Transferring from I.T

>>1060579
Pretty sure the only decent school in Washington is UW.

Everything else in the Pacific Northwest is Portlandia-tier embarassing.

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It helps out having avoided two years worth of debt, but now it's also tricky again.

Should I just be pursuing IT jobs with a two year degree, or would that fuck my salary long-term?

For context, 3.92 GPA from a community college, plus an I.T. work study for a semester. Don't know where I should be aiming with those though.

>>1060579
> Going for IT degree
I have bad news for you... it's not worth the paper it's printed on as everyone already has this degree. Go to a trade school and get certified. Buy books and make a portfolio of your work. Apprentice/intern. Don't waste time in college.

Thread related:
>>1059793
>>1059793

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>>1060601
That's a good one to know. I visited the U.W. campus, and the place looks beautiful. Cute girls everywhere too. The campus looks pretty neat, as long as the prices are not insane.

I'm over in New England, so maybe I should just try to find a school in Boston.

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>>1060610
Well, that's a shame. Are there any specializations worth aiming for instead with the AS in IT as the start?

Database management? Network security? Are there any really viable paths?

>>1060615
>Database management
This field doesn't exist anymore.
>Network security
This is a meme field unless you have a PhD and are doing research.
>Are there any really viable paths
Learn about networking in general. Try to get an entry level job at a NOC, they're always hiring.

If you want to get in on the bleeding edge you can try and get involved with SDN, but you need to really understand the nitty gritty of networking to do any useful development for it.

>>1060615
>>1060631
Computer engineers/computer scientists can do all of that shit with their eyes closed.

Major in actual STEM, not the most meme of memes in the T.

>>1060632
>Computer engineers/computer scientists can do all of that shit with their eyes closed.
Not really, that's not what their studies are focused on at all.

There are plenty of well paid positions in IT if you have a desirable skill set.

>>1060641
>Not really, that's not what their studies are focused on at all.

That is because database "management" and network "security" are easy as shit. As you yourself said, it takes a Phd to make any relevant contribution to networking proper, as with big data.

Everything else is just mundane coding at best, navigating menus at worst.

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So the two sides I'm seeing are that I shouldn't stick with school if I wasn't to stay with IT, and I should aim for a different major if I want to stay in school.

Fair enough. The community college I go to has pretty limited options, so I picked one of the few that seemed like it had some value. I know it's not the strongest field overall.

Thing is, I've committed some time to this field so far, and I don't want it to all go to waste. The big focus of it so far has just been network administration.

So, suggestions? I'd rather like to avoid starting over as a freshman at 22 this fall, so what can I do to invest my credits into a path worth taking?

>>1060646
uhhh major in computer science/computer engineering (whichever one at your state's flagship university is considered the real nigga option).

To some colleges they are somehow exactly the same thing, to others, computer engineering is an astonishing amount of analog and electrical bullshit that has no place in the modern workforce. Go digital.

>>1060645
>That is because database "management" and network "security" are easy as shit
I didn't say they were easy. I said the fields don't actually exist outside of academic research.
>it takes a Phd to make any relevant contribution to networking proper, as with big data.
You don't have to "make a contribution" to have a good job. People still have to design and build the actual networks, which isn't as easy as you think once you start looking at enterprise-level networks. And people have to support the networks once they're built. This part is pretty easy but it would be a good place for OP to start off and actually get some knowledge and experience in the field.
>Everything else is just mundane coding at best, navigating menus at worst.
Sounds like you're thinking of code-monkey jobs, which aren't really IT.

>>1060645
> database management is easy
> it's just navigating menus

^ spotted the social marketing intern

>>1060615
Aim for certifications, not degrees. Also learn programming languages and make stuff. Ruby, Python and Java are all pretty popular and will get you somewhere. They also aren't hard.

>>1060662
See below

>>1060660
It sounds like you want OP to be poor. There is nothing useful about learning to "manage" "networks". Cisco does all of it for you, and OP is not going to get a job at Cisco Proper without a degree in engineering or a post-graduate degree in science.

To all you dank memers who are trying to imply that all database "management" is somehow Google or Amazon-tier algorithmic wizardry, please stop kidding yourselves. Most companies that "manage" "databases" could make do with a fucking XML file.

>>1060669
>It sounds like you want OP to be poor
I can't speak for the entire field, but I got my bachelor's in CS and make just as much in IT as my friends with the same degree who got "non-meme" jobs.
>>1060669
>There is nothing useful about learning to "manage" "networks". Cisco does all of it for you
Cisco does what for you? I'd love to know since it would make my job a lot easier.

>>1060681
You buy the routers, you set up your VLANs, you plug in your ethernet cables, and it runs itself. What did you "do"?

>>1060669
Son I don't think you know what the fuck you're taking about.

I'm a Senior Business Intelligence Engineer for a major telecom.

I work with 5 production servers each with 1-2 dozen databases on them, tracking everything from circuit location, to usage and balancing statistics, to ticketing and order management, to sales and customer management, to opportunity analysis, to customer advocacy, to payroll and attendance to facilities.

I. Look. At. Fucking. Everything.

It's dozens and dozens of terabytes.

It's just a bit bigger than a fucking XML file.

What I do isn't unique, in terms of, what I do is present in literally every major enterprise in the world.

But it takes much much much much more than a simple point and click interface to manage what we already have.

Which is of course to say nothing of the architecture necessary to shepherd us toward new technologies and increased revenue.

Data is hard. That's why it pays so damn well.

***
Now. I'm not mad. I might sound mad. But I'm not mad.

I'm just disappointed.

This board deserves better dialogue than disingenuous generalisms. Go back to /pol/ for that. This is the Business & Finance board.

>>1060683
> and it runs itself

^ right into the fucking ground without a capable engineer.

>>1060690
I guarantee you make less than almost every other Senior-level position in your company, because what you do is dog work.

>>1060690
>>1060695
Unless you're saying you analyze the data on the databases (still kids play desu), and don't actually manage the routers and shit like that.

In which case you are probably just overpaid.

>>1060683
Was gonna write out a response but>>1060693 pretty much nailed.
You sound like a pretentious undergrad who thinks he's better than people because he's study a "real" field.

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How about another approach:

Given my current skill set and education, which field of study is worth transitioning to if I want this lifestyle:

Co-workers who are clever, and will force me to stay studious instead of sitting around in my time off. An ability to avoid being expected to be working the 2am shift for something that will break soon anyway. Work where things aren't mundane.

Is it possible to focus on simply math classes and live a comfortable lifestyle? Is there a reasonable path to go into law with an IT background?

To sum up, what steps do I take from this IT start to transition into a career worth having?

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>>1060690
Much appreciated for your description of your work, man.

What kind of work and practice got you into that position? And how does the work life treat you?

>>1060702
>Co-workers who are clever, and will force me to stay studious instead of sitting around in my time off. An ability to avoid being expected to be working the 2am shift for something that will break soon anyway. Work where things aren't mundane.
That can be literally any job in any field.

Why don't you take a bit of time and think about what you actually want to do for a career? You'll never get anywhere if you keep bouncing from field to field because the grass looks greener.

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>>1060715
I know what you mean man. Thing is, I really don't know what I want to do. I've practiced with I.T, so it seems to be the most viable future option, but I honestly haven't been able to figure out what work would actually be satisfying for me.

That's why I care about getting advice from these forums, even if it can be chaotic. I'm afraid that I might not be a hyper-driven man, so I might just be looking for directions that are worth following.

>>1060713
Sure man. No problem.

> What kind of work and practice got you into that position?

To he honest, a diverse resume. I've worked in varying capacaties as a data guy in healthcare, finance, retail and non profits before getting into telecom. I probably won't be here forever. But I'll always be in big data. It's great pay and most importantly it's safe. It's virtually recession proof.

> And how does the work life treat you?

Work is great. It's really challenging and when things break, or when big initiatives are impending, I feel the heat.

But I set my own hours, I wear what I want, and I have the luxury to craft my own solutions.

Plus, like I say, it's virtually recession proof.

I can think of one time in our history with big corporations outsourced/offshored data, at a major level. That was 2001-2004. Mostly big finance. They handed controls to India at 1/3 the cost. India fucked up, time and again, and billions if not trillions in data was lost. Bills, lost. Accounts, lost. Wall Street will never do that again.

Executives make lists. That's what they want. Lists. A capable data engineer/analyst makes that for them.

But it's hard work. It's not just point and click, despite what the marketing intern in this thread is saying.

>>1060738
>India fucked up, time and again
Same story for most of IT. Most of the big companies I do consulting for even moved their call centers back to America because every place else was so incompetent.