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Career Change

  • 16-02-2011 9:54am
    #1
    red_diesel
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 153 ✭✭


    I currently work as an IT Manager/Sysadmin in an SME. The impact of cloud computing in any forward thinking SME has been phenomenal, particularly in the past year. Exchange BPOS, Google Apps, Azure, Desktop virtualization. The list goes on. At the moment we have exchange and our main ERP system in the cloud. Next to move is Sharepoint. My goal is to have all files in the cloud by the end of the year. I also hope to be able to remove our expensive MPLS network by the end of the year. A good Internet connection in each office is all that is required to access all business apps. VPN's back to main office for AD replication.
    I love my job and find it very rewarding. However cloud computing will render the majority of support roles redundant. No more patching, upgrades, DB admin etc. Most of the traditional IT roles will now be carried out in the data centre.
    However cloud computing will probably be good for development in that less pirating of software, developers can charge for usage etc.

    My question is how does somebody from my background get into development? I have a degree in Software Development which I completed 12 years ago. I worked for a while in a VB/ASP development role, then moved to DB admin and crystal reports. These roles were nearly 10 years ago now. What are the best languages to learn? I am especially keen to get into working on Azure or Amazon ec2 as I see this as the future.


Comments

  • #2
    The Corinthian
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,777 ✭✭✭✭The Corinthian


    red_diesel wrote: »
    My question is how does somebody from my background get into development? I have a degree in Software Development which I completed 12 years ago. I worked for a while in a VB/ASP development role, then moved to DB admin and crystal reports. These roles were nearly 10 years ago now. What are the best languages to learn? I am especially keen to get into working on Azure or Amazon ec2 as I see this as the future.
    I would suggest you leverage what you already have, in whatever area you move into. To begin with you describe yourself as an IT manager - if this means that you have any kind of team, in house or outsourced, then you can look at project management as one direction to go into. You also have sysadmin and, more importantly, cloud computing experience, which you should build up on wherever you go onto.

    As to development, I don't know if I would recommend it. Unless you've been a hard core code monkey for the last 12 years, you're a latecomer in what is essentially a youngster's game. Without experience, companies will pick younger developers - they're cheaper and can be squeezed to work 80 hour weeks. Otherwise being over thirty or thirty-five, you're in competition with developers in your age bracket who've been coding non-stop for years and thus can still get work on the basis of that experience.

    The only possible exception to the rule is getting into a technology that has not yet taken off, where past experience is almost irrelevant. However this is a risky strategy to adopt.

    Personally, I would recommend you consider project management, as I originally suggested, especially specializing in cloud computing and server architecture related projects. Look at perhaps investing in an ITIL related or PRINCE qualifications to aid in this.


  • #3
    stevenmu
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,689 Mod ✭✭✭✭stevenmu


    The Corinthian wrote: »
    The only possible exception to the rule is getting into a technology that has not yet taken off, where past experience is almost irrelevant. However this is a risky strategy to adopt.
    In that vain, you mention having SharePoint and there's not very many good SharePoint people around. There's potential for SharePoint careers, both with and without coding ability (obviously with coding being preferrable), both for supporting internal SharePoint deployments within organisations, and with consultancies/dev houses.


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