I will try to add my 2 cents to the discussion.
Information/Network/CyberSecurity are the fields of the future, b/c as the computer and IT sector (and field dependent upon it - health, bio, finance, etc) grows there is more need of the personnel who can keep the health of IT at pace.
If somebody wants to really jump into the field of IT and wants to embrace a lucrative sides of it (mainly Data Science, Machine learning, Security, Vision and Pattern recognition), be ready to do some good amount of homework - no not school homework or a small research. A real homework (I mean an independent project) and putting yourself on average 8+ hours a day for more than couple of years.
Even a master CS holder really doesn't understand computer much if he/she want to get in that domain, because these fields of IT are blend with statistics, mathematics and associated with some science (physics, chemistry, biology, economics). If you really didn't had IT history and don't really enjoy computers than start at a small position. If you try to jump right into big stuff you will choke, and you will choke pretty hard.
I am not a CS degree holder but I have built myself into IT field, b/c I always enjoyed computer. I am a biology major, who got into the bandwagon of genomics/bioinformatics which lead to a self independent application development with quite a sophisticated algorithms.
Before I graduated I was offered a job as information security engineer and data scientist. I was little wary about what this new domain would be like - but looks like I have delved into the depth of IT so much that I just feel comfortable navigating in any direction given I am provided materials and some time to adjust.
I regularly talk with my manager and encounter new things every now and then. If you are a new person in a new field and really haven't gone through tough training you are going to be a monkey and they will immediately know that you are not who you are. So, don't bump your resume so hard that it will hit you back.
IT is a lucrative field and it seems it could be a easy jump, but not really if you train your self right. But, the good aspect of it is that you really have the resource to learn - online materials and hours of practice on your lab (i.e your laptop/computer). Plus, IT is soon going to blend with every available human skills and jobs in the markets. See what Kai fu lee has to say about it https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6455789342098014208/?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A(activity%3A6455789342098014208%2C6455880153284300800)
I don't believe if it will be exactly what he says, but there will certainly be a trend towards automation and every thing being blend with IT. So, I suggest starting slow and not choking, being genuine about your skill and give some good amount of time to build it.
Also, I am starting some opensource projects in machine learning, visual/sound recognition, genomics/bioinformatics. If someone wants to get involved please let me know via DM. Since, this will be an opensource project it will not be for a pay, but you will have chance to build your profile and put it on github.
FYI: My job offer was not base on bumped up resume or CS degree (coz I don't have one), but really based on projects I have on GitHub. So, everyone really has the opportunity to sell oneself in market if you can build and show your skill.
You can find me by my username on github, wordpress, stackoverflow and other sites.
Thanks for reading.
Last edited: 16-Oct-18 09:56 PM
