Help Needed Career Choice(I.T)

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defcomk

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So i want to study I.T next year right but i.t isn't just one thing i dont know what i should study for.How Many Fields can a person study for? what do they entail? y'All can ask me questions so you can send me in the right direction thanks.
 
I.T is endless......

but one honest word of advice (from one raw human being to another) DONT go into support. ever. ever. :eek:
 
IT can be divided into may sections.. from support(the bottom of of everything), networking + design to programming +/- hardware pending how much elec eng stuff you add on in honours++ etc.

Basically if you want to do support(i don't think anyone wants to aside from as a temp job while studying) and even some basic networking stuff and admin then you can 'get away' with diploma courses. Programming(cs) + large network(esp teleco related) (cs +/- elec eng modules or elec&cs eng grad) + integrated/embedded hardware o/s(cs honours + elec eng) all require degree .. some people get into these via diploma stuff too but that route is increasingly harder to pull off these days as graduates become abundant.
 
web development. the proper stuff, like asp.net, php, ruby ect, not just html and a bit of css.

Also get a proper Degree from a Real University, rule if it does not have university in the name look again.

3 years min.
 
Avoid IT. IT professionals are under-appreciated and it's not a lucrative profession unless you get lucky.

Rather get into engineering or finance.
 
defcomk , do you have a computer?(I ask because it's important in IT study and valuable nonetheless)
I just realised that you probably used a computer to post this!(silly me!)

Anyway , you could go into Software engineering ( it is very vast field).If you go this way , you should look what skills are in demand from jobs.
You'll see various skill requirements in the jobs .
 
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defcomk said:
So i want to study I.T next year right but i.t isn't just one thing i dont know what i should study for.How Many Fields can a person study for? what do they entail? y'All can ask me questions so you can send me in the right direction thanks.
Click to expand...

Rather swot accounting
 
Another thing!
Read about people like Mark Zuckerberg(facebook founder),Sergey Brin(Google co founder).They also have degrees.
It will give you ideas of technologies they use, and their innovations.
Also search about software millionaires .
 
pierreSimons said:
Another thing!
Read about people like Mark Zuckerberg(facebook founder),Sergey Brin(Google co founder).They also have degrees.
It will give you ideas of technologies they use, and their innovations.
Also search about software millionaires .
Click to expand...

If you're in IT only for the money then you won't get very far.

I've only done certifications and the harder I work the more opportunities opens up for me.
 
pierreSimons said:
defcomk , do you have a computer?(I ask because it's important in IT study and valuable nonetheless)
I just realised that you probably used a computer to post this!(silly me!)

Anyway , you could go into Software engineering ( it is very vast field).If you go this way , you should look what skills are in demand from jobs.
You'll see various skill requirements in the jobs .
Click to expand...

Actually i nomally post from my phone but i got a notebook.
 
Amida said:
If you're in IT only for the money then you won't get very far.

I've only done certifications and the harder I work the more opportunities opens up for me.
Click to expand...

Well im not all about the money i enjoy working with pc so im not gonna be in it for the money only but a good salary i would not mind:-D.
 
@Amida
"Also search about software millionaires ."
Sorry , i did not elaborate on that .
What i mean by searching for software millionaires is , you will find that there are young people who are software millionaires , thus enforcing that Soft. eng. is good career choice .

Another point I'm trying to prove is there is alot of opportunity in Software engineering( which many people know!!!okay ) , when I talk about millionaires I mean to point out opportunities .You know , making a product or component is a thrill in itself , then you need to make money out of the career.(Look at Mark Shuttleworth , he created stuff and sold them , now he runs Ubuntu)
 
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gboy said:
web development. the proper stuff, like asp.net, php, ruby ect, not just html and a bit of css.

Also get a proper Degree from a Real University, rule if it does not have university in the name look again.

3 years min.
Click to expand...

i can do basic html i taught myself by reading web pages sources and learning what the fuctions of the tags are the problem is im not so creative. unless web development does not require creativity.
 
defcomk said:
i can do basic html i taught myself by reading web pages sources and learning what the fuctions of the tags are the problem is im not so creative. unless web development does not require creativity.
Click to expand...

ok, go google asp.net, php, you do not have to be creative to be a web developer. sometimes, web developers will code and web designers will make it look pretty. I have the creative ability of a fly and i get other people to do the designs.

if you are ever going to go past linking a few static pages together with hyperlinks, you would need something like php. asp.net

this forum is written in PHP and html is used to define how the data is presented, not how a post is added, or a thread is created.

however designers who understand how web works is a plus, else they expect you to put 40mb pictures on a site because its pretty.
 
To become a millionaire with software means coming up with a good idea or obtaining/stealing it. :p Seriously.. you don't really need to come up with the idea or even be a techie as such to become infamous.. that was the old school nerd dream. what you need to be able to do is recognise a good idea, know how to back it/manage it, have a good understanding of technology + how to market it and also how to draw up the perfect business plan. There after, when you have you idea working enough to show its more than feasible and fore fills some huge demand, you just get technically more adept people to work your idea into something more commercial & acceptable(i.e. growing your new business venture).. with the usual copyrights + privacy you impose prior :D

Seriously people love to say that you need to be a techie like bill gates was to forge ahead but that was how it use to be.. in SA there are more and more people looking to manage a good idea because that's where the money really is. The amount of people who make money designing the entire thing from start to finish is actually very small especially in SA.

Edit:
So basically a degree would be ideal especially multidisciplinary ones as its more adaptable and you will have functional know how on how things work, how to develop things, how manage things etc

Diploma course are good too but they mostly just are about how to do xyz with the nitty gritty details and your exposure to general things is limited.
 
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ps. This is why engineering degree now includes entrepreneur + management courses besides the technical stuff(bcom students use to come in to do these stuff).. because its become equally to even more important to do that right, than actually everything technical when starting your own business. I don't think the computer science degree's cover this even which might surprise some because you'd expect them, cs guys, to be the ones to develop something fantastical :D but these guys often end up doing the work :p
 
defcomk said:
Application Development and Networks Degree i think that i need
http://www.monash.ac.za/prospective/courses/degrees_its/

My Options in P.E
http://www.nmmu.ac.za/default.asp?id=6007&bhcp=1.
Anyone Know The Matrics(Gr12) Requirements to study for Application Development and Networks,
And the best Universities In S.A to study at for i.t?
Click to expand...

Yes NMMU is very very good, why because i studied there, they are launching the BIT Degree next year afaik, might also be worth a look at. I cant remember off hand the requirements though. best bet would be to go past and see one of the faculty members.
 
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