You Can Do IT
Should I really go for an IT job? I feel guilty changing careers and money wasted on my non-CS degree.
Don’t feel guilty switching careers, even though you or your father spent all that hard earned on a different non-IT degree. Sometimes you have to take tough decisions that you are comfortable with. It doesn’t matter if your parents or that annoying “know-it-all” uncle questions your decision, it is your call. You are trying to survive and start your career and life. Go for it if it makes sense to make the switch.
I went abroad spent lot of money to do my Master’s in Mechanical Engineering but in the end I went into IT. I felt guilty when I considered switching, I was passionate about Mech Engg and Programming. But in the end the better opportunities for IT jobs and me wanting to write a stock picking algorithm helped me pull the trigger.
You are either considering switching because of desperation to get ANY job or passion. Both are good enough reasons to make the switch. If it is the former (desperation) make sure you do your homework before picking the right IT field/role that suits you. Don’t worry I have provided the role break-down later in the chapter.
Since you are a fresher you are young, you have more room and time to make mistakes and correct them if needed. Half through the career it will be harder for many but not everyone. It is better to give it a shot now and find out if it is for you. You can always quickly change direction if it was a mistake.
10 years from now you will smile thinking back how you were so worried, fresh out of college trying to choose careers etc. It is not the end of the world, if you are unsure try it out.
There is one last thing I want to tell you on this subject. If you have self-belief, willingness to adapt and be brave enough to be unconventional a non-conformist, you will find or even create opportunities to succeed in life and provide for yourself and your family. Don’t forget that!
Fortune favors the brave.
Can I really get an IT job without a CS degree?
Absolutely!
The IT industry one of the best to get into without a formal IT education. All you need is hunger/passion, self-belief, a decent computer, an internet connection and willingness to put in some effort to learn the skills.
I am living proof, it is possible. I finished Masters in Mechanical Engineering and decided to switch my career to programming. It was hard at first but I didn’t give up, I preserved until I got the job.
How did I do it? Every interview was a learning experience in the beginning, first I applied for an unpaid internship which I got because I DPIed (demonstrated passion and interest). I continued applying non-stop, every interview I attended I made sure to learn something new from it. In hindsight it didn’t matter I was failing the important thing was I was noting down any new questions I was encountering and didn’t have the answer to. And I was getting better answering the questions. I was constantly improving the resume, the cover letter.
I finally found a paying programming job and I think I should the credit to the cover letter (the sample in this book) I sent. The employer was impressed and called me in for the interview. And that is how I started my IT career.
I didn’t stay there for too long because of differences and had to look for a job again within few months. After more interview failures and frustrations I ended up in an awesome job where I built a mini-datacenter worth couple of crores from scratch and designed the network with ZERO experience in both. I did tell in the interview that I don’t have experience in building data centers and networks but “I would love to do both” and they appreciated my honesty and my passion, and interest in the job! These things go a long way, start getting more passionate about things you do. After I got the job my first task was to build these two. Once they were done, I started working programming web and desktop applications and continued growing the datacenters with more servers! It was a dream job, I loved every minute of it!
What if I don’t get an IT job?
You will get the job don’t worry. If you follow everything in the book there is no reason you shouldn’t get any job! Provided you apply for jobs aggressively and not wait for recruiters to find you and call you! Don’t forget to apply my search strategies from earlier chapters, especially search strategies 1, 8 and 9. What I have provided in this book are time tested principles of psychology, many years of personal experience and common sense.
Should I take an IT course?
Yes, if you want a job fast! Although you can learn any of these IT jobs by yourself and with some help from people (offline or online), it is faster and easier to learn from a course.
Don’t feel bad spending money on courses, it will help you kick-start your career. Your first salary will more than cover the cost of the course!
If you can afford it easily, take it, don’t be stingy. In the long run time is money. You may save few thousand rupees but you will lose precious time and your fresher graduation date will become older and older…
Next Lesson : Simple IT Job Break-Down
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