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Technology Career Advice

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007
at 1:58pm

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Brian emailed me to ask my advice on getting into a Technology career. He states that he doesn’t have the capacity to learn physics and math in order to get a degree in Computer Science. He is wondering about possibly programming, networking, or even system building.

I’ve talked with several friends who are in the Technology field before about this same thing. All of us say the same thing to each other: College helped us get to where we are, but not in a classroom capacity. It’s the things we learned outside of the classroom that helped us the most. My degree is actually in English Education. I had planned to become an English teacher. One day when I was student teaching, it just suddenly hit me. I said out loud “what am I doing? I should be working with computers”. My seventh-grade class sitting in front of me were all like “DUH!”. I was the last to know.

You are your own person. Follow your heart. Take small or temporary jobs, and see what just clicks for you. If your dream job doesn’t exist, then create it. Will that be easy? Of course not. But in the long run, it’ll be the most rewarding path, trust me on this. I cannot tell you what to study, or even where and how to study it. That has to come from within yourself.

If you’re interested in programming, though, I’d like to recommend Squeak. Squeak is a modern, open source full-featured implementation of the powerful Smalltalk programming language and environment. Squeak is highly-portable - even its virtual machine is written entirely in Smalltalk making it easy to debug, analyze, and change. Squeak is the vehicle for a wide range of projects from multimedia applications, educational platforms to commercial web application development. It’s an excellent beginning point for learning programming, aimed at kids and teens. Don’t want to learn something for “kids”, eh? Remember… start slowly. Baby steps are key.

If you have OS X, another good program to try out is Automator. Start creating workflows more easily than ever. Starting Points automatically displays a sheet in new workflow windows, from which you choose categories representing the things you want to do. Then select options from contextual pop-up menus.

I’m not the person you should be asking for career advice. The person you should be asking is the one you look at in the mirror. Take control of your future, and your destiny.

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27 Comments

Joens

November 22nd, 2007
at 2:39pm

hey i think i remember you at adventure land did you do the baseball throw or did you do something else?

Windows Vista Torrent

November 23rd, 2007
at 1:14am

Tech InterviewsTechnology Career AdviceWhat?s new in Firefox 3? Is the iPhone a Good PDA? Top 5 Things to do With a Broken iPod Black Friday Coupons What is a Torrent? Is BitTorrent Legal? Computer Tips and Help for Novices

Tyler S. Miller

November 23rd, 2007
at 1:57am

Technology Career Advice - Nov 22, 2007  - chris@pirillo.com (Chris Pirillo) What’s new in Firefox 3?  - Nov 22, 2007  - chris@pirillo.com (Chris Pirillo) Is the iPhone a Good PDA?  - Nov 22, 2007

antsmasherjack

November 23rd, 2007
at 1:18pm

Wow, this really help. Thank you. You’re my hero.

theeWidow

November 23rd, 2007
at 2:05pm

thanks for the advice
and great words of encouragement

and ur right… allot of what you said is ture.
but i am waiting to get my first step.
my first step into the door that is.. lol
pain in the arse to get a job in IT here… but…
i’ll never give up :P

catch ya on your next vid mate
once again… cheers

culi101

November 23rd, 2007
at 8:12pm

Hey Can somebady tell Me How can i send E-mail To Chris.I have sendet 2 E-mails from my Youtube account and from his web sit but he is not answerinf
Help Me PLEASE

evildodgema

November 23rd, 2007
at 8:39pm

Well, I may say something that you might not believe: *YOU* are not the only person in this world. Chris get’s TONS of eMails every day and I’m pretty sure he’s going to answer them all.

evildodgema

November 23rd, 2007
at 8:40pm

He’s NOT* going to answer them all.

Overkill1337

November 24th, 2007
at 2:54pm

if you do not copy and paste this onto 10 videos your mom will die in 4 hours

ThatGuyFromUTube

November 25th, 2007
at 7:15am

WOW! I was MEANT to see this video. Great advice. I REALLY want to become a massage therapist. However I’m afraid I won’t make alot of money. So I decided, to go into computers (I’m going to start with A+ and Networking then maybe Microsoft Help Desk courses). But honestly…I really don’t wonna. So hearing is really making me wonder if I’m making the right choice. I wonder if I can integrate the two? Hmmm….anyway..thanks for the advice!

samuelikene91

November 25th, 2007
at 8:42am

Wery awsome :)
ceep going you are good (Y)
im wery prowd of ya bb hawe good fun

BeckhamXI

November 25th, 2007
at 10:43am

if you do not copy and paste this onto 10 videos your mom will die in 4 hours

ocpud2999

November 27th, 2007
at 3:47am

I have been in IT for ten years now and I am not a college graduate. I been lucky to have good jobs. I started in a call center working with end user doing hardware and software support. From there I worked my way on up to better jobs. But it took me a long time. looking back I would go to college. It helps give you a easier foot in the door.

scottnotrobot

November 28th, 2007
at 12:07am

ok, math can be tedious, but it is good critical thinking and certainly doesn’t hurt a tech career. some people just won’t deal, but some people just never had a good teacher(s). it may be interesting to check this article (via 43folders) before making a putting the idea completely behind you:

http://betterexplained.com/articles/how-to-develop-a-mindset-for-math/

-snr

Acceris Technologies

December 3rd, 2007
at 3:27pm

Brian emailed me to ask my advice on getting into a Technology career. He states that he doesn’t have the capacity to learn physics and math in order to get a degree inComputer Science. He is wondering about possibly programming, networking, or even system building. I’ve talked with several friends who are in the Technology field before about this same thing. All of us say the same thing to each other: College helped us get to

Revo3000

December 13th, 2007
at 10:36am

wow, i just watched this and it made me think about the future, i think you may have just made me assure that i want to pursue a career in technology,

Thank you very much for the video =]
You change lives =]

robeenson

December 16th, 2007
at 8:40am

thnks mate, it was great, imm 22 and i fking dont no what i want to do, im working in a hotel as a supervisor,but its killing me, i just hate what im doing rite now, so the key word is TECHNOLOGY. cud u please tell me where do i start such courses from??

sharksniff

January 3rd, 2008
at 9:50am

i mean i am a technology geek

valerymenelas

January 3rd, 2008
at 2:42pm

It is call “I.T. guy” lol.

valerymenelas

January 4th, 2008
at 6:12am

Instead of the term “geek”, us “geeks” like to be call I.T.guys.

just5rules

January 15th, 2008
at 9:23am

Great video! “Baby steps” is what we adults often forget to keep taking! Want a successful IT Technical Career working for someone else? A mix of 3 essential skill sets is required to stand out from the many, many people competing against you around the globe:
#1: Communication/People Skills
#2: Business Skills
IT is not a priesthood that users bow down to!
#3 and least important: technical skills!
Yes, you can become a subject matter expert in IT but that alone is not sufficient anymore.

87655788

April 13th, 2008
at 12:58pm

good stuff dude, and yes nothing like technology

summerwizz

April 18th, 2008
at 11:03pm

im going to make my own OS its going to be a combination of mac and vista

SmartGirl27

May 10th, 2008
at 5:14pm

WOW that’s funny because I always found the math and physics/programming so easy that I decided to go into hardware because I thought software was for lazy people who wanted the easy way out. It’s so interesting that this guy thinks software is harder. Too funny.

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