- L00
- |
- Exalted Mythic Member
- gamertag: [none]
- user homepage:
I've got a BA in Computer Science. It's nice little thing to show off and employers like to know you have it, but it hasn't done me very much good job-wise other than getting my resume as far as the "worth consideration" pile. If you do get a call they'll want to see a portfolio and to know what experience you have, not that you managed to sit through four years of classes.
What I really wanted to do (and would still like to do) is website programming. I can work in PHP, Java, Javascript, Actionscript, SQL, and C++ (and of course HTML and CSS) but without a portfolio of some sort, no one cares.
The job I have now (I'm an IT Manager for a small millworks company) I got because the summer before my senior year of college, I started working at that company in the warehouse. I lugged around bundles of casing and base to put orders together for customers, drove a fork lift, and helped load trucks there for about a month and a half. They were having some computer issues and knew what I was in school for and asked me to help. I fixed a bunch of networking issues, cleaned up an inventory database, and even finished some computer-aided drafting projects that had been sitting half-done for months. That got me into the office, and I pretty much had the job well before I graduated from college.
So if you want my advice, based on my experience, by all means, go to college and do that part if you so desire, but more importantly, whatever you want to spend your life doing, just start doing it now. If your university offers internships, take them, because that'll get you some experience and hopefully a good reference or maybe even a job. If you can walk into that first interview with a reputation rather than just a resume, you've got a great advantage.