Jobs involving computers?

EyepodI said:
Too right! If I had my time all over again I would have been a carpenter or a builder. Did a short funcky stint for a while as a builders friends lackey - loved the knocking off early, late starts, wolf whistling at MILFS - it's raining so lets have a smoke in the shed kind of stuff. Another cup of tea?
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Yup, before IT, I did plumbing and worked doing racking in stores around the country. You can't beat the banter with the lads and actually physically doing something makes time pass a lot quicker imo and feels more rewarding.
 
Spenty said:
I thought IT was the right route. I sit on a laptop all day mainly posting on these forums. I would honestly rather take a pay cut and work outside or do some manual work even if it affects my joints etc in the long run. Sitting at a desk all day sounds easy and it is but it drains me mentally and ruined the fitness I used to have.
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Ever thought about joining a gym?

Your day job doesn't have to dictate your life.
 
D.P. said:
Even within one topic, say programming, there can be a huge variety of different positions. With programming/software dev you could be anything from an underpaid, ready-t-slit-wrists deskmonkey to programming NASA robots for mars missions, developing code for banking systems processing billions of dollars, programming robots to save peoples lives, national security, etc.

For me, programming can be both very boring and very interesting just by changing the context.
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This is true - if you're programming something complex which has an interesting application, it can be really good fun, whereas if your designing a database frontend for a collection of victorian walking sticks I can imagine it getting very old very quickly.
 
Sorry to hijack this but say for instance you wanted to work as a PC/laptop diagnostic technician who finds the faulty parts and replaces them,what qualifications would you need and how would you get them? is it possable to get these qualifications form home(i know you'd need to go somewhere to do some practical stuff probobly) im not entitled to free education anymore and i regret not using the oppertunity when i had it.
 
BarBrawllin said:
Sorry to hijack this but say for instance you wanted to work as a PC/laptop diagnostic technician who finds the faulty parts and replaces them,what qualifications would you need and how would you get them? is it possable to get these qualifications form home(i know you'd need to go somewhere to do some practical stuff probobly) im not entitled to free education anymore and i regret not using the oppertunity when i had it.
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You don't need any qualifications but you do know how to do it. If you no people that are in the game just get a good word put in.

Qualifications are good for if you don't know anyone and something like the basic repair courses should be enough to get the foot in the door.
 
sigma said:
Ever thought about joining a gym?

Your day job doesn't have to dictate your life.
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I still go to the gym regularly, but my fitness when I was working physically and going to the gym was much better. Sitting on your arse for 8-12 hours does not help at all even if you do go to the gym.
 
mrbell1984 said:
You don't need any qualifications but you do know how to do it. If you no people that are in the game just get a good word put in.

Qualifications are good for if you don't know anyone and something like the basic repair courses should be enough to get the foot in the door.
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i've always kicked myself for this.......a dell repair guy came to fix my laptop for a 2nd time,and i told him that i knew how to disasemble it and put it back together etc and the same with PC's and how could i get a job.He told me he was offered a job with better wages in the IT sector and said he could put in a good word for me and asked if i had a car....:( Unfortunately i didnt and still dont(only just started doing lessons) and he said well then your pretty much out of luck lol. I should have took note of his phone number in hindsight.
 
OK, thanks for the replies so far. Say I wanted to go into UI design for games, programs, apps etc... what would be the best way of going about it? I assume that learning photoshop and maybe some form of animation software would be the main thing (maybe basic java/html too depending on my focus?), then maybe do small projects for local websites etc to build up a portfolio, then start applying to proper jobs in larger companies?

The other thing I've been thinking about is visual effects (films, TV etc). Do you guys reckon I'd need a proper qualification, or would learning After Effects/3Ds max in my own time and just making a portfolio be enough to get me in the door? I assume if my portfolio's good then they'll figure I know what I'm doing? I realise that this kinda thing involves an artistic aspect as well as technical so maybe I should do an art course? I'm alright at sketching but I've never tried to create things like that on PC. The current extent of my experience was adding lightsabers and sun flares into a short action film I filmed with friends which didn't involve any actual artistic skill.

The reason I ask is that I've wasted enough time at uni doing a course I hate and I'm fed up of it. I want to do something I'm actually interested in and I'm willing to put effort in, but I want to go about it in the right way, and know what my options are.

Edit: regarding the "sitting inside all day is bad" posts, I kinda agree but I don't think manual labour is my thing tbh. I enjoy it a lot (done some rubble shifting and digging for some family friends for the past 3 summers and it always feels great in the evening knowing that you've done something active) but I don't want to make it a career. Having a computer-focused day job doesn't mean you can't get out and about at the weekends, climbing, skiing etc which are the things I love doing.
 
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^^ says the guy that hasnt been in a ft job yet???
I completly agree with the posters saying that IT sucks the soul out of you - it really does. Its dull, uninspiring work at the end of the day.

Luckily I am in a job where im not programmiing 24/7 but dec-april is literally stats, excel, vba, sql, access, html, php day in and day out and its so god damn boring.
Today for example my work was so boring that watching skynews repeating itself about the budget was more fascinating.

id also agree that manual work is 100% more rewarding and with a lot of added benefits. before uni I worked teaching kids outside and doing manual labour tasks in the quite times for nearly 2 years and it was the best work I have ever done. Even in the crap times where we had to paint fences or relay gravel.
 
I'm a medical IT engineer so my job involves everything from building/repairing PC's, fixing damaged SQL databases to repairing/servicing camera systems. I couldnt hack sitting at a desk all day every day..
 
iamtheoneneo said:
^^ says the guy that hasnt been in a ft job yet???
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....what part of my post are you referring to and what is your point?

I completly agree with the posters saying that IT sucks the soul out of you - it really does. Its dull, uninspiring work at the end of the day.
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Firstly "IT" is a very broad field as others have pointed out. Second, you should consider that people have different likes and interests. Just because you hated your job doesn't mean I would. Also I'm talking about using computers CREATIVELY which I find pretty interesting. It's not relevant to me what YOU find interesting as we are different people.
 
I must be strange, 9 years and counting in IT and I've not got the desire to slit my wrists yet, I enjoy what I do.

The problem I've found is when people just stagnate in the same role for years and years not pushing themselves on to move up to the next role they get frustrated and start to hate it, but do nothing about it.
 
SheepBeast said:
Can people give me suggestions of jobs involving computers? By which I mean, technically, not just using word or excel, but actually programming or designing stuff. I just want to get a feel for what kind of jobs are out there. Cheers guys.
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I presume you mean designing stuff in the context of programming?

You've essentially got two basic jobs which can/do overlap - developer and analyst...

The analyst designs/specs stuff, the developer(s) develops it, the analyst tests it.

Depending on the industry these can very greatly from someone doing something fairly basic in the context of 'web development'* to someone doing something fairly advanced in the form of a quant developer in finance.

(*I'm not saying all web developers do noddy stuff all day)
 
EyepodI said:
Too right! If I had my time all over again I would have been a carpenter or a builder. Did a short funcky stint for a while as a builders friends lackey - loved the knocking off early, late starts, wolf whistling at MILFS - it's raining so lets have a smoke in the shed kind of stuff. Another cup of tea?
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lol. too right. plus these days tradesmen can earn mega cash.

i will tell my son not to go to college, leave school with no quals and become a bricky or plumber or floor layer. £50k easily a year.
 
But what if I want a job which is intellectually challenging? I don't mean to demean manual work at all as I can definitely see it's appeal and I know it can be physically tough, but I'd prefer something which I have to really put some mental effort into.
 
SheepBeast said:
But what if I want a job which is intellectually challenging? I don't mean to demean manual work at all as I can definitely see it's appeal and I know it can be physically tough, but I'd prefer something which I have to really put some mental effort into.
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Why don't you join Brain Cox and gang on finding out what dark energy is then, and what it does?
 
SheepBeast said:
The other thing I've been thinking about is visual effects (films, TV etc). Do you guys reckon I'd need a proper qualification, or would learning After Effects/3Ds max in my own time and just making a portfolio be enough to get me in the door? I assume if my portfolio's good then they'll figure I know what I'm doing? I realise that this kinda thing involves an artistic aspect as well as technical so maybe I should do an art course? I'm alright at sketching but I've never tried to create things like that on PC. The current extent of my experience was adding lightsabers and sun flares into a short action film I filmed with friends which didn't involve any actual artistic skill.
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Visual effects is ALL about portfolio, qualifications don't really matter unless it's from Escape Studios or something. There is however a lot of learning to do before you're employable. Traditional art skills is definitely a big bonus, depending on what niche you get into - there are many specialities. If you're starting from scratch learn Nuke instead of AE.
 
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