The IT profession

[w1z4rd]

Perhaps if they pay R50 000pm for their IT admin instead of R5000 they`ll get their monies worth?

I blame business for being so cheap with IT in SA. Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

 

[semaphore]

I'm looking to hire an IT technician currently, and strangely enough I'm not interested that much in qualification or even experience. I'm looking purely for a bright kid willing to climb the ropes and a keeness for the job.Because what differs technicians from ""technicians"" is attitude. Obviously a diploma/degree even certification proves that you are commited, but just a piece of paper does not equate to a good employee...the guys that give IT a bad name is the guys that heard from their grandparents friends IT is were the bucks are at, they are the guys that just see it as a job. As were the IT oke thats passionate about it doesnt need jack because he's been at it since 5th grade at some level or another....and lastly my advice for adspirring IT guys....work+study part time

funny my first boss used that mind set on me, i told him to go get fked when he did not deliver my "growth"

 

[Th0r]

funny my first boss used that mind set on me, i told him to go get fked when he did not deliver my "growth"

rofl

I believe the reason I am where I am today is because I had the right mindset when I started out in IT and still do, You cant just think of it as a job .... if you dont enjoy what you do, then why are you doing it?

Also had a boss like that and told him a similar phrase

 

[semaphore]

They spin you this rubbish, oh you will grow with the company, you will become part of the bigger picture, hows about you just pay me nicely now and can keep the bigger picture to yourself. Kthx.

 

[TelkomUseless]

rofl

I believe the reason I am where I am today is because I had the right mindset when I started out in IT and still do, You cant just think of it as a job .... if you dont enjoy what you do, then why are you doing it?

Also had a boss like that and told him a similar phrase

Yip.. development is not a "job", you WILL have to love it. More than a woman, because code can give you more crap than a woman will .

 

[TelkomUseless]

Let's not forget the world runs on software - it is as pervasive and critical as electricity. Not too shabby for a "broken" IT industry, me thinks.

I salute all the coders in the world who seldom get the thanks and the appreciation they deserve.

Dude.. you bring tears to my eyes!! I salute you

 

[Veroland]

We are a development company and when we hire we tend to get in junior coders and grow them. We are not fussed about qualifications etc but getting certified does help

 

[semaphore]

We are a development company and when we hire we tend to get in junior coders and grow them. We are not fussed about qualifications etc but getting certified does help

That is all fine, if in reality all companies would do that. But like me i was one of the unfortunate people to be taken in as a junior and then exploited. But that was many years ago, i now have my masters, and give people the middle finger if i don't like it.

 

[Jonny Two Shoes]

I wonder if the problem is with IT itself. I mean business is business in all fields. People get screwed over everyday in business from all walks of life.

I got into IT with no IT qualification, only self taught nonsense and eagerness to learn. I have been working for over 2 years in IT and am currently doing an MCITP part time.

I can honestly say what a total waste of time this course feels to me!! If this is how IT courses go then I am speechless. I ask those of you with 5 year degrees...what the heck did you study??

It is so generalized and bloated you kind of get the feeling you don't know what you want to do anymore :/

Nothing in IT is defined and standardized and I wonder if that is the problem. If business could understand the level of an IT professional at his/her profession then it may eliminate the confusion and all the set backs.

I am in IT support and have just about completed an MCITP (just need to write the exams). People ask me if I understand SQL or if I can program in visual basic and java.

When it comes to software it gets worse. How many codecs for movies are out there? How many alternatives for spreadsheets and word processors are out there? How many different types of compression utilities? How many encoding/decoding packages for file security? - now ask yourself how many are not compatible with one another?

This disease is everywhere in technology and IT...it is a free for all. Whoever draws up the course material needs to rethink the whole thing and maybe then can we get people who know what they are doing involved with the correct projects. MCITP and MCSE means nothing to a financial director and I am sure neither does most of the other course names. On the other hand BComm majoring in Marketing and Management does mean something. With a name like that he/she should have a good idea where to put you.

 

[TelkomUseless]

. And sure its an ungrateful job, but I for one couldn't care less whether I'm liked by an admin lady.

There is the problem. The admin lady , and 1000's of users has to use this app of mine. Now I'm depended on a Web Service from another company who I intergrate with. This goes down/slow down.. I get the call.. not the other company... OUR System is down/slow (meantime it's the other companie's problem, ours is working 100s).

But , in this BIG company I work for, THOSE users has to give the IT Department a rating every few months. Now you can see the problem coming?

Even if the system is up 99.9% of the time, you can bet you won't get a good rating.. just an average one, because remember a few months ago the system was slow....

That is why it's a thankless job. Luckily the whole IT Department and CEO knows.. if IT works nobody moans... but if something goes wrong...

 

[Drake2007]

I am in IT support and have just about completed an MCITP (just need to write the exams)

Just go do your exams, if the company you work for is an MCP they score points for you being certified and you can demand an increase because of that.

 

[Tinuva]

Interesting reading this thread so far...

It seems most of you feel getting a degree is not worth it at all. Somehow though I believe it does help. See I did get a degree, and now I work in a somewhat different direction. The point is though, the IT degree I did teach me a bunch of useless information because technology change so fast, HOWEVER they did do 1 thing right which I believe was important: When we received practicals, they literally didn't tell us how to do it, but just asked us to get to a certain end result, which in turn helped me learn how to do the work with as little as possible information and still get to what they wanted in the end. What I see is that people learn this, then never apply it again, they expect everything to be given to them on a platter so that they have to do as little as possible innovation themselves.

Nowadays I am in a position myself, where I get asked to do something, no matter how I do it they just want a very very specific end result and as long as you get there it works. Obviously I am the kind of person that thinks ahead and try to have things in place for future things to keep on working and not everyone is like that, and that is where problems arise I guess, so people still expect things to be given to them so that they don't have to do this.

It really is up to people, I like my work to not only be good, but to be such that future stuff work, because I will probably be the one who will have to fix it if I don't make sure it will fit in to stuff in the future...

 

[hyperian]

Problem with IT currently is there are too many shortcuts to get to the same job, so u can go to university and study for 5yrs and come out with an honors degree but in the 5 yrs you lost out on 3 or 4yrs experience the IT diploma guy got and then i'f that's not bad enough, u will struggle more than him to find a job as he is more employable with past experience. Thus degree people are kinda forced into doing management crap.

I dont know - I finished honours in computer science two years ago and am doing masters now, and I don't know of anyone in my honours year who couldn't land a good development job within a week or so of graduation (if they hadn't decided to study further). Whereas I can't say the same for those with diplomas. As the head of my department always says, or is told by government/recruitment agencies, they can place as many comp. sci. honours students as the department can produce.

 

[davemc]

An excellent programmer should be paid more than the management that "controls" the programmer.

If you add up all the disciplines that an excellent programmer has to learn and implement, the continuous stress levels and the never ending learning, it makes the entire management team look lazy.

But, the only way that an excellent programmer can earn 600 000 a year is to move out of programming into management, or to specialise into an obscure field and basically blackmail their way into getting paid their value.

I have always wondered why it is that a company can hire programmers at "contract rates" far in excess of their current programmers salaries, by 3 to 10 times more, while at the same time making themselves believe that their current programmers are not insulted by the situation.

And, try to remember, the fact of the matter is that, the programmer that produces simple code in manageable segments that does the required job is platinum, while the programmer that produces complex code that does the required job is coal.

So, the question is: Does the programmer with a masters degree produce simple code in manageable segments or complex code ?

 

[vodacom3g]

I dont know - I finished honours in computer science two years ago and am doing masters now, and I don't know of anyone in my honours year who couldn't land a good development job within a week or so of graduation (if they hadn't decided to study further). Whereas I can't say the same for those with diplomas. As the head of my department always says, or is told by government/recruitment agencies, they can place as many comp. sci. honours students as the department can produce.

A good qualification maketh not a good developer.

However, a good qualification should be a pre-requisite to become a developer. Or any other professional job for that matter.

Then the individual can build on that foundation with hard work and more studies.

If you've not formally studied, and continuous to study, how do you even know what you don't know?

 

[TelkomUseless]

Hello Guys..

Nowadays the IT is on high and also it stays on high position in the market..
I am also choosing the IT profession because in market there are so much demand for IT thats why i am doing IT Engineering..
Its really a very huge market no one can unemployed with IT degree....

Dude.. You must LOVE IT. Doesn't help you think it will save you from unemployment or in for the money.

IT (development) is not a 9-5 job.

 

[Th0r]

Hello Guys..

Nowadays the IT is on high and also it stays on high position in the market..
I am also choosing the IT profession because in market there are so much demand for IT thats why i am doing IT Engineering..
Its really a very huge market no one can unemployed with IT degree....

Dude, I would not recomend going into IT atm at all......
especially Eng

IT doesnt get condidered as a must have in bussinesses, and with the current world resession, guess who will get retrenched first?
Thats right, the IT department.
Why? coz most companies will just outsource their work.

How can I say this? Lets just say the figures speak for themselves(thats if you follow the news)....

Also, you need to ask yourself, are you willing to take the blame for stuff you havent done wrong? doing a job you never get thanked for?How good is your people skills? And also remember that these days there just isnt any room for error, not being even slightly untidy, coz that will get you fired very quickly, coz there is hundreds of other people with similar/adequate qualifications that you can get replaced with....

Iknow its harsh, but thats how things are when you start off.....

 

[semaphore]

What exactly is "IT Engineering", computer engineer(building microprocessors etc..), but i am yet to see an IT Engineering degree

 

[Th0r]

a basic IT engineer is a guy that can build and troubleshoot both desktops and servers.

However there is a lot of dif areas you can specialise in like:
-networking(advanced and basic)
-servers(Linux, Unix, Windows, Citrix)
-desktops/notebooks(Apple,Hp, Dell, IBM)
-Callcentre
-application owners
Etc......

 

[EtienneK]

What exactly is "IT Engineering", computer engineer(building microprocessors etc..), but i am yet to see an IT Engineering degree

UJ offers a course where you get 2 degrees in 4 years: An engineering degree (either Mechanical, Electric or Civil) AND an IT degree.

I think this is what he is referring to.