Heres the deal,

I plan on attending Pittsburgh Technical Institute for Information Technology. I have a few questions and worries..

I am seeking a job in computers where you sit behind the monitor and work ON the computer and also where you work with the hardware inside the computer.. Basically working with both hardware and software..

Is Information Tech the right thing that i should be in??? I dont want to go through 2 years of school and not like what im doing, or be hired for something different than i was expecting.

Btw - for the Second half of the Second year its a paid internship and the companies that Pti places you with give you the option to have 2 more years of schooling in IT paid for by the company.. I very much plan on doing this..

I already have an S2000, Im still in highschool for about a month and a half (45 days left!) and i just want to be sure that im heading in the right direction.

Also, Is there alot of jobs available in the IT field??? PTi has 99.9% job placement with about 90 different companies that are associated with PTi for the REST OF MY LIFE.. Also FREE refresher courses for 30 years down the road when Technology is completely different!

I think im choosing the right school, But I want to be sure that im heading in the right direction for what i want to do in life and also that Jobs will be available to me... I plan on moving to the Bay Area in CA from PA and I dont think that PTi will find me a job out in CA..

So please, I need your input and hopefully some of you have some experience in this field!!

Sorry for the long post but PLEASE chime in!!!!

 

If you like it then you seem to be heading in the right direction.

Good luck. If you find your apptitude isn't really that good change your plan ASAP because unless you're very good in this industry your going to find yourself unemployed.

 

IT is pretty much a catch-all acronym that covers a whole bunch of stuff. So, it's hard to say what your school's IT curriculum will look like. I would expect, however, that it will allow some flexibility in which area of IT to focus on.

That having been said, what you're describing sounds more along the lines of a typical Computer Science & Engineering major (many school have this as its own major, often in the engineering school). Does your school have any other computer science-related majors? If so, what are they?

 

Also, IT as a career choice would be fine. The job market seems to be slowly recovering, and the Bay Area is still a decent place to find IT work.

That having been said, keep in mind that there aren't too many jobs (relatively speaking) that focus on both hardware and software. In most cases, it's one or the other. The main notable exception that comes to mind is system administrators, but there are far fewer such jobs available these days, because companies have downsized quite a bit.

The name of the game in the tech industry is specialization rather than generalization. Pick a general focus (i.e. software), pick a smaller area within that (i.e. Windows application level programming), and then get real good at that one area.

Then, in step 2, cross your fingers and hope you've selected an area that doesn't become obsolete anytime soon. For instance, had you opted to become a Windows application programmer, you would have been okay for the past decade or so, but would probably be trying to pick up some new skills right about now (Microsoft's Longhorn project will eventually phase out the current way of writing Windows programs).

 

In response to Cyber X,

I would rather focus on the hardware aspect of the deal. I would like to get a job as in building computers for a certain company for something like that. They dont offer really any other programs such as IT... They offer CAD/drafting, some art type classes, graphics developement.. and some other art classes..

I dont know whats all involved in computer engineering..

I plan on doing very well and trying to have near perfect attendance.. This is a field that im very very interested in and im sure that i picked the right school but I want to be sure that "information technology" is the right thing that i should be in.

Do you think that ill have a chance in the Bay Area and potential to make big bucks??? or would i be better off in SoCal???

Ive seen jobs listed for 300k and up with 2-3 years experience for people in the IT field!!

 

I agree with cyber x - you're not likely to find too many jobs that require working with both hardware and software.

I've been in the field 18 years. I started in Electronic Engineering writing software for Automated Test Equipment (GenRad mini-computers). Since 1990 I've been in mainframe and client-server environments.

In the near future, I think the best paying jobs in the IT field will be in the security and data warehouse areas. Data protection and storage is important.

This is just my opinion, but I think people who work mainly with the hardware (unless you specialize, and work for a harware company) tend to be extremely overworked and underpaid. That's just from what I see in the corporate world - your experience may differ.

The gov't says there will be a shortage of qualified people in the IT field as the first wave of Baby Boomers retires, so I'd say your career prospects are pretty good.

Dave

 

I'd advise against being lured by the possibility of a $300k job. There's some such jobs out there, but they're few and far between, and they require highly-specialized skills that only a handful of people possess. A lot of CTOs don't even make that much. I'd say average starting salary around here for an IT job is anywhere from $40k-$65k, maybe a tiny bit higher if you're lucky.

Between the Bay Area and So Cal, I'd say the Bay Area is the better bet. The economy isn't what it used to be in the late '90s, but it's still an excellent area for IT.

I work in software, so I honestly don't know too many specifics about hardware. But my impression has always been that the hardware folks tend to have engineering backgrounds. The closest I've ever personally gotten to hardware is a very brief stint at Western Digital. As you probably know, they make hard drives. A lot of the folks there majored in physics or some sort of engineering.

By building computers, are you thinking of something like assembling consumer PCs, or more like researching and developing new chip architectures? Either way, out of the majors you've mentioned at this particular school, IT sounds like the most relevant one. It's certainly more relevant than CAD or graphics. But also bear in mind that not all schools will offer the major that is most relevant to what you want to do.

 

Dizings2k, there's quite a range of jobs in the IT industry. I can't speek to PTI's IT program. But it sounds like you want to be a systems administrator, which is certainly under the IT umbrella. "IS" (Information Systems) is another term that's used sometimes.

 

you mention 2 different things here:
-an IT position is making a companies network available to the employees and customers. i saw a slashdot.com article that 30-50% fewer IT positions will be necessary when the networking applications become more user friendly. this over time?

-hardware software is called firmware andor embedded. a typical situation for the pc would be to develop a bios for a mother board or a driver for a new printer. the mother board development is mostly done over seas look at this: http://www.pcstats.com/index1.html

"PTi has 99.9%"
are these placements completed for students in your field and do the students feel the placement is in their top choices.

"associated with PTi for the REST OF MY LIFE"
everything has a cycle and right now hardware software IT employment is down. you might think on a 2-4-6 year degree to match graduation time to available jobs.

if this is what you like, it is a must do.

 

I'd have to agree with Dave on this. I've only been in the IT industry since 1999, I've started in the hardware side Data Storage/SAN/....) then moved toward the software dev (C/C++/Java/(Some)SQL/(Some)ORACLE) area.

The Job which seemed to give me the most experiences were the small start-up's. The required me to do everything IE. Networking/Software Dev & Config Management/Sys Admin/Mover/PC Repair.... It was a great low paying experience.

In terms of Socal and Norcal, I've live in Socal but now reside in Norcal (Better $$$) Some what higher Cost of living tho.

Hardware from my experience doesn't pay quite as well as the software side. But to be a recognized player, you've gotta have experience in it all! I know it sounds like a lot but the market's got a lot of people with heavy experience some with little to no college. To be competitive, a degree and some working experience in a little bit of everything is my suggestion to a sucessfull career in the IT industry.

I've also found a niche in where I've incorporated my past experiences as an X-Ray tech and my new found skills in IT.

IF you can find an industry where two sets of skills are required that would be another avenue to persue. I do believe you've found a career that has many opportunites to be found.

Good Luck and stick with it.