What are the best computer jobs these days?

LD · 2009-05-23, 04:33 PM

Database management, programming...?

Long story, but I've got a chance to go back to college. I graduated back in the dark ages (1977), but now I'm looking at going back. I'm excited about it, but as an old fart, I want to make it count...I can't afford to fuck around too much.

IT people tell me Microsoft certifications are the way to go, but in my situation, I cannot do that...it has to be college courses.

Any thougts? Seems like there's are some high level computer people here....

teenrave · 2009-05-23, 04:43 PM

I wouldn't think standard programming maybe if it is more CGI and PHP based and more webcentric. Database might be good. Most companies have some type of database management.

HowlingWulf · 2009-05-23, 04:49 PM

You're asking adult webmasters? I quit my programming job 7 years ago, but I remember it being pretty good back then.

cd34 · 2009-05-23, 06:14 PM

Programming - While LAMP (linux, apache, mysql, php) is one of the most common deployment platforms, there are a lot of VisualBasic/IIS deployments in the corporate world. I don't know whether colleges focus more on object oriented programming or go into specific languages. PHP/VisualBasic would be two of the most common. You'll find perl and python are gaining acceptance. Google almost exclusively uses Python.

Database Admin - With Oracle buying Sun/MySQL, it'll be interesting to see what happens. Database admin is becoming much more important, but, the common wisdom of yesterday and what is being taught in schools, probably isn't what most places are doing today. Even in recent times, relational databases are being replaced with sharded databases and hadoop/bigtable seem to be replacing conventional database design. Still, there are fundamentals there that are important and you'll find that most people aren't doing massive deployments that require unconventional database structures.

Business Management - If I were going to do it today, I would major in Business and minor in programming or Database Admin. You would of course go into the entrylevel positions and with the business degree, probably rise up in the ranks a little more quickly.

IT Certifications - In order to get a job, you almost have to have one of these today. They typically are a few hour course followed by a test. I've interviewed people with these certifications, and, most couldn't troubleshoot anything outside the exam, but, the mainstream world tends to put more weight on the letters after your name than abilities.

As for today's economy, I would think it would be easier to find a job as a programmer than a database admin, but, the pay scale for a database admin would be a little higher. Check your local job listings to see what they are asking for. Many high-level temp agencies could tell you exactly what they are looking for and many will be looking for programmers with experience with certain frameworks or languages.

I can tell you that I have interviewed at least 30 programmers in the last year, most were college graduates, some with some work experience and short of having the piece of paper, none were qualified. I've watched the coursework for my nephew's programming classes and what they are teaching will not prepare him for a real programming job.

Even with the paper in hand, unless you've done quite a bit of programming in the past, you're going to find most jobs that you would consider to be difficult because the college programs haven't prepared you. For every hour of coursework, you'll want to spend multiple hours writing code not related to the courses.

For Database Admin, you might find colleges are preparing students a little better since there isn't as much diversity. You've got 2 major platforms, SQL92 and MSSQL which is loosely based on SQL92. Whether there is a lot of work there for a dedicated admin is hard to say as I would imagine many companies are finding it cheaper to throw hardware at a problem and have a programmer with an understanding of database admin to deal with things. Again, check with your local tech temp staffing agency to find out what they are finding as the most in-demand positions.

Either way, you're going to need to add those letters after your name to give yourself a competitive advantage in the programming/database admin field. You won't be able to separate yourself from the ton of other applicants to a position without some edge, and, age will probably work against you.

You're facing a situation where unemployment in the high tech fields is in the 12-15% range, salaries are at an all-time low and there is an oversupply of people in the field. The time it would take to get the degree, you would have to make a guess as to whether the climate will have improved substantially in 2-3 years.

LD · 2009-05-23, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cd34

Programming - While LAMP (linux, apache, mysql, php) is one of the most common deployment platforms, there are a lot of VisualBasic/IIS deployments in the corporate world. I don't know whether colleges focus more on object oriented programming or go into specific languages. PHP/VisualBasic would be two of the most common. You'll find perl and python are gaining acceptance. Google almost exclusively uses Python.

Database Admin - With Oracle buying Sun/MySQL, it'll be interesting to see what happens. Database admin is becoming much more important, but, the common wisdom of yesterday and what is being taught in schools, probably isn't what most places are doing today. Even in recent times, relational databases are being replaced with sharded databases and hadoop/bigtable seem to be replacing conventional database design. Still, there are fundamentals there that are important and you'll find that most people aren't doing massive deployments that require unconventional database structures.

Business Management - If I were going to do it today, I would major in Business and minor in programming or Database Admin. You would of course go into the entrylevel positions and with the business degree, probably rise up in the ranks a little more quickly.

IT Certifications - In order to get a job, you almost have to have one of these today. They typically are a few hour course followed by a test. I've interviewed people with these certifications, and, most couldn't troubleshoot anything outside the exam, but, the mainstream world tends to put more weight on the letters after your name than abilities.

As for today's economy, I would think it would be easier to find a job as a programmer than a database admin, but, the pay scale for a database admin would be a little higher. Check your local job listings to see what they are asking for. Many high-level temp agencies could tell you exactly what they are looking for and many will be looking for programmers with experience with certain frameworks or languages.

I can tell you that I have interviewed at least 30 programmers in the last year, most were college graduates, some with some work experience and short of having the piece of paper, none were qualified. I've watched the coursework for my nephew's programming classes and what they are teaching will not prepare him for a real programming job.

Even with the paper in hand, unless you've done quite a bit of programming in the past, you're going to find most jobs that you would consider to be difficult because the college programs haven't prepared you. For every hour of coursework, you'll want to spend multiple hours writing code not related to the courses.

For Database Admin, you might find colleges are preparing students a little better since there isn't as much diversity. You've got 2 major platforms, SQL92 and MSSQL which is loosely based on SQL92. Whether there is a lot of work there for a dedicated admin is hard to say as I would imagine many companies are finding it cheaper to throw hardware at a problem and have a programmer with an understanding of database admin to deal with things. Again, check with your local tech temp staffing agency to find out what they are finding as the most in-demand positions.

Either way, you're going to need to add those letters after your name to give yourself a competitive advantage in the programming/database admin field. You won't be able to separate yourself from the ton of other applicants to a position without some edge, and, age will probably work against you.

You're facing a situation where unemployment in the high tech fields is in the 12-15% range, salaries are at an all-time low and there is an oversupply of people in the field. The time it would take to get the degree, you would have to make a guess as to whether the climate will have improved substantially in 2-3 years.

Excellent info...and since I do have a business degree, a minor might be be the best thing at my age. The job market sucks accross the board...didn't know it was quite that bad in IT. I tend to think it will spring back, but it's hard to say. I do think I might have an advantage with my current credentials + computer training. gotta make a decision soon...

nate · 2009-05-24, 12:06 PM

If I was going back to school, I'd become a paralegal and then try to move on to becoming an attorney. Screw computers, go to college and learn how to extort money out of people with our legal system.

MadCat · 2009-05-24, 12:49 PM

All I can say is that I've got no idea. Everything I know I basically learned myself over the course of the last 15 years or so, and I'm considered one of the heavyweight senior types these days. (Which, to be honest, is boring as hell ... IMO).

The only advice I can give you is that you do something you actually like doing, or have some sort of interest in. If you like fucking around with statistics and large data sets, then you might want to go more towards the data warehousing and OLAP side. If you're more of a "lets build something shiny" type, head off for programming and web dev.

As cd34 said though, the courses and graduating will give you a nice piece of paper, but you'll have to work at it and get some real life experience under your belt before anyone (well, most anyone) will give you the light of day.

Ramster · 2009-05-24, 01:24 PM

Check out some local job fairs if there are any and find out what companies are looking for.

bluebrit · 2009-05-25, 06:53 AM

I agree fully with what's been written here.
I have a degree in Business IT that followed OO programming on the computer languages side and that part of the course has been practically useless to me. Luckily it was the business mgt. and strategic planning side I wanted to study in detail and I got a very good grounding in those areas.

As part of that degree, I also had to complete a years work experience and I was fortunate to get a job in Switzerland working for an international company. That experience was necessary for the degree stage pass and I gained a great deal from the experience to back up my time in university.

If you do decide to study something new, I would suggest you look into the options for on the job training to go hand in hand with your chosen course so that you complete it with work experience to back up your certificate. The plus side to this is that your work experience employer, may consider you for a permanent position once you pass giving you instant employment.

MeatPounder · 2009-05-25, 01:47 PM

One word

Cisco

pc · 2009-05-25, 01:55 PM

As far as I know few smart people are going away from Cisco
sample

MeatPounder · 2009-05-25, 03:34 PM

no network is fully cisco free if it connects to any wan, cisco is being eliminated from a lot of "internal" networks, but the us backbone is still about 70% on cisco equipment

SirMoby · 2009-05-28, 09:25 PM

IT Unemployment is at an all time low of about 5%. Still one of the best fields in America. http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=216402752 . Silicon Vally has IT unemployment over 10% but the rest of the country is still in great shape.

Oracle DBs are still highly paid, in demand and will be for quite some time. Boring work though but you can start close to $100k and make more then twice that if you're excellent.

If you want something really new that's going to change the industry think about Flex, Adobe's new development platform. I'm seeing some stuff in a browser application that I've never seen before in cross platform coding.

The problem with college IT courses is that they're a few years behind reality unless you can find a college that's on the leading edge.

Network design is not moving as fast as coding platforms right now so colleges may have better courses.

Ever think about becoming a certified SEO? Some colleges offers courses.

2009-05-23, 04:33 PM	#1
LD wtfwjd? Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 2,103	What are the best computer jobs these days? Database management, programming...? Long story, but I've got a chance to go back to college. I graduated back in the dark ages (1977), but now I'm looking at going back. I'm excited about it, but as an old fart, I want to make it count...I can't afford to fuck around too much. IT people tell me Microsoft certifications are the way to go, but in my situation, I cannot do that...it has to be college courses. Any thougts? Seems like there's are some high level computer people here.... __________________ Artisteer Wordpress Theme Generator Create Custom Themes! My Little Network

2009-05-23, 04:43 PM	#2
teenrave You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is 'never try' Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 169	I wouldn't think standard programming maybe if it is more CGI and PHP based and more webcentric. Database might be good. Most companies have some type of database management. __________________ Teen Rave

2009-05-23, 04:49 PM	#3
HowlingWulf Me fail English? That's unpossible! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: FL Posts: 1,381	You're asking adult webmasters? I quit my programming job 7 years ago, but I remember it being pretty good back then. __________________ WordPress Porn directory theme => Maddos Create a Porn Tube => Video Pornster

2009-05-23, 06:14 PM	#4
cd34 a.k.a. Sparky Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: West Palm Beach, FL, USA Posts: 2,396	Programming - While LAMP (linux, apache, mysql, php) is one of the most common deployment platforms, there are a lot of VisualBasic/IIS deployments in the corporate world. I don't know whether colleges focus more on object oriented programming or go into specific languages. PHP/VisualBasic would be two of the most common. You'll find perl and python are gaining acceptance. Google almost exclusively uses Python. Database Admin - With Oracle buying Sun/MySQL, it'll be interesting to see what happens. Database admin is becoming much more important, but, the common wisdom of yesterday and what is being taught in schools, probably isn't what most places are doing today. Even in recent times, relational databases are being replaced with sharded databases and hadoop/bigtable seem to be replacing conventional database design. Still, there are fundamentals there that are important and you'll find that most people aren't doing massive deployments that require unconventional database structures. Business Management - If I were going to do it today, I would major in Business and minor in programming or Database Admin. You would of course go into the entrylevel positions and with the business degree, probably rise up in the ranks a little more quickly. IT Certifications - In order to get a job, you almost have to have one of these today. They typically are a few hour course followed by a test. I've interviewed people with these certifications, and, most couldn't troubleshoot anything outside the exam, but, the mainstream world tends to put more weight on the letters after your name than abilities. As for today's economy, I would think it would be easier to find a job as a programmer than a database admin, but, the pay scale for a database admin would be a little higher. Check your local job listings to see what they are asking for. Many high-level temp agencies could tell you exactly what they are looking for and many will be looking for programmers with experience with certain frameworks or languages. I can tell you that I have interviewed at least 30 programmers in the last year, most were college graduates, some with some work experience and short of having the piece of paper, none were qualified. I've watched the coursework for my nephew's programming classes and what they are teaching will not prepare him for a real programming job. Even with the paper in hand, unless you've done quite a bit of programming in the past, you're going to find most jobs that you would consider to be difficult because the college programs haven't prepared you. For every hour of coursework, you'll want to spend multiple hours writing code not related to the courses. For Database Admin, you might find colleges are preparing students a little better since there isn't as much diversity. You've got 2 major platforms, SQL92 and MSSQL which is loosely based on SQL92. Whether there is a lot of work there for a dedicated admin is hard to say as I would imagine many companies are finding it cheaper to throw hardware at a problem and have a programmer with an understanding of database admin to deal with things. Again, check with your local tech temp staffing agency to find out what they are finding as the most in-demand positions. Either way, you're going to need to add those letters after your name to give yourself a competitive advantage in the programming/database admin field. You won't be able to separate yourself from the ton of other applicants to a position without some edge, and, age will probably work against you. You're facing a situation where unemployment in the high tech fields is in the 12-15% range, salaries are at an all-time low and there is an oversupply of people in the field. The time it would take to get the degree, you would have to make a guess as to whether the climate will have improved substantially in 2-3 years. __________________ SnapReplay.com a different way to share photos - iPhone & Android

2009-05-24, 12:06 PM	#6
nate I can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Merica! Posts: 543	If I was going back to school, I'd become a paralegal and then try to move on to becoming an attorney. Screw computers, go to college and learn how to extort money out of people with our legal system. __________________ Its just a jump to the left.

2009-05-24, 12:49 PM	#7
MadCat If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 247	All I can say is that I've got no idea. Everything I know I basically learned myself over the course of the last 15 years or so, and I'm considered one of the heavyweight senior types these days. (Which, to be honest, is boring as hell ... IMO). The only advice I can give you is that you do something you actually like doing, or have some sort of interest in. If you like fucking around with statistics and large data sets, then you might want to go more towards the data warehousing and OLAP side. If you're more of a "lets build something shiny" type, head off for programming and web dev. As cd34 said though, the courses and graduating will give you a nice piece of paper, but you'll have to work at it and get some real life experience under your belt before anyone (well, most anyone) will give you the light of day. __________________ What's blue and not heavy?

2009-05-24, 01:24 PM	#8
Ramster Life is good Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 11,696	Check out some local job fairs if there are any and find out what companies are looking for. __________________ Pornstar Legends \| Live Cam Model Shows \| Hungarian Girls Skype: robmurray999

2009-05-25, 06:53 AM	#9
bluebrit Along for the ride and loving it. Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,873	I agree fully with what's been written here. I have a degree in Business IT that followed OO programming on the computer languages side and that part of the course has been practically useless to me. Luckily it was the business mgt. and strategic planning side I wanted to study in detail and I got a very good grounding in those areas. As part of that degree, I also had to complete a years work experience and I was fortunate to get a job in Switzerland working for an international company. That experience was necessary for the degree stage pass and I gained a great deal from the experience to back up my time in university. If you do decide to study something new, I would suggest you look into the options for on the job training to go hand in hand with your chosen course so that you complete it with work experience to back up your certificate. The plus side to this is that your work experience employer, may consider you for a permanent position once you pass giving you instant employment.

2009-05-25, 01:47 PM	#10
MeatPounder Women might be able to fake orgasms But men can fake whole relationships Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl Posts: 2,408	One word Cisco

2009-05-25, 01:55 PM	#11
pc Shift Out / X-On Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: unknown Posts: 2,298	As far as I know few smart people are going away from Cisco sample

2009-05-25, 03:34 PM	#12
MeatPounder Women might be able to fake orgasms But men can fake whole relationships Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl Posts: 2,408	no network is fully cisco free if it connects to any wan, cisco is being eliminated from a lot of "internal" networks, but the us backbone is still about 70% on cisco equipment

2009-05-28, 09:25 PM	#13
SirMoby Jim? I heard he's a dirty pornographer. Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 2,706	IT Unemployment is at an all time low of about 5%. Still one of the best fields in America. http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=216402752 . Silicon Vally has IT unemployment over 10% but the rest of the country is still in great shape. Oracle DBs are still highly paid, in demand and will be for quite some time. Boring work though but you can start close to $100k and make more then twice that if you're excellent. If you want something really new that's going to change the industry think about Flex, Adobe's new development platform. I'm seeing some stuff in a browser application that I've never seen before in cross platform coding. The problem with college IT courses is that they're a few years behind reality unless you can find a college that's on the leading edge. Network design is not moving as fast as coding platforms right now so colleges may have better courses. Ever think about becoming a certified SEO? Some colleges offers courses. __________________ Make Serious Money With Hungarian Honeys From NS Cash