into some type of health care related field.

They can't outsource your doctor, nurse, etc. to foreign locations. Somebody has to have hands-on contact with the patient.