ITCareerCoach Training - Coaching » top paying jobs http://www.it-career-coach.net How To Take Your Career To The Next Level Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:09:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Live Up To Your Potential in 3 Steps http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/03/20/live-up-to-your-potential-in-3-steps/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/03/20/live-up-to-your-potential-in-3-steps/#comments Sun, 20 Mar 2011 16:28:39 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=3144

Live Up To Your Potential

Live Up To Your Potential

This question was submitted by a very young, exceptionally gifted and talented top performer who wants to know how he can live up to his potential.

Hello,

I am very young (23) and was radically accelerated through college \ graduate school.

By next year, I will have a BA (Math \ Religion), MBA (Management Consultancy), MSc (Business IT), PhD (Computing & Mathematics), and PhD (ABD), in IT from leading universities, as well as 9+ years IT experience, with 5+ years BA experience with stellar recommendations.

I do not want a career in university teaching or research … could you suggest a few viable directions to move my career forward in IT business analysis?

I feel “painted into a corner” and now am not certain which way to go at this point, as a Senior Analyst.

Just a few alternatives would be helpful.

Best regards and thank you.

How To Fulfill Your Potential

The first of the three most important challenges facing talented people is that of identifying their passion.

This is a big challenge because talented folks can do almost anything and succeed at it.

Another challenge facing talented folks is not doing what they love and / or following the money trail!

Because talented people can easily get high-paying jobs and get paid a lot more than their colleagues, they can be easily derailed from their true objectives.

Following the money trail is bad because it eventually leads to mediocrity.

Regardless of how talented one is, it is not possible to achieve your deepest potential if you do not identify your passion and do what you love.

The final challenge that talented people face is not taking their passion to market.

They pick vocations where they are unable to serve their community or their world because of money concerns or because of poor career recommendations.

Discover Your Passion

The first and most important thing that you have to do: “is to discover your passion“.

Your passion is something that you are deeply interested in doing because you love it, you have strengths in it, you enjoy thinking, dreaming or even speaking about it.

Your passion is not necessarily what promises you job security or what promises you lots of money.

Money and Job Security are used as the primary basis of making career recommendations and yet, they don’t truly matter because … guess what?

If you do what you truly love, the money will surely follow!

Discovering your passion is an exercise of the heart and not of the head.

You must be able to dream or envision your passion in your heart first and then use your head to figure out what to do.

Good folks get this heart and head mixed up all the time! Your heart is your instinctive, sensing personality and your head is your rational, logical person.

Do What You Love

The second thing that you must do on the path to self actualization is to: “Do What You Love”.

Doing what you love means working very hard at something that you love.

But it also means more than that … it means training yourself the way that world-class athletes do!

Though you can do several things exceptionally very well, you should concentrate on a few disciplines and hone your abilities in those alone.

You want to become so good in your chosen field, that your work in those areas will stand out in comparison to that of any others in your chosen field.

Think about this for a moment: world-class athletes have to invest considerable amounts of time into just training and honing their skills.

They understand that even through they may be exceptionally gifted, they cannot win unless they are much better than the competition or other equally gifted and talented folks.

And also get this … no world class athlete depends on their exceptional talents or giftedness alone!

Instead they put themselves through the most rigorous, skill-advancing training that they can find so that they can live up to their potential.

The issue is not really whether you are gifted. The true issue at stake is whether you will live up to your potential? I will advise that you read these two books:

  1. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
  2. Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

Amongst other things, these two books point out that to become a world class player, you will have to invest a solid amount of time into just doing nothing else but honing your skills and abilities!

Take Your Passion To the Market

Starting a blog and getting on Social Media is the starting point for taking your passion to market.

The next thing that you have to do with your passion or the work that you love is: “Subscribe to the Publish or Perish” mantra which you are already used to coming from academia.

The main purpose of your blog is to create a market for your passion or connect your passion with an existing market on the internet.

Your market is the readers or subscribers of your blog and what you must do is: help them, talk to them, connect with them using your blog as your premier publishing or speaking platform.

Without sharing your passion with other people who love the topics that you care about, your passion dies with you … which is the definition of being boxed in!

Not having a blog means that you are not others learn or grow. It also means your own growth is incomplete because you are closed off from the feedback of your industry … and no one can develop your passion in isolation

Starting a blog does not mean that you must offer a service or sell a product.

Starting a blog does means that you have decided to make your world a better place by serving humanity with your gifts and talents.

The lesson here is that being wired or connected to others using blogging and social media is now considered essential for success!

One person that comes to mind in that regards is Jacob Nielsen, the world’s numero uno usability expert!

For several years, he has been conducting researches on usability and publishing his findings online.

From those findings, he has written books and he conducts training seminars around the globe.

You can see that Jacob is deeply passionate and extremely knowledgeable in his field and that he publishes more than most people in his field.

Do these 3 things (discover your passion, do what you love, take your passion to market) and you will succeed.

Jonathan, when you break into stardom, don’t stop telling people how I helped you, ok :-)

P.S. I am sending you my new ebook titled “Discover Your Passion, Do What You Love, Take Your Passion To Market“.

Best Wishes and Lots of Success in your Career

This question was published using [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.

If you have a question about your career that you will like me to answer for you, go ahead and submit it using the [Ask IT Career Coach] Career Advice Service.


What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?



What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?

Visit the Shopping Cart, Click Here




ABOUT TRAINING & COACHING COURSES


Visit our Shopping Cart

]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/03/20/live-up-to-your-potential-in-3-steps/feed/ 0 What Is the Toughest Challenge Facing your Career? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/01/11/the-toughest-challenge-facing-your-career/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/01/11/the-toughest-challenge-facing-your-career/#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 04:30:35 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=3062

What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?

What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?

Compliments of the Season and Merry Christmas To You. What is the toughest challenge facing your career right now?

Post a detailed question regarding your challenges right now, and I will help you take care of them, once and for all!

How To Discover Your Passion?

Perhaps, your toughest challenge is …

  • How to choose the right career or
  • How to make a career change or
  • How to get an entry level job that is inline with your career goals

Regardless of the type of challenge facing your career, go ahead and post a detailed question regarding your challenge and I will answer it for you

How To Do The Work You Love?

Perhaps, your toughest challenge is …

  • How to become highly skilled at your job or
  • How to get suitable hands-on experience or
  • How to transition from a beginner or junior position to a senior-level job

Leave a detailed comment about your challenging career situation using the form below and I will answer it for you!

How To Take Your Passion To The Market?

Perhaps, the most challenging situation facing your career is …

  • How to rewrite your resume and/or cover letter, so you can get the job you want or
  • How to distinguish yourself from others in your industry, so that you can standout or get hired or
  • How to ace your job / technical interviews so that you can get jobs more easily …

Whatever your challenge, just go ahead and ask a question using the “comment form” below and I will answer it for you.

I may answer by writing a new article that addresses your concerns or by posting a comprehensive reply to your comment below.

The concern or challenge facing you is important to me, so go right away and post it as a comment on this page.

The sooner you ask that question, the sooner I can take care of it for you. So, let’s get started


What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?



What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?

Visit the Shopping Cart, Click Here




ABOUT TRAINING & COACHING COURSES


Visit our Shopping Cart

]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/01/11/the-toughest-challenge-facing-your-career/feed/ 53 The Job Of A Computer Programmer http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/18/the-job-of-a-computer-programmer/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/18/the-job-of-a-computer-programmer/#comments Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:00:25 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/18/the-job-of-a-computer-programmer/

A few days ago, I granted an interview to a student writing a research paper on The job of a computer programmer. During the interview, I was given ten questions to answer about careers and jobs in computer programming. I’ve decided to post my replies, since a lot of people will benefit from it. You will find this entire interview interesting.

Please read it for your own benefit.

1. How did you get into the field of computer programming?

While studying chemical engineering in college, I observed that my friends studying computer science were having more fun than me. For example, they had part-time jobs working for companies; the entrepreneurial minded ones had founded small software development firms and were creating practical, useable, real world applications.

So, I befriended them and after college, a friend helped me interview for a technical sales job at a computer networking and software development firm.

2. What do you do on a daily basis?

On a daily basis, I do one of the following:

  • Design or Architect Software Applications, Websites, Databases.

  • Write code for both Intranet and Internet applications, Web Sites, Web Services and other software applications.

  • I document code or write technical documentation for existing or new software applications.

  • I train and mentor people who want to become a programmer or master computer programming.

  • I support or maintain existing software application code.

  • I write about my life and career as a software developer.

  • I analyze and document requirements for new software projects.

  • I plan and manage the development effort of software projects.

3. What is the average introductory salary for a computer programmer?

The average introductory salary for a computer programmer varies. It depends on your country and state of residence, the programming languages, programming experience, negotiation skills and whether you are a full-time or contract programmer. For Saint Louis, USA, I will say it is about $65,000 to $70,000.

4. What are the pros for a career in computer programming?

There are lots of pros. It will take a book to mention or discuss it all, but here are a few:

  • Top pay for computer programmers. Computer programmers can earn a high salary easily. This is because programmers are judged by their ability to get the job done. That means that if you are capable of pushing yourself to do hard study, you can earn six figures in no time. In so many other careers, you can’t up your earnings by $20k to $40 k within a single year because your remuneration is not tied to your performance but to your age, experience and other implacable factors.

  • High demand for computer programmers. There are thousands of jobs listed on job sites like Monster.com for computer programmers. There are jobs everywhere on local newspapers, job boards, and local recruiting fairs. There are so many programmer job vacancies that programmers from several nations are courted and recruited worldwide to work in countries like USA, Canada, Australia.

  • Self Actualization. The need for us to do meaningful work that fulfills us is core to what makes us human. Computer programmers have that opportunity because their work is highly creative and they are highly remunerated. Computer programmers also get to use their mind, personal vision, talents, creativity, skills and initiative at work every day. There are always bugs to quash, new software applications to visualize and develop as well as human and business needs to be satisfied. Furthermore because there’s no cookie-cutter approach to programming, your personal ability, creativity and hard-work will always be appreciated and rewarded.

5. What are the cons of a career in computer programming?<

The major con of being a professional computer programmer is that:

  • You spend a lot of time with computers and technology. If you don’t like working with technology that much, you may begin to dislike your career. Also, you may end up spending more time working with computers than talking to people. Again, some people can handle this and others can’t.

  • Another con is that computer programming is a fast paced career. New technologies and programming languages are being released yearly which make your current skills partially or completely obsolete. So you have to be constantly learning new technology or your career becomes extinct.

6. What are the recent trends for computer programming careers?

Some of the major trends I’ve noticed is a shift towards object-oriented programming, a shift towards web programming, a shift away from windows programming, a shift towards test driven development, a shift towards better software design and a shift towards mobile software application development.

7. What are the hours for a computer programmer?

A computer programmer typically works a full 9 am to 5pm, 40 hour week. Additional time needs to be set aside to study and stay abreast of technology.

8. Would you recommend a career in computer programming and why?

Read my earlier comments on the pros of a career in computer programming to see the reasons why I recommend a career in computer programming.

9. What is your advice for someone interested in a career in computer programming?

Don’t let the lack of a college degree, your age or the educational conditions existing in your country or state of residence stop you from becoming a computer programmer because none of these is a real barrier. Begin by reading how to master computer programming and get high-paying software development jobs easily to discover the steps you need to take to become a professional software developer.

Next, if you can, begin your programming career early in life, because your investment in programming skills and experience will work for you and before you know it, you are a top-paid consultant. Finally, don’t let anybody or anything deter you from pursuing your career in computer programming because, programming is not as hard as people make it to be. If the fear of the unknown, stops you from pursuing a career in computer programming, conquer your fear and discover a bright new world waiting for you as you begin a career in computer programming

.

10. Are there opportunities for advancement in a programming career?

Yes. You can start and become a mid-level programmer, senior software developer, software architect, software manager, IT director, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), etc. If you are a contract programmer, you can advance by increasing your billing rate, finding challenging work or contracting for new clients.

How To Learn Programming Easily and Get Hired Fast!
The Faster, Easier, Less Expensive Way To Learn Computer Programming and Get A Job.

If you enjoyed reading this post and will like to be notified when I publish another news article, please join my free computer programming career newsletter.

About the Author

Kingsley Tagbo is a Software Developer, a Computer Programming Coach and Author of How to Master High Paying, Highly Sought-After Computer Programming Skills Easily and Quickly. Kingsley’s book “The Street Smart Guide to High Paying Computer Programmer Careers” teaches you how to develop and leverage your ability to master high paying computer programming skills easily.


What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?



What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?

Visit the Shopping Cart, Click Here




ABOUT TRAINING & COACHING COURSES


Visit our Shopping Cart

]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/18/the-job-of-a-computer-programmer/feed/ 2 The Secret Path To Contract Programming http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/16/the-secret-path-to-contract-programming/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/16/the-secret-path-to-contract-programming/#comments Mon, 16 Jul 2007 08:00:38 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/16/the-secret-path-to-contract-programming/

Who is a contract programmer?

A contract programmer is a software developer who is paid an hourly rate for working on special software development projects for a period. Contract computer programmers are not paid salaries like full-time developers but hourly wages.

Contract programmers tend to be very project focused because they are hired to solve specific problems or code specific features and as soon as that is done, they have to move on to another project or find a new client.

Contract programmers are independent software developers who work with clients on a project-to-project basis. The relationship between a contract programmer and a client lasts as long as the client has a steady stream of work. What usually happens is that as soon as the client can’t find any work or the work starts dwindling down, the client initiates the process to end the relationship.

Contract computer programmers are not supposed to form strong emotional bonds or ties to their clients unlike their full-time colleagues because the nature of their work is temporary. That is why contract programmers are sometimes called temporary workers.

Contract programmers are specialists, experts and master craftsmen. When a client hires a contract computer programmer, the client expects to find a master programmer who will hit the ground running. This separates contract programmers from full-time software developers and the master craftsmen from the wannabe contract programmers.

A contract programmer is expected to start churning out high quality code, fixing bugs, improving their clent’s software and generally justifing their high pay by solving important problems within a few hours or days of starting work. Unlike full-time software developers who may take 6 months to 1 year to prove themselves, contract programmers who haven’t mastered their art well-enough to make a difference are usually dropped like hot potatoes by their clients.

Contract programmers may be W2 contract programmers or 1099 contract programmers. The difference lies with how their taxes are filed with the IRS.

The W2 contract programmer is paid by a recruiting agency that is also responsible for withholding taxes and providing liability insurance. Many recruiting agencies will also provide medical, dental and 401K benefits.

On the other hand, 1099 contract programmers, generally known as free-lancers, pay their taxes to the IRS and provide their own medical, dental and 401K insurance.

A contract programmer has the liberty of working as a W2 contract programmer with one firm and a 1099 contract programmer with another firm.

How long do contract programming projects last?

Contract programming projects typically last from a month to 5 years. The trend is towards fewer months and higher billing rates. The typical duration is 3 months, 6 months or 1 year.

How much do contract computer programmers bill?

Contract programmers typically bill anywhere from $50 per hour to $200 per hour.

What factors determine the contract programmer’s billing rate?

The factors that determine a contract programmers billing rate include:

1. Experience: The more experienced a contract programmer is, the more the contract programmer can charge

2. Demand: Some computer programming skills are in high-demand while others are not. So contract programmers who master computer programming skills that are in high-demand can bill at a higher rate than others

3. Client: The compensation provided for the same programming skills can vary widely by client with no other explanation other than one client having more money than the other

Who should be a contract programmer?

Contract programming makes sense for computer programmers who love to be independent or who do not want to climb the corporate ladder. It is also good for those individuals who want to make more money than is found in regular full-time software development. Finally, it works for those who can use their down-time in between projects to sharpen their computer programming skills, pursue other hobbies or take vacations.

What is the future or outlook for contract programmers?

The future is bright for contract programmers as more companies are trending towards out-sourcing their software development projects to temporary staffing firms or recruiting agencies that in turn out-source the programming work to contract programmers. Contract computer programmers are considered to be expert, highly-skilled craftsmen and their opinions and expertise are valued at client sites They are also paid significantly more money and do not have to stand inline or beg for a pay raise when they work for it.

How do you become a contract programmer?

The critical skills needed for a successful contract programming career are:

  1. Expert programming skills

  2. Well-crafted resume

  3. Effective job interviewing skills

  4. Aggressive Resume Marketing

Read this previous post titled “The keys of a successful computer programmer career” to learn more about these keys.

If you have these skills in abundance, you will do well in contract programming. If you don’t or will like to develop them, you should read “How to become a master contract programmer” or CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY IN A FEW MINUTES.


What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?



What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?

Visit the Shopping Cart, Click Here




ABOUT TRAINING & COACHING COURSES


Visit our Shopping Cart

]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/07/16/the-secret-path-to-contract-programming/feed/ 0 Discover Money From High Paying Careers http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/03/22/discover-money-from-high-paying-careers/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/03/22/discover-money-from-high-paying-careers/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2007 19:48:24 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/03/22/discover-money-from-high-paying-careers/

Why do some careers pay significantly higher salaries than other careers? And what do top paid professionals including doctors, lawyers and computer programmers have in common that makes them earn significantly higher income than other lower-paid professionsals?

The one thing that top paying careers have in common, are skills that fetch top dollars in the marketplace. Simply stated, how much you earn after a hard day’s work is determined by the market value of your career.

What do you know about low paid jobs, Kingsley? You are a contract programmer with a decade of skills and experience aren’t you?

What do I know about low paid jobs you ask? I will tell you what I do know. Before I became a contract programmer in Tulsa, I was working an $8/hr. sales job which I hated ever minute of.

I had to clock-in to begin work and then clock-out at the end of my 8-hour shift. I had to clock-in and clock-out to go to the restroom. I was on the phone fielding calls every minute of the day. I couldn’t play my radio or talk to my next cube neighbor because there was literally no break in between the phone calls.

How I hated those days. Finally I couldn’t take it and I quit. And within 6 months I was making $76,000/yr. as a contract programmer in the same city. So, don’t ask me what I know about low paid jobs. I have been there, done that and bagged a t-shirt okay!

You now have good evidence that your income is set by your choice of career don’t you?

You are not really a stranger to this fact of life are you? That your ability to comfortably pay your bills, take vacations, pay your home mortgage, buy new cars, provide medical benefits and take care of your family is affected by the career you choose!

We both know that in all careers, there are top performers who earn significantly more than most of their colleagues and under performers who earn significantly less than most of their careers. I am not referring to these over or under performers, but to the Jane Doe who earns an average salary.

You can make an informed guess on what people earn from their line of work can’t you? So, imagine for a moment how much your neighbor earns for a living working as:

  • a school teacher in South Carolina

  • a waiter in Bronx, New York

  • an investment banker in Saint Louis, Missouri

  • a high school graduate in Madison, Wisconsin

What does this tell you? It is illogical, unreasonable and statistically weird to expect a high income from a career that typically pays low wages. It is like expecting apples to grow on orange trees. It rarely happens because if you really want to eat apples, you have to look on apple trees and if you want oranges you have to pick orange trees.

So to earn a higher pay, escape the minimum wage trap or make more money than you are making now, you need to begin a high paying career right about now.

But you say that changing to a high paying career is not easy because:

  1. Most top paying careers have stringent, required educational exams. There are requirements for examinations, certifications, and years of schooling in medicine and law

  2. Preparing for top paying careers requires many years of classroom education. Years that may not be spent earning any additional income

  3. Going to school to learn a top paying career can be expensive. Tuition costs can run into six figures and may require taking on hard to pay back debt

  4. Not all students who can afford high tuition costs for top paying careers can be admitted. Because of the pre-defined, limited number of credentialed and certified academic institutions, competition is usually very high among prospective students and only a minority of applicants can be accepted

  5. And if you weren’t near or at the top of your class in high school, your chances of being accepted into a top paying course in college or university is limited by stiff competition from your fellow high school students with better academic scores than you.

Enter computer programmer careers. The one hidden top paying career that still provides a steady dependable source of job wealth, high income and top pay. A hidden career thanks to the common myths lies and mis-conceptions spread about the career.

THE TRUTH ABOUT COMPUTER PROGRAMMER CAREERS

  1. There are no stringent, required or mandatory exams that must be passed to practice computer programming. You don’t need to be registered, certified or degreed to begin a programmer career.

  2. You don’t need formal classroom education to begin programming. You don’t have to spend years learning programming without earning an income and you can begin programming today and start earning an income in as little as 3 to 8 months depends on your motivation.

  3. You don’t have to pay for any expensive sort of education before you can begin programming. Of course you have to invest in resources for learning programming, but at a small fraction of what you will have to spend to learn other top paying careers.

  4. You are not disqualified from beginning programming because of your past or present academic performance, and I mean absolutely not. Even if you only have a high school diploma or a non-technical college degree, you can begin programming, if you simply want to.

  5. And you can learn programming from any location, at your own pace and convenient time. There are no rules for learning, no set exams to take and additional classroom education is completely optional. You can begin your computer programmer career at home, in your spare time by just studying 1 to 2 hours a day or a few hours per week

Now, you understand that your choice of career locks-in how much you earn. And you understand that most top paying careers have difficult or hard entry requirements, certifications and courses except computer programming.

Finally, you realize that there are no rules on how to begin programming because being a programmer is simply about learning how to write good, quality software code.

Dear friend, away with the lies, mis-conceptions and myths that have stopped you from beginning your programmer career and start your exciting new journey to learn programming with me. A decade ago, I changed careers to computer programming and today

I am here to help you do the same. Don’t hesitate, just act and take me up on the offer today.


What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?



What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?

Visit the Shopping Cart, Click Here




ABOUT TRAINING & COACHING COURSES


Visit our Shopping Cart

]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2007/03/22/discover-money-from-high-paying-careers/feed/ 0