Job trainingFollow

It's because the field is so new that most of the top experts in the field don't have any formal qualifications because none existed when they started. Heck, Computer Science degrees have only existed for the last 8-10 years. Before that there were variations of "systems engineering", which is really not the same thing. Because most of the top guys don't have formal degrees in the field, and their opinions tend to carry weight, they aren't as strict at hiring time. Thus, if you know what you're doing (or can learn very fast) you can get an entry job with little or not formal training and advance upwards. Not as easily as you could 10-15 years ago, but it's still possible.


As to the entry level stuff. You will be doing some form of "grunt work" no matter what area of IT you work in when starting. There's no way to avoid it. You'll either be doing computer repair work, or phone support work. It's pretty much impossible to avoid one or the other with anything less than a BS. Even with a BS, you'll likely enter in as an associate engineer and still be taking phone calls and/or fixing hardware. You'll just have a shorter route upwards and will be working at a better tier starting out.


I also tend to disagree with the "overqualified" bit. I think that a lot of people *think* they are overqualified for what they are doing, but in most cases those tier 1 jobs are stuffed full of people who took a certification course or two but don't really "get" computers. They think their certs qualify them for better work, but they really don't. Whatever you decide to do, if you go into an IT career, don't just do the work in front of you, or that's all you'll ever do. Constantly work to improve and expand your knowledge and skills. Learn SQL even if you don't use it. Learn how to build a web server. Learn how to network computers. Learn scripting (multiple languages if possible). Learn programming. Even if you don't have the time or money for certs or formal training in those areas, learn them on your own. Books on the subject are relative cheap and the google is a pretty good resource if you can't figure something out.

What IT managers are looking for is the kind of person who wants to know more about the systems they work on. They want to promote people who will continue to expand their skill sets beyond just what is needed to land the job. Senior level IT people need to be incredibly flexible in terms of skills. You never know what new thing will come along next year. Having people who may not know a darn thing about that new thing today, but know how to figure out what to do is worth a hell of a lot.

Become that guy and you'll advance in IT. The people who don't advance don't do so precisely because they think that it's about lists of things you know how to do. It really isn't. It is about being able to figure out how to do things you don't know. A good IT professional never says "I don't know". He says "I'll figure it out". That ability is what separates the industry. And it's something you can't see on a piece of paper.

Bad programming is pretty standard. It keeps the consultants in business.