Preparing for a Career in Information Technology

Preparing for a Career in Information Technology

by: John Gall

So you want to work in the Information Technology field? In this article iกll provide some advice to those seeking employment in this field. Keep in mind these are my opinions, others may agree or disagree.
Mechanic or Engineer?
The first question to answer is which direction do you want to go? Typically there are two types of IT Staff. Those who administer and and those who create. What do I mean by this? Ask yourself if youกd rather sit in a cube and write software, create and maintain databases and develop applications, or would you rather install software, manage an email system or create a network or remote access solution.
The two areas are usually comprised of employees with very different mind sets.
The administrators tend to follow a career path that goes something like this. IT Intern or PC Technician performing break/fix tasks on PCกs. As they advance they may manage the larger rollout of operating systems or software applications. Keep in mind the focus is on more mechanical or problem solving tasks. Later in their career they may move on to network or server administration. The larger the impact of a mistake the further up the ladder in their career. Eventually they may manage a team of other administrators or perform some consulting services.
The engineers typically come from computer science backgrounds. They may have learned programming of various languages in college. The particular language is not important only the fact that they are creating or maintaining applications for systems and databases rather than focusing on the workings of the system its self. Many of these employees are introverts. They would prefer to work within their group and make a cube or office their home. The administrator would be perfectly happy being กvisableก within the company.
Education
First let me say that a four year Bachelors degree is valuable to anyone seeking employment in the IT industry. Not sure what direction you want to go? Get a basic Business BA because it will teach you how a business operates and get you the open door to most job interviews. More accurately it will prevent you from being excluded simply because you do not have a degree. If you are the administrator type iกd also recommend a basic BA unless you find a program that has the current skills you are seeking. Mainly a variety of desktop and server operating system and networking skill path focusing on TCP/IP , DNS, WINS, DHCP and routing.
If you are on the applications path than a Computer Science major is going to get you headed in the right direction. Often companies hire right out of college because they have been teaching login and application development for decades.
Those looking into administration can count on resuming their education either by selfstudy using technical books, certification paths, home built networks and lastly for those with the money private nonaccredited coursework at various ATECกs
Once your in your in. Until your in your way out….
When I got into this field ten years ago I took a pay cut to move from my sales position to my PC Technician position. This is because it is VERY difficult to get hired if youกve never been hired. There are so many great applicants that there is no reason to take a chance on someone who only can tell you what they know. Multiply this statement X 10 with the economic downturn after the dot com boom. So get whatever resume worthy experience and references you can as fast as you can. To land even the most entry level job youกll need it.
How to get experience?
Internships are a great way to get in the door anywhere. These are positions that everyone understands and they are the mark of a hungry student. If you can get an internship (preferably paid) at a company so much the better. If you can’t start volunteering for any organization that will take your skills. Churches and schools or charityกs are a good start. The key is to get something on your resume that says youกve been in the business.
Self Employment
The IT world is great for the self employed. For those who want to accept side work there are many ways to find it and you can do as much or little as you want. When your first starting out why not perform PC Technician or entry level web or application development and get paid? Individuals are more likely to hire you for a few hour of work and youกll gain business skills and have yet another thing to add to that resume. Remember the key is to walk into your first interview as if youกve been in the biz.
Conclusion
In closing keep in mind, know your direction, get an education, and its never too early to start building that resume. Good Luck
John Gall

Gall Consulting Elk River Minnesota

http://www.gallconsulting.com

About The Author

John Gall works as a full time IT Manager in Minnesota and is self employeed as a Consulant for Gall Consulting http://www.gallconsulting.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on May 17, 2004

by John Gall

Using Google AdWords to Increase your Adsense Prof

Using Google AdWords to Increase your Adsense Profits

by: John Gall

I had been using Googleกs Adsense program to generate some revenue from my various web sites. Prior to Adsense, I was never previously paid to run these and did so for a hobby. Overall I was pleased with the income I was generating. The only drawback was that I was always looking for ways to get people to my sites. I enjoyed working to bring in more visitors but felt that if I looked at my earnings vs. the hours I worked, the economics weren’t making sense.
Then I figured out that certain sites were paying way more than the minimum .05 cents per click. I reasoned that if I could get pay visitors .05 .10 to visit. Then if they clicked enough ads that paid much more than I paid, then Adwords could be a viable way to increase traffic to my sites.
So I paid my $5.00 setup fee and added my two most profitable sites. That same day my traffic jumped dramatically and as I thought. Visitors who came in via Adwords were more likely to click other Google ads on my site. My conversions went up and I thought why not put all my sites on Adwords.
This was where some careful research was needed. I found that some sites I run had adwords sponsors who were only bidding the minimum. Remember the concept was to under bid the advertisers on my sites. While my traffic skyrocketed, my expenses for a few sites seemed to outweigh any benefit. When my reports came in it was clear that I needed to use Adwords for only the sites that featured high bidding advertisers. This creates margin for those visitors who come in via paid ads but do not click to my own sponsored ads.
The exception would be if my site was offering a product or service. Then it would be well worth sticking with Adwords on those sites just to get more buying traffic. Because my sites are purely informational I had to watch carefully to ensure I was putting money into Adwords where it was working for me. In some cases I upped my bid on some keywords that were clearly bringing in steady traffic that converted well.
Googleกs new offering called Websense may change this a bit. By allowing you to put Googleกs search form on your site and then paying if your visitors search off your site and click other sponsored links it may make those underperforming sites profitable again. Time and further research will tell.
The moral of the story is that Adwords is a great way to dramatically increase your profits when using Adsense. Care needs to be taken to see that you are putting your money where it is most effective.

John Gall Gall Consulting Elk River, Minnesota

http://www.gallconsulting.com

About The Author

John Gall is a full time IT Manager and IT Consultant in Minnesota. He runs several websites as a hobby featuring content similar to that in this article.

http://www.gallconsulting.com

http://www.sandalspictures.com

http://www.napavalleypictures.com

http://www.winesilove.com

This article was posted on June 21, 2004

by John Gall