Careers in IT can incredibly rewarding. Usually the hours are flexible, the work is varied, and jobs are very highly paid, so what’s the catch?

Competition

While there is no catch as such, jobs in IT are in high demand, and when positions become available competition is fierce.

If you are totally committed to securing a position long-term, you must be prepared to stand out and get yourself noticed. Being yet another face in the crowd in this industry simply won’t cut it.

So how can you get yourself on that essential first rung of the ladder to success?

Advice From Our President

One man who certainly knows what it takes to succeed in the IT industry is our own president here at SystemsNet, C. Joseph Keesey.

Joseph is a software developer with over 15 years’ experience in the fast pace world of information technology. He began his career as a network admin assistant and steadily worked his way through each area of IT, giving him experience and knowledge to handle the challenges facing many companies today.

As a software developer he has worked with Insurance, Distribution, Manufacturing, Financial, and Retail industries; providing solutions to solve their business problems, utilizing custom software and existing technologies in the market place.

In a recent interview with CBS Philly, Joseph revealed his tips for rising to the top:

“The key to growth within the field is to never stop learning and to be open to new ways of doing things.”

He also emphasizes the need for a good education to form the basis of your chosen career path:

“Education plays a strong role in landing a position within the technology realm. Customers want technology service firms that understand their business and their technology, the products implemented, and above all have experience in dealing with the issues at hand. Good technicians in the field originally went to some higher learning institution, but those original tools were just the stepping-stones. Individuals in our field are constantly learning new technology or partnering with firms that can bring the skill set to the organization.”

The essential key element to success in the IT industry though is to never stop learning:

“A complete knowledge of the business applications used by a customer’s organization is required to be effective in our field. Technicians that move ahead the fastest have taken some type of higher education which gives them an edge. Individuals in our field are constantly learning, as the industry is always evolving”

Read the full article here

What School Can’t Teach

Not everyone is suited to a career in IT, and there are certain skills needed that simply can’t be learnt at school. You will need life, business, and marketing skills, along with the ability to handle stressful situations and difficult clients.

There will be times when things just don’t go to plan, and the ability to improvise and find new solutions is going to be necessary.

Desire and Passion

As our president mentioned in the above article, IT is an ever-changing industry. The moment new technology is released, it is already out of date and the next new thing is hot on its heels. Therefore, anyone wishing to tackle a career in IT must have a strong desire to learn. You will be challenged daily to learn something new. If you don’t like learning, then the IT field simply is not for you.

Passion for their work is an essential ingredient for every IT worker. If you don’t love technology and the problem solving that goes with it, IT is not the right career choice for you. That passion is the one key emotion that can often get you through the day, or night when all else has failed.

Not to be disheartened, IT really is an exciting field to work in. You get play with new technology, solve problems, ensure businesses continue to operate smoothly every working day, and not forgetting you will be well rewarded for doing so!

Windows 8 is the grand creation of Microsoft. It’s the attempt to take Windows into the modern era. It’s the upgrade everybody has been waiting for. The problem is not everyone is enthused about the next generation of Windows. Many people have said they aren’t interested in upgrading.

Let’s take a look at some of the main pros and cons of Windows 8 to understand why not everyone wants to use this newest version of Windows.

Pro: Working Together

The primary benefit of Windows 8 is its ability to join tablets, laptops, and PCs together. It can turn your computer into a touchscreen. This means you get all the benefits of using a tablet, and retain the benefits of using a computer. For a lot of companies, especially in design, this feature is essential.

Con: Pulling the Menu Bar

Rolling out Windows 8 in a corporate environment is even more difficult due to the removal of the key interface. The ‘Start’ button is gone and much of the old interface has been eliminated. This means companies also have to take the training costs of implementation into account. It can be prohibitively expensive to upgrade.

Pro: Windows on the Go

You can run the Windows 8 interface from anywhere with a USB stick and it can overwrite older versions of Windows on any computer. An employee using an Internet café on the way to a conference could use their USB stick to work off of a familiar Windows 8 interface, even if the computer in question normally uses Windows 7 or XP.

Con: Security Concerns

There are security concerns. The main security concern is potential malware attacks are displayed full-screen, rather than with the familiarity of a browser. In other words, hackers can convince people they’re downloading a software update, so less savvy employees might inadvertently install malware.

Despite this, Windows 8 only has a 0.08% infection rate, according to The Telegraph.

Pro: More Productivity

Windows 8 is faster than any other operating software on the market. The average boot time is eight seconds. This applies to turning it on and turning it off. Forget waiting around for everything to load up. Get going right away.

Con: Hardware Upgrade

To use the touch interface, you need additional hardware. This drives up the costs for businesses, and in many cases it isn’t worth it. Businesses will have to give serious consideration as to whether they want to spend money on new hardware for their employees.

Many businesses have already chosen not to upgrade for this reason.

Windows XP still exists. It came out 13 years ago and a third of the world’s computers still use it. If we look at the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) is responsible for practically every patient in the country, the stats are startling. 85% of computers still use Windows XP. The stats for the United States are not much better.

In technology terms, Windows XP is a relic. And now it’s time to move on. If you’re still holding out, we’re going to discuss why now’s the time to make the long overdue migration.

Microsoft Doesn’t Want Your Business

Microsoft announced that it would be stopping support for Windows XP in April 2014. This means no patches, fixes, or updates will be available. In short, viruses and malware will be free to ravage this operating system. If you’re connected to the Internet, you’re in an extremely vulnerable position.

Bigger companies that still want to use Windows XP will be forced to pay $200 for their first year of continued support, then $400 for the second, and $800 for the third.

This is a firm message that Microsoft wants you to leave. If you want to put yourself at risk of hack attacks, keep using Windows XP.

The Productivity Argument

The newer Windows 7 system, for example, is simply more productive than its Windows XP counterpart. You can see this with the Aerosnap feature.

Aerosnap automatically snaps any open windows so they fit together on the screen, rather than overlapping each other. Its little things like this that reduces the amount of time you spend on pointless tasks.

Other productivity saving options includes stacking windows from the same program on a single icon to prevent unnecessary spacing on the bottom toolbar. It makes it easy to select your window when you have a range of different documents open.

Even saving 30 seconds per day can have a big impact on productivity in a business in the long-term. 30 seconds for ten workers equals five minutes per day. This adds up to 1500 minutes, or 25 hours, saved over the course of a year.

New Technology

Think about all those new technologies that you’ve missed out on by using Windows XP for so long. Yes, you can still plug a USB 3.0 device in and it would work. That’s the beauty of backwards compatibility, but it’s automatically slowed down due to the time in which Windows XP was designed for.

In the case of USB 3.0, the speed at which data transfers is actually the rate of USB 2.0. This is just one example of the drawback for items that are backwards compatible.

Bluetooth, wireless printers, and cordless keyboards will all provide challenges in finding the right drivers since they are not being developed for Windows XP anymore. You could spend days just trying to make this work.

Security, technology, and productivity are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the disadvantages of not upgrading from Windows XP. There are so many more disadvantages, but aren’t these three enough to convince you to upgrade?

Contact us today if you need help upgrading your systems.