<p>You should not take a career in IT if you can’t be on-call. I rotate through an on-call schedule and I’m a mid to senior level employee.</p>
<p>I do know someone who got a security guard license and after the first job was able to work pretty much wherever she wanted. She could work full time or part time as she wanted because she liked to cut down her hours when another higher paying job was in season. That might be a good idea if you need an immediate job and you should be able to get a few more dollars an hour with a little work history in that area. Not the greatest sure. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about on call right now. In future you can look for jobs that don’t have that. Don’t get distracted.</p>
<p>@cmgrayson</p>
<p>Yeah I heard that about IT careers: I have heard that they want you to be on-call. However, what does this entail? Does on-call mean, well we might call you between the hours of like 6 and 11, or does on-call mean that we will wake you up 4:00am in the morning out of completely nowhere and want you to come in RIGHT THEN? I mean I don’t care if I’m on call in a certain time period, but am I going to be on call 24/7? Also, what does rotate through an on-call schedule mean? Does that mean that you are only on-call sometimes? Please explain to me how this works. </p>
<p>Also what specific IT careers are on-call the most. After all, I know that not all IT personnel are constantly on call. For instance, I know that most computer programmers aren’t on call a lot. In fact, from what I hear, most programmers work like your Joe 9 to 5 shift. Now I know that networkers mostly work at night, but can you tell me what the career really entails. I feel like I really don’t know EXACTLY what they do. They set up the Cisco networks, phone lines, and the servers right? Also is the job really high pressure and is it one of those jobs where you never know when your next gig will be? Please tell me. </p>
<p>@BrownParent</p>
<p>I appreciate your help but I don’t really consider gathering more information on the career as a “waste of time”. I really want to know what I am getting into before I get into it. I don’t want to go to school for a long time just for a career that I might hate. So therefore I am trying to find out more about to potentially prevent this. </p>
<p>I am going to get the security guard license though. I want to make at least a LIVABLE wage right now, and all of these lousy fast-food jobs that work you like 20 hours a week if you are lucky and at less than $10 an hour just aren’t livable. I’ve had to survive by just living on loans up until now. However, now I found a better way to make ends meet. </p>
<p>That means I am only on call sometimes, I share on call duties with other people. We are on call a week at a time, on call week starts Monday and ends Sunday. Yes you may have to get up at 4 a.m. and come in RIGHT THEN. Programmers generally don’t need to come in, but they might have to, it’s rare but it does happen. We are a 24/7 data center which means we have servers, apps, etc that need to be available 24/7. We are a global corporation so that means that we have colleagues around the world that may need support outside of our normal hours. Network engineers are the folks that set up the network, use the cisco routers, makes everything able to talk to each other. Server engineers configure the servers to be able to run the various apps. Application support people will support the various applications (emails, payroll, etc.). I mostly work a 9 to 6 shift but am occasionally required to be available outside of my on call shift and sometimes its just more convenient to do work after hours when there’s no one else working. We are able to do most off shift work from home but sometimes you have to go into the office. We would totally not hire you if you couldn’t be somewhat available at the drop of a hat (we ask you this in the interview and we hire through a contract so we get 6 months to see if you are flaky about after hours stuff). </p>
<p>@cmgrayson</p>
<p>Ok well that means that I either want to go into programming or web development then. I would NEVER be happy in a job where I would constantly have to come in at the drop of a hat. You say programmers aren’t generally like this? They just are your standard 9 to 5 Joe right? I think that there are a lot more opportunities in programming in my city then there are in web development (at least that’s what my professor told me). </p>
<p>Anyway, I believe that most programming companies don’t really care if you have the “official bachelor’s degree” like many companies like say, accounting firms for instance. Do they? From what I understand, most programming companies just want to see a portfolio of programs that you have created right? Then, they might ask you to write a program for them to show your worth? Is this correct? </p>
<p>I have already taken two programming courses at the same time at UNF, and I didn’t like it at first but I started to like it more and more. I think that I didn’t like it at first because it was really hard to learn. However, I now have the basics down and know about strings, while loops, for loops, primitive data types, objects, literals, arrays, etc. So I think I will enjoy it a lot more now. Let me ask you this, there is a Technical Certificate to be a computer programmer that I could get from my old school at FSCJ. Do you think it’s worth it to get it? Here is the ticket right here…</p>
<p><a href=“Program: Computer Programming Specialist (6956) (T.C.) - Florida State College at Jacksonville - Acalog ACMS™”>Program: Computer Programming Specialist (6956) (T.C.) - Florida State College at Jacksonville - Acalog ACMS™;
<p>As you can see the programming certificate teaches you SQL, project management, and computer languages. I already have taken Java, so I think I would go the Java route. I really would like to take this because I could get it done in 4 semesters of going part time. Plus all the credits would transfer to a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>Could I explain to financial aid that I am paying for these classes out of pocket, and could they let me slide for a while on those loans until I could pay them back? I have multiple problems right now: I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and I need to see a psychologist, I have bed bugs in my house that eat me alive every night that I can’t get rid of, I have a gagging problem that makes me throw up constantly for no reason, and I have a prostate that hurts constantly for no apparent reason. I need money to get all of these problems fixed, but I don’t have it!</p>
<p>It’s not financial aid, it’s your loan servicer that you need to talk to about your loans. I’m confused as to what you are asking. Programming is harder to break into, I know lots of IT folks that are doing other IT work that have programming degrees.</p>
<p>@cmgrayson</p>
<p>I am asking you what IT careers are not that hard to break into and that actually pay pretty well. I was considering going back to school to get a technical certificate to break into an IT career. I’m really poor right now and need to find a way to make more money fast. </p>
<p>Also, so why is programming harder to break into? What qualifications are most programming companies looking for? And please don’t tell me, “Check with your adviser” because they just lie through their teeth and will tell you anything that you want to hear to get you into their programs. I like hearing it from you because you are ACTUALLY IN the IT careers and you know what the companies REALLY look for. </p>
<p>Whether you are on call or not depends on the business you work for more than the type of IT job you have. If you work for a business that is only open from 9-5 and doesn’t have a web site for customers that needs to be available 24/7, you won’t be on call. I’ve never been on call. </p>
<p>I took the path from desktop support to server support and am very much middle class income. We hire people at about the 50k range with 3 to 5 years of experience in desktop support. Help desk/desktop support is the easiest to break into in my opinion. I have about 12 years of experience and have always had some kind of after hours requirements, some companies more than others. Sometimes compensated for the after hours, sometimes not. Automotive, management consulting, those types of companies. Yes we do have applications that are required to be available 24/7 so that’s where the need comes in (and we’re more large global so that’s an issue also). You’d likely be working faster if you chose a help desk/desktop support path than trying to become a programmer. IMO (others here may have different experiences). </p>
<p>@BarnardMom</p>
<p>Well thank you for that. It seems that not all IT people are CONSTANTLY on call. </p>
<p>@cmgrayson</p>
<p>I see, so I should try to get a help desk job huh? That would be the quickest route huh? That makes sense. They actually have a degree at FSCJ for that. It is only 12 credit hours as well…</p>
<p><a href=“Program: Information Technology Technician (Desktop Support) (6945) (T.C.) - Florida State College at Jacksonville - Acalog ACMS™”>Program: Information Technology Technician (Desktop Support) (6945) (T.C.) - Florida State College at Jacksonville - Acalog ACMS™;
<p>I could start classes as soon as next semester. However, you mentioned the loan forbearance. How do I get that ball rolling? Could I just explain that I am going to go and take these classes out of pocket for a while at FSCJ, explain my financial situation to them and what a burden it is having on my family and I, and then tell them that I am going to go and pursue a bachelor’s degree later? How do you even apply for loan forbearance? </p>
<p>Just call your loan servicer (that is who you send payment to) and tell them you need a forbearance. If you are struggling financially that’s good enough reason. You don’t even have to prove it all that much, they have never asked me to send pay stubs, you self report your income and then your loans are reported as current on your credit report and will show a next payment date of a year away. Repeat in a year. IMO yes a help desk position is the ‘fastest’ way to break in. Don’t pursue any positions in a 24/7 data center since they will need you to be on call, they will say in the job posting what the on call requirements are. Good luck.</p>
<p>@cmgrayson</p>
<p>Ok thank you so much cmgrayson. Your posts have helped me more than you’ll ever know. Do you think that help desk technician degree from FSCJ would get me a job in it? I think it would. It would set me up for an A+ certification and give me an additional help desk certificate as well. Also, how much do people at the help desk start out at? Like $12 an hour so. I don’t care how much it is as long as it is $10 an hour or more because that’s what I will be making at the security job. </p>
<p>Yes, a help desk technician degree would give you a foot in the door (I’d hire you). Make sure you show some hands on experience and it can be from a home lab (get a couple of old computers and break them down or even better, build your own kit when you can afford to). Entry level will pay $10 or better just about anywhere in the country.</p>
<p>@cmgrayson</p>
<p>Ok thanks a lot man. That’s really all the questions I have. I really appreciate it. </p>
<p>Ok people, reality has struck me and I realize now that making enough money to get out of my horrible life circumstances should be top priority. So I just went to a local security company in town which my mother knows some of the head honchos that work there. I talked to one of the head honchos and they told me that they liked me, but they told me that they couldn’t hire me yet because I didn’t yet have a security license. On Friday, I called up a local security licensing place and they told me that classes start on Monday for the security license. It is a 40 hour class that lasts one week. Altogether the fees to go there are going to be around $150 but I’m gonna do it because I’m pretty sure the head honcho that works there will give me a job when I get my license. He told me that he liked me and he told me to call him when I get my security license and he even gave me his card. </p>
<p>I think that I’m gonna take about a year off and just work like a slave to get my problems solved. I am going to try to get overtime whenever it is offered and I will basically have no life for awhile, but by God, I will get my problems solved within a year. Then I will go back to school. </p>
<p>Good deal, sounds like your priorities are in order. Don’t forget to contact your loan servicer for a forbearance.</p>
<p>@cmgrayson</p>
<p>I just went to my college and they told me how to do this. I will do this on Monday. Also, you said that I need to take some computers apart and put them back together to show help desk employers. How do I do that? </p>
<p>Get an old computer and an A+ certification book, take it apart, put it back together, see how it works. This is the basis for the A+ certification. Go to the Salvation Army or somewhere to look for old computers. </p>
<p>@cmgrayson</p>
<p>Ok I will do that. </p>