krz
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| i need career advice |
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Hello,
I recently graduated with an IT degree (22 years old). On my second year, I started to realise that some subjects didn't interest me. Especially the one's that were most technical subjects: programming, database management, system administration, networking, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I could easily get along with these subjects. It only takes time for anyone to become good at anything. The problem was that the passion for these technical subjects wasn't entirely there.
By the time I was in my mid 2nd year, I realised that if I had to start over with another degree, it would cost too much financially and time-wise.
Having graduated, I have grown a strong interest in things other than computing. I like business administration and investment. This is just a general description of my new interest. Lately, I have been reading some books on the matter, some even about the stock market, investment instruements such as mutual funds, etc.
There are other personal reasons as to why I choose to be involved in a more business oriented interest versus a technical one. There are times when solving problems in front of a computer will last for several hours. Im sure every computing individual must have experienced this atleast a hundred times. Sometimes these situations repeat itself, and soon becomes a habit. Without the right kind of time management, this can affect your social life.
I guess this kind of problem comes booked with any kind of job. However, I feel it more influenced in computer related professions.
This is just my personal opinion. Would like to hear yours.
As of now, I am working on a website for someone's business. The experience is great. On the side, I am looking for other jobs. To my finding, I realised that most of the technical jobs are computing related. Involving things like software design, development and testing, database, software and hardware, etc. At this point, I am left disappointed.
When I browse through the business oriented jobs, I find things such as business administration, sales and marketing, project management, advertising, and even banking. I like these options better. However, I lack the necessary qualifications.
My relatives have advised me to take masters on business administration. A friend of a relative who owns a company offered to take me on a one week work experience in his company. Here, I think of the good experiences i will learn and how this will look more attractive on my CV.
To be rational, these short-term experiences wont match up with the required qualifications that some business companies demand.
Some friends and relatives have advised me to take up another degree. This means 3-4 more years of university. This is a long time, especially if I have intentions o. Will it be worth it? Or to take up a side course on a specific subject.
These sound like promising solutions. Except that its all a question of time. Doing the website, alone is hard enough, let alone the efforts endured.
I believe that it is better to set my mind straight on one road only. If its about the business career, then I have to focus soley on improving my business skills and background. Some will argue that its best to diversify your time. But, how can I be a sales executive, a software developer, and a database guru at once? You can do it, but you will probably end up pulling your hair out. Sarcasm aside, I think it is possible, but why go through the stress when you can hire specialists to work with you while you focus on the profession you like most. (Assuming you have the budget to do so.)
My point is, I'd rather work in the business than the technical sector of the company.
How does one get from a one career to a totally different career?
Just like asking how can one get from an IT student to a investment banker?
What would you recommend? Comments and suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks for reading.
Krz
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Sun Oct 02, 2005 10:28 pm |
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gators52
Contributing Member
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Just a side note, because I have no idea how to answer your question...this is why you take internships programs during your summers in college.
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Mon Oct 03, 2005 3:49 am |
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Euler
Senior Member
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KRZ. It's all much simpler than you have assumed.
What were your favorite work experiences? Why were they your favorite?
If you have difficulty knowing, just consider this. When you find the work that fits you best, all the talk and thoughts of yourself, your future, your money disappear. You become solely focused on the work for long sustained periods.
Nobody succeeds without first learning to sustain their focus in such a way that they help other people get what they want.
Doctor, lawyer, banker, actor, tycoon. Find something worthy of your focus. Then get to work.
Back to the question: what were your fave work experiences? Why?
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Mon Oct 03, 2005 9:30 pm |
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sayyes
Preferred Member
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Location: Newport, RI
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krz,
Believe it or not, you are actually in a very good place.
You have a degree that is in demand (IT) and you are able to rationalize about what you want and don't want.
All that being said, it doesn't sound like you've had a job in a technical field other than creating websites on the side and your schoolwork. My advice is to get a technical job (for now) so that you can pay your bills, and get some experience under your belt.
Make sure you take a job with a company that has tuition reimbursement and go to school for your MBA part-time. This way your company will pay for the education, saving you about $30K depending on where you go.
By the time you get your MBA, you will hopefully have made a good impression at your job and you may be promoted to be a manager right away (or maybe even before you actually get your MBA). I've seen this happen to a bunch of people at my work (I have a M.S. in CS and work for a large software company).
Once you get some management experience under your belt, you will be free to move to whatever company you desire.
DO NOT just go get your MBA right out of school. Here's why:
1. You'll have to pay for it yourself
2. Really good MBA programs won't accept you without any job experience
3. Nobody is going to hire a kid with no real-world experience to manage at their company.
If you went to get your MBA now, this is what would happen:
You'd have about $30K more in student loans and you'd be desparate for a job. Nobody will hire you to do management right out of school, so you'd be forced to revert back to your technical degree and get a technical job. Because you haven't done it in years, you will not be good at this job and may make a bad impression. By the time you're ready to move up to management, you've been doing technical stuff for so long that you've forgotten all your MBA schoolwork and won't be good at that job!
I've seen it happen so many times!
Think about it from a company's perspective. Would you hire a young guy with no experience to do management? I worked at Burger King in high school, and I can't tell you how many people with management degrees worked there (not that there's anything wrong with that, but you have to think they had bigger aspirations when they were in school).
Good Luck!
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Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:15 am |
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krz
Member
Cash: $ 2.50
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Joined: 01 Sep 2005
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First off,
I'd like to thank everyone for reading and taking the time to post their feedback. Just reading them helps uplift motivation and confidence.
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Euler,
So far, one of the real technical job experiences I've had, was doing this website for a company. I like it a lot. But, there are times when I'm at home for days just trying to get the work done. So I guess I need a little time management to organise my social life better. Besides that I'm learning a lot.
There are many things I like about it, such as being creative with my work, practicing in other skills such as image editing, database management and etc. I also get to communicate with the client and lay out the requirements so that he/she understands what the topic in the conversation (avoiding technical terms, and what-not). I guess this is communication skills.
Together with this knowledge, that adds up everyday, I've been doing some research on internet trends. I have to say that some projects currently being developed are quite interesting. Im, even thinking of putting up my own.
So these are the good qualities in this side of the world. As you requested 
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Sayyes,
After having graduated, I was offered a position to work in a software develpment company. Here, they require me to work as a software developer, programming applications and testing products.
The other offer was with IBM, but the job description looks more like a help desk kind of role than anythine else.
With your experience in the technical area, would you recommend going with a successful company, like IBM, that has proven a lot of progress in the past, but work as a help desk employee?
Or work with the other company, not as big as IBM, as a software developer?
I like the idea of working with IBM, because not only will I be learning a lot from them, but it will also give me the chance to hopefully work my way up the ladder. That, and the experience will also look attractive on a CV for future career prospects.
What do you think?
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Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:46 pm |
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sayyes
Preferred Member
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Location: Newport, RI
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I think you have to do what you think is right for you. It sounds like going to work at IBM sounds more appealing to you.
I think if you worked at IBM you'd have a better shot at getting tuition reimbursement and after getting your MBA, moving up to a management position. Smaller companies simply don't have the resources or open positions to allow you to do this.
I think working at the software development company will challenge you and keep you engaged. Working at a help desk is sometimes tedious and frustrating (nobody ever calls with good news). I also think that working at the software company will look better on your CV. It doesn't matter where you work, but what you did while you were there. I could work at Google as a receptionist, but that doesn't mean Yahoo will hire me.
In the end, you're the only one who can make this decision. If the software development position can offer you tuition reimbursement and a possible role as a manager once you get your MBA, I would say you should definately consider it. If it can't (or only offer you one out of the two) it makes the decision to take the IBM job a little easier.
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Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:03 pm |
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oetalk.com
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Joined: 16 Oct 2005
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| ibm ibm |
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if it was me i'd go for ibm it sounds good
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Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:43 pm |
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