Re: I was referred here for advice

Hello

I'm trying to do a career change into IT myself, from a non IT background, so I know how you feel.

From what I gather, whether you decide to focus on something like MCSE or Oracle can depend a lot on your personality as much as other things. In my case I decided I would be better off studying to be a software developer or database developer rather than doing a course in network administration or something like that. It can come down to whether you like working in a big team environment or whether you like to spend your solitary midnight hours pouring over code. So, apart from doing study and trying to get work experience, there is no solid "right way" of doing it.

Any course that is both recognised and is taught in a way that you find it not too hard to learn is by definition a good course. It also helps if you have your own PC and have a registered copy of the software at home (i.e. if you can afford it). In Australia, I'm told Oracle has workshops or something like that and apparently they give away free copies (i.e. previous versions) of Oracle to people who attend these workshops. Needless to say I've put my name on the mailing list.

As for those people giving you negative advice, don't listen to them. In my opinion the bottom line is that people who say such things either don't know what they are talking about or they are so caught up in their comfort zones that they get somehow disturbed when somebody like you and me comes along and dares to menton a better way of living. People like that are so insecure (and perhaps don't know it) they automatically say things to put people like you and me down. What they don't realise is that the workplace is changing so much that they themselves could be left behind.

My motto these days is "Life is worth taking a risk for". So just go for it!

Peter Mount
pmount_at_optusnet.com.au

Pam Stevens <pkstevens_at_bellsouth.net> wrote in message news:38B5DEA4.8A45DCCA_at_bellsouth.net...
> I have just begun the journey into a career change into the IT field.
> Before attending any career seminars, I was focusing on MCSE, but during
> my information gathering stage, I believe that an Oracle position would
> be better in the long run. I am not currently employed in an IT field,
> and realize that I'm not going to take a course or two, get certified,
> and be hired on as a Fortune 500 companies top DBA. My current plan is
> to take an Intro to Oracle 8 course. The facility offering this course
> claims that it is thorough prep for the first two exams toward Oracle 8
> certification, and would prepare me for an entry level position writing
> code as a database developer.
>
> Most of the people I've asked for advice don't seem to realize that I'm
> not trying to jump into a mid to upper level database position, and have
> been either unhelpful, or offered extremely negative advice, meaning
> I've been told that it is basically impossible to make a career change
> into IT.
>
> I would appreciate opinions as to whether I am going about this in the
> proper fashion, or if a different route would be a better choice to make
> this change. If you are of the opinion that changing from a non-IT
> career to an IT career can't be done, I'd like to know that too, and
> would like to know your reasoning.
>
> Any advice you can offer is appreciated.
>
> Tom Stevens
>
Received on Mon Feb 28 2000 - 05:53:22 CST