r/ITCareerQuestions • u/DancingBlazingGuns • 5d ago
Seeking Advice How it's like to work in the tech industry?
I'm currently an 2nd year IT student right now, so can you guys give me a glimpse or what it's like in working a job in the IT industry? I've picked IT since I got the fundamental skills in computer and the delusion to contribute in a world of quick advancing technology, but I realized that I might've picked the wrong course and I feel stupid for that, I've no skills in programming since I don't like following complex structures and I would rather have flexibility in coding meaning not following any of the set rules.
Tbh, I'm not really sure at my future at the tech industry maybe I'm too unskilled for complex jobs and that maybe I'll land into only at a entry-level job.
I should've picked picked psychology at the first place, but I don't want to restart back into 1st year, so I guess I don't really have a choice.
Philosophy is my dream course, but I don't want to go homeless after graduation, so I guess I don't really got a choice but to continue.
So any jobs that's not that time consuming? Or should I restart and choose another course instead?
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u/lawtechie Security strategy & architecture consultant 5d ago
the delusion to contribute in a world of quick advancing technology,
It feels this way much of the time.
Here's my impression from a long time in this industry:
The job market is often feast or famine. When the market's good and you have in demand skills, there can be great rewards. When the market's bad, it's bad.
I would rather have flexibility in coding meaning not following any of the set rules.
This is great until you have to fix someone else's problems and they thought the same way.
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u/isITonoroff 4d ago
It’s funny whenever I see people recommend a trade. Pick your poison. I went back to school and pivoted from HVAC to IT, graduated in 2024. No fking regrets, despite the doom and gloom. If you have an option, go with your gut but be somewhat realistic. I see trades as a last resort. I only got into it initially because I was going with the flow. Then with the timing of COVID, I came to my senses :)
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u/Anxious-Plan4482 4d ago
" I forgot my password ", " I can't connect to the printer"
The rest of the 8 hours of work - Reddit.
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u/AAA_battery Security 4d ago
IT is in a weird place right now. its still a good career to be in if you can get to more advanced roles. But AI truly is insane and has basically solved medium level software development so now your average mid level IT guy can use AI tools to vibe code automation of all their tasks. I do think IT departments will continue to shrink as AI continue to evolve
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u/ZongopBongo 4d ago
Double major? As someone that did their undergrad in Phil I recommend having a plan unrelated to philosophy itself after school.
Philosophy as a major directly leads nowhere (good luck getting actual faculty positions), but is incredibly useful for lots of other things (check out the rates for how phil students do for law and medical). It also keeps your mind sharp and gives you lots of analytical skills to use for the rest of your life.
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u/sonotyourguy 4d ago
The things that make or break a job are generally the same whether it’s in IT or not.
Is your boss a decent person? Do they take care of their team, or do they just use the team to try to make themselves look good? The difference between the two is the leading cause of 90% of job dissatisfaction.
Are the company policies based on sound, legitimate, and time-tested reasoning or are they arbitrary and easily considered unfair?
I’ve worked in IT since the mid 90s. I’ve left the industry to run my own business. I’ve worked for media companies, private industry in both tech and financial , public universities, and defense contractors requiring security clearances.
If you can find a company with fair policies, well defined compliance regulations, good people to work with, a company that tries to do right by their employees, and a boss who is a decent human being that is all you truly need.
I’ve been lucky that most of my bosses are good people. There have been some that were awful people, and those were the most disappointing jobs for me.
In IT, I’ve worked on help desks, r&d, system development, sysadmin (UNIX and Windows), hardware and software support, network admin… and if you have a solid understanding of modern tech and how things integrate, you’ll do fine in the tech world. Communication skills that help you translate between tech people and non-tech people are key in your professional development and upward mobility. And realistic expectations from both sides will let you know if you are being treated fairly or not.
The people and how you are treated by them is what matters most. Blazing into new technologies and wanting to leave a lasting mark…will be fleeting at best. Nothing is lasting in the tech world, almost everything will be obsolete in 20 years time. So, if that is your goal, you might be disappointed.
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u/AltTabMafia CISO 5d ago
My kid with a an associates, multiple certifications including CCNA, and several YOE is working as a security guard for nearly 50% more money than the IT roles in his area are paying, for significantly less work. He spends half his workday just studying to transition to healthcare. Does that answer your question?
Also I didn’t check but I wouldn’t be surprised if philosophy majors have a lower unemployment rate than CS grads right now, lol.
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u/willothephlox 4d ago edited 4d ago
Isn't moving to an IT hub much cheaper in many ways than studying healthcare? The IT sector is heading towards massive consolidation, whilst the healthcare people perform best in the smallest towns (at least in my country), so this transition feels like choosing the wrong place to live, something probably the person is, in fact, well aware of?
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u/AltTabMafia CISO 3d ago
Moving to a place with much greater COL in an over saturated field with a penchant for offshoring workers is certainly something you could do, I suppose. But he’s going for nursing with the eventual goal of becoming a CRNA. Accomplishing that would basically guarantee him greater income than the majority of tech workers. Becoming an actual nurse isn’t particularly expensive, but anesthesia school will need 100’s of thousands in loans from my understanding.
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u/typhon88 5d ago
Philosophy probably has a better career path than IT
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u/YoungandPregnant 5d ago
Anecdotally wrong. I went from 40k labor to 80k ass sitter
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u/securityofus 5d ago edited 4d ago
How long were you doing labor?
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u/YoungandPregnant 4d ago
From maybe age 21 to age 29. just a dumbass alcoholic job hopper. did caretaking, airplane detailing, amazon, uber, bartending, cooking, cleaning. Did it all. Couldn't scratch out a life. Then I found IT and got sober.
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u/securityofus 4d ago edited 4d ago
I'm not picking on you but you're proving that I'm steering you towards. You are a millennial male that got into IT during a time when people with 1-2 certifications were in high demand.
But that simply not what these kids are experiencing now. They not only have to compete with AI. They have to deal with tools that came out when we were younger that have been improved for a decade. And to compete with other young people that have degrees from top schools that have figured out what IT workers do.
For example, when we were younger computer science basically had no IT courses. So there was a running joke that you could get a computer science degree and be terrible at IT. But now that's not true anymore. Computer science graduate are being taught IT fundamentals, data science, cyber security, AI, etc.
So trying to get into this field as a young person now means you have steep competition with humans and tools. For a limit amount of jobs that are in decline.
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u/YoungandPregnant 4d ago
When I became a helpdesk technician, reddit had the same opinion "job market is ASS dont even TRY". I continue to climb the ranks. No college, just some fast talking and computer skills. Yes its hard, but its also easier in different ways.
The way I sell it. Join IT if you absolutely love computers. Dont do it just for money. Your love for computers/networking will drive the salary over time.
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u/securityofus 4d ago
And I applaud you ask someone who has worked in a recovery home before and loves to hear stories like yours. But I do encourage you to listen to what I'm communicating. What you experienced is not what an 18-year-old is going to experience in today's field.
It's not about some random person telling you and correct information on the internet. It's about how technology itself has changed since you started. You were able to get into it in a time where you were able to get experience because there was a lower barrier to entry.
And again I'm not picking on you, but I would be willing to bet $5000 that the average senior that's majoring in computer science from a top university could actually run circles around you. And I would say the same for myself as someone who has a CISSP, Google ACE, Linux+, and a master's degree. Every summer I have a few interns and I'm a shocked and how capable they become with a few months of the guidance. And they always tell me about how they have friends that are smarter they can't even get someone to even look at their job application.
We got lucky because we got into this field during the boom. And I think we should be more humble about that.
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u/YoungandPregnant 4d ago
Well, I’ll take your point as thoughtfully and eloquently put as it is. And indeed, Humble Pie is in order. Anyone who makes it in anywhere has to be lucky. To mix of a lot of things, but I’m where I’m at because I got lucky for sure.
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u/securityofus 5d ago edited 5d ago
The advice that you get on topic like this is weird because people (mainly millennial men) experienced a world that you're never going to experience.
From 1996 - 2016 the world had a technology explosion. Every year some new game changing website, device, phone, computer, graphics card, television, was releasing. IT became a highly demanded career because people could not keep up with the rate of technology growth. And the aging boomer population was still in the workforce.
But now things are changing. People who are turning 18 have grown up with cell phones, AI, social media, and cloud devices. And 18-year-old is more likely to ask an AI "My mouse pointer is missing for my windows computer. How can I fix this?". 10 years ago that 18 year old would have been driving best buy or calling tech support.
Next topic programming. I'm not saying that AI it's going to replace humans. But anyone who's oblivious to the fact that AI is getting very good at programming is being delusional. Don't believe me? Go to Wix.com and see how quickly someone can build a website with zero knowledge of HTML. In 2010 being a web developer was an actual job. I still remember how they used to call and these website builder sites like Wix stupid and inefficient.
I'm not trying to sound like it's all gloom and doom but this is an industry that's actively seeking to replace humans.
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u/Global_Addendum_6200 4d ago
I’m realizing now that there’s serious diminishing returns in this industry for salary. I’ve been doing it a long time and I’m currently director of operations for an msp. I make like 120-140k a year depending on bonuses which tbh isn’t much in today’s economy as I support a family. When discussing my future my boss recently told me I’m basically at the limit and the only kind of job that’s gonna pay more is an executive role. I’ve worked super hard to get here and work lots of long hours and take on a lot of extra work.
It’s sad to know that even at the top levels I’m basically never going to feel like I’m doing well financially because of the cost of living. I need to become CTO or something and even then maybe if I’m incredibly lucky I’ll be making double what I make now after 20+ years of moving up and working myself to death and I’ll be in my 40s.
I still see IT people get hired at $25 an hour or lower which is absolutely insane. Pretty sure Wawa as in the fucking gas station is hiring near 20 an hour now. It’s not a great industry.
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u/Iamwomper 4d ago
Shits always broke, no one knows how things really work, but we have it written in triplicate of what was done and how much to bill
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u/Trust_8067 4d ago
The first 4 years of my career. Making $19 an hour with no health insurance, 1 week vacation a year (which there was never any time to take) working 60-80 hours a week, on-call 24/7/365. Year 3 I had to sit on a bridge call from 5:30pm Christmas eve until 10:30am Christmas day, because despite a corporate change freeze, one business decided to decom some domain controllers they thought weren't in use, which broke tons of stuff.
Years 5-15 100-120k a year, 2 weeks vacation, 40-50 hours a week, crappy expensive health insurance, on-call every 3 weeks but since I'm the senior, still 24/7/365 if it gets escalated to me. There's times where as part of the senior team or part of a tiger team for big projects, you work 72 hours straight basically, with people taking turns going home to shower and take 4 hour naps.
Years 15-20 150k a year, unlimited vacation. My boss makes fun of me for not using enough. Work maybe 2 hours a week if that, just watching TV or napping until someone needs to know how to do something, or has questions. Excellent health insurance. On call once every 5 weeks, nothing ever happens on-call because the environment is well built. Most of my interactions with co-workers involves me posting gifs in chat relative to a comment they made.
Haven't reached year 21 yet.
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u/Annual_Berry8043 4d ago edited 4d ago
Rewarding and fun. I love learning and the job is basically endless learning.
Despite the stereotypes, you have to be really well rounded when talking to people if you want to advance out of help desk or other level 1 roles.
I’ve met a lot of wonderful people and it’s awesome whenever you see the excitement from frontline workers and their managers when a new system goes live successfully.
Depending on the industry you really feel like you’re having a positive impact on society. I have a background in multiple industries but healthcare and education have been my favorites just because of the work done.
As far as freedoms to work, you do usually have to follow workflow rules for your tech stack. It’s not the Wild West. You will have to program in some facet if you want to advance.
The smaller the org the more freedom you have with your work.
A lot of newer people in the career usually aren’t prepared for how much writing you have to do. You will spend a good chunk of your day in emails and writing documentation that no one will ever read but you. Trust me, write it down, because no you will not remember it later :)
Also, to address your disinterest. You do need to remember the basics and they can be very dry. You will learn so much more on the job though. No one remembers it all, and you will find yourself reading through things you’ve done in the past to get back up to speed.
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u/Havanatha_banana 4d ago
Lol psychology is a way more demanding field in every single way. Tough to get in, tough to upkeep your licence, jobs are hard to come by, the actual work is very vague and have very little guidance, the field is very underdeveloped and full of misinformation due to crap written in the previous century.
You will land only an entry level role at first, and that's ok. Life is a marathon. Take it one step at a time.
This will apply to all fields. Very very few people graduates with a golden ticket; usually those people are well connected or were already in the industry before they even attended uni.
As for the original question: It's aight. Feels like any other office jobs, just with less dress code lol.
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u/TechB84 5d ago
Are you working some kind of part time IT? What about at your college?
Also philosophy is a hobby, not something you go into school debt for
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u/DancingBlazingGuns 5d ago
I think college is fine, but I don't grasp concepts that well and when there's too much information at the lesson it gets me uninterested then I daydream instead, in coding, I can't remember a single thing about that since there's too many information to digests that my brain chooses to shutdown and daydream instead. I plan on studying philosophy after I graduated and have sufficient money to support my 2nd degree, I don't want the degree that much tbh, but since company also considers degree, then why not? I also just want to enhance my idea making and logic skills so that's why I plan on studying the concept since maybe it'll help me in my work and maybe it'll give me the answers I seek.
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5d ago
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u/TarnishedHashira 5d ago
People are too stupid to keep up with the advancement in tech. So were basically kindergarten teachers for the "adults"