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.
Do what you love
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.
It is a commonly held belief that once you learn “how to code in one programming language“, you can easily transition your programming skills to another.
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!
The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 helps American families that choose public service. It does several things to make college easier for American families;
It invests more than forty (40) billion dollars in college and going forward it will be adjusted to keep pace with inflation or cost of living
By 2017, the maximum PELL Awards may be raised to six thousand dollars ($6,000). These are grants and not loans, so they don’t add up to student debt for qualifying families
To qualify for student grants and low-interest student loans, fill out the FAFSA forms
US President Barack Obama Signs the HIRE Act Jobs Bill - a 17.6 Bllion Dollar Employment Package in a ceremony held in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday. Here is the full text of President Obama's speech.
US President Barack Obama signs the HIRE Act, a 17.6 billion dollar jobs bill unemployment package that his administration hopes will encourage small businesses to hire new workers or give them the confidence to buy the equipment needed to grow their business.
The ceremony was held in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday
Here is the full text of President Obama’s Hire Act Job Bill.
The Full Text of President Obama’s Hire Act Job Bill
Madame Speaker, Majority Leader Reid as well as some of my cabinet members who are here.
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.“.
This question was submitted by Vijay who needs advice on “how to ace programming interviews and land the next job!“
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 Vijay’s questions below!
Question: How To Impress Hiring Manager at Programming Interviews
Here is the question submitted by Vijay:
On my last job I was given a technical test to write nested SQL queries.
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.
What do you love to do? start off by reviewing all the productive things that you love to do and then compile a list of careers from them.
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.
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.
Why Internships Are Hard To Get
For a while, internships helped provide the missing handson experience to IT professionals learning new skills or transitioning careers.
It is generally accepted that hands-onexperience is one of the more important qualifications for getting a job and that you may get handson experience through paid or unpaid internship programs.
So this article on NyTimes.com about how job seekers are paying thousands of dollars for internships is not surprising considering how competitive the job market has become.
What is surprising is that these are college graduates from prestigious colleges paying for nonpaying internship programs!
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!
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”
Is a business analyst with domain knowledge more valuable than a business analyst without domain knowledge?
By looking at how business analyst job descriptions are written, you may be tempted to say yes!
Business Analyst job descriptions are written as if there is a distinction between IT oriented business analysts with skills in UML, Use Cases, Requirements Elicitation, Requirements Modeling and domain oriented business analysts with knowledge in specific domains like sales, marketing, customer relationship management, insurance, finance!
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!
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!
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”!
In this article I will be presenting a simple but effective plan for getting through business analyst interviews and also answer a question posted by a business analyst who has a hard time getting through business analyst job interviews.
Here is the question asked by the business analyst:
I discovered the power of practice tests in 1999 after I aced a job interview test with a score in the mid-nineties and got hired fast!
Over the next few months, I mastered how to boost my skills rapidly using the technique that I will share with you in the rest of this article.
Research has shown that practice tests or quizzes improve your retention, recall or understanding.
Research that studies how people learn skills effectively also demonstrates that students who study and take quizzes have better long-term recall than their colleagues who study without taking quizzes.
Do you realize that the same boss who is responsible for keeping back your career will ultimately fire you for another IT worker with a better resume!
If you are frustrated in your current job because of lack of stimulating, interesting or challenging work or because someone else like your boss … is keeping your career back then you need to read this article.
One of the traits of successful IT professionals is the desire to learn, improve or working on exciting and challenging ideas all the time. It is what truly distinguishes achieving IT professions from others.
Your 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 challenge is about how to transition out of or into a business analyst or computer programming or database developer career. Whatever they are, go ahead and post your comment and we will deal with them for you.
Have you noticed the increasing demand for business analysts with stronger software skills or a wider range of skill sets?
Because this is a top hiring trend, business analysts have expressed concern about the range of skillsets requested for on job postings.
Some of these strong concerns are often worded as:
What software skills do business analysts need?
Should business analysts be made to learn computer programming?
Which software programs are required for business analysis jobs?
Along the same lines, one of the concerns expressed is; should business analysts have in depth knowledge of SQL, Access, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and Reporting writing software?
As hiring managers are cutting costs and reducing staff size they are also hiring hiring professionals with a broader range of skills
As workers are laid off, the lucky ones left behind are asked to work longer hours or work on a broader range of tasks
IT Managers are now hiring for a broader range of skill sets. Business Analysts are being asked to perform light programming jobs and software developers are being asked to perform light business analysis tasks
On of my readers needs help with finding a business analyst job. I posted the information I provided to him below. If you have any question about this or about your business analyst career, post it as comment at the end of the post and I would answer it for you.
Hi – my greatest challenge is the fact that I’ve never held an IT Business Analyst position. I’m convinced I can do the job based on my experience, but I have not had any interviews outside of my current employer. I had a few interviews in my current company but was being sabotaged by my former boss so I never got the job.
It’s not news anymore. We are officially in a recession and people are being laid off everywhere. At first, it looked like the IT sector was going to come through this relatively unscathed, but that is no longer the case. Microsoft, IBM and Intel all announced job cuts this week.
In 2008, the US economy shed 1.2 million jobs. 10% of those jobs were Information Technology jobs. As of December, over 100,000 IT jobs had been lost and it doesn’t look like the situation is going to get better any time soon.
Learning and improving your business analysis skills is a must. Sometimes you can get so caught up in your current business analyst job that you miss the boat on new skills in the industry. Browsing and reading job descriptions can help you create a career development plan that keeps you on the leading edge of the business analysis industry.
decipher ba job descriptions
You can find out “what employers look for in a job candidate” by browsing business analyst job descriptions.
However, you will notice that some business analyst job descriptions are poorly written!
A weak business analyst job description does not provide enough information for you to compare your skill set against the requirements posted on the job posting.
A Well Written Business Analyst Job Description Is An Effective Hiring Tool!
No doubt you already know how the recession affects the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Unemployment Rate or Stock Market. So, I won’t waste your time by repeating all that bad news.
What I would talk about is what really matters:”how you or your loved ones can protect your finances by staying employed in this recession!“
The best way to keep your job in a recession or to find a new job easily is to become “The Most Over Qualified, Under Paid Professional” on your team.
Here is why becoming over-qualified and under-paid work hand in hand to protect your career:
Would you be interested in getting additional business analyst training on how to get business analyst jobs or begin a business analyst career?
What I have in mind is a step-by-step online and email based business analyst training program that provides you with the opportunity to gain marketable business analyst career skills, real world experience and the courage to get your dream job.
The Business Analyst Internship Program
If you are wondering if this online business analyst training program is for you, here are some criteria for helping you decide:
In this post I will discuss why some people are affluent and successful in their careers while others seem to struggle with minimum wage or low paying jobs and despite their hard work, intelligence and personality can not earn enough money to pay their bills.
The reasons why people struggle with earning enough money to pay your bills and afford some of the nicer things of life include:
Lack of a Top Paying, In-demand, Marketable Skill
Lack of Focus and Inability to Follow a Proven Successful Plan
I’m going to share something with you that will pretty much blow your mind away.
Now, here’s it is. Do you need to be competent at web or windows development before you can get a computer programming job? What is the absolute minimum number of technical skills or programming languages you need to learn to get a business analyst, data analyst or software development job? Do you need to master a number of technical or programming skills to begin your career in business analysis or software development? Absolutely not, I say!
I’m finally done with it … the book that’s 10 years in the making and tonight I”m releasing the How To Ace Programming Job Interviews Book.
Why The Programming Job Interviews Book Took Ten Years To Write
If you are my customer, by that I mean you’ve bought one of my books, you will realize that i’m pretty thorough and not one to release a half-baked book. You will also realize that my computer programming books and business analyst books are practical, comprehensive and based on tactics, strategies and information that gets results in the software development industry.
Have you ever asked this question? which programming language is the most complex and challenging?? and received the answer C++?
If you answered yes, you are not alone. About 13 years ago, I asked my mentors in computer programmingwhich programming language is the hardest, toughest, most difficult to learn? and I got the same reply as you… C++.
I asked the question because I wanted to become a successful computer programmer.
Technology: Your choice of programming language can make or break your career. If you choose a programming language that’s not in-demand like COBOL, your career is PRETTY MUCH dead. If you choose a programming language that’s in high demand like Java or C# your career is headed for the STARS.
This article is on how to handle fear at programming interviews and become self-confident.
To succeed as a contract programmer, full time developer or freelance programmer you need to master the “developer interview”. Because your technical job interviewing skills are key to getting job offers, do not ignore them or you will quickly be un-employed in any competitive market.
The one critical skill that can make or break your programming interview is fear and here is why:
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As hiring managers are cutting costs and reducing staff size they are also hiring hiring professionals with a broader range of skills
