Where's the jobs at ?

Artful_Badger

Studying computer science of a sort but will have to choose between software development and systems management soon and wondering which end the best employment prospects are. Would there be more opportunity with the systems management degree but better opportunities with the developer degree ?

Bearing in mind I'm a mature student and will be graduating at the ripe old age of 33, have no personal preference in relation to either path and an equal aptitude for both areas.

Creamy Goodness

Study what you enjoy. Work in what you enjoy.

Life is too short to be doing a job you're not 100% happy in, i'm sure you prefer one over the other.

There's plenty of jobs out there in each.

Artful_Badger

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

Study what you enjoy. Work in what you enjoy.

Life is too short to be doing a job you're not 100% happy in, i'm sure you prefer one over the other.

There's plenty of jobs out there in each.

I appreciate the reply and it makes sense, but there is no one area that i enjoy more than another. So the logical thing to do is find the best path from a career perspective.

ChRoMe

Right now, if you are a (decent) developer, its difficult if not impossible to be unemployed.

Jim2007

CroMagnonMan wrote: »

I appreciate the reply and it makes sense, but there is no one area that i enjoy more than another. So the logical thing to do is find the best path from a career perspective.

We work with technology that is continually changing... Many of the roles and organization structures that are around today were not even thought of when I started out 25 years ago!

We can't answer this question for you, because we have no idea what the next 5 years hold, let alone a career path. Most IT people think more in term of the next interesting thing to do and we are lucky enough to be in an industry which allows for that.

Think of an IT degree as being a validation that you've got the brains and the flair for it, that is all. What you do will entirely depend on what opportunities come your way...

So if you can't really decide on which option to study, flip a coin!

Trojan

I would take software development over systems management every time. I find it more interesting & challenging. But I know several folks who would pick systems management for the same reason.

I think with systems management you tend to have a lot of meatspace issues to deal with, as well as very practical hardware procurement, etc, whereas in s/w dev you have more esoteric intellectual mindfucks.

You can also switch later if you find your preference changing, and my (biased) opinion is that software development is the better option to choose if you might change.

srsly78

And still noone answered the original question -.-

Answer: mostly in offices unfortunately.

ChRoMe

srsly78 wrote: »

And still noone answered the original question -.-

Answer: mostly in offices unfortunately.

ba-dum tish, make sure to tip your waitress, he will be here all week

Artful_Badger

srsly78 wrote: »

And still noone answered the original question -.-

Answer: mostly in offices unfortunately.

Unfortunately ? Working in an office sounds good to me. Better than being out in the rain, stuck on the road or dealing with the public anyway.

srsly78

Being stuck on the road isn't too bad. I had a gamedev job where I got to hang out on racetracks!

Artful_Badger

Trojan wrote: »

I would take software development over systems management every time. I find it more interesting & challenging. But I know several folks who would pick systems management for the same reason.

I think with systems management you tend to have a lot of meatspace issues to deal with, as well as very practical hardware procurement, etc, whereas in s/w dev you have more esoteric intellectual mindfucks.

You can also switch later if you find your preference changing, and my (biased) opinion is that software development is the better option to choose if you might change.

I had to google meatspace, never head it before. Esoteric intellectual mindfcuks sound both intriguing and horrific. Similarly the other stuff sounds like it would be interesting but perhaps with the capacity to become a bit boring maybe.

Sparks

Personally, I've bounced between dev and sysadmin for years without choosing to drop one and pursue the other exclusively, and in several jobs, I worked in both roles (including my current job). I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but it does give you a reasonably rare skillset, and that's not always a bad thing.

ChRoMe

Sparks wrote: »

Personally, I've bounced between dev and sysadmin for years without choosing to drop one and pursue the other exclusively, and in several jobs, I worked in both roles (including my current job). I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but it does give you a reasonably rare skillset, and that's not always a bad thing.

I graduated from support to sys admin and then finally moved into development. I have to admit the operations guys in my current job like the fact that I have a better understanding of infrastructure and know how to communicate with them about their domain (knowledge domain not web!).

That said, to become the standard of developer that I aspire to I had to commit fully to writing code. I think its fine to be a bit of jack of all trades early in your career, however as the big 30 approaches I think its better to become a specialist.

Tar.Aldarion

big 30 I'm 26 and I've just started as a grad a few months ago.

rainbow kirby

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

big 30 I'm 26 and I've just started as a grad a few months ago.

And I'm 28 and I'm 6 months in a grad/junior role after working in QA for 2 years... :eek:

ChRoMe

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

big 30 I'm 26 and I've just started as a grad a few months ago.

Look at it this way mate, you are skipping all those years where I worked on the helldesk (typo intentional!) to get myself into sysadmin and then development.

My path in IT is extremely "nontraditional", I've never even been to university. Your path is far closer to the standard

Tar.Aldarion

My path may be more standard, degree -> masters -> job but I would say yours has been more valuable to you. I should have been starting 4 years ago! Glad to be at it now anyway but feel very inadequate compared to those my age. Still, love my job. Fair play to both of you working to get what you want.

Creamy Goodness

don't feel inadequate, stop comparing yourself to others. it will hinder you.

I liken it to comparing yourself to others in the gym and this comic sums it up perfectly - http://theoatmeal.com/comics/gym