Ask HN: Changing careers into IT? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Changing careers into IT?

1 pointjoonix3 comments

I bought my first computer at age 8 in 1994. I built websites, scripted, wrote ASP, PHP, played around with everything I could just for fun.

Unfortunately due to bad advice I pursued a very traditional education path, getting a BS and then a JD.

I'm a lawyer now... I'm not miserable, but I know I will want to reposition myself into tech in the near future. It's more natural for me. I don't believe software engineering would be the right move for me; I think working in IT is more realistic.

I know "big data" is quite hyped right now but I'm not sure how much software/coding skill is needed to be successful with it. I'm not looking to retun to school, I want to do this with self-teaching and certifications.

Is my goal realistic? If so, what area of IT is best for someone in my position to try to break into, and how should it be done (which certs, etc)?

Thanks HN!

Well...first off, Big Data isn't in IT. Replacing hard drives, imaging servers, and configuring IIS/LAMP is IT.

Depending on where you are in your life and what options you have available, you could go back and get another BS, in computer science or similar. Or you could get a professional MS in computer science. Or maybe just take some coursera courses like this one: https://www.coursera.org/course/dataanalysis

Since you already have a JD, I'd think you could combine your legal knowledge with coding knowledge, possibly working in the legal department of a medium sized software company, as a bridge between legal and dev?

Thanks for the reply.

I don't think I'm at a place where I can return to university. I don't have the time to slog through arbitrary course requirements, I'm still pretty burnt out from schooling given I graduated fairly recently.

I've considered Coursera and the like, but my main concern is whether completing these courses then putting them on my resume would get me a job in a relevant field. Does anyone have any insight into this?

Either way that course looks interesting and I'm going to sign up.

Start attending IT-related events and conferences. Check if there are IT-related User Groups or meetups in your area. If you are working in a company that has some sort of IT department, ask your IT co-workers on how to get started.

A good network to join and search for IT people is LinkedIN.

You could send me questions: mribunal [at] gmail [dot] com :-)

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