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"...to focus on what you enjoy doing, not what pays the most."
I define successful as a job you look forward to, or at least don't mind showing up to daily. We get posts here regularly from people just starting their careers, asking what specialization pays the most. My response is always the same. It doesn't matter how much it pays if you don't enjoy doing it; you'll only spend it on Maalox and therapy.
Tony's advice above is pretty good too.
by oh smeg
As the above
[i] "If I can give you any advice about being successful in the I.T. field it would be......" [/i]
You must love the work above all else.
If you are doing it for money you are going to be very disappointed, successfully working in IT is a [b]Way of Life[/b] not a career.
Col
by nicknielsen
Between this, Professor, and a query I posted once in Questions, having to do with, How Is It That I Am...and, tangentially, Ought To Be.
I said at the time that I had worn out my Google Button searching for the answer. Google Button? You don't have a Google Button? I have a Google Button. But, I wore out my Google Button, I said.
So, I settle here. I wait to see if [b]TheProfessorDan[/b] garners more with his question than I did.
Let me quickly add that I never did know what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Still don't.
by ansugisalas
you must first realize that you do in fact want to be something.
In the old sense of want, that is.
The prerequisite is, in other words, that you find your being to be wanting.
by jellimonsta
I never did know what I wanted to be when I grew up, either.
Maybe once I grow up, I will. :p :D
Outside of most things being legal to do at adulthood, and not having to eat your vegetables when you don't want to, being a grownup is overrated.
I'm with you on the monkeybars, Jelli. :ar!
by av .
IT isn't all about technical skills. Learn about the business you're working in and you'll have an edge over others that didn't.
AV
by jserrago
With enough time, anyone can learn to swap out a hard drive or do Stupid Software Tricks. If you work on being the gracious, helpful, hardworking, insightful person while improving your technical finesse, it is a potent combination - both in retaining managerial favor and in meeting influential people. Everyone likes to watch Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons, but nobody likes to work with him, and as soon as they are able, they will replace him, no matter how good he is.
Networking is valuable because you never know who you might meet, or what the future will hold for you or them. I'm not a fastdraw biz card dazzler, but I do try to cultivate worthwhile business relationships as they just may lead to a job or a solid friendship. Or TR swag. *cough*
[i]If I can give you any advice about being successful in the I.T. field it would be......[/i]"
Follow your dreams.
by nexs
My dreams are unattainable through means of an IT career.
Or, in fact, not a career at all?
Where does that, then, put us?
by ansugisalas
"... always remember, it's only a job"
You've got to fight for your right to party.
Or do other things that you like doing, and which give you a sense of belonging/purpose/wellbeing.
by delbertpgh
by pshiflet-24
by nicknielsen
by robo_dev
If you don't know, say you don't know, but that you will figure it out.
The best way to limit your career in IT is to get a reputation for making stuff up, blaming others, or by avoiding the tough problems.
The way to prove yourself is to demonstrate that you can be trusted, that you tackle the tough problems, and that you do it right the first time.
by jck
:^0
I've never known many other professions where it's a standard for employees to work constant overtime.
I.T. is quite often that way, and they usually want to make you salary so they can do so without having to pay you anymore.
The healthcare field is full of people who are always on call or overtime. Sickness and death never take a holiday, but at least the money can be good.
Teachers go to school, lay out their lesson plans, and frequently take home the work to grade when the day is done. They plan field trips, shop for art materials or project items on their own time, and are generally very underpaid and underappreciated; the most is expected from them while giving them the least funding to work with, and the blame falls on them, rightly or not, when a child succeeds or fails.
Overall, many professions get shorted...the only one that doesn't seem to is politics. Who else can vote their own raises up?
by jasonjb1222
You are better to say: "I don't know, but I will get back to you on that (and mean it)"
Than talk from your 'bum' and lose credibility.
by cmiller5400
Stop and listen to EXACTLY what the client is saying/requesting. Always ask questions when something is not absolutely without a doubt crystal clear
Never assume ANYTHING.
Never go into a meeting/discussion with a closed mind.
Think outside the box...
by nicknielsen
Since they all qualify as "thinking outside the box."
"Head them off at the pass? I HATE that cliché."
by jessie
You're going to run into things you've never seen before on a fairly regular basis. Know who your resources are (the TR community for one) and when to contact them (only after you've done a decent search of your own).
Doing the search on your own shows initiative (which is the first step in moving up the ladder) and gives you a better starting point when you do need to go to your resources for answers or assistance.
by nicknielsen
by nicknielsen
by dr dij
When we were very young kids, my dad would come home from work stressed out. He was a school principal at a private school in NY.
When he got to the dinner table he would make us eat our veggies...
We learned that if we asked him how his day was, he forgot about making us eat the veggies :)
Strange tho, now that I'm grown up, veggies are most of what I eat.
One fellow at work is pretty cool except that he doesn't have the 'wisdom of being older'. So as I've grown, I've re-defined "chronologically challenged" as being too young to know how to deal with life the right way. And also realize the time you waste on frivolous activities.
by boxfiddler
There has been a query pending in Questions since 4:23 p.m. PST by [b]endersgme[/b], a sixteen-year-old garage CEO.
I was tempted. How about you, Professor?
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