The new school year is off to a great start with 120 high school students enrolled in Information Technology courses at the Marshall County Technical Center. Over half of these students (73) are taking their first computer course and many of them are even considering a career path within Information Technology as a possible career.
As successful and experienced individuals in IT, what advice (or motivation) would you give a high school student who wants to pursue a career in Information Technology?
I would like to share your insight with the students in my classes, so please be specific and honest as you share with us your advice through the comment link below.
Thank you!
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3 comments:
IT Student: My advice to you is to just jump right in. There aren't many fields as approachable as Information Technology. I regularly meet both students and professionals who have all told me that they began their career in IT by just tinkering around with alot of curiosity -- both from inside the classroom and outside of it.
Technology is at our hands 24/7. We can't go anywhere without it. Because of this, there are so many different technologies to learn and discover -- and many of them are extremely cheap (if not free) and are completely forgiving if you mess up.
Because IT is constantly changing, a good professional must be interested and engaged in the field, and a healthy amount of curiosity to learn the 'newest thing' will keep you interested, relevant, and more likely to keep that job or promote to a better one.
There are so many other traits and pieces of advice that I'm sure my colleagues will provide, but I have found at the most basic level, it helps to be curious and willing to discover and learn any avenue that interests you in IT -- and there are many!
MY Advise to the IT student: Become a Technology sponge. Absorb the basics to build a strong foundation. Once you arm yourself with the basics then the sky is the limit for you!!! Be a good listener. Don't be too Geeky... In the business field you need to understand what the strategic goals are of the business and how technology can help the business achieve those goals. Technology is a business enabler.
I like what Wes Spencer stated in his advice. BE Curious!!! You learn more when you break things and have to fix it than if you just sit back.
Get involved in the technologies that businesses are using. Virtualization, Security, Unified Communications and Collaboration are hot topics now. Anything that makes the business more efficient.
The certifications that I would look for in a potential employee would be Microsoft, Cisco CCNA, Security certs and Vmware VCP.
Good luck to you all in your career selection.
Find something that interests you, and attack it head on. As you know, the internet contains a limitless supply of information, and it's yours for the taking; the only things holding you back is your will to learn. Early in high school, I found that I enjoyed programming. Since no programming classes were offered at the time, it was up to me to learn it on my own. If you want to know something, spend 5 minutes on a Google search to learn it on your own. This will only help you in the end.
When you're able to carry on an intelligent conversation with your teacher about a subject, it is easier for him to see you really care about what you are doing. Because of this, Mr. Koch gave me an incredible amount of freedom to pursue my goals and learn. Take advantage of each of these opportunities given, and make more opportunities for yourself.
Be humble, there is always more to learn, and there is always someone who can teach it to you. Help others when you can. Being able to explain a concept to your peers can help you understand it better.
Most importantly: enjoy what you're doing. The best way to learn is to play and have a good time.
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