How To Put your Career in Overdrive » successful http://www.it-career-coach.net IT Career Coach Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:37:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 #3 Success Principle: When It Comes To Experience, Beggars Can’t Be Choosers http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/07/3-success-principle-when-it-comes-to-experience-beggars-cant-be-choosers/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/07/3-success-principle-when-it-comes-to-experience-beggars-cant-be-choosers/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:17:52 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2753
Beggars Can't Be Choosers

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.

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.

Now internships are hard to come by because employers are refusing the burden of hiring or managing interns. And here is the reason why:

  1. Productivity: interns need to be managed by experienced employees meaning that productive time will be lost to employers.

    Productive time is lost when experienced workers have to show interns the ropes, supervise or assign work to them.

  2. Risk: employers are unwilling to invest in interns because they are more likely to fail at completing their assigned tasks or duties.

    There is also the added risk of redoing the work done by interns when it fails to meet expectations!

  3. Money: employers hesitate to pay interns because there aren’t sure of the immediate economic benefits and they refuse to hire unpaid interns because unpaid interns also cost money and time to supervise or train!

How To Build Experience From Scratch … Without A Job

The challenge facing those that fixate on getting experience through internship programs or full time jobs is that of becoming stumped … when they can’t get either.

Really, when it comes to getting experience, the key is to stay flexible, creative or open minded because full-time jobs and internship programs are getting harder to come by.

How To Build Experience From Scratch By Keeping An Open Mind

  • Focus on Smaller Projects: don’t fixate on finding big projects because you are more unlikely to get big project exposure with little or no experience.

    Start with smaller projects first, because that is where your current background, skills or experience is likely to be needed or appreciated.

  • Build Up Experience Gradually: don’t expect to get a ton of experience in a short time. Instead, spread your efforts at building experience over a longer period of time.

    Overtime, the cumulative effect of all your project based work will begin to show and you will be rewarded for your hard work.

  • Don’t Fixate on Money: don’t be too picky about your income when you’re still building up your experience because the ticket to getting paid more money is more experience!

    Start by building your experience first and then work towards a better compensation afterwards!

  • Don’t Think Too Highly of Yourself: don’t be looking down on smaller projects because you’re thinking they’re beneath you and don’t be fretting over the size of your role, task or opportunity either!

    Always put your best foot forward and build up your experience at every turn. Because that is how to ensure that you qualify for bigger projects or even a full time job!

  • Stay Flexible, Creative and Open Minded: be on the lookout for experience building opportunities that don’t fall under traditional internship or full-time jobs.

    For example, you may signup for unpaid, volunteer work or start your own consulting business (yes, you can consult on almost any subject) or register for Hands On IT Career Training (click here for more information)

Expect that you will always be learning new skills or transitioning careers because of the constantly changing face of technology.

Understand that staying open minded will help you discover more ways to build handson experience without a job or an internship program.

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/07/3-success-principle-when-it-comes-to-experience-beggars-cant-be-choosers/feed/ 1 Free E-Book On How To Stay Ahead of the Technology Curve http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/21/free-e-book-on-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-technology-curve/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/21/free-e-book-on-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-technology-curve/#comments Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:03:59 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2517 Stay Ahead of the Curve!

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!

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.

Here is The Question on How To Stay Ahead of the Technology Learning Curve

Dear Kingsley,

Having come to be known about you as a pioneer IT Coach, I need some information from you if you can help me.

At present, I am reading a book Microsoft Office 2003 bible which includes all the basic and in depth functionalities of excel, word, powepoint, access, outlook, frontpage, etc.

It’s a huge book with 1200 pages. I’d like to know how I can memorize this book quickly and efficiently.

There are other books on programming to be memorized. in this age of information overload, everyday we are presented with lots of paperwork, reports and books to remember.

As an IT coach, could you please show me the techniques to remember this amount of information so as to get the job done on time and move along with the rapidly changing technologies.

Fahim, Dubai, U.A.E.

Don’t Underestimate The Effort Required To Keep Up With Information Technology Careers!

Years, ago, while considering a career transition, I was advised not to pursue Information Technology careers because of the rapidly changing technologies, literature, techniques and tools.

At that point in time, many IT professionals had shipwrecked their careers because they couldn’t transition from legacy skills in Cobol or Fortran or Mainframes to the smaller, more modern computers running windows.

My adviser pointed out to me that succeeding in an information technology career would be a tough challenge because many IT professionals with graduate computer science degrees from good schools had failed!

Some of the reasons why IT professionals fail in their career include:

  1. The Challenge of Rapidly Changing Technologies: keeping up with rapidly changing tools, processes and technologies is a hard job. Some vendors release multiple versions of their products within a year forcing users to upgrade their skills or become obsolete.

  2. The Challenge of Poorly Written Textbooks: many IT books are written by geeks for geeks. They’re difficult to understand, slow to read and intimidating in size. Many tech workers still find challenging, the effort required to keep up with technology by studying IT books.

  3. The Challenge of Information Overload: There are various skills, technologies, tools and processes that need to be mastered for every unique employer or job situation. IT workers end up buying and studying lots of reference books in a bid to stay ahead of all the problems they aim to solve!

I Transitioned My Career By Overcoming The Information Overload!

I transitioned my career by learning the skills required for my new career in six weeks! and by acing my first technical job interview

In six weeks, I navigated an amazing amount of technical literature and reference books … to discover the hidden path that leads to IT career success.

The lessons I learned in those six weeks have become some of the hallmarks of my career including:

  1. How to study new IT skills quickly, comprehensively and competently (I studied mine in under six weeks)

  2. How to ace IT job interviews (I scored above 90% in my first interview test)

  3. How to get hands-on experience without a job (I got the required hands-on experience before my first job)

A Free E-Book To Help You Stay Ahead Of Rapidly Changing Technologies!

Fahim, I understand where you’re coming from and the challenges you’re facing.

The challenges of succeeding in Information Technology (IT) Careers as pointed out in this blog post are real. However, I’ve solved them and I don’t see any reasons why you can’t after I share my success strategies with you!

I’m going to e-mail you a free e-book that details “how you can solve the same problem in your career” and in addition, you will also get any future updates to the e-book free!

I will also be giving away a free copy of the same e-book to the biggest users of my “Tell a Friend” Button or Link on any of my blog posts!

How To Get a Free Copy of My E-Book!

If you’ll like to get a free copy of the e-book including any future updates, start using the IT Career Coach “Tell a Friend” Button or Link on my blog posts and I will reward you just like I am rewarding Fahim and others who regularly invite their friends, contacts or colleagues to this community.

This post answers a question posted by Fahim on “how to study or keep ahead of rapidly changing technologies.“

if you have a question about your career, be sure to post it as a question on this discussion page and I will answer it for you!

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/09/21/free-e-book-on-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-technology-curve/feed/ 1 Learning C++ Programming Language Is Bad For Your Career … C++ Programmers Can’t Find Jobs http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/25/learning-c-programming-language-is-bad-for-your-career-c-programmers-cant-find-jobs/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/25/learning-c-programming-language-is-bad-for-your-career-c-programmers-cant-find-jobs/#comments Thu, 26 Jul 2007 05:41:07 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/25/learning-c-programming-language-is-bad-for-your-career-c-programmers-cant-find-jobs/ Hi,

Do you want to learn the C++ programming language or become a C/C++ computer programmer?

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 programming which programming language is the hardest, toughest, most difficult to learn? And got the reply C++. I asked the question because I badly wanted to become a successful programmer. So, I reasoned that if I could prove myself by conquering the hardest programming language, my success in computer programming would be guaranteed.

Recently, a number of C/C+ software developers have been turning to me for help with their computer programmer careers. They do this by taking advantage of the free developer mentoring sessions available to programmers who order my ebook.

So, what could go wrong with the career of a software developer who has conquered one of the meanest, hardest, most complex computer programming languages?

The real problem with learning C/C++ is not whether it leaves up to its reputation for being a tough guy, because it does! The challenge facing those who succeed in learning C/C++ is more subtle. Continue reading and you will find out for yourself soon.

3 months ago, I started mentoring a programmer with real-world programming experience in C/C++, Microsoft Foundation Classes and Windows 32 API and a college degree. He couldn?t get a computer programmer job, so he bought my book and used the free computer programmer coaching that comes with the book to find out why he couldn?t get a job with C/C++ programming skills.

After he explained his situation to me, I presented him with a list of 3 hot programming technologies in high demand. I told him these technologies were so hot that just having them on his resume would land him programming job offers, even though he had been out of work for 2 years!

Well, he acted on the information I gave him, took MASSIVE ACTION and in 2 MONTHS learnt all he could about the 3 hot programming technologies!

Guess what? 2 months after buying my book and taking advantage of my free software developer mentoring, he got the first programming job he interviewed for on the spot, after being out of work for 2 years!

So, why couldn?t a C/C++ computer programmer with real world industry experience and a college degree get a programming job in the middle of the hi-tech boom of 2007?

WHY C++ PROGRAMMERS CAN’T GET JOBS

The simple reason why C++ programmers can?t get a job is that the C++ programming language is not suited for business or web applications development!

But, wait a minute, isn?t C/C++ also one of the fastest programming languages?

Yes C++ is one of the fastest programming languages. But the speed of C++ applies to the speed with which it executes on a computer and not to the speed with which you can code or develop software programs.

STOP! Think about what I just said. Don?t just read it, digest my last statement until you really comprehend it.

C/C++ is the wrong programming language for business or web programming because employers care more about the speed with which you code or develop software and care less about the speed at which your software program executes.

So, why don?t employers care about the speed of execution of C++ programs?

The reason is that the recent dramatic increases in computer processing speed and memory has made the personal computer faster and much more powerful. So, the amount of processing power available on most personal computers makes the execution speed of any programming language sufficient for most business software development projects.

Then, what do employers really care about?

Employers really want their software developers to code or write programs faster. And C/C++ fares badly at this, because it?s one of the meanest, hardest, most complex programming languages to either learn or develop real-world business applications with. The problems of C/C++ does not stop with the difficulty of learning the language. It?s also harder, tougher and slower to develop web or business applications in.

This is the real reason why most employers will not hire C/C++ programmers for business or web application development.

Am I saying that C/C+ is dead?

Certainly not. C/C++ is best suited for software projects like writing operating systems, compilers, computer or video games, data mining applications, scientific applications or applications where the execution speed is critical.

Stop for a moment now and answer this question: do you really want to make money from programming computers quickly or easily?

If you answered yes, I recommend you go into an area of computer programming where the demand is hot and where there are lots and lots of jobs.

That area right now is in internet or web application programming which C++ is unfortunately not suited for.

Secondly, if you want to success in web or business applications development, learn a programming language which allows you to quickly create programs that meet business needs.

After 13 years, I realize that employers don’t care about the beauty of the C++ programming language. Employers care about automating their business processes or making their businesses work better, quicker and faster. Employers also want to hire programmers whose speed of development matches or outpaces their business operations. The ugly truth is that C/C++ is not the right tool for achieving either of these results.

Dear friend, get a copy of my ebook now and learn those programming languages that excel at creating business software applications easily and quickly and you will discover success in computer programming quickly and easily.

Finally, if you are a programmer needing help with your career, no matter how bad your situation is, get a copy of my book and I will personally mentor you and show you how to achieve success in your situation.

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Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/25/learning-c-programming-language-is-bad-for-your-career-c-programmers-cant-find-jobs/feed/ 9 Time For Programmer Career Questions Again! http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/03/29/time-for-programmer-career-questions-again/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/03/29/time-for-programmer-career-questions-again/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:21:00 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/03/29/time-for-programmer-career-questions-again/ What are the computer programming career challenges, issues and problems facing you today?It’s time to have your tough, important and difficult questions on your programming career answered.

To make myself clear, let’s go over some typical programming career questions. You may ask any of these or another more urgent and critical programmer questions.

  1. How do I study difficult computer programming books?

  2. How do I overcome the fear of programming interviews?

  3. How do I succeed at programmer interviews easily?

  4. How do I transition to becoming a contract computer programmer?

  5. Am I too old to become a computer programmer?

  6. What do I need to learn to become better, competent, highly skilled at computer programming?

  7. I can’t get a programming job, what is wrong with my resume?

  8. Am I under qualified for programming jobs?

  9. Do I need a college education to become a programmer?

  10. Do I need to take classes and courses to learn programming?

  11. Should I relocate to find a programming job?

  12. What is the typical salary, wages or billing rate for junior, mid-level or senior programmers?

  13. Should I become a full time programmer or a contract programmer?

  14. I love programming but I hate my job, what do I do?

  15. What do I need to do to become an expert, successful programmer?

These are just examples of programmer career questions. The floor is yours. Ask me for advice, tips, suggestions, help on any programmer career related issue. Make your question as detailed or as brief as you want to.

Begin by posting a question using the comments form below. And introduce yourself first before asking your question.

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