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Looking to change careers to IT any advice would be appreciated

yankeeh8er

yankeeh8er

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,025
Dracula Georgia
So I have been in education for the last 11 years after graduating with a Masters in Physics. I recently left my job and I am now looking for a new career. I am really thinking about doing something in IT but I am not sure what. I have not coded before, but I have used programs like Mathematica and LaTex extensively. I am hoping that will give me a bit of a leg up. I am thinking about doing a coding bootcamp, there are a ton of options around me. My hope is to get trained in less then 6 months since we cant afford to live off just my wife's salary. I am hoping to find a entry level position where I will be able to continue to learn while working. Cost is probably my #1 factor since I just moved across the country and we wiped out most of our savings. I am currently leaning towards nucamp since their program is the cheapest and they offer in person support. It would be a full stack program, which seems to be what most boot camps are offering. I know that Georgia Tech also offers an in-person coding bootcamp that is similar in price. Another program I have looked into is Udacity and I have seen some mixed things about them online. I have also considered WGU but that is a much more expensive program and also would take much longer. They do offer different fields though, like cloud computing and web development. I really have no idea what would be best for someone just starting out like me. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.
 

Deleted member 18944

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,944
IT is pretty broad, OP. You need to ask yourself what part of IT you want to be in - technical or non-technical, and then specifically doing what. Do you want to build databases? Do you like SQL? How about SAP? Or maybe you're more of a framework builder? Or maybe you want to build the latest and greatest in house application that automates some bullshit process? Or maybe you want to manage company and client relations?

There's a ton to look for. What are you interested in? Could you go both ways?
 
RedOnePunch

RedOnePunch

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,628
IT really is broad and is a great field To be in. If you're not very technical then you can work in systems. Don't even have to be in IT, but you can help facilitate things and it definitely helps to know enough to be able to work between the business side and IT. Project management skills help a lot.
I'm not in IT but person above knows what they're talking about.
 
Sumio Mondo

Sumio Mondo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,935
United Kingdom
If you're going into the support field I highly recommend contracting. It will make you more flexible and learn new things at a faster rate, you can make yourself competitive in the field and your knowledge will be better for it. It's also more exciting getting to work on projects than doing just support. The more flexible you are as a person the more opportunities will come to you. Take a certification or just apply for a helpdesk role and start at the bottom. Of course if you want to you can just throw yourself in and see how you go being a self starter/self learner (which is what I did). YouTube and Google are a great resource.
 
SoH

SoH

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,739
yankeeh8er said:
I have not coded before, but I have used programs like Mathematica and LaTex extensively.
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The most natural progression here would be to get into working with databases and maybe dabble in Python, Go, or similar in terms of coding as they are typically utilized for data crunching and analysis and career paths that align more in that direction. Trying to adapt knowledge around LaTeX and more academia driven computer science to something like C++ or Java is going to be much more of a difficult leap and almost starting from scratch based on where you are at.

Not to discourage the latter, try a little bit of everything and follow what compels, just giving a sense of where the footpaths compared to the seemingly impossible steep inclines are likely to be.
 
OP
OP
yankeeh8er

yankeeh8er

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,025
Dracula Georgia
Thank you so much everyone for the replies so far.

Nida said:
Once you decide what you want to go after first, get a library card and use these: The courses are free through libraries and they have courses on coding, and any certifications you might want to get.

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I just went to that site and I am amazed how much they have. I will definitely go get a library card today. Thank you for that idea I had never heard of that before.
 
Nida

Nida

Member
Aug 31, 2019
11,200
Everett, Washington
yankeeh8er said:
Thank you so much everyone for the replies so far.


I just went to that site and I am amazed how much they have. I will definitely go get a library card today. Thank you for that idea I had never heard of that before.
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My girlfriend is a librarian so I try to spread the word about services being offered through the library like this, Overdrive, and depending on the library services like Mango for learning languages.
 

Deleted member 13101

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
17,973
Bootcamp for coding won't hurt at all, and is probably something that everyone should at least try regardless of background or field. If you're not going to end up designing broader system architectures and such, some people end up taking really strongly to python or Javascript or F# and produce strongly effective programs.

But you have more options available to you than perhaps you realize, particularly with a Masters in Physics and use of math-based software. Your masters degree (and undergraduate too) likely involved all the calculus for physics, so you could do things from modeling and instruction at higher educational institutions, to helping financial traders construct and execute models, to doing similar things for civil engineering.

Good luck on the path!
 
D23

D23

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,845
Currently in the same boat as op. Taking some prepwork from udemy on web dev bootcamp from colt steele, then if i like it enough ill probably do the bootcamp
 
GungHo

GungHo

Member
Nov 27, 2017
6,136
Wonderment said:
But you have more options available to you than perhaps you realize, particularly with a Masters in Physics and use of math-based software. Your masters degree (and undergraduate too) likely involved all the calculus for physics, so you could do things from modeling and instruction at higher educational institutions, to helping financial traders construct and execute models, to doing similar things for civil engineering.
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This was where I was going to go. A lot of technical industries need people capable of applied mathematics.
 
IMBCIT

IMBCIT

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,066
As others have said IT is broad and trying to be a jack of all traded, unless you are employed in house by a smaller company as director/sole IT, you will soon get overwhelmed.

Most MSP companies are pretty compartmentalized and you will have separate teams for system administration, engineering, networking, cloud infrastructure, DBA., help desk, etc.

I see you mentioning coding bootcamps which is not IT. You will not get an IT position have a coding bootcamp under your belt. Are you wanting to go into a web development or software engineering? Most bootcamps that offer full stack are beneficial to a certain extent but with how oversaturated that market is now do not guarantee a job in big tech.

Full stack development, let alone back end or front end, will take you years of practice to become proficient at it. There are few who can pick it up rather quickly and do well but do not bank on that being the case. I took a look at that Georgia Tech bootcamp and saw the topics that it covers and it seems pretty substantial:

HTML5
CSS3
JavaScript
jQuery
C#
ASP.Net
Bootstrap
React.js
Express.js
Node.js
MongoDB
MySQL
Command Line
Git
and more.*

The amount of technologies present in this course that is 12 weeks full time coming from no coding experience at all is nigh impossible to become proficient in. I'm also not sure why they are including C# and ASP.NET in there as those are Microsoft products and this course seems to be heavily geared toward web dev. Learning javascript will be hard enough and adding strongly typed language like C# is information overload.

This course also will most likely be more based around the full stack MERN which is for mongodb, express.js, react, and node.js.

Your masters in physics is what is going to put you above most other candidates when applying for jobs.
 
OP
OP
yankeeh8er

yankeeh8er

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,025
Dracula Georgia
Wonderment said:
Bootcamp for coding won't hurt at all, and is probably something that everyone should at least try regardless of background or field. If you're not going to end up designing broader system architectures and such, some people end up taking really strongly to python or Javascript or F# and produce strongly effective programs.

But you have more options available to you than perhaps you realize, particularly with a Masters in Physics and use of math-based software. Your masters degree (and undergraduate too) likely involved all the calculus for physics, so you could do things from modeling and instruction at higher educational institutions, to helping financial traders construct and execute models, to doing similar things for civil engineering.

Good luck on the path!
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Thanks a lot. I have definitely taken all the calc courses. I also took a bunch of extra math for fun, like differential geometry and such. I used to teach Calculus 3 when I lived in Las Vegas. I have looked into teaching higher education unfortunately every college I saw with openings wanted PHD's. I did pass the PHD qualifying exam at University of New Hampshire, and I also finished all the PHD coursework. Sadly my adviser lost his grant and I left school with a Masters rather then a PHD. I would love to work in finance or civil engineering.
 
OP
OP
yankeeh8er

yankeeh8er

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,025
Dracula Georgia
Another thing that I meant to put into the op was that I have been looking on indeed, and sites like it, a lot since leaving my job, and I see a ton of listings for data science in the Atlanta area. I was wondering if anyone knows about/works in that field? Is that hard to break into, would that be a good choice for someone starting out without much prior coding experience?
 
Antrax

Antrax

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,286
SmiteOfHand said:
The most natural progression here would be to get into working with databases and maybe dabble in Python, Go, or similar in terms of coding as they are typically utilized for data crunching and analysis and career paths that align more in that direction. Trying to adapt knowledge around LaTeX and more academia driven computer science to something like C++ or Java is going to be much more of a difficult leap and almost starting from scratch based on where you are at.

Not to discourage the latter, try a little bit of everything and follow what compels, just giving a sense of where the footpaths compared to the seemingly impossible steep inclines are likely to be.
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Former mathematician, current data analyst here. Can confirm.

OP, definitely consider data work. So many places are jumping on it, and the work isn't stressful at all (but the non-data people who are hiring sure assume it is!).

Edit: Lmao, I should've refreshed the page. Yes, OP. Consider data science. You can do programs online, and quickly. I was just in straight math academia, but you'll be fine. Become a power user of Excel, SQL, and maybe one other software pack.
 
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IMBCIT

IMBCIT

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,066
yankeeh8er said:
Another thing that I meant to put into the op was that I have been looking on indeed, and sites like it, a lot since leaving my job, and I see a ton of listings for data science in the Atlanta area. I was wondering if anyone knows about/works in that field? Is that hard to break into, would that be a good choice for someone starting out without much prior coding experience?
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With your educational background breaking into data science would be much easier for you.

Look into Python, MATLAB, SQL/NoSQL, Hadoop, Apache Spark, R, and some data visualization tools.
 
Komo

Komo

Info Analyst
Verified
Jan 3, 2019
7,110
Get your A+ certification then go immediately and get certified for 7/10, and someones gonna hire you out the door.

As most companies either are staying 7 or going 10 and need migration assistance.
 
IMBCIT

IMBCIT

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,066
yankeeh8er said:
Do you think a 2 year data science program like WGU's would be good enough to break into that field? Or would I need a 4 year degree?
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I can't personally comment on the quality of WGU's program but they seem to cover most of the topics that I mentioned above with the addition of SAS.

ASU also has an online program for Masters in Data Analytics you could look into as well.
 
keeblerdrow

keeblerdrow

Member
Dec 17, 2017
92
Hey everybody! I'm in a bit of a more unstable position, but looking at doing something like this as well.

I was recently let go from an IT support job that was mainly taking calls on a SQL based system. So I was exposed to a lot of it while watching our engineer come in and fix the more code-based parts. I never really got to get the kind of on-the-job training I wanted to be able to extend into code related stuff, but now I've got all the time in the world.

My other backgrounds are in quality control, reporting, and broker/clerk for companies that need their orders and financials followed.

Could anyone offer any advice on where I can get started and if there's some part of IT that would be a good jumping off point to these? I'm planning on getting any old job for now, but I want to be looking for something more by summertime if I can get a solid curriculum planned out for myself.
 
IMBCIT

IMBCIT

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,066
keeblerdrow said:
Hey everybody! I'm in a bit of a more unstable position, but looking at doing something like this as well.

I was recently let go from an IT support job that was mainly taking calls on a SQL based system. So I was exposed to a lot of it while watching our engineer come in and fix the more code-based parts. I never really got to get the kind of on-the-job training I wanted to be able to extend into code related stuff, but now I've got all the time in the world.

My other backgrounds are in quality control, reporting, and broker/clerk for companies that need their orders and financials followed.

Could anyone offer any advice on where I can get started and if there's some part of IT that would be a good jumping off point to these? I'm planning on getting any old job for now, but I want to be looking for something more by summertime if I can get a solid curriculum planned out for myself.
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What is the extent of your SQL experience? I know DBAs are always useful at companies. Picking up T SQL is much easier to get into than actual language programming in my experience.

Do you have anything that specifically interests you in the IT field? Sys admin? Network engineering? etc.
 
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SoH

SoH

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,739
keeblerdrow said:
Hey everybody! I'm in a bit of a more unstable position, but looking at doing something like this as well.

I was recently let go from an IT support job that was mainly taking calls on a SQL based system. So I was exposed to a lot of it while watching our engineer come in and fix the more code-based parts. I never really got to get the kind of on-the-job training I wanted to be able to extend into code related stuff, but now I've got all the time in the world.

My other backgrounds are in quality control, reporting, and broker/clerk for companies that need their orders and financials followed.

Could anyone offer any advice on where I can get started and if there's some part of IT that would be a good jumping off point to these? I'm planning on getting any old job for now, but I want to be looking for something more by summertime if I can get a solid curriculum planned out for myself.
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It sounds like a lot of the information above is applicable so consider that and rather than repeat it I'll throw a curve ball consideration to add. Consider project management. Literally type 'project manager' into any random job finder and you'll find a boatload of listings. Finding people who have a nose for tech and have planning and people skills can be hard to come by, so if you haven't considered this approach then think it over and see what's out there.
 
Mcfrank

Mcfrank

Member
Oct 28, 2017
15,220
Since you have a teaching background you could do something like instructional technology. Having a Masters and that background gives you a leg up.


If you took some time to learn how to use and support a Learning Management System like Canvas, Brightspace, or Blackboard you would be in good shape to move into one of those roles and they tend to pay decently.
 
GYODX

GYODX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,245
I'd do software development or even data science over IT--especially with your background.
 

RoderickToombs

Banned
Mar 27, 2019
369
If I were you I would focus on data science as others have suggested but before even touching a 2/4 year program I would check out the data science offerings on udemy, cloud, academy, and Linux academy, get yourself a AWS account and mess around with some SQL and see how far you can get. The cost is negligible as most of those services offer free trials and are under $50 a month. Another hugely overlooked resource is humble bundle which sometimes offers a ton of good programming books of varying levels for literally a dollar. My advice would be to pursue a cloud based data science track especially given that cloud providers have automated their data science tools so that non techie people like yourself can use them.
 
Antrax

Antrax

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,286
yankeeh8er said:
Do you think a 2 year data science program like WGU's would be good enough to break into that field? Or would I need a 4 year degree?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
IMBCIT said:
I can't personally comment on the quality of WGU's program but they seem to cover most of the topics that I mentioned above with the addition of SAS.

ASU also has an online program for Masters in Data Analytics you could look into as well.
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Yeah, it looks good. But compare prices with other online programs. Don't end up in the statistic of people who paid way too much money for grad school.

With a Master's already, I wouldn't spend 4 years of money. Your degree alone will get you some callbacks.
 
OP
OP
yankeeh8er

yankeeh8er

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,025
Dracula Georgia
Thank you all so much for the replies and help. I am definitely wanting to save on costs, and ideally, time. However, I want to do this career change the right way - i.e. I want to avoid pitfalls and setbacks. My wife is a teacher and I have 2 young kids. My wife's take home pay puts us in the red by several hundred dollars a month, now that I'm not bringing in any income. And our bills are very low - no car payments and we were forced to defer student loan payments. We don't have cable, we won't eat out, and my wife is trying to feed all 4 of us for $5-7 per dinner. We can hang on for a good amount of time this way, if we have to, but I need to move forward toward a new career right away, and the sooner I can get trained and be hired, the better.
 
Antrax

Antrax

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,286
Mcfrank said:
Since you have a teaching background you could do something like instructional technology. Having a Masters and that background gives you a leg up.


If you took some time to learn how to use and support a Learning Management System like Canvas, Brightspace, or Blackboard you would be in good shape to move into one of those roles and they tend to pay decently.
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Click to shrink...

This is good advice. I was a teacher for years, and now do data analysis for an education company. My background was a huge plus.
 
OP
OP
yankeeh8er

yankeeh8er

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,025
Dracula Georgia
Thank you again for all the replies. I applied to wgu's data science program today. Hopefully I will be able to transfer a lot of credits and it wont take me to long to complete. I am so excited for a new career, this year really burned me out on education.
 
IMBCIT

IMBCIT

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,066
yankeeh8er said:
Thank you again for all the replies. I applied to wgu's data science program today. Hopefully I will be able to transfer a lot of credits and it wont take me to long to complete. I am so excited for a new career, this year really burned me out on education.
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Best of luck! Hope everything works out for you and your family!
 
SoH

SoH

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,739
Here is a neat thing of potential interest to anyone just getting started with databases and queries as finding good exercises can be hard to come by.

It is a murder mystery you solve.. in SQL. Might be a little tough if you've literally never run a query before but it has a walkthrough to get you going and can always ask questions if completely stumped.

 
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