How good are you with computers?

What is your computer skill level?

  • Beginner

    Votes: 1 1.8%

  • Intermediate

    Votes: 11 19.6%

  • Advance

    Votes: 44 78.6%
  • Total voters
    56
monkie

monkie

New member
I don't know a whole lot but I know how to get my way navigating around the computer. I know pretty all the basics of computer.

I'm thinking about taking a computer class and get certified and hope to get a better paying job. What do you guys think? Is taking a computer class worth it? Can't I just learn as much as I can online? Will I better off with a 2 year or 4 year degree? Is the extra schooling bet better or will the certificate be good enough? I hate schools if it's something that's not what I wanted to learn (i.e. generals, etc...)

What's is your computer skill level? What do you know how to do or don't know how to do with the computer?
 
"computers" is much too wide a topic.

building a computer from parts you buy at newegg, coding applications, designing network infastructure, and the millions of other "computer" based jobs are worlds apart. What you need is focus.
 
I am a computer professional. my job title is software engineer, and I design and code software applications. My background is network server technology.

What can I do? Well, every computer I've owned for the last 10 years I've built. I've developed software from device drivers to network servers, to video games
I've designed, implemented, and installed networks.

I can tell you that companies I've worked at here stateside in general will not even consider you for engineering positions unless you have a bachelor's degree.

However, there are a number of different type of positions in the industry that may not have such stringent requirements. You should keep in mind that it is quite likely that you're not the only one thinking this way, though. Lower barriers to entry -> more competition.

Just a few thoughts.
 
fraserhutch said:
I am a computer professional. my job title is software engineer, and I design and code software applications. My background is network server technology.

What can I do? Well, every computer I've owned for the last 10 years I've built. I've developed software from device drivers to network servers, to video games
I've designed, implemented, and installed networks.

I can tell you that companies I've worked at here stateside in general will not even consider you for engineering positions unless you have a bachelor's degree.

However, there are a number of different type of positions in the industry that may not have such stringent requirements. You should keep in mind that it is quite likely that you're not the only one thinking this way, though. Lower barriers to entry -> more competition.

Just a few thoughts.
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I work in network security. I hack network servers, games, and the occasional device driver :-)D). In this field you can get an entry-level job with a bachelors degree; certifications help.

Alternatively, you can get a good job by building a name for yourself in the security community and publicly demonstrating yourself to be competent.
 
fraserhutch said:
I am a computer professional. my job title is software engineer, and I design and code software applications. My background is network server technology.

What can I do? Well, every computer I've owned for the last 10 years I've built. I've developed software from device drivers to network servers, to video games
I've designed, implemented, and installed networks.

I can tell you that companies I've worked at here stateside in general will not even consider you for engineering positions unless you have a bachelor's degree.

However, there are a number of different type of positions in the industry that may not have such stringent requirements. You should keep in mind that it is quite likely that you're not the only one thinking this way, though. Lower barriers to entry -> more competition.

Just a few thoughts.
Click to expand...

Wow, tough for me then. I guess I shouldn't even consider this. I'm just so tired of school nowadays. It's one the most frustrating thing in life. I don't mind learning computer and computer related stuff but I just hate classes like math, writing, psychology, etc... and all the other crap. I know it's important but I'm just not very good at those things. I guess I'm better off just learning by myself or through friends or online forums. For four years, I think I would be happier with other things than school.

Thanks for the info anyways.:)
 
Maybe you should try going to a technical college and getting an associate's degree? I believe those schools have you do fewer of the unrelated courses (math, psychology, etc.)

Sure it's not a B.S. degree, but it's better than nothing, and you'll learn some of the things you want to know.
 
VomitHatSteve said:
Maybe you should try going to a technical college and getting an associate's degree? I believe those schools have you do fewer of the unrelated courses (math, psychology, etc.)

Sure it's not a B.S. degree, but it's better than nothing, and you'll learn some of the things you want to know.
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What about a vocational school or maybe a computer training class? How good do you think online schools are? I really want to get into computers but I'm not sure where to begin. I want to have a good start. I don't want to be flip flopping around.

Thanks
 
It's called pain in the interest of investment in your future. Nothing really worthwhile in life comes cheap.
 
Get yourself a technical certificate from a tech school - cost $4000 - $8000. Many have loans and grants available. Time - 6 months to 24 months.

Get a job somewhere that has tuition reimbursement, and enroll in an accellerated adult course for associates degree - cost to you $2000 - $8000 depending on the school and the level of reimbursement
Time - 18 to 24 months.


Once you have the degree, you'll get a raise at the place that paid for it. In fact, many have stipulations that once you complete your degree, you have to work anywhere from 6 to 24 months after the degree.

The best industries to do this in is health care and finance(transactions processing).
Stay away from manufactoring unless it's near-recession proof.

In 5 to 7 years, you'll be making 40k-80k a year, with benefits.
 
michaelst said:
Get yourself a technical certificate from a tech school - cost $4000 - $8000. Many have loans and grants available. Time - 6 months to 24 months.

Get a job somewhere that has tuition reimbursement, and enroll in an accellerated adult course for associates degree - cost to you $2000 - $8000 depending on the school and the level of reimbursement
Time - 18 to 24 months.


Once you have the degree, you'll get a raise at the place that paid for it. In fact, many have stipulations that once you complete your degree, you have to work anywhere from 6 to 24 months after the degree.

The best industries to do this in is health care and finance(transactions processing).
Stay away from manufactoring unless it's near-recession proof.

In 5 to 7 years, you'll be making 40k-80k a year, with benefits.
Click to expand...

Sounds more feasible than a 4 year. What field in the health care industry would I be better off with if I get an Associates degree to start out with? How about finance?
 
monkie said:
...I guess I'm better off just learning by myself or through friends or online forums...
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I run the application development for my co, I have a crew of 6 programmers at the moment, and the best ones are the ones who sat around on their own time tinkering and trying things out. The homegrown self taught old school hackers have tried it, seen it happen 1st hand, they KNOW stuff you don't learn in school. If you do it for love of the game, not for the paycheck, you are more likely to research stuff on your own time and learn stuff I dont force you to learn at work. How can some schooling compete with someone who was soldering components together when they were 10 years old??

The worst ones are the ones who think they're the shit cuz they have a CNA or MCSE or A+ or whatever they hell they're SELLING nowadays to tech wannabe's. A can of alphabet soup puked after your name on your resume? That actually makes me skeptical instead of instilling confidence about your capabilities. I've interviewed dozens of applicants, and have hired ppl with NO college over other ppl with cs degrees and certifications.
 
suprstar said:
I run the application development for my co, I have a crew of 6 programmers at the moment, and the best ones are the ones who sat around on their own time tinkering and trying things out. The homegrown self taught old school hackers have tried it, seen it happen 1st hand, they KNOW stuff you don't learn in school. If you do it for love of the game, not for the paycheck, you are more likely to research stuff on your own time and learn stuff I dont force you to learn at work. How can some schooling compete with someone who was soldering components together when they were 10 years old??

The worst ones are the ones who think they're the shit cuz they have a CNA or MCSE or A+ or whatever they hell they're SELLING nowadays to tech wannabe's. A can of alphabet soup puked after your name on your resume? That actually makes me skeptical instead of instilling confidence about your capabilities. I've interviewed dozens of applicants, and have hired ppl with NO college over other ppl with cs degrees and certifications.
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So, your saying that I can learn these things on my own or with a help from a friend and still get good at it and is still likely to land on a decent-paying job with no degrees? Sounds good, man. I can certainly save more money for more gears that way. I agreed with you that just because someone walked out of school with a degree, doesn't mean that they're better or will be better off.

In the past I've ran into a few people that went to recording school and just because they think that learning the school way (in school) is the standard way of learning; that once you graduate your music will be better than someone who is self-taught. BS!!! I went to recording school and dropped out because I didn't think it was worth that much money. Consider the possibilities of the internet and technology these days, it's hard to beat someone who's been doing their thing at home for many years. A degree will most likely not replace experience. I'm still pissed off whenever I pay my student loans; could've got more gears for the studio. I'm not saying that school is bad or anything, but for something like this or similar that you can learn on your own... school is just another thing that's there to waste time and money on.

Anyways, just thought maybe I should bring up this thing about schooling thing.:)
 
Maybe, if you can demonstrate that you are proficient, then I don't care much what kind of education you have. My definition of 'experience' isn't exactly traditional, that's all. Education is definately experience, just not as much as you think. There's a lot of other things that qualify you a lot more than school. No school does mean it'll be harder to get your foot in the door for that interview.

One programmer here built an 8088 PC from a bag of parts in 1982 when he was 10. He hacked an early version of PCBoard so he could run a bbs with more than one phone line? I'm liking that a lot! No college, but he works here now..

Another figured out how to wrap TCP traffic in ICMP packets to defeat the upload bandwidth cap on his cablemodem, Outstanding! I wonder what he was doing when he found out you can send outbound pings at 6Mbps, hmmmmm :D A little unethical maybe, but it's a real solution to a problem.

You were a forklift driver until 18 months ago, then got a buncha certifications that 'prove' you know all about databases, networks, and OS'es? Next......
 
I'm a CIO and have been in the tech field since 1985. I hire tech folks and when I hire I prefer staff that has a BA or a Master's degree. One of my programmers gets his PHd in the spring.

My network engineer has an associate degree AND all the MS certificates. He is damn good and I pay him very well. He is a critical member of our team.

If you can, get the BA. It really helps to get you an interview. Your skills and expierence get you the job.

Good luck!
 
monkie said:
I don't know a whole lot but I know how to get my way navigating around the computer. I know pretty all the basics of computer.

I'm thinking about taking a computer class and get certified and hope to get a better paying job.
Click to expand...

I think the best way for you to familiarize yourself with computers from the "basic" level you say you're at is by getting your A+ Certification. Either take an A+ certification class, or buy yourself a couple of A+ study books, which is obviously going to require a lot of self-motivation. Passing the 2 tests will make you A+ certified & you'll learn most of what you need to know on a basic hardware & software level. Each test will run you a non-refundable $158.

http://certification.comptia.org/a/new_docs/CompTIA A+ 2006 Overview.pdf

By this point you should clearly see where you're strengths are as far as the technology goes. From there, you will probably want to add even more certifications to your palette to earn an even better understanding of computers, all while making you a more efficient and even more desireable candidate for whatever field you choose to delve into.

The sky's the limit, friend!

Good luck!
 
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