CISSP is a great thing to have and name drop but I know 3 people with it who make no logical sense in their security decisions.
I think if you guys shared salaries/benefits/hours worked/schooling/school related debt as well as your past positions/promotions/advancement, you’d see REALITY and not a bunch of IT nerds talking about who is hiring who or who does what and is certified to do who.
I will be a CIO. I’ll go back to school when my wife has her phd.
I’ve been in the game for over 6 years… and thats long enough to know most of you guys have no clue what it is like to work in a real IT shop.
To be honest… I haven’t worked over 3 hours per day in a long ass time.
Thanks for the vague explanation 
Thats how you know I’m IT 
:lol:
Sorry that you’re the only one who knows what a “real IT shop” is
Sorry you think your certs mean a damn thing… anywhere.
No school? lol… better hit the books junior.
I know my certs don’t mean a damn thing…I never said they did however I did say CCIE, CISSP and a few others do mean a lot…
I was in DC working with the team who designed the SAN and Datacenter for the Pentagon along with a lot of other pilot programs most did not have a degree…
I also find it weird I have no degree and I have other companies and recruiters banging down my door with job offers…
Have you ever worked outside of Buffalo in the IT field?
I just love sitting in a board room in charge of the design and install of a new voice and data network for a multi site organization and being 1/2 the age of everyone in the room
Real IT shop? I work for one of the top 10 Hospitals in the nation. Our IT department has been rated in the top 100 places to work in IT, for the past 2 years.
I have a BS in MIS from UB and if i decide to stay in the IT field, i will definitely be looking into at least some cisco certs. I’ve been working in IT for the past 5 years for multiple organizations, but if you want to make good money (80k+) you’ll have much better luck being certified. And as for people saying CSE degree > all, that’s retarded. I know people with cse degrees making 13 dollars an hour out of college, and as it has been mentioned, most cse degrees really don’t provide students with the necessary skill sets to excel in today’s IT market unless you’re planning on just software development.
It all depends on what you want to do, who you know, and the experience and job titles that you have to throw on your resume.
Or to make 80k+ just simply move outside of Buffalo 
I am really interested to see Jacks line of thinking behind his comments…
True, which i will definitely be doing very soon, but the cost of living here is also dirt cheap.
Myth…
Taxes are less everywhere else
Health care is less
Food is less
Gas is less
- your salary is higher
The only thing more expensive is real estate which once you move out away from the city it gets reasonable.
+1
Recruiters? lol… They tell me time and time again they aren’t looking to pay much… (that much I should say)
I’m in the best IT shop in my industry right now… wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.
Like I said…
If you work 80hrs a week and you’re maybe… maybe clearing 10-20k more than me (god, I hope you’re making 2x what I make with all of your Pentagon experience)… WTF is the point? Is it worth it?
For those guys with a CSE or an MBA… how much do you owe on school? How much more are you making because of your degree? How much of a difference does having that degree make for you to progress in the office? If you don’t want to advance, and your raises are similar to the guy next to you, you’ll never make up the cost of that degree for what its worth.
Certs are bragging rights in the office (or online) but applying those skills are significantly more important. I know women who have half a dozen “difficult” certs who don’t know shit.
As far as graduating and being a couple years behind technology… don’t think that your certifications don’t expire in the same time frame. Granted they don’t teach you bleeding edge technology in school (for 90% of your classes) your also not getting cetified on any bleeding edge… anything.
Less talk about certs and more facts about what they actually get you.
What you make.
How hard/long you have to work.
How long you’ve been doing what you do.
How you’ve progressed in your career.
How much debt you’ve accumulated in attaining your degree.
Whether or not your degree plays a role in your position.
What certifications you’ve attained since you’ve been employed with that empoyer and how much of a difference it has made on your salary or your skills set.
I highly doubt there are more than 2 people in here who enjoy going to work everyday like I do…
These are real world results of the path you have chosen. This is the only way you guys will be able to see if the certifications you have are worth while or just another line of BS on your resume.
Anyone who needs to talk up their job isnt in a position that people respect. You put a lot of effort into talking about how true IT your place is and all the stuff you make and do.
Honestly, if you were so cool and so important, you wouldn’t be on a forum arguing about how people don’t know anything and how much you know or have seen.
My personal satisfaction is looking back at the companies I do work for in my position and thinking I am 23 and am responsible for the voice servers, wan and lan routing, and full blown network designs for companies I have done and earning the respect of people who are twice my age. Not bragging on a forum about how people don’t know anything and how I am cool in my position.
GTFO of this thread and go be high in mighty.
Best IT shop in the country?
Google? Microsoft?
General Dynamics? CSC?
You’re a programmer @ Fidelis care
Fidelis has the best IT shop in the entire health care industry yet fidelis is only in NY?
Have you ever worked outside of NY in IT?
You seem very under qualified to speak on the IT industry…
And PS: Someone who is in such an elite position wouldn’t be showing off their late model truck, beat up harley, and 1992 3000GT in their sig.
I work my ass off now because we just built a data center from the ground up over the past 6 months…designed cooling, power system and all other aspects…We are rolling out a lot of new projects…
I love what I do…I love going to work everyday…