Might have chosen the wrong career path

So Im a true believer that when you do what you enjoy, even if you dont get rich from it you live a much better life than someone who does an undesirable job just for the money. And when you do something you like, you will naturally be happy and become great at it. I think I did the opposite of that.

I recently got an IT job and to me that is very uninspiring position. First of all It doesn´t pay me anymore than being a receptionist, bartender, etc...Secondly I hate the troubleshooting oriented sort of work mentality. Like you gotta be the guy to fix all the shit and quick otherwise the work gets halted. This to me is just boring and inspiring as it gets. Not only that Im actually just the assistent and there is little possibility of growth. What made me take the position was crazy pressure from my dad to get a job getting off college as soon as possible and this was the most feasible starting position.

Personally I wanted to be more in the programming side of computers, working on some software and doing more of develpment stuff, based on my education but i didn´t have the experience or skills on my resume to get me hired in that sector at this point (and where i am geographically).

Anyone who has been or is in a similar situation, where you are not satisfied with ur work, help me! How do you get through your day??? I most likely need to hold this job for a year.

 

I was a programmer for over 20 years, and then circumstances plopped me into a position where my activities gradually morphed to more administrative kinds of tasks. I contemplated slitting my wrists almost daily. Every opportunity I got I would comment that I hate administration and I love programming. Eventually the department was reorganized and I'm now doing a lot more programming, and I'm a lot happier.

So...can you answer some questions? What computer skills do you have? What are your current job responsibilities? What is your approximate location, and where would you prefer to be?

 

wow man good to know you are doind something that you like now. I am mainly a java and c++ programmer and wanted to work on a company whose software I really thought was interesting. My possibilities would have to be studying to get a couple of certifications and actually earn a better salary, but I need money to do that also. As far as job location, that has to come second now in the list of priorities, I need the job to get things moving. Got to slave for the man for a year or so and pay some dues before I can go on to something better

The overwhelming corporate structure (being in a large company and having to have an exact protocol you have to follow) and the fact that these types of jobs kill creativity is just not the path I wanted to follow at all. Hopefully soon I will get to go more into programming like you also

 

If you can just hang in there where you are for now and come up with something unique in your free time (programming wise) some company might pick you instead of the other way around...

 

I agree with you Tyrsonswood. And for the record, rarely does a new graduate land in the job of their dreams right out of college.

FreeExplorer, feel lucky you're even in the idustry at all. In my area, it's all about who you know or who you blow. Think of your job as a stepping stone - who knows, you may learn something invaluable during your time in this position. Good luck - and try to keep your eyes on the prize in the meantime.

 

Apparently Sir you are unfamiliar with UBIsoft games. :cheers2:

GREAT GAMES,,, eventually

Hey OP, get a copy of ARMA or Operation flashpoint,\

Missions are their own form of C++ in essence and much easier to check code on the fly as you refine your skills with the mission, weapons or units editors.

Knew number of serious gamers who through modding got grabbed up by the big-name game developers or marketing companies from their graphics design skills.

Gaming can be profitable if thats how you work your angle of approach.

These games also have quite a few user created utilities for both modding and gameplay as well making it easy to "dig in" and see how they did whatever they did.

 

At one point, when I was unemployed for almost a year and a half and not finding jobs at all, I started thinking, "Well if nobody will hire me to program anymore, what will I do?" I decided that I loved programming so much that I would do it in some form even if nobody paid me. I did a couple of projects for a friend for nearly no payment, just for fun and the experience.

Fritz had an interesting idea - gaming programming. I actually did some level design work for TES III - Morrowind (just for myself, for fun), which requires visual design as well as using the scripting language to control the behavior of objects and NPCs. However I think Fritz is talking about something more heavy duty - enhancing the engine that runs the game, executes the scripts, etc.

Another thought that wasn't available to me years ago is open source programming. There are online collaborations going on all over. Hardly anybody is a lone wolf programmer anymore - programmers work in teams. That would be a superb experience, and would look good on your resume.

And of course there are phone apps - that's a pretty saturated market right now, but if you happen to have a unique idea that catches on, who knows?

And btw, Skip is right - you can't program without testing and troubleshooting - "unit testing" is what we call it. Then system testing, QA testing, and user testing. I like solving programming problems, personally. If you don't like it, you probably should be doing something else.

I graduated with a degree in biochemistry. By the time I realized I didn't want to do biochemistry, I was just few months from graduation. So I got my degree and got a lousy job and made some money. I spent seven years in jobs I didn't like before I realized I loved programming, and took evening classes to learn what I needed. It's sometimes a struggle scrambling for what you want, but the outcome is worth the effort.

 

I agree. Get involved in an open source project that you are really interested in.
Start as a user, and learn the code, and see if there are things you can add to it and fix. Maybe start by just suggesting a few solutions to problems in the bug tracking system.

It will be a great way to learn and a great way to gain contacts for jobs. And, if it's something that you are very interested in and use yourself, it will be really fun to work on.

The main thing is to start slowly so that you first observe and learn how people are coding and contributing to the project. You want your code and style to mix well with what is there and to follow suit. You can still be creative in your solutions, but following the conventions that are laid out for the project.

Knowing how to code well is important, but learning how to work on a team and contribute to a project (without interfering) is just as important sometimes in the workplace.

(It seems like every admin or IT person I've even met wants to program, and learns a few languages. Actually working on a project that people use, and working with others, will definitely make you stand out.)

 

Well Zen, I was sort of including all of the above as you saw, the graphics, remodeling vehicles, new maps, weapons & character skins and such for Call of duty, MOH, ARMA, Ghost Recon etc,,, Not me but I did missions pretty darn well in a few engines, still want to finish my campaign for NWN the original but need a new platinum pack and a good year to refamiliarize myself in the code,, (Ok, probably a few weeks or not more, but always multiply your estimated due date by at least 10x, just trust me.)

But I decompiled some of the user made launch utilities and had a look and once you familiarize yourself with the scripting methods for mission structuring and reading a few tutorials on graphics editing, you can begin to piece together the ways in which the game engine manages handling the different facets of the virtual world and suddenly other code formats you could never understand suddenly take on a more "familiar" feel to them,,,

And nowhere moreso than in the area of Graphics arts and gaming development will you find companies more than willing to let a novice with a solid portfolio try his hand at the professional level.

I like the idea of the open source programs, but I think for the sake of rapid testing and bug reporting, the rabid 15 year old avg. PC gaming community will provide a faster rate of feedback on your work than will collectives of others working together just a hunch really,,,

 

I'm going to tell you a little story, FP, that our vet told us.

He told us that he gets really frustrated with the vet school students that get sent to him for clinical placements because they seem to think that veterinary medicine is all about animals and its not ... it's all about people.

The clients are the people that own the animals ... and his is a large animal practice so the clients are mostly farmers. Farmers are businessmen, and to them the animals are an asset which has to pay its way.

Programming is much the same. Programming isn't about computers. It's about people. Because programmes are written for use by people, to whom the computer is merely a tool with which they do their job; and what they need is something that makes sense to them.

There is no such thing as "pure" programming. It's all about understanding the end user's take on things, and what they're trying to achieve, and how your programme is going to help them to achieve that end. Or not.

And all that boring trouleshooting?

Hell, that's about bridging the gap between how the programmer thinks the end user ought to be doing their job and wanting the programme to work, and how the end user actually does their job and wants the prgoramme to work. And at the end of the day you've gotta hand it to them ... the experts on the end users' jos are the end users, not the programmers. So that gap needs to be bridged. Cos if you don't bridge it, they'll take their business elsewere, and you'll be out of a job.

So try to be more positive about that trouble-shooting. Cos that's where the interface with the real world occurs ...

 

Yes, Beachie, outstanding story.

Thinking about and designing the user interface is one of my favorite parts of the work. I keep thinking, "How can I design this so that the people who use this will think I'm a stinkin' genius?" LOL And the way to do that, of course, is to try to put yourself as much as you can into the heads of your users - try to understand what they're telling you they need, and try to imagine you're doing their job, and think of ways to do their stuff even better, so they exclaim, "Whoa, that's great - I didn't know you could do that!" And then they give you gold stars and make you feel like a big shot and build statues of you and stuff.

 

So how many statues have they made of you then, Zengi? :daisy:

 

So far I haven't actually had much success getting that included in my contracts...

 

You need a better lawyer

 

IT = troubleshooting. you can and will be hired in totally computer unrelated fields if that's what you want. it is a very desirable field and diverse as well

 

Yup. And with hot legs like Beachballs running around the office, who wouldn't want to work there eh'? <nudge~nudge>

 

An important and sometimes overlooked aspect of ANY career, certainly, is the hotness of your co-workers' legs.

 

Indeed it is Sir, indeeeeed it is. :cheers2:

 

It is still boring and life draining. I find myself counting the minutes to the hour/half hour and hoping every time I look at the watch that a lot of time had passed. I dont find inspiration in learning more about the things because that is not what I want to be doing in the future. Still i force myself to learn because, well, i gotta know how to the job lol

Looking back, I wish I had gotten a less paying odd job that at least made me enjoy going to work, and be the guy people go to when they happy or at least ok, but not when they have a problem and are in a hurry to get it solved. Like something in sales, clerk, register at some good place. It might pay less but at least i don´t have to break my head trying to fix unforeseen issues or some ridiculous microsoft word issue with the formatting.

After a month in the job that is my conclusion. I dont live in the past and it is the first time this has happened, but let it serve as guidance for the future. My advice is for everyone is not to get comfortable with doing something you find your self miserable in. peace and love!