Posts made by Draco8573

@Dashrender yeah don't have the money. But my work is going to be throwing away some old pcs and server parts ill see if i can get some of that.

well i do plan to build a home lab when I get the space(i live in a really tiny room so I will have to throw a lot of stuff out to have the room) and when I can afford stuff. but I do think I am going to stick with school and get it done.

@scottalanmiller I understand that I will be 25, but the thing is while I want to learn and want to get better. And you are right schools are a little behind the time. And while I can figure things out my brain doesn't work like the rest of yalls. I don't learn like everyone else. Sometimes I just have to have things explained to me a certain way or it just goes right over my head and if I was all by myself I would probably be lost. For example I had a calc class where the professor was decent but I just wasn't understanding what he was saying so i went through like 8 professors that put their lectures on youtube till I found one that made sense to me. I have a pretty bad strain of ADD, because of it i have very bad short term memory and so like I said it helps when I am able to walk up to someone and ask questions.

and as for the Terminology. what about a server administrator?

@scottalanmiller that is great for you. but I don't want to be anything that high level. being a boss is not my thing. I honestly have fun being a system admin. It is really cool playing with all the new stuff that we get. I get to figure out all the new types of thin clients that we get, I have learned a lot about messing with routers, and my boss put me in charge of our trend micro server so I dig through that and learn how to use that properly. Only thing right now that I want to try is server side. I think being a server tech might be really cool as well.

@coliver @scottalanmiller the school I go to used to be known as Southern Polytechnic State University but it is now Kennesaw State University. The name has changed and the tuition has gone up but that is it. It is pretty well known in Georgia at least for being able to teach its student useful hands on stuff that actually helps when they graduate.
and like I have said it is actually helping me to learn some things, I enjoy the field but I am a moron. And earlier I mentioned that I was going to start playing around and seeing if I can make a beowulf cluster. and you shot it down because it was old and isn't widely used anymore. But that would still be me teaching myself to do something. I understand I will need to learn newer things but it can't hurt to start with something like that and work my way up.
And learning on the job is teaching myself. My boss doesn't hold my hand. He gives me stuff to do. Nothing over the top but if there is something I don't know what to do he throws it my way and wwants me to figure it out.

@WingCreative so my question to you is how much of the IT world did you know going into school? were you slightly above the average user? or did you get out into the world land an IT job and then learn all the stuff or did you teach yourself while in school for psych?

@coliver I undestand that but what do you think about someone who is going to school and working an IT job at the same time, so that they are learning on the job and in a classroom. Plus this person has about zero previous knowledge of IT stuff. The only thing that I did before i started CS was I built my pc, not hard to do so it is not like I know enough to drop out and get a job.
What I am trying to get at is that I know next to nothing about IT, but I am learning from two sources and I don't think that can really be as bad as Scott is making it sound. He makes it sound like I am throwing my money into a fire and not getting anything out of it. When I know at least 10 times more now than I did last year.

@scottalanmiller I am only going off of what I have been told by multiple career counselors at school and even some of the companies that show up to our career fairs and obviously all the other things that i have previously mentioned.
we have established that the degrees don't get jobs. I have recognized that. Degrees are just there to open the door, then certs and experience get you the rest of the way.
and as far as "degrees will hurt" that sounds like a load of bull. If you love academia so much why are you against degrees? SO they don't teach what you can learn on the job but people are still learning. and I know a lot of people both working and going to school. I highly doubt that degrees hurt. The only people who have a degree and are unsucessfull are the little idiots whose parents pay for everything and they have never lifted a finger to do anything in their life.
and once again we have established that yes there is a bit of emotion in the descision but I am four years in I can't just drop out now, that would be a LOT of money wasted. You want the truth? I know a bunch of trivial knowledge and am more of a jack of all trades than anything I can do a little bit of everything but there is nothing that I excel at. I want a job and security. But I still want to get better with IT. I am doing that on the job and I am learning way more in school than what I knew, plus if I switch to IT there are a couple classes that look like they may be cool. Even though you say it can hurt it is still helping me figure this stuff out. To be honest IT is not my dream job. I am decent enough at it and I find it interesting. So I am not looking to be an IT manager or anything, I just want something that I can enjoy and live comfortably

@scottalanmiller there is a very long answer for that but it is not that they can't find work but they are stuck where they are because they manage to go anywhere else because they don't have that piece of paper. And the system admin that I work alongside even went back to school to get his degree.
but it has been said that you need a degree to get past HR in a lot of cases

@scottalanmiller I hate school, who doesn't. But from what I have seen from my parents and cousins going through it is a necessary evil because they can't find jobs that easily because they don't have that degree. I want to do it so that I have it, because the majority of job listings in my area what a college degree and some years of experience.
It is unlikely that I am going to be able to move to a place where you don't need a degree because I don't have the money but I have done my research. So I know that I need a degree to compete with other applicants around here. But I also know that I need experience which is why I am working while in school.
I am just trying to find out what is the right path for me to take in school so that it will be beneficial to me and so I know that I will be able to handle the classes because school is not based on what you know how to do or that you can figure it out, school is about standardized testing and making sure that you are capable of passing a test.
so yes there is some emotion in this decision but I am also trying to be smart about it which is why I have been thinking about this for a couple weeks and have not done anything yet because I want to be very thorough before I reach a conclusion

@scottalanmiller I understand it and I am evaluating my options but i want to finish school so I am not going to just give up.

@scottalanmiller sadly I am 21 and if I change my major again I will probably be another 4 years from graduating. But at least I am gaining work experience.
and I am going to try to set up a home lab or something. Cause right now I just fix friends and families computers but I heard of a beowulf cluster and it sounds fun to try. Just have to wait to get a couple old pcs
but the reason i am in college was because I was going to go for mechanical engineering but that didn't work out. and my parents really want me to get a degree so that I don't have the same struggles that they have had because a lot of doors have been shut in their face because they didn't have that piece of paper.

@scottalanmiller Yeah so that proves that I don't want a CS degree, and the only reason that I am adamant about finishing school is because I am 4 years in and I know that they are not going to teach me everything that is relevant but as of right now I don't know that much and it will just give me a boost.
And TBH it does worry me but it does not surprise me because he has a degree as an environmental engineer.
like I said I don't know much already so I don't think that it will hurt, plus I will continue to work through school so I am hoping to stay here a while longer then find another IT job when I move closer to campus.

@MattSpeller yeah you're right lol. no one knows me

Thanks! need to change my pic so I can be recognized by spiceheads

Thanks...was trying to be sneaky how did you know I was here?

When I started my IT internship I was told that CS would be a good general IT degree but after really looking into it, it is just coding. Would just the standard IT degree be good? Or is there something else that IT pros recommend?

A little more info, 4 years into college right now. Started off as a Mechanical Engineering major but changed to CS last semester off of my bosses recommendation. Have learned that I am not good at coding and that is all what CS is. So I am looking into switching to IT degree but I am also trying to transfer schools and the new school does not have an IT degree.

As for work experience I am currently an intern for an IT department and have been for almost 6 months and I will probably be sticking around for a little while.

So I will appreciate any advice I can get.