Careers for Network / Support Engineers
I would like to start this post by introducing [Ask IT Career Coach], a Career Advice Column that offers help, answers or solutions for your most challenging career situations.
This question was submitted by a reader from Johannesburg, South Africa: “What will be a best career move as a Desktop Engineer?”
How To Start A Business Analyst Career
Identifying your transferable skills is the first step towards successfully transitioning, changing or starting a new business analysis career.
Though this article is written for those starting a business analysis career after having worked as a computer programmer, the principles presented here are helpful to anyone interested in starting any new career.
The first step in starting a new career is building self-confidence by recognizing that the career you are transitioning to has some relationship or similarity to the jobs you have performed in the past.
Coaching on How To Change your Career
Some of you have been asking about “how to choose the right career” or “how you can make a career change“.
You are searching for specific, practical step by step instructions for transitioning or making career changes.
The answer to this question is important to you because you spend the majority of your waking time at work.
So you understand that this question determines how happy or successful you will be for several years or until your next career change
Career Advice - Ask IT Career Coach
[Ask IT Career Coach] is a Career Advice Column for Information Technology (IT) professionals looking for answers to their most challenging career situations.
This post answers the question of “how to transition into a new career“.
If you are making a career change and you don’t know how to effectively transition into another field, follow these simple steps to transition your career.
Discover what sort of career you will be passionate about before making a transition.
Yo may transition because of a bigger salary, market demand, job security or interest level.
Transitioning because of interest level or passion is the best reason.
Is Your Career A Silo?
Don’t let your career become a prison. Use it as a launching pad for achieving your dreams.
If you would like to change career but feel like you can’t satisfy the specialized requirements on job postings, here is some good advice for you!
[Ask IT Career Coach] is a Career Advice Column for IT professionals looking for answers to their most challenging career situations.
Changing roles is hard because Information Technology (IT), Web, or Software Development Managers want depth of experience in specific, narrowly defined or over-specialized skills.
Career Tip For Senior BAs: Become The Lead BA
The answers in this post are presented as tips, solutions or ideas for business analysts looking towards a better career path.
If you have a question about your business analyst career, be sure to post it as a comment on this post and I will be glad to answer it for you.
Here are the tips for business analysts looking for a better career path:
How To Handle Recruiters Phone Calls
Recruiters are the gatekeepers for business analyst jobs.
They are in touch with more employers, consulting or full-time engagements than most business analysts.
This post answers the question of how to handle or deal with recruiters calling about business analyst jobs.
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to submit your question as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
If you enjoy reading this post, please be sure to … Share this Post with Friends
Highly Paid Business Analyst
You are reading this post because you are interested in learning or mastering business analysis for a number of reasons like
You may have read the US Bureau of Statistics report which predicts that the business analyst role will be one of the fastest growing occupations through 2012
You are a computer programmer or software tester who is getting burned out on the monotony of coding or testing
You may be interested in learning business analyst because you will gain more visibility by interacting more with users and managers
How To Break The Unemployment Cycle
Sometime ago, Glendal (a project manager on this website) asked me to suggest a solution for the current unemployment crises facing the USA. While still working on an answer to that, the same question was again popped to me in a recent interview with Dice.com.
Since this is a question weighing on the minds of people … Today, it will be my pleasure to answer the question: “How To Solve The Unemployment Crises Facing The United States of America.“.
stay ahead of the technology curve
Most days, we are in love with technology and can’t seem to get away from getting work done on our iPhones, laptops and the Internet or watching hi-tech adventure movies like James Cameron’s Avatar on 3D
We have witnessed the rapid pace of technological change in the last 20 years … the advances in computers, video games and electronics and of course … the coming of the internet.
As IT professionals, we all seem to participate in this drama either as consumers, producers or enablers of technology.
The Most Difficult Challenge Of My Career
Hello,
“What is the most difficult challenge facing your career right now”?
Your most difficult challenge may be about how to get a job or how to improve your skills or how to get promoted on the job
Perhaps your most difficult challenge is about how to transition out of or into a business analyst or computer programming or database developer career.
Whatever your challenge is, just go ahead and post it as a comment on this page and I will deal with it for you.
How To Win Friends And Influence People
I stumbled upon “Think And Grow Rich” on my 17th birthday.
Shortly after reading Napoleon Hill’s classic, I also read “You Can If You Think You Can by Norman Vincent Peale” and got hooked on self help / motivational books.
A few years later, I read a really good book in that genre … “Awaken The Giant Within By Tony Robbins“.
Choose Right!
If you are looking to start a new information technology career, you may be wondering about how to choose the right career.
This post helps you answer that question.
After reading this post, feel free to ask a question or discuss the topic by posting your opinion or comments.
For example, if you like repairing electronic hardware, you may consider becoming a hardware or network support specialist or if you like writing, you may consider becoming a technical writer or a business analyst.
What do you have some background or experience in?: review your previous working experience or background for skills that you ca re-use in a new IT careers.
For example, if you have a background in marketing and sales, you may consider becoming a technical recruiter and if you have a background in programming electrical circuits you may consider going into computer programming.
Beggars Can't Be Choosers
One of the bigger issues facing IT professionals is: “the challenge of building experience“.
This challenge exists because employers still require experience for hiring, even when you need their jobs to build experience!
It’s the classic Catch-22: “chicken or egg which came first challenge” that may be solved through internships or full-time jobs.
However, internships are getting increasingly competitive (Read More …) and employers are still insisting on handson experience before making job offers.
For a while, internships helped provide the missing handson experience to IT professionals learning new skills or transitioning careers.
This series is devoted to the principles required for success in Information Technology (IT) careers.Jack Reacher
Technology is always changing so IT professionals have to stay ahead of the technology curve or risk losing their jobs or careers!
So you have to constantly update your skills through self study, coaching or training.
This post discusses how you can stay ahead of the technology curve using self study.
Contrary to what you may think, self study requires a considerable investment of time, money and effort.
Jobs for College Graduates
Whether you’re launching your career or trying to change its direction, you can get around the Catch-22 issue (“You can’t get a job without experience, and you can’t get experience without a job.”) with humility.
The solution is to get some humility because today’s shifting job market requires everyone incuding young job seekers and older workers with years of experience to continously reinvent their careers in order to stay marketable in a competitive global economy.
The lesson is that careers, skills and workplace environments will continute to transition and there is nothing we can do about that because what is marketable and in-demand today may not be wanted tomorrow.
How To Change Careers
You are brave, if you are considering leaving your career. Most people make themselves stay at jobs or careers they hate because they are afraid of the unknown.
However, knowing the difference between leaving a job and leaving a career can make your transition smooth and easy or painful to say the least.
You change careers when you are in the wrong profession or you are in a career that you’re not suited for. And, you do not change careers simply because you are unhappy at work!
Is Education A Problem?
This series is devoted to those who want to learn the principles required for success in Information Technology (IT) Careers.
While the IT Industry is a goldmine for those who have learnt to navigate it, it is a maze for others trapped by myths, half-truths, outright lies and misconceptions.
Not to worry, in this series, I will uncover the myths and presents the principles required for success in every situation.
So, one principle is this: don’t let your formal education or the lack of it, stop you from pursuing your dream IT career.
How To Master Careers Quickly
When failure is not an option, a step by step plan for advancing your career must be followed. This step by plan is presented in the free e-book download made available on this page.
Failing to plan your career is the same as planning to fail. While some people put their fate in luck or chance while others study and follow successful principles.
Guessing and stumbling is an unnecessary, expensive and time-consuming process.
Guessing reduces the chances of success by multiplying the obstacles and difficulties one has to overcome.
Become your Hero
Randall Jones, founder of Worth Magazine and author of The Richest Man in Town, says that in regard to Personal Branding, “the most successful, wealthy people had very successfully branded themselves in relation their industry”.
In an interview by Dan Schwabel, Randall says that all RMITs (Richest Man In Town) have found their “perfect pitch”- the thing that they are most personally gifted at doing and secondarily they have found a way to monetize their perfect pitches“; Click here to read the rest of the interview
starving artist wolfgang amadeus mozart
This article is one in a series on creating or establishing your personal brand and becoming a leader in your industry.
While creating your personal brand is not easy, the benefits speak for themselves; other professionals begin to seek you out, ask for your assistance or offer you compensation in exchange for your help, services or advice.
Creativity is sometimes frowned upon in the workplace because you are expected to follow orders!
Perhaps you’ve neglected using your creative forces in the past because it forces others to think or so that you can keep your head down and stop others from following you!
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756 – 1791
Have you ever heard of “The Starving Artist”? It’s an often used cliché that describes talented, skilled or creative folks like writers, painters, musicians or others who starve while doing what they love.
The idea behind the Starving Artist is “an individual who works for pennies and then dies broke doing what he or she loves”.
Some of history’s renowned or talented artists like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi and Van Gogh lived in poverty, misery or debt because their society didn’t care for or reward them.
Stay Ahead of the Curve!
Have you ever wondered how some people stay ahead of rapidly changing technologies while others seem to let their skills become extinct like the Dodo?
Well, apparently, someone in Dubai, U.A.E. wants to know the answer so badly that he sent in his question by postal mail!
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Ask IT Career Coach
Here’s a question on “how to get the experience neccessary for career advancement opportunities!” from a professional who has an MBA in Information Security.
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
Get Career Help
Hi,
If you need help on a pressing or challenging issue, you’ve come to the right place!
You may get my help by posting the toughest questions facing your career at the moment!
I will answer your questions and help you just as I’ve answered and helped others.
Business Analysts Learn Computer Programming
Are database development, computer programming, data analysis or web development required skills for Business Analysts?
Perhaps you’ve seen, heard about or applied for jobs asking for a broad or seemingly impossible range of skill sets?
Like those job descriptions for business analysts requiring computer programming skills or those for PMP Certified Project Managers with 5 years of software development experience!
This post addresses “how to bridge the gap between business analyst skills and unfair job descriptions written-up by Information Technology (IT) departments”
Develop Your Personal Brand - Become A Leader
This course teaches you how to develop and use your competitive advantages in the workplace, job market and industry using the PULL method.
You will learn how to become a leader in your industry by developing and taking advantage of your personal brand using PULL techniques.
By the end of this course, you will have learnt how to select the best leadership projects for your industry based on your background, skills, education, training, job history and interests.
Ask IT Career Coach
Po Bronson, author of “What Should I Do with My Life?” listened to more than 900 people who dared to be honest with themselves about their line of work or careers!
In the end, he discovered that it comes down to a simple gut check: “You either love what you do or you don’t.“
With that in mind, here’s question posted by a reader who needs advice on “what to do about making wrong career choices”.
highly paid corporate programmer
Transitioning careers to Microsoft .NET programming may seem like a daunting or impossible task because you need solid Hands-ON experience which is hard to get without a full-time Microsoft.NET job!
So, the question is, “How Do You Gain Hands-On Experience For Microsoft.NET Corporate Programmer Jobs Outside Regular, Full-Time Employment?“
You can transition from a Mainframe to a Microsoft.NET Software Developer Career in phases which allows you to achieve career success in manageable steps or phases.
Become A Leader-Get The Job You Want!
Getting a job by sending out resumes to employers is known as the push method because it depends on you pushing the employer to hire you!
The problem with the traditional method of getting a job is that everyone who is out-of-a-job is probably doing the same thing … pushing their resumes to hiring managers or employers!
Getting hired in a competitive job market doesn’t mean … “do what other job applicants are doing” … it means “do more than your competition!“
Ask IT Career Coach
This question was posted by a reader who needs advice on “what to do about making wrong career choices”.
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
Ask IT Career Coach
This question was posted by a reader who wants to overcome obstacles posed by employment gaps in an Oracle Programming Career!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Beat the Recession
Finding a Job doesn’t have to be a traumatic, nerve racking or frustrating experience filled with rejection, fear and pain!
Just follow this article series to find out what’s wrong or get back in control of YOUR job search.
microsoft.net software developer job
This question was posted by a reader who wants to become a Microsoft .NET Developer!
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Please, send this post to your friends using “This Link”.
By Sharing This Post you are helping your friends receive valuable information or succeed.
First, a little bit about myself.
Michael Jackson, King of Pop. August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson discovered his musical strengths early in his career, developed into a musical genius and then dedicated his life to serving humanity with music.
What we know about legends or superstars like Michael Phelps, Michael Jordan or Michael Jackson is that they are the best at what they do.
But the reason why we love the Michaels’ (Phelps, Jordan, Jackson) is: “we are just like them way down or deep inside of us”!
Ask IT Career Coach
This question was posted by a reader who wants to become a computer programmer!
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
hi
Ask a Burning Question
In reply to a question by a Statistician transitioning to a data analyst career, I posted the article Are Statistics Or SQL Skills Required In Data Analyst Careers?
My reply also included a Skills Gap Analysis for Statisticians or Mathematicians who want to become data analysts.
I got a comment from another Mathematician / Statistician which I have posted below.
Let me know if you have a comment or opinion or feedback on this issue … here is my reader’s comment:
I just read through the article entitled ARE STATISTICS OR SQL SKILLS REQUIRED IN DATA ANALYST CAREERS?
Ask a Burning Question
This post answers a question about how to improve soft skills (communication, leadership, time management, presentation, team skills) for a Database Developer.
If you have a Burning Question or a Challenge that you need help with, be sure to ask your question as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering the question below!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
Performance Based Careers
To become a medical doctor or a lawyer you need training, internship and finally you get a license or certification to practice.
However, there is no such path to starting an IT Career! There is no legally binding qualification or certification for becoming a computer programmer or a business analyst or a data analyst or a database developer!
The path to becoming an IT professional is littered with myths and misconceptions because the emphasis is really on you to prove that you are as good as you say you are!
Ask a Burning Question
This post answers a reader’s question about the educational requirements for becoming a computer programmer.
If you have a Burning Question or a Challenge that you need help with, be sure to ask your question as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering the question below!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
FREE Coaching on How To Make A Career Change
Career Tip for Senior Business Analysts: Become The Lead Business Analyst!
How To Handle Recruiter’s Phone Calls?
What Does It Take To Learn Business Analysis?
Is Tunnel Vision Killing My Career?
Why Microsoft .NET Jobs for COBOL Mainframe Programmers?
How To Break The Unemployment Cycle?
#5 Success Principle: Always Be Learning
Are You Inspired Enough?
The Healthcare Data Analyst Job Description
Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job
What Career Is Right For Me?
#3 Success Principle: When It Comes To Experience, Beggars Can’t Be Choosers
#2 Success Principle: Learn How To Self Study Effectively
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