Information Technology (IT)

[Mark Antony]

WGU IT Sec degree still in progress, Just passed A+ & Linux+, working on CCNA & CCNA security currently...should be done by march fellas

Congrats, i'm doing the IT management as that's where my future is, but have been thinking lately about switching to that degree, and a mba in the future.

So this WGU school is legit legit? I've been seeing yall post about it a lot.

Legit legit if you're a working professional. Cheap, accredited, backed by governors and official. I don't see how anyone would have anything to lose here. As digital as the world is, it's stupid that online schools have any negative stigma. Forget the university of Phoenix type things, it's getting real legit out there.

 

[dathbgboy]

WGU IT Sec degree still in progress, Just passed A+ & Linux+, working on CCNA & CCNA security currently...should be done by march fellas

Congrats, i'm doing the IT management as that's where my future is, but have been thinking lately about switching to that degree, and a mba in the future.

So this WGU school is legit legit? I've been seeing yall post about it a lot.

Legit legit if you're a working professional. Cheap, accredited, backed by governors and official. I don't see how anyone would have anything to lose here. As digital as the world is, it's stupid that online schools have any negative stigma. Forget the university of Phoenix type things, it's getting real legit out there.

Oh ok, yea, the Phoenix's of the world have sullied online education, not to mention brick and mortar schools have an investment to protect so they'll fight to keep painting online schools in a bad light.

I'm interested but the IT Master's degrees aren't built for me yet since I don't have the I.T. experience that they want as a requirement.

 

[capital sb]

 
Not only that, but most universities post placement and salary numbers for each graduating class. CS consistently ranks at the top for starting salary. IT/MIS isnt far behind either and earn more than other business majors.

These numbers are all over the internet, and as tech pros, we should be adept at being resourceful on it (google)

Exactly, my friend always tell me "Know your worth , never settle" . Seems like many are content with settling , not me man I worked too hard getting that CS degree and internships. You should at least command the average salary of your area don't let these companies lowball you. They know a lot of people are just happy with X amount, when they know they are underpaying them. 

So this WGU school is legit legit? I've been seeing yall post about it a lot.

Yes it is a legit school, doesn't matter much where your degree comes from as long as you get one. I posted the thread from tech exam forums a few post ago. They really advocate the school there.

 

[Teknoman]

WGU is cool if you have a job and can't attend a traditional school. Otherwise it's an easy pass.

 

[luckyluchiano]

Exactly, my friend always tell me "Know your worth , never settle" . Seems like many are content with settling , not me man I worked too hard getting that CS degree and internships. You should at least command the average salary of your area don't let these companies lowball you. They know a lot of people are just happy with X amount, when they know they are underpaying them. 

Yes it is a legit school, doesn't matter much where your degree comes from as long as you get one. I posted the thread from tech exam forums a few post ago. They really advocate the school there.

I`ll just say the whole settle thing depends on the persons situation at the time.

 

[capital sb]

I`ll just say the whole settle thing depends on the persons situation at the time.

I guess man everyone is different, I just know that my lowest offer was almost 30K lower than the offer I accepted.
I would be playing catch up on salary moving around every few years trying to catch up to my peers due to settling because I was struggling at the time.
I'd never settle for less than average when I know companies are trying to get over.

 

[shimmyhendrix]

 My dad has been living in Pittsburgh for the last few yrs and hated it, he just moved to Dallas though.
MARTA is useless IMO which is another reason why areas are gentrifying, because there are intown neighborhoods that can be used to house all of the people in the booming Health and IT industry ATL has. I love ATL just off the fact there are people who look like me making big moves and it serves as inspiration because in most other major cities that isn't the case unfortunately so its harder to network as there are Good Ol Boy circles in most cities and I`m sure it can kill ones confidence. I`m about Ownership and ATL is the type of city where if you come from nothing you have an actual chance to grind and get to where you need to be, lol places like NYC are so damn high grinding in Manhattan = making 80k lol.

This.  And this is the reason why i will be making it my next move.   Thats an easy come-up.  Once I have about 4-5 years experience, I could easily hit ATL and be making 85+.  And thats on the low end.  That type of salary down here in the south, you are super comfortable.  

Its hard to find openings for my experience level (1 year and a couple months) but once you hit that 4-5 mark you basically have your pick of any job in the country(If you have the skills of course).  The hardest part in IT is just getting your foot in the door.  After that If you do your part and get those skills, you can easily be on the road to 6 figures.  EASILY.  There's companies out here that are practically BEGGING for Mid to Senior level IT professionals.  With the rapid growth of Technology, the positions are opening up way faster than they can be filled, and it will be that way for a long time.

And whoever brought it up, Definitely best to live in the city and find a job thats outside of the city(or live in the city and work in the city).   Im have that now in Charlotte and am always moving in the opposite direction of traffic, which really helps.  I'd never live on the outskirts and try to commute in.   Makes the difference between a 20 min commute and an 1hr+ commute

 

[shimmyhendrix]

 

Exactly, my friend always tell me "Know your worth , never settle" . Seems like many are content with settling , not me man I worked too hard getting that CS degree and internships. You should at least command the average salary of your area don't let these companies lowball you. They know a lot of people are just happy with X amount, when they know they are underpaying them. 

Yes it is a legit school, doesn't matter much where your degree comes from as long as you get one. I posted the thread from tech exam forums a few post ago. They really advocate the school there.

I`ll just say the whole settle thing depends on the persons situation at the time.

Definitely depends on the situation(and area).  I slacked off in school, and didnt have any internships experience under my belt(Yea I know

). So I kinda HAD to start from the bottom lol.  I came in at 46k, which is pretty good for entry level in my area, but I was definitely nowhere near some of those dream out-of-school salaries.  I'm on my way tho 

 .  Once you learn how to craft your career path and work the system, your salary can become almost a blank check.

 

[luckyluchiano]

Definitely depends on the situation(and area).  I slacked off in school, and didnt have any internships experience under my belt(Yea I know ). So I kinda HAD to start from the bottom lol.  I came in at 46k, which is pretty good for entry level in my area, but im definitely nowhere near some of those dream out-of-school salaries.  I'm on my way tho   .  Once you learn how to craft your career path and work the system, your salary can become almost a blank check.

Yup at the end of the day Some students have to work full time in school to support themselves and or fam so Internships are easier said then done, so taking the lower paying job is essentially paying your dues the same way someone with no obligations that could intern in school. Also many internships and development programs at the cOmpanies that Pay top dollar only focus on certain Universities so kids who didnt go to premier programs are out of luck sometimes, and the Smaller companies who will take chances on you simply dont have the budget to pay the big bucks OR most of their needs are for more senior roles but senior roles dont want to work for them as they know the pay may not be as good.

Our generation will eat off IT as baby boomers are starting to retire and there are more mid level roles than entry level so the fact we got the foot in the door we will eat, but I can see in maybe the next 30-40 yrs its going to be even harder to make th big bucks as the globe is shifting to focusing on STEM and you have Degree Mills giving away IT degrees so Entry level jobs wont be paying much because at the end of the day 30k Is still better than what majority of Americans make, lol we are just somewhat spoiled by how healthy the IT industry is.

 

[dathbgboy]

Yea, I didn't even major in an IT related field so I'm at the bottom too. In fact, I'm so far at the bottom that I can't get an entry-level gig IT is a great field and will become oversaturated but it will still weed out slackers as different things become more prominent as far as languages go. I'm almost 30 and haven't really "started" my career in IT yet so I'm behind the curve. To all yall who are making those strides, keep on gettin it.

 

[AZwildcats]

I'm a Comp Sci minor (Molecular Bio major) so I'm sure pretty low on the totem pole as well. Was gonna do the major but it was gonna take too long and I've been in school long enough. Hopefully I can still make my way to an analyst position somewhere and work my way up

 

[capital sb]

Its hard to find openings for my experience level (1 year and a couple months) but once you hit that 4-5 mark you basically have your pick of any job in the country(If you have the skills of course).  The hardest part in IT is just getting your foot in the door.  After that If you do your part and get those skills, you can easily be on the road to 6 figures.  EASILY.  There's companies out here that are practically BEGGING for Mid to Senior level IT professionals.  With the rapid growth of Technology, the positions are opening up way faster than they can be filled, and it will be that way for a long time.

Man my co worker that just left my company told me this. He had 5 years of experience and said that once you hit that mark you can pretty much name your price. That is pretty sweet I can't wait til I hit that point. 5 years in I will be very desirable in the DC area and having my Masters should help too.

Intership wise if you go to major organizations career fairs(NSBE,IEEE,BEYA,SWEE, ASME, etc) those same opportunities that are targeted to specific top schools open up for you. You would really be surprised.

 

[luckyluchiano]

Man my co worker that just left my company told me this. He had 5 years of experience and said that once you hit that mark you can pretty much name your price. That is pretty sweet I can't wait til I hit that point. 5 years in I will be very desirable in the DC area and having my Masters should help too.


Intership wise if you go to major organizations career fairs(NSBE,IEEE,BEYA,SWEE, ASME, etc) those same opportunities that are targeted to specific top schools open up for you. You would really be surprised.

yup I`m just staying grounded and humble. Im in a good situation now and can't complain.

And yea I went to a few conferences lol I had below a 3.5 though (above an 3.0 though) so I didn't qualify for some of the programs, so I just worked at my schools IT department doing Help desk to get some experience and build my resume.

Funny story My sophomore yr I had an interview with Lockheed martin and they flew me out to DC, lol well how bout everyone else there were Seniors and juniors so they had already taking technical classes and done hands on projects, while I was in my first semester of Soph yr and Freshmen yr I used it to get all of my general electives out the way, needless to say the interviewer loved me but I simply didnt have the experience to beat out cats who had technical experience.

 

[Mark Antony]

I've been pretty comfy in my position, but it's time to light that fire under me. I've taught and mentored a few young techs, and going through some linkedin profiles I see some these dudes now in higher positions than myself. I have no excuses. I'm being groomed for a management position that probably will come, and I know the environment well so it makes sense to be patient. But man, I didn't move to the DMV to chill, I moved here to **** **** up.

 

[luckyluchiano]

I've been pretty comfy in my position, but it's time to light that fire under me. I've taught and mentored a few young techs, and going through some linkedin profiles I see some these dudes now in higher positions than myself. I have no excuses.

lol thats the thing people get in a comfy position (i.e. anything better than their prior sucky job) and think they made it, in time they get comfortable and dont stay ontop of getting new skills, these people dont tend to feel the pain until they are laid off and have a hard time finding work because their skills are outdated, or they realize everyone in their age group or younger people they know are starting to pass them by in the ladder of life. I`m thankful for my position but I had to come to the realization that I can't get comfortable which is why I`m getting my masters, sure I can self learn stuff but my company is paying towards this and at the end of the day Corporate America is about knowing people and a strong resume, and Degrees and Certs help for what you may lack in yrs of actual experience.

 

[capital sb]

yup I`m just staying grounded and humble. Im in a good situation now and can't complain.

And yea I went to a few conferences lol I had below a 3.5 though (above an 3.0 though) so I didn't qualify for some of the programs, so I just worked at my schools IT department doing Help desk to get some experience and build my resume.

Funny story My sophomore yr I had an interview with Lockheed martin and they flew me out to DC, lol well how bout everyone else there were Seniors and juniors so they had already taking technical classes and done hands on projects, while I was in my first semester of Soph yr and Freshmen yr I used it to get all of my general electives out the way, needless to say the interviewer loved me but I simply didnt have the experience to beat out cats who had technical experience.

That is the worst , I hated doing interviews with recruiters/managers that made the interviews extremely technical when they knew you hadn't made it that far in your courses. Lockheed likes to play games though, I didn't like their culture.

I've been pretty comfy in my position, but it's time to light that fire under me. I've taught and mentored a few young techs, and going through some linkedin profiles I see some these dudes now in higher positions than myself. I have no excuses. I'm being groomed for a management position that probably will come, and I know the environment well so it makes sense to be patient. But man, I didn't move to the DMV to chill, I moved here to **** **** up.

 Have you thought about applying at other places and making a move? That is the best way to make an impact career wise out here.

 

[Mark Antony]

That's why i'm on that education grind. Degree, certs, and only applying for the positions I want. If I get promoted here, great, if not, i'm still on my ****. What got me too is when recruiters call, the positions are lateral or lower. Dudes be wild excited by resume only to offer something ridiculous.


Def applying, what I want to avoid though is that contractor dance I see dudes in the area get into. Maybe I have to change that tune as it seems they get better positions after each contract.

 

[unkn0wn]

 
The hardest part in IT is just getting your foot in the door. 

Easiest way to get your foot in the door is getting an internship while in school. It's far more important than your GPA. CS internships pay pretty well too.

Ideally, you want 2-3 internships by the time you graduate

 

[luckyluchiano]

That's why i'm on that education grind. Degree, certs, and only applying for the positions I want. If I get promoted here, great, if not, i'm still on my ****. What got me too is when recruiters call, the positions are lateral or lower. Dudes be wild excited by resume only to offer something ridiculous.


Def applying, what I want to avoid though is that contractor dance I see dudes in the area get into. Maybe I have to change that tune as it seems they get better positions after each contract.

yea I`m not about that contractor life but in reality you can make more money, but you can't afford to not keep your skills top notch as you are never guaranteed anything.

 

[capital sb]

 
Easiest way to get your foot in the door is getting an internship while in school. It's far more important than your GPA. CS internships pay pretty well too.

Ideally, you want 2-3 internships by the time you graduate

Glad to see someone else on here knows whats up. I wish this stuff was spread more than get a good GPA, internships pay off much more.

Contractor life not that bad I love it. My program will be around for the next 10-15 years, so I don't have to jump around much. 

 

[unkn0wn]

 
Glad to see someone else on here knows whats up. I wish this stuff was spread more than get a good GPA, internships pay off much more.

Word. Sure beats working at Starbucks plus youll likely be earning a higher wage.

 

[capital sb]

 
Word. Sure beats working at Starbucks plus youll likely be earning a higher wage.

Oh most definitely, I was making 45K as an intern. I have a couple of friends that made 70K while interning. Which is why I always say internship>retail job, that internship will bring you in a whole summers worth of part time retail work with a 1-2 paychecks and you are getting valuable experience on top of that you can't beat it.

 

[fantastic4our]

These last couple pages motivated me to get on my **** I been slackin on this CCNA, I need to get on that asap.

 

[solefed]

These last couple pages motivated me to get on my ****

I been slackin on this CCNA, I need to get on that asap.

Last couple pages got me motivated too. Nice hearing from you guys that are actually in the industry. Just got out of the military and moved to Maryland with family. Should be starting up school soon at UMUC. Took care of all the general/lower level classes before leaving the service, so should be all uppers from here. Alittle nervous cuz I've been out of school for a minute 

 The plan was to do full time and focus on school only but I was thinking of trying for part time entry level jobs for the experience and extra income. Wanting to utilize my security clearance too, which I'll have for another 5 years before it expires I believe. My job title when I was in the military was a signal support specialist that is supposed to have experience with radios, satellites and computers. Thing is, majority of my time that I was in the service, dealt with radios, antennas and very little with computers 

 

 

[capital sb]

Last couple pages got me motivated too. Nice hearing from you guys that are actually in the industry. Just got out of the military and moved to Maryland with family. Should be starting up school soon at UMUC. Took care of all the general/lower level classes before leaving the service, so should be all uppers from here. Alittle nervous cuz I've been out of school for a minute   The plan was to do full time and focus on school only but I was thinking of trying for part time entry level jobs for the experience and extra income. Wanting to utilize my security clearance too, which I'll have for another 5 years before it expires I believe. My job title when I was in the military was a signal support specialist that is supposed to have experience with radios, satellites and computers. Thing is, majority of my time that I was in the service, dealt with radios, antennas and very little with computers   

Sound like you did some work within the Signal Intelligence field. Have you had your resume translated into civilian terms? I know when I went to a resume class when I worked for DoD they were really emphasizing veterans needing to translate their resume.

Signal Intelligence is very lucrative, so if that was the type of work you were doing I'd apply a lot and put your resume on LinkedIn. What level clearance do you have? A TS will allow you to easily land a job, Secret will be helpful too. I think you should try to pick up a job before your clearance expires, they aren't sponsoring clearance as much due to past breaches. All of these companies provide education assistance here, so if you can still pursue your degree.