Information Technology (IT)

[luckyluchiano]

Okay thats what I thought, the title leads you to higher salaries correct? Whether someone reports to you or not?

Lucky came up, guy at my job just left the company had been here for 5 years (since graduation)  and was only a Software Engineer II.
Not sure what type of position title he has now, but he was telling me that when you reach 5 years you can pretty much demand any salary, within reason of course.

Yea I started as a BA I in 2012, got promoted to a BA2 in 2014 after a yr and a half with company. In all honesty I should have been hired as a BA2 but I didnt have the experience on paper so I understood the decision. Now I`m currently doing Lead work for every project I`m on so I was already doing the work of a Senior Analyst, but being that using Tuition reimbursement would mean I`d be committed for another 3 yrs (2 during school then 1 yr after I grad is owed to company), I decided to pay out of pocket this first semester and test the waters. I already knew I was being underpaid (compared to the Market) so It would not hurt to see whats out there, opposed to getting underpaid for the next 3 yrs to POTENTIALLY make more, At the end of the day you gotta do whats best for you, I`m not the type to beg an employer for something I feel I deserve (When I eventually start my own business I dont want anyone telling me how to run my biz lol), I love my current role but I can't be dumb because if it came down to it if they needed to Lay me off they would, thats just how business works, so I took it into my own hand to get the money I felt I deserve.

 

[luckyluchiano]

He's not that type of dude that would want to get into management very quiet low key dude. He didn't even tell us he had put in his 2 weeks, just showed up on his last day like "aight yal nice working with you" lol. He's cool though, I am curious what route he went. He was telling me he wanted to do more GUI development.

You think that it is still possible to grind it out with 1 company and make it to director? I think I have a shot with my current company after 10-15 years, but the guys that are in those positions now have been for the past 10-15 years, so I am not sure if they would let me into the technical/business upper management. A few of the directors/VPs really like me, but I still don't know if that is enough.


@ricerocket1
 Don't let them know anything until an offer is on the table or they give you a verbal offer and open up negotiations.

The days of 20 yrs then becoming a director are over, most of these Tech Companies started in the last 40 yrs, so literally the guys who are execs now are the ones who put in those 20 -30 yrs from inception lol. Most people this day and age company hop to get their promotions, hell my company brought in a new CIO from the outside opposed to promoting someone who might have felt they had "next in line". I want to be out the Private sector as an employee by 40-45. One thing I plan on doing is when I finish this Masters teaching evening classes/online classes at a local university/ Community College to get my stripes for when I eventually work on my Phd.

 

[letsgetit22]

Go get it famb, I come across so many technical pm's that aren't worth a damn.

I'm saying... make all that money and don't know ****. Asking me all these damn questions.

 

[luckyluchiano]

I'm saying... make all that money and don't know ****. Asking me all these damn questions.

lol this gets to me sometimes, people with more seniority than me asking me questions, but it's cool because at the end of the day nobody knows everything, and I come at them with my own questions at times.

 

[unkn0wn]

Appreciate the info. What was your path to land the job you had?

I didnt do anything special but I did everything I shouldve done. I had a high GPA and internship experience. I applied via my university's career portal during my last semester. The company (based in bay area) came down for 3 days and interviewed over 30 candidates. Ended up hiring 3 of us.

The position that I applied for was labeled "IT Project Manager" but since the organization was responsible for maintaining the entire company's database management systems, I was working as an Oracle DBA 80% of the time. Felt like a bait-and-switch because I wouldve never accepted had I known I would primarily be doing a DBA's job. With that said, I'd rather be a DBA than an SD.

From my experience, the first job I got focused more on the candidate's potential than what he/she already knew. This varies from company to company though and I'd imagine smaller companies looking for the opposite. Hope this helps.

 

[capital sb]

The days of 20 yrs then becoming a director are over, most of these Tech Companies started in the last 40 yrs, so literally the guys who are execs now are the ones who put in those 20 -30 yrs from inception lol. Most people this day and age company hop to get their promotions, hell my company brought in a new CIO from the outside opposed to promoting someone who might have felt they had "next in line". I want to be out the Private sector as an employee by 40-45. One thing I plan on doing is when I finish this Masters teaching evening classes/online classes at a local university/ Community College to get my stripes for when I eventually work on my Phd.

Yeah that's what I am thinking too, those days are over. I will still aim for it, but just like you I want to be out of the corporate world by 40. 

I really love my company and don't want to move around to get a promotion and stay in line with the market salary, but I will do it if I have to.

After I finish my Master's if I can't get what I am looking for from my current company I will look at other options.

What stripes do you need for a Phd?

 

[luckyluchiano]

Yeah that's what I am thinking too, those days are over. I will still aim for it, but just like you I want to be out of the corporate world by 40. 
I really love my company and don't want to move around to get a promotion and stay in line with the market salary, but I will do it if I have to.

After I finish my Master's if I can't get what I am looking for from my current company I will look at other options.

What stripes do you need for a Phd?

I`d want a Phd from a Solid program and want to teach somewhere solid also (goal would be Morehouse so I can stay in Atl), so having actual teaching experience on top of a solid private sector career would set me apart from those Career students how are child prodigies with 8.0 GPAs lol.

And yea you gotta do what you gotta do, IMO every 3-4 years is a good mark to evaluate your work situation and see where you are and if you are making strides to hit your goals. My goal is to be a Dean/President of a Uni and have my side businesses/consultant work/investments. Avg University dean is in their 60s so by 40-45 another 20 yr grind doing something I love wont be bad.

 

[dathbgboy]

****** JavaScript I've been stumped doing these Free Code Camp bonfires.

 

[HankHill]

Go in the chats and ask for help. Google is your friend too. A bunch of people blog about the solutions. I've looked at their solutions and approaches and incorporated it into mind. You'd be surprised at the different ways people come up with solutions.

ex. http://www.knanthony.com/blog/look-...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Her solution is different from mine, but the thought process is the same.

I pretty much just start with everything written in psuedo code, then go from there.

 

[dathbgboy]

I can't even come up w/ a solution though, that's the thing. I don't really want to look at another solution w/o comin up w/ my own, I feel like it's plagiarizing and I don't really learn anything. Bout to just say "F it" plagiarize the code and get to the volunteer work.

 

[capital sb]

I can't even come up w/ a solution though, that's the thing. I don't really want to look at another solution w/o comin up w/ my own, I feel like it's plagiarizing and I don't really learn anything. Bout to just say "F it" plagiarize the code and get to the volunteer work.

In the coding world there really is no such thing as plagiarizing. If you are stuck look for some insight/code to help you understand the part you are stuck on.

What are you stuck on exactly?

 

[HankHill]

Don't plagiarizer the code lol. Try to come up with something, if you are stuck, then seek help or see how others are implementing the solution. This is coding; everyone is looking at other peoples code whether its on stackoverflow, github, or any other QA forum. It not about blindly copying and pasting their code, its about understanding what they did, why, and how you can implement it.

 

[ricerocket1]

Just an update to you guys, I got the job for Company B. I start on Oct 5th. Thanks for all the help. Really appreciate it.

My role will be mostly Help Desk, and just imaging computers for new users and a like. The pay is really good from what i heard from friends that does the same work. Im a contractor till the end of the year then will be moved as a permanent. Corporate environment of 300+ employees.

The interview process went as this: Phone Interview with the HR/Recruiter, Interview with the hiring manager, then a panel interview with the IT dept. Took about 2 weeks in total.

 

[pyrokasper]

If there any NYC NT-ers I found out about a non-profit company that will assess your skills whether it be for Infrastructure Engineering or Software Development and potentially help you find a job with companies looking for employers.

http://www.codetowork.org/

 

[osek206]

****** JavaScript I've been stumped doing these Free Code Camp bonfires.

I feel you man, I've been stuck on a Bonfire for a few days and ended up stopping and starting on team treehouse
because I felt some of the material on FCC didn't explain enough. But I did find solutions by looking up the question
in google, and typically github would have the answers from past questions about the bonfires.

 

[Mark Antony]

Just an update to you guys, I got the job for Company B. I start on Oct 5th. Thanks for all the help. Really appreciate it.

My role will be mostly Help Desk, and just imaging computers for new users and a like. The pay is really good from what i heard from friends that does the same work. Im a contractor till the end of the year then will be moved as a permanent. Corporate environment of 300+ employees.

The interview process went as this: Phone Interview with the HR/Recruiter, Interview with the hiring manager, then a panel interview with the IT dept. Took about 2 weeks in total.

One thing i'd recommend is don't get stuck in help desk, make it short term, learn what you can there, then once you've got it down, start learning things gauged towards your next step.

 

[realshoemice]

Got 100% on this CCNA second time around [emoji]128076[/emoji][emoji]127997[/emoji]

 

[and1play5]

Got 100% on this CCNA second time around [emoji]128076[/emoji][emoji]127997[/emoji]

Congrats!!!! I'm sitting for the CCENT next week...been using Boson netsim and Exsim, cbt nuggets and the Wendell Odom book, going for ccna security after and then im taking the icnd2...any tips??

 

[PRIME]

****** JavaScript I've been stumped doing these Free Code Camp bonfires.

What are you stumped on?

 

[Mark Antony]

Got 100% on this CCNA second time around [emoji]128076[/emoji][emoji]127997[/emoji]

Nice, what did you use to prepare?

 

[realshoemice]

Congrats!!!! I'm sitting for the CCENT next week...been using Boson netsim and Exsim, cbt nuggets and the Wendell Odom book, going for ccna security after and then im taking the icnd2...any tips??

My tip is don't take the two test route because the test is 51 questions...if u split it in 2 then ur gonna b taking 102 questions and paying twice as much ....
Netsim is cool but I prefer Use packet tracer because .there are more practice simulations available ....learn access list (standard and extended).....learn eigrp and ospf...its easy....learn subnetting also easy ....the rest is there terms which u just have to learn by reading up

 

[dathbgboy]

****** JavaScript I've been stumped doing these Free Code Camp bonfires.

What are you stumped on?

Generally the whole concept outside of the basics. I get the loops, variables, and arrays. It's just when I have to do things like using .splice(), indexOf(), etc.

 

[Stormblessed]

So the VP of the company that I work for wants me to come and do some IT related work. Setting up a password for her wifi, transferring 9 gobs worth of photos to her Mac. Showing her how to use one drive and the online version of excel, word, etc. pretty much whatever she asks that's computer related. Only thing is I'm not sure how much I should charge. A flat fee or by the hour. I can't imagine it taking more than 1-2 hours but you never know. Any advice? Also she's already paying for the cab to get to her house.

 

[yeah]

So the VP of the company that I work for wants me to come and do some IT related work. Setting up a password for her wifi, transferring 9 gobs worth of photos to her Mac. Showing her how to use one drive and the online version of excel, word, etc. pretty much whatever she asks that's computer related. Only thing is I'm not sure how much I should charge. A flat fee or by the hour. I can't imagine it taking more than 1-2 hours but you never know. Any advice? Also she's already paying for the cab to get to her house.

1. Charge hourly. If you charge a flat rate, she will be more inclined to ask you for help with "just one other little thing." Speaking from personal experience, those "other little things" can end up taking hours. By charging hourly, she knows to respect your time and vice versa. The cab ride shouldn't even be considered since transportation is usually included for consultants.

2. Charge what you are comfortable with. If you are young/inexperienced, then charging $50/hr is obviously a bad idea. But if you have your degree in an IT-related field or have experience, anything less than $20/hr is being friendly on your part.

3. This is the VP of your company, inviting you into her house to perform some non-work related tasks. Be careful. That can turn into a touchy subject very easily, from people at work finding out and labelling you the VP's pet, all the way to potential allegations of inappropriate behavior between the two of you. She might just be looking for help, trying to find an unofficial intern, or she might be a wiz with computers and just wants to invite you over under the guise of something innocent. Basically, what I'm saying is that you should try to protect yourself. Workplace politics are REAL, and if someone who doesn't exactly like you finds out that you and the VP have been spending time together outside of work, it can introduce unnecessary stress into your life.

 

[realshoemice]

So the VP of the company that I work for wants me to come and do some IT related work. Setting up a password for her wifi, transferring 9 gobs worth of photos to her Mac. Showing her how to use one drive and the online version of excel, word, etc. pretty much whatever she asks that's computer related. Only thing is I'm not sure how much I should charge. A flat fee or by the hour. I can't imagine it taking more than 1-2 hours but you never know. Any advice? Also she's already paying for the cab to get to her house.

I advise u to smash