I'm interested in going into the IT field

I was wondering if it was worth it, with all this outsourcing. Will their still be jobs in the long run? I'm 20 years old and I enjoy learning about computers. If not i was planning on becoming a cop but prefer going into the Security field as I enjoy it but i dunno if everything will go offshore? My plan is to get into tech support as a start and move up to a network admin eventually. Bad Idea? I was planning on getting my A+, Net+, and Security+ to start out with. Are these jobs going offshore I guess im a little worried about this offshore crap! thanks for any help, I really appreciate it.

Hi

Well the amount of possibilities in the IT field are immense. I highly recommend IT as a career. It is so because now whereever you go computers are widely in use. They are part and parcel of our life. Moreover the job opportunities are bright in this field.

Outsourcing doesnt happen in ALL the areas on IT as people would lead you to believe.... Mostly jobs that are outsourced are ones that companies can get done overseas for cheaper... Desktop support,call centers etc... but if you go into say Computer Security as in like a security consultant or sys admin then you will have a better chance at not being outsourced because unfair or not most companies dont trust their security related issues to non americans.... thats my 2 cents anyway.

You didn't put a countyr into your location :confused:
But it doesn't really matter, as Tex said, if you concentrate on the PHYSICAL side, hardware / networks etc, then there will always be work around.

Unless, of course, you live local to me :eek:
in which case, try studying something else, I don't need anymore competition :D

There are plenty of jobs in IT out there but they do tend to be quite specialised (nature of the beast I suppose). Security jobs are rarer just because it's a popular option and it's something you can't really start out in. You need a general grounding in IT before you can move on to infosec.

Getting your foot in the door can be tricky too. A lot of jobs you will find open to you to start with will be pretty crappy (helldesk etc) but it's 'foot-in-the-door' stuff and you'll need to learn to cope with idiot users whatever path you choose. You're unlikely to get your first job as a sysadmin (BOfH). It would be worth while looking to get into a company which will offer you training and will have an internal career path.

As others have pointed out hands on job for hardware will always exist but these do tend to be lower on the pay scale. Not to say screwdriver work isn't a good for a while and you can learn a lot but you'll probably want out after a bit. Security will in most cases remain in house as Tex said.

Whatever you do go for try to make sure it'll be something you enjoy and get a sense of satisfaction from, otherwise you probably won't want to stick it.

Best of luck.

Rule #1

Do what you like - If you can envision yourself working an entire weekend saying "I can't believe they pay me to do this". That's your field.

Not so fast guys, I know of a few companies offshoreing It security....remember if it can be doen remotely it will be.

If you are looing for stable work, and to atualy work for a compnay as opposed to working as a contractor IT is not the feild for you, if you love omputers its worth a look. I would sugest gettign at least an associates degree to g owith those certification as the certs just are not enough any more. Also most places don't lok at comptia certs past a+ so look at some of the real security certs and soem of the OS spacific certs.

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Originally posted here by dinowuff
Rule #1

Do what you like - If you can envision yourself working an entire weekend saying "I can't believe they pay me to do this". That's your field.

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Don't you mean "If you can envision yourself working an entire weekend saying "I can't believe that I'm not getting paid to be here." that's your field."

I agree with what bballad said.... get a formal education in the subject... Up here, even with a formal education, competition is fierce.. Also as mentioned the CompTIA exams are a joke... If my company offered to pay for them I'd write them, but it's not worth the money out of your own pocket, especially considering how expensive they are.

If you want to go down the cert road... Do the basics...

Network: CCNA or Nortel Netknowledge
--> The theory is the same, both are usually offered at the high school level as well as the college level. Usually you can take night courses for either as well.. They both offer the same core knowledge, one teaches Cisco IOS though and the other covers Site Manager and BCC

Operating Systems:
Linux/Unix -- CSA/Ace or RHCE/RHCT (Do you want to deal with Caldera or RedHat... Caldera's are generic at least)
Microsoft -- Start with the Small Business Specialist... It's easy enough to obtain, you'll end up with the Action Pack at home (Just list yourself as a consultant for now) so you can test their software and you'll have completed one of the MSCE certs.. Then look into the various MSCE/MCP certs

Security: SSCP (You need a years experience still) but other than Security+ it's prolly the easiest to get on track for.


One big thing to ask yourself is "Are you good with computers"... My course was full at 17-21 year olds at the start that "LOVED computers"... they were all in love with computers because of video games... some had their A+, others had taken courses in high school... but they were all idiots... IT is not a forgiving field... So if you're good with computers because you can play your games and that's all you care about... IT isn't the field for you... You'll have to go beyond that.. actually learn how the computer works and operates.... otherwise.. your lifetime of IT is going to be going "Thank you for calling Verizon Online Technical Support, my name is _____ may I please have your DSL phone number beginning with the area code."

Peace,
HT

... and not all the Computer IT graduates can have their careers! remember that mostly IT grads are unemployed because of competition. Now of days if you're really smart you be employed even you are under grad. This is a matter of experience and not by degree holder....

If you are looking to get into IT, I think you should experiment extensively with all kinds of things and be patient... Like the other guys said on this thread:

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Originally posted here by dinowuff
If you can envision yourself working an entire weekend saying "I can't believe they pay me to do this". That's your field.

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If you don't want to invest in your career in your spare time... then you are probably in the wrong industry... Of course this doesn't mean rigging up clusters in your spare time, but it helps.

Also, (I'm sure the others will correct me if I'm wrong) the industry is ALWAYS looking for Disciplined Unix Administrators... its a solid field... not going to disappear overnight in a cloud of "unsupported" hoo-hah.

To me, this means grabbing a copy of <insert fav distro> Linux and possibly a copy of x86 Solaris and getting acquainted with these systems (VM or otherwise)... IMO if you really know your OS then the security/programming/networking can grow very easily out of this foundation.

And if you can... skip the tech support bit...

Al

Hi skileptic,

It really depends on how you veiw the future...you say you're 20 years old so...will there even be IT jobs 30 years from now?...we can hope so, but hoping and reality are usually two different things...do you want to find out when you're 50 that you are no longer relevant and find yourself among the unemployed with no prospects as it's still a young man's world...

personally....this is not the 70's anymore where it was an employees market...more jobs than people to fill them, causing a mass influx of overseas immigration to fill the market...

this is an employer's market...too many people not enough jobs...

contrary to the good advice here and the hope of lasting employment opportunities I would suggest you not put all your eggs into one basket...if you want to pursue a job in IT great...do that...but also pursue another type of employment that has a greater chance of being more secure over the long hall as a fall-back.

Eg ;)

An update on what I said previously...

Quote:

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December 1, 2005 1:32 PM PST
Will IT specialists become Maytag repairmen?

The Gartner industry research group made an interesting prediction the other day that went largely unnoticed: The demand for information technology specialists, it said, could fall by 40 percentin the next five years. The projection was startling at first but, upon reflection, seems entirely plausible.
IT specialists

Take, for example, the once-vaunted position of Webmaster or Webmistress. A decade ago, these jobs were considered essential to any Web operation. But as tools got smarter and HTML less foreign, the duties of that position were largely absorbed by others.

As sophisticated technology continues to become ubiquitous in everything from cars to copiers, functions that used to be the province of experts will be increasingly handled by the rank and file of companies in every industrial sector. In fact, it has even been suggested that customer support as we know it may eventually become extinct. So it's not beyond reason that IT specialists of today may become the digital equivalent of the Maytag repairmen tomorrow.

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http://news.com.com/2061-11199_3-597...8938&subj=news
Will IT specialists become Maytag repairmen? | News.blog | CNET News.com

There are no guarantees that IT will even be a viable job option in 30 years...I'd hate to be middle-aged and find yourself unemployed and under qualified for anything else...

as I said...don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Eg ;)