Certification Magazine - September 2007 - (Page 34) TECHNIQUES Finding a New IT Niche MATT MCGRATH Many people get into IT for all the wrong reasons: They know they like computers, and they based their career decisions on salary reports and hearsay. Before diving headfirst into IT or making a bold career change within the industry, it’s important to assess your skills, interests and possible specializations. A prospective student named Scott came to see me a while back about enrolling in my school’s application developer fast track. This is an accelerated training and certification program that teaches individuals seeking a new or enhanced career how to develop Web and software applications using Microsoft .NET tools. I tried to ascertain whether application development would be a good fit for Scott by asking him some questions. “Do you have any experience with object-oriented programming?” I asked. “No,” he replied. “Have you ever studied a programming language?” “No.” “Do you enjoy learning foreign languages?” “I took French I back in high school, but I wasn’t that crazy about it.” “Do you enjoy puzzles?” “Not really.” “Have you ever taken any sort of test to determine whether you have the aptitude for learning programming?” “No.” “Scott, do you mind if I ask why, out of the hundreds of IT courses of study, you want to become an application developer using .NET tools?” Scott thought about this for a minute and then replied, “Because a friend of mine told me they make a lot of money.” As an education consultant who advises potential IT students which technical field, if any, would be most suitable for them, I see a lot of candidates like Scott — people who know they like computers but aren’t exactly sure which IT specialization to pursue. Unfortunately, they often choose their niche based on what a friend has told them, what they perceive as paying the most and, in general, all the wrong reasons to pursue an IT career. Whether you are a current IT professional who is considering a horizontal movement into a new technical field, or you are just starting your IT journey, there are many ways to discover your forte. Once you have chosen your new specialization, you will want to ask yourself some hard questions before diving into it headfirst. Step 1: Fill Out an IT Career Interest Survey Since we were 5 years old, we have all been asked the dreaded question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Amazingly, most college seniors still cannot answer that question, which explains why a degree in liberal arts is so popular — many of us simply do not know what we want to do with our life. For techies, the task of choosing a technical career is particularly daunting because of the thousands of IT specializations out there. If you don’t want to become the guy who stays in school well into his 40s, I suggest you take a technical interest survey. These questionnaires, which can be found in abundance online and are also available at most colleges and private training centers, can help point you in the right direction by 34 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE September 2007
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