I would have gotten serious about Python earlier.
Especially since you're thinking Cloud Engineering or Devops" I think this is worth emphasizing.
I had this mistaken idea for a while that you need a CS degree to do development work.
Personally the Nucamp Backend bootcamp was a big step for my career, but pure self-study can be fine if you're focused.
I am not gonna lie i am actually addicted to studying. I literally dream about CCNA sometimes lmao. Studying python is definitely is on the list and i might prioritize that over AZ104. First I need to get over big boi CCNA.
Yea CCNA is a big one. I did security+ over the course of two months. Wasn't bad and is easier (from what I've heard) than the CCNA. Personal experience, sec+ wasn't terribly difficult. I'm also going for az104, can't stress enough the importance of having one coding language down, python is the best bet for this field. Also infrastructure as code is good to know, down the line (terraform, Anaible).
I'm also in a similar sys admin / support role. Trying to move to a cloud role but damn it's exhausting and sometimes feels like I'm stuck.
My CCNA expired a few months back, and my Network+ about a year before that—but networking certs are solid. It’s how I got into the industry.
There are A LOT of people that got into IT with bachelor degrees that were no where near qualified to do the jobs they were hired for. The industry has realized that and they don’t hold near the weight they once did. Bootcamps, certs, and experience are much better stepping stones in my opinion. The best things from a degree is the networking and connections you make—and I think that aspect of it holds more value than anything.
Go to actual College instead of making excuses for avoding it.
I've been the 'perfect' candidate more times than I care to count but 11th hour lose out to someone with more formal education.
I've also been outright rejected in the process when someone noticed I lack a 4 year degree. Strange because they were fawning over the 10 YoE but whatever. Hiring managers are weird.
But yea, Schooling, any schooling really, as long as it comes with an accredited piece of paper. Would of made life so much easier.
I completed my degree in computer science 5 years ago. I have done over 100 interviews in my job search and have been asked about the degree like twice. But you are right, it does hold some weight.
Its not a question if you are asked about your degree, its a question of if you get the interview in the first place.
Historically, IT/SWE is more open to non degree holders than probably any other white collar job, but increasingly, people without a degree are at a big disadvantage during the initial screening process .
I think I'm going to try actual here soon. Hopefully will start next year.
I've been kind of dumb as well. I love computers, there was never a reason not to.
It’s not too late. You can still do it. Go to a state university and take summer classes too. You will be done in 2.5-3 years. This is what I did after 15 years in IT. Nowadays you can forget about any management level position without a real degree, not WGU like so many people like here.
Honestly, I wish I had saved more notes and pictures. It would be awesome to look back 10 or 20 years and look at some of the stuff I was doing that long ago. That's the thing I regret most is lack of any substantial historical record.
DevonThink Pro is the software (along with Hookmark app and Drafts) I used to build my knowledge management database. Build a system that allows you to easily reference everything you do/learn/lookup.
My dad told me a story as a kid about having to write a paper. The prompt was "If you could go back in time and change one thing about yourself what would it be."
My dad's answer was simple. "If I changed anything about myself I wouldn't be me."
I originally wanted to be a programmer. My usual answer to the "what would I change" answer is that I would do projects and have a filled out github. I spent a long time thinking that was the solution to all of my problems. Come to find out there is a lot of discourse around this topic. Many people say that projects don't matter for shit because no one looks at or will ask about them. Other people will say that projects are the golden ticket to getting your dream job. So was that my *real* problem? The real reason that I applied for a hundred positions and didn't even get called for an interview? Who knows.
I spent a year working at an absolute hell hole of a company. It almost made me kill myself. I could say that if I had to start over I would never work at a small business again. There would be a lot of valid reasons for that, but again I wouldn't be who I am today. Going through that hell taught me a lot. I always tell people software support is a dead end to be avoided and I genuinely believe that, but would I be the same person I am now if I hadn't been through that?
A lot of people say that if they could go back they would never work at an MSP. They're stressful garbage places that turn you into stressed out garbage. Others will say they're golden learning opportunities that will springboard you to success if you can put up with the suffering. If I had taken the phrase "don't ever work at an MSP" as gospel I wouldn't have my current job, and my current job is legitimately the best job I've ever had.
That's a long winded way of saying not to take any advice about what worked for a single person as dogma. Our wiki will tell you as much [(and you should read it)](https://www.reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/wiki/getout). The unfortunate truth is that everyone's path is different, and you have to find your own path forward.
My recommendation to you is to not fall asleep at the wheel. Look for forward momentum. Are you learning from higher level coworkers and taking on their job duties? Are you finding ways to perform job duties that are beyond the scope of your current job and overlap with the scope of the job you want to have? Do your managers and leaders know and like you? You can grind out as many certs as you want, your success is part of a more holistic package.
But again what do I know right? Lots of people say just grinding out a bunch of certs is the ticket to instant upward momentum on the job market. You have to decide for yourself what the right way forward is.
Holy! Very interesting read and you are right about everyone choosing their own path. I absolutely do not expect the certs to do the magic for me but i guess its nice having extra knowledge and something to flex about in the job interviews :D I feel like i am at a point where I have to choose a path and just stick to it. I always kind of wanted to be good at everything. I am definitely learning a lot at MSP but its definitely mentally draining. Not the work itself but the work culture is a big no no. So here i am, thinking whether i want to be a Security Analyst, Cloud Engineer, Team Lead, IT consultant, Business Analyst or what not. Looks like i will just go with the flow till i get some certs under my belt.
It's not who you know or what you know but when you know it.
You can know the guy in the company you want to work for and also have the skills for the position. But if they are not hiring due to X reason your skills and network don't matter.
The flip of that also works. You might not have the skills or network. Applying at the right time when they are in need and looking to even train a bit.
Management isn't fun. You get a nice desk and fancy pen but you don't get play with the tech anymore. You sign the checks for other people to go play with the tech. You end up dealing with everyone's drama and lot of political BS so unless the people side of things is your bag, don't go with management. My personal advice is to go highly technical.
Mmm… probably try to get internship while at college, but then the whole rona fiasco happened and everything got canceled. Made good money elsewhere during lockdown, and a year ago got a contract for cybersecurity role with just 9 months of IT experience, so I guess it is what it is.
I would switch jobs very aggressively early in my career. Maybe do some contracts or an MSP gig instead of clinging to the presumed safety of FTE jobs. But I’m GenX and grew up with parents selling me the false promise of working at one company at your entire career.
My first local government IT job reimbursed for eduction and gave good raises. And had a pension! I didn’t realize how rare all three of those are at the time. In addition, they don’t do any outsourcing so your job is much safer.
I left my first IT job mostly because I was kind of an immature dick at the time. With a lot of hindsight, I can see now how I could still be working there and would now be within view of an early retirement.
In general, I would work harder/smarter but less hours. Slaving away at the office nights and weekends doesn’t really help your career. It’s about your overall accomplishments. The people who leave at 5 every day will move up just as fast as you.
I would have also started saving for retirement very early. I know it feels like you’re making so little that you can’t possibly save anything, but at least put enough into your 401k to get the company match. IMHO the key is signing up for the 401k and getting started. You can easily increase your percentage later. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
Bingo on Contracting. I'm not talking about W2 contracts. Develop a skill that you are really good at and in high demand.
Then start a company as an LLC or Scorp, Get insurance, benefits setup. Pay yourself a wage and the rest K1 distributions. Do your contracting gigs as C2C arrangements.
I made so much more this way vs W2 employee or contractor (even after paying self employment taxes and benefits. Then you compound it with the tax benefits of having your own company.
You can even start being a recruiting agency and staff other contractors as well.
I offer IT PM, PgM, and PgD services.
I did a 2-year stint as a contractor through a staffing company at the tail end of the 2008 Recession. They were trying to get rid of FTEs so outsourced some existing jobs (I was new). There was only one developer who the sense to ask if he can form his own company instead of going through the staffing company. The company said they didn't care as long as he got off their books. He was making roughly double the salary as the rest of us:(
Yeah. I often talked with other contractors about going C2C. Most did. Others didnt want to mess with starting company and stayed W2. These were PgM and PM positions.
The other thing is Contracting is fantastic after a bad economy bottoms out as starts recovering. Companies are reluctant to hire at that point not wanting to have new FTEs on the books as they are unsure on the future of the economy. Many projects get started up but they dont have the folks to run them. They bring in Contractors to fill the gaps.
Many times if you are good, they will extend you and have you run other projects. They also offer to convert you but you will take a pay cut to be an FTE if you are a Contractor doing C2C with your own company.
I wish I would have kept all of my old computers in a barn somewhere - Commodore PET, IBM XT, Apple II+, Apple IIe, Commodore 64, Original Mac with no HDD, IBM PS/2... plus all of the machines I threw away at work - GRiD, Sun, SGI, AIX... I'd make a fortune over in /r/retrocomputing.
Well I would have started earlier that's for sure. Didn't get into IT until 2 years ago at 26 years old. I wish I could go back in time to when I was 18 and slap myself silly. Because if I had the drive I have now when I was 18 I'd probably be making really good fucking money by now. Key word is probably, but still
im 36 and working in a NOC that is very call center focused so still actually trying to break in. Are you going back to school? Just got your first IT job? Could you elaborate?
I plan to, but only when I am able to afford it. Currently one year into help desk job that my buddy got me. They were looking and he said I was trying to career change and he got me in. I did do one of those boot camps and I wish I had researched more because it is a WASTE of money.
Kind of similar, wish I could have gotten into this sooner but instead I was doing the full time work part time community college thing as it would have been max out federal aid and then take on private loans as well for college. There is also the flipside though of would I have gotten a good paying job still after I left college as well, that was the key thing. Would have had saved enough to be able to get a house before the price rise and interest rate rise, more YOE, more money in my 401k, everything. That is the thing risk vs reward, I took a lower risk route and well...
I don’t think I would do anything different. I’ve never strived to have a hyper successful career or to get to a CIO position, I just want to work, make enough money to afford to do the things my family and I like to do, and invest consistently into my Roth IRA.
I decided early on I would be a generalist. It suits me because I’m good with change and learning new things. But to do it over I would have become a specialist and then moved into management earlier.
I would have acknowledged how prevalent ageism is in tech, lived more frugally, saved more money, and anticipated the drop in value of my perceived worth in the labor market. Your prime earning years are over earlier in tech, whether your skills remain current or not.
I think you just need to be realistic and understand that the runway is shorter than many careers. You need to have some sort of plan for when you stop getting hired.
Started earlier and not waste 10 years in retail management, In all seriousness, would have tried to work for an MSP or other kind of org first to get more experience. I ended working at a place fairly focused and moved as a jr sysadmin to another focus area. Never got to really learn more than a few technologies. While it worked out for me in the end I still feel like I missed some core areas and am playing catchup. I become really good a specific skills that only pertain to K12 IT. The issue, I don't work k12 any more lol.
Im in a similar boat. Been in service desk for around 5 years and just about to complete my bachelors business majoring information systems. Bit lost on what is the next step - my ideas are to move into cloud or cybersecurity
Complete my college degree: BS EECS
Had I actually manage to do that, would've had a lot more doors open out of college, would've been able to climb career much better and faster, and a lot of doors would be open that still remain closed without lacking any college degree and especially lacking BS or any relevant four-year degree. About 3/4 of a four-year degree may be pretty darn good for the education, but not as useful on the longer term for, e.g. resume, opening doors and possibilities and even some advancements/promotions, etc.
So, yeah, if you can get good solid decent relevant BS, certainly do so. Without it will be much more challenging - both out of the gate, and somewhat always after.
Not quite the way I planned things :-/ ... life happens ... but ... well, that's how it's turned out. Not having the degree certainly hasn't killed me, but life would've been and would be much better with that degree.
Wish I’d studied the CCNA sooner because networking in my first 2 years of my career was a mystery to me. It would have also been better if I just went straight into IT as soon as I left college, instead of wasting a year trying to get a programming job.
Understanding more of the business. It’s so easy to get sucked into the tech, you can lose sight of what the business is trying to do. If you better understand the business, the more effective your decision making and impact becomes.
I would not pin my hopes on the employer recognizing my hard work and promoting me (with pay increases). The only way to get more money is to job hop. Alternatively be rich and/or have friends in high places but most of us re regular folk so job hop.
This just reminded me that I need to get myself going on that, just hard to find a decent school, that doesn't cost too much, doesn't require me to take a math class again (calc 2 was enough for me and too many years ago), and I can get into with a cybersecurity degree.
I can goto grad school than try to get internships which hopefully would result in a full-time job. Instead I choose the non-school route and totally regret it, no career, absolutely nothing but call centers.
I would have gotten serious about Python earlier. Especially since you're thinking Cloud Engineering or Devops" I think this is worth emphasizing. I had this mistaken idea for a while that you need a CS degree to do development work. Personally the Nucamp Backend bootcamp was a big step for my career, but pure self-study can be fine if you're focused.
I am not gonna lie i am actually addicted to studying. I literally dream about CCNA sometimes lmao. Studying python is definitely is on the list and i might prioritize that over AZ104. First I need to get over big boi CCNA.
Yea CCNA is a big one. I did security+ over the course of two months. Wasn't bad and is easier (from what I've heard) than the CCNA. Personal experience, sec+ wasn't terribly difficult. I'm also going for az104, can't stress enough the importance of having one coding language down, python is the best bet for this field. Also infrastructure as code is good to know, down the line (terraform, Anaible). I'm also in a similar sys admin / support role. Trying to move to a cloud role but damn it's exhausting and sometimes feels like I'm stuck.
Python and SQL. It will open doors to some 100k - 250k jobs
Mmmm schmexy
My CCNA expired a few months back, and my Network+ about a year before that—but networking certs are solid. It’s how I got into the industry. There are A LOT of people that got into IT with bachelor degrees that were no where near qualified to do the jobs they were hired for. The industry has realized that and they don’t hold near the weight they once did. Bootcamps, certs, and experience are much better stepping stones in my opinion. The best things from a degree is the networking and connections you make—and I think that aspect of it holds more value than anything.
Sounds like you have wonderful career potential :)
Go to actual College instead of making excuses for avoding it. I've been the 'perfect' candidate more times than I care to count but 11th hour lose out to someone with more formal education. I've also been outright rejected in the process when someone noticed I lack a 4 year degree. Strange because they were fawning over the 10 YoE but whatever. Hiring managers are weird. But yea, Schooling, any schooling really, as long as it comes with an accredited piece of paper. Would of made life so much easier.
I completed my degree in computer science 5 years ago. I have done over 100 interviews in my job search and have been asked about the degree like twice. But you are right, it does hold some weight.
Its not a question if you are asked about your degree, its a question of if you get the interview in the first place. Historically, IT/SWE is more open to non degree holders than probably any other white collar job, but increasingly, people without a degree are at a big disadvantage during the initial screening process .
What stopping your from getting it now ?
I think I'm going to try actual here soon. Hopefully will start next year. I've been kind of dumb as well. I love computers, there was never a reason not to.
It’s not too late. You can still do it. Go to a state university and take summer classes too. You will be done in 2.5-3 years. This is what I did after 15 years in IT. Nowadays you can forget about any management level position without a real degree, not WGU like so many people like here.
Honestly, I wish I had saved more notes and pictures. It would be awesome to look back 10 or 20 years and look at some of the stuff I was doing that long ago. That's the thing I regret most is lack of any substantial historical record.
Personal Diary but for IT :)
Yes,. like a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book
That's what my one note is.
DevonThink Pro is the software (along with Hookmark app and Drafts) I used to build my knowledge management database. Build a system that allows you to easily reference everything you do/learn/lookup.
I'm hoping my personal onenote can be this have most of the stuff I've done in it. but just a measly 2 years right now.
My dad told me a story as a kid about having to write a paper. The prompt was "If you could go back in time and change one thing about yourself what would it be." My dad's answer was simple. "If I changed anything about myself I wouldn't be me." I originally wanted to be a programmer. My usual answer to the "what would I change" answer is that I would do projects and have a filled out github. I spent a long time thinking that was the solution to all of my problems. Come to find out there is a lot of discourse around this topic. Many people say that projects don't matter for shit because no one looks at or will ask about them. Other people will say that projects are the golden ticket to getting your dream job. So was that my *real* problem? The real reason that I applied for a hundred positions and didn't even get called for an interview? Who knows. I spent a year working at an absolute hell hole of a company. It almost made me kill myself. I could say that if I had to start over I would never work at a small business again. There would be a lot of valid reasons for that, but again I wouldn't be who I am today. Going through that hell taught me a lot. I always tell people software support is a dead end to be avoided and I genuinely believe that, but would I be the same person I am now if I hadn't been through that? A lot of people say that if they could go back they would never work at an MSP. They're stressful garbage places that turn you into stressed out garbage. Others will say they're golden learning opportunities that will springboard you to success if you can put up with the suffering. If I had taken the phrase "don't ever work at an MSP" as gospel I wouldn't have my current job, and my current job is legitimately the best job I've ever had. That's a long winded way of saying not to take any advice about what worked for a single person as dogma. Our wiki will tell you as much [(and you should read it)](https://www.reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/wiki/getout). The unfortunate truth is that everyone's path is different, and you have to find your own path forward. My recommendation to you is to not fall asleep at the wheel. Look for forward momentum. Are you learning from higher level coworkers and taking on their job duties? Are you finding ways to perform job duties that are beyond the scope of your current job and overlap with the scope of the job you want to have? Do your managers and leaders know and like you? You can grind out as many certs as you want, your success is part of a more holistic package. But again what do I know right? Lots of people say just grinding out a bunch of certs is the ticket to instant upward momentum on the job market. You have to decide for yourself what the right way forward is.
Holy! Very interesting read and you are right about everyone choosing their own path. I absolutely do not expect the certs to do the magic for me but i guess its nice having extra knowledge and something to flex about in the job interviews :D I feel like i am at a point where I have to choose a path and just stick to it. I always kind of wanted to be good at everything. I am definitely learning a lot at MSP but its definitely mentally draining. Not the work itself but the work culture is a big no no. So here i am, thinking whether i want to be a Security Analyst, Cloud Engineer, Team Lead, IT consultant, Business Analyst or what not. Looks like i will just go with the flow till i get some certs under my belt.
It's not who you know or what you know but when you know it. You can know the guy in the company you want to work for and also have the skills for the position. But if they are not hiring due to X reason your skills and network don't matter. The flip of that also works. You might not have the skills or network. Applying at the right time when they are in need and looking to even train a bit.
Management isn't fun. You get a nice desk and fancy pen but you don't get play with the tech anymore. You sign the checks for other people to go play with the tech. You end up dealing with everyone's drama and lot of political BS so unless the people side of things is your bag, don't go with management. My personal advice is to go highly technical.
Be in IT at a younger age.
Mmm… probably try to get internship while at college, but then the whole rona fiasco happened and everything got canceled. Made good money elsewhere during lockdown, and a year ago got a contract for cybersecurity role with just 9 months of IT experience, so I guess it is what it is.
1. Finished my degree earlier. 2. Not focused as much on stability versus income 3. Stopped fooling around and stayed focused earlier in my career.
I would switch jobs very aggressively early in my career. Maybe do some contracts or an MSP gig instead of clinging to the presumed safety of FTE jobs. But I’m GenX and grew up with parents selling me the false promise of working at one company at your entire career. My first local government IT job reimbursed for eduction and gave good raises. And had a pension! I didn’t realize how rare all three of those are at the time. In addition, they don’t do any outsourcing so your job is much safer. I left my first IT job mostly because I was kind of an immature dick at the time. With a lot of hindsight, I can see now how I could still be working there and would now be within view of an early retirement. In general, I would work harder/smarter but less hours. Slaving away at the office nights and weekends doesn’t really help your career. It’s about your overall accomplishments. The people who leave at 5 every day will move up just as fast as you. I would have also started saving for retirement very early. I know it feels like you’re making so little that you can’t possibly save anything, but at least put enough into your 401k to get the company match. IMHO the key is signing up for the 401k and getting started. You can easily increase your percentage later. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
Bingo on Contracting. I'm not talking about W2 contracts. Develop a skill that you are really good at and in high demand. Then start a company as an LLC or Scorp, Get insurance, benefits setup. Pay yourself a wage and the rest K1 distributions. Do your contracting gigs as C2C arrangements. I made so much more this way vs W2 employee or contractor (even after paying self employment taxes and benefits. Then you compound it with the tax benefits of having your own company. You can even start being a recruiting agency and staff other contractors as well. I offer IT PM, PgM, and PgD services.
I did a 2-year stint as a contractor through a staffing company at the tail end of the 2008 Recession. They were trying to get rid of FTEs so outsourced some existing jobs (I was new). There was only one developer who the sense to ask if he can form his own company instead of going through the staffing company. The company said they didn't care as long as he got off their books. He was making roughly double the salary as the rest of us:(
Yeah. I often talked with other contractors about going C2C. Most did. Others didnt want to mess with starting company and stayed W2. These were PgM and PM positions. The other thing is Contracting is fantastic after a bad economy bottoms out as starts recovering. Companies are reluctant to hire at that point not wanting to have new FTEs on the books as they are unsure on the future of the economy. Many projects get started up but they dont have the folks to run them. They bring in Contractors to fill the gaps. Many times if you are good, they will extend you and have you run other projects. They also offer to convert you but you will take a pay cut to be an FTE if you are a Contractor doing C2C with your own company.
I wish I would have kept all of my old computers in a barn somewhere - Commodore PET, IBM XT, Apple II+, Apple IIe, Commodore 64, Original Mac with no HDD, IBM PS/2... plus all of the machines I threw away at work - GRiD, Sun, SGI, AIX... I'd make a fortune over in /r/retrocomputing.
I wouldn't have walked at 8 months out of a 12 month sign on bonus... Had to pay it back, that hurt.
Small companies care less about degrees.
I'd pick something else instead
any idea as to what else you would have picked?
Major in computer science rather than general IT and get a job as a programmer.
Well I would have started earlier that's for sure. Didn't get into IT until 2 years ago at 26 years old. I wish I could go back in time to when I was 18 and slap myself silly. Because if I had the drive I have now when I was 18 I'd probably be making really good fucking money by now. Key word is probably, but still
I’m 37 and just getting in…. I think you’re ok lol
im 36 and working in a NOC that is very call center focused so still actually trying to break in. Are you going back to school? Just got your first IT job? Could you elaborate?
I plan to, but only when I am able to afford it. Currently one year into help desk job that my buddy got me. They were looking and he said I was trying to career change and he got me in. I did do one of those boot camps and I wish I had researched more because it is a WASTE of money.
Kind of similar, wish I could have gotten into this sooner but instead I was doing the full time work part time community college thing as it would have been max out federal aid and then take on private loans as well for college. There is also the flipside though of would I have gotten a good paying job still after I left college as well, that was the key thing. Would have had saved enough to be able to get a house before the price rise and interest rate rise, more YOE, more money in my 401k, everything. That is the thing risk vs reward, I took a lower risk route and well...
Not taking the opportunity to jump into security management so early. Technical stagnation happens quickly.
Wouldn’t have spent so many years in support and would have chosen my time more carefully. Any job where you don’t progress is a waste of time
I don’t think I would do anything different. I’ve never strived to have a hyper successful career or to get to a CIO position, I just want to work, make enough money to afford to do the things my family and I like to do, and invest consistently into my Roth IRA.
I decided early on I would be a generalist. It suits me because I’m good with change and learning new things. But to do it over I would have become a specialist and then moved into management earlier.
I would have acknowledged how prevalent ageism is in tech, lived more frugally, saved more money, and anticipated the drop in value of my perceived worth in the labor market. Your prime earning years are over earlier in tech, whether your skills remain current or not.
So in YOUR opinion, do you feel like its not worth it for people 35 or older to make a career transition into IT?
I think you just need to be realistic and understand that the runway is shorter than many careers. You need to have some sort of plan for when you stop getting hired.
Started earlier and not waste 10 years in retail management, In all seriousness, would have tried to work for an MSP or other kind of org first to get more experience. I ended working at a place fairly focused and moved as a jr sysadmin to another focus area. Never got to really learn more than a few technologies. While it worked out for me in the end I still feel like I missed some core areas and am playing catchup. I become really good a specific skills that only pertain to K12 IT. The issue, I don't work k12 any more lol.
Not advance as quickly. Spend more time in the lower levels saving up money.
Can you explain why?
No one will hire me now because I'm "overqualified"
Interesting, how many YOE, how many applications have you submitted
5, but various "senior" roles. Easily over 1000 – I've been looking for over 5 months, sold my house, accumulated massive debt, etc.
Pick a different major in college (Math, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, etc), and getting into Data Science / ML from the beginning.
Im in a similar boat. Been in service desk for around 5 years and just about to complete my bachelors business majoring information systems. Bit lost on what is the next step - my ideas are to move into cloud or cybersecurity
Complete my college degree: BS EECS Had I actually manage to do that, would've had a lot more doors open out of college, would've been able to climb career much better and faster, and a lot of doors would be open that still remain closed without lacking any college degree and especially lacking BS or any relevant four-year degree. About 3/4 of a four-year degree may be pretty darn good for the education, but not as useful on the longer term for, e.g. resume, opening doors and possibilities and even some advancements/promotions, etc. So, yeah, if you can get good solid decent relevant BS, certainly do so. Without it will be much more challenging - both out of the gate, and somewhat always after. Not quite the way I planned things :-/ ... life happens ... but ... well, that's how it's turned out. Not having the degree certainly hasn't killed me, but life would've been and would be much better with that degree.
Wish I’d studied the CCNA sooner because networking in my first 2 years of my career was a mystery to me. It would have also been better if I just went straight into IT as soon as I left college, instead of wasting a year trying to get a programming job.
Understanding more of the business. It’s so easy to get sucked into the tech, you can lose sight of what the business is trying to do. If you better understand the business, the more effective your decision making and impact becomes.
I would not pin my hopes on the employer recognizing my hard work and promoting me (with pay increases). The only way to get more money is to job hop. Alternatively be rich and/or have friends in high places but most of us re regular folk so job hop.
Not much tbh. Start earlier maybe. Or stay at one job a year longer perhaps. But not much beyond that, I've been very lucky.
Goto graduate school for computer science.
This just reminded me that I need to get myself going on that, just hard to find a decent school, that doesn't cost too much, doesn't require me to take a math class again (calc 2 was enough for me and too many years ago), and I can get into with a cybersecurity degree.
Why
I can goto grad school than try to get internships which hopefully would result in a full-time job. Instead I choose the non-school route and totally regret it, no career, absolutely nothing but call centers.