Information Technology / Architectural Technology @ Sait - Questions

I have been offered a seat at sait for this falls simester in Information Technology, however i had a few questions for those of you currently enrolled in this course. after the first simester you get to pick a major, my question is. with a computer systems major and/or network systems major. what job titles would i have qualification for?, how did you like the course?. how hard was it to find a job?, and what was your starting wage?.

I have the same questions for the Architectural Technology course as well. i'm torn between deciding on the both of them and need to make a decision soon, hope to hear your input!.

thanks guys!

I graduated from the Network stream in '09. I liked what I did, I liked the material, I liked how it was taught. Obviously there were a couple useless courses and maybe a couple more that just plain sucked, but I've used almost everything I learned in the field.

I started out as a network tech for Honeywell and then took a pay cut to became a "Network Infrastructure Specialist" at my current employer. It pretty much translates to "The network guy". I make good money and, for the most part, I like what I do. Some of the fucking assholes I work with make my job a living hell, but they're Asian so I know my penis is bigger and that gets me through the day.

I know one person who graduated with me got a job at Greycon as a network tech, they're doing fine.

I know of at least two other guys on here who also graduated in my class, they can speak for themselves.

I've got a buddy who graduated from the CS stream and is an IT Analyst at Cenovus, but I'm not sure how much of his education he actually uses. If you ask me he's a businessman first, nerd second.

There's another guy on here that graduated from the CS stream and clearly he's doing fine because he just bought an Evo :P

Finding a job depends on you and nobody but you. All of us found jobs in a brutal market, I'm sure it can't be much worse in 2 years time. You'll have a much better idea of which stream you want to go into halfway through first semester, so don't stress too much about it now.

awesome info, thanks!.

anyone else?

Would anybody care to delve deeper into Information Technology as a program/career? This is something that interests me, and I would seriously consider doing it if I decide that I don't want to continue with Instrumentation in another year or two.

IT is starting to get saturated again, just keep that in mind

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Originally posted by adam c
IT is starting to get saturated again, just keep that in mind

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That's what I am afraid of :( Worse comes to worse if another recession hits I guess I'll just make sure to have all of my debts paid off and dive right back in!

If you do end up picking AT make sure that its because of ur love for the job as opposed to the money. Most wont see decent pay until later on in their careers. Any other q just pm me.

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Originally posted by adidas
If you do end up picking AT make sure that its because of ur love for the job as opposed to the money. Most wont see decent pay until later on in their careers. Any other q just pm me.

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If you apply yourself and have any sort of business and/or management skills you'll be making decent coin after 5-6 years. If you get stuck doing grunt drafting work (some days I wish I could just draft!) then your pay will be stunted. But yes, in general the pay is fairly low compared to most other professionals.

If you choose AT then I recommend getting into a medium or large firm, get 3 or 4 years of technical drafting experience then make a jump into the on site construction stuff as a contract administrator (all arch office need this) it offers a lot of great work experiences and its something different. Lots of the larger offices are leading into sending out the grunt drafting work to India (to save costs) which means the local firms will still need people on site and people managing and organizing the projects.

Being an AT grad can lead into so many different areas of the industry as well. Lots of people end up working for the city as plans examiners. You can also easily transition into more developer based site super/construction admin jobs. There really are endless opportunities..... as long as the industry as a whole is still moving along. If nobody's building anything everyone hurts.

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Originally posted by Mibz
I graduated from the Network stream in '09. I liked what I did, I liked the material, I liked how it was taught. Obviously there were a couple useless courses and maybe a couple more that just plain sucked, but I've used almost everything I learned in the field.

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I graduated from the Network stream in 2008, and can second pretty much everything Mibz said. Really enjoyed the program and the instructors for the core classes were good.
I was lucky and graduated before the job market crash, but a lot of my classmates got layed off in that period...but all found work within a couple of months.

I am in the AT program right now and will graduate in April.

I really have enjoyed it. Not really sure what you want to know, but it's a lot of fun if you're creative and good with computers. People with little to no interest usually drop out in the first year, or get carried by their group. (Lots of group work in this program)


I have a week out in the field next week with Cedar Glen homes, funny enough a google search of the company shows a beyond thread ranked 3rd. Pretty funny read!

Know this is an old thread, but did i search so i would not make a new one! I am gonna be heading into the Network Systems major and would love to hear more stories and opinions!

In the 2.5 years since I've graduated I've forgotten 80% of my CCNP and the majority of wireless physics that I learned. Anything I don't use on a semi-regular basis is gone.

I got my CCNA Security and most of that knowledge is slowly slipping away as well.

That said, the knowledge itself isn't really that important, don't get that impression. I just thought it was funny how much I've forgotten.

I completed the BAIS program in 07 with a major in Networking. My career path has been nothing but up, but you have to take risks and not settle for a normal 'IT' job. However, given what I have seen and experienced I do not recommend the IT field to anybody.

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Originally posted by Mibz
In the 2.5 years since I've graduated I've forgotten 80% of my CCNP and the majority of wireless physics that I learned. Anything I don't use on a semi-regular basis is gone.

I got my CCNA Security and most of that knowledge is slowly slipping away as well.

That said, the knowledge itself isn't really that important, don't get that impression. I just thought it was funny how much I've forgotten.

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I can attest to this.

Graduated in April 2008, started working in May and been working as Field/Network IT for an intermediate O&G for 3.7 years now.
I better get a decent raise at 5 years and sad thing is my gf makes more money than me now and she started working a year after me but then I have more time to surf the net than her:rofl:

Regarding what I've learned, I only use 30% of what I've learned most of the time, so forgot quite a bunch especially if not network related but as soon you start doing them you start remembering them plus you have google.

I agree with Mibz, knowledge is not everything, it all depends on how you react to problems.

It also depends on how well you fit with employers/employees.

I got my job because of how I fit with the team not what I know. Chances are if you know something, 100 people know more then you and are applying for the same jobs.


Seriously though, a huge chunk is personality.

My last employer was a serious douchebag.

I graduated from computer engineering technology in '06 and BAIS in '08 and I can tell you that an IT career is a very rewarding one. The oppertunities are endless, the pay is good, the benifits are good, the job market is red hot. Take networking, supliment it with some certifications, gain some experience and its all up from there. You won't regret it