Best choice for major in IT?

[MikeAg]

the four majors are:
computer systems
software development
telecommunication systems
hardware systems

With your best experience please give me advice on the best choice to go into based on:
pay?
work?
employement?
and overall....thnx

[3nergiz3d]

Telecommunications are in need for people. Employment would be pretty high and i have a friend that installs cables and etc.. making 70,000+

[w_man]

totally depends on what sort of stuff you are into. I have done networking and software development and even though at first i thought i was more of a hardware type of a guy ... once I took software development .. I enjoyed it more.

Depending on the school you go to, they have tests which can help you decide what sort of things interest you.

Depending on the networking job you get, you can make some decent cash. I know alot of guys who finish networking programs and end up doing tech support (not that there's anything wrong with it) ... its just that they train you normally to be a network admin (which pays good money).

Software guys ... normally are best for programming related jobs .. decent cash and more to come when you get experience and eventually become a consultant and work for yourself basically.

Both programs will give you money one way or another ... anywhere from 40 - 80k working for a company (more with experience). I would suggest you find out if you are into hardware or you can sit infront of a machine and code for hours ..... if you enjoy what you do ... you'll make money .. otherwise you'll hate your job and your career.

[Swank]

I've been in telecom for 9 years, I think the need for telecom people will decline as phones move to voice over IP. Telecom will probably get absorbed by data networking groups. But if you can bone up on both data comm and telecom then you should have it made. Central Office techs will always be needed though. I have a very strong Nortel background, and now I'm going for my CCNA as we move to Cisco IP phones at work. My goal is CCVP education-wise.

[dr_jared88]

Yea, networking ftw. even if its not cisco you want to do. I recommend looking into the path i'm headed by getting your cwna up to my cwne. you ccna will help you out alot though on getting other certifications

[Toms-SC]

Is this offered at SAIT? I am currently in the Network Major.

[MikeAg]

i goto SAIT

[MikeAg]

I was suppose to goto new media and design productions...but i ended up on the waitlist so i decided to go into IT because i did not want to waste a year working.

[Genjuro]

graduated from Network Technician at SAIT 5 years ago, now im an IT Coordinator. mostly doing hardware and network support with some software here and there for my clients. i would say the pay depends on the company and the more experience in the area's you enjoy the further you get.
but i notice that what you take in school doesn't always end up what your career becomes. so take what you enjoy the most in school... it will make it go by faster.

[Alterac]

CCNA - General Networking
CWNA - Wireless
Nortel Layer 3
VoIP Data Systems
Convergence networking. (Combining Voip, Email, etc all in one)


Stuff like that is taking off.

[Toms-SC]

Yea I'm currently 3rd year BAIS - Network Major. Completed my Network Engineer diploma last a couple years ago but decided to come back and get the BAI for further carrier opportunities. I dislike most of the tech side but really enjoy the people side of things. :thumbsup: I'd be a damn good network sales men.

[dr_jared88]

Originally posted by Alterac
CCNA - General Networking
CWNA - Wireless
Nortel Layer 3
VoIP Data Systems
Convergence networking. (Combining Voip, Email, etc all in one)


Stuff like that is taking off.

Just a note on CCNA. It is not really general networking, it's general cisco networking. Thats the bad side that it's all cisco proprietary. Whereas CWNA and about is all vendor neutral.

[cityhunter2501]

Originally posted by dr_jared88


Just a note on CCNA. It is not really general networking, it's general cisco networking. Thats the bad side that it's all cisco proprietary. Whereas CWNA and about is all vendor neutral.
if you are serious in networking, wouldn't you go for CCNP/SP?

[bspot]

Networking for sure. I took Software Engineering and hated development by the end of it and found something else to do. My friend that didn't even take any post secondary is doing networking and makes really good coin.

[dr_jared88]

Originally posted by cityhunter2501

if you are serious in networking, wouldn't you go for CCNP/SP?

It all depends what you want to do. I never said I'm not, and I didn't say you shouldn't It all depends on who I get hired with. If I'm working in a company that doesn't even use cisco equipment, then its completely useless. If a company requires it, I'd say 90% of them would pay for you to get it. That's when I would take it. But again, it all depends what are your big interests and where you want to go with it. Mine is on the wireless side of things.