Postgraduate Study Options - Furthering Career

LMrSKK on 28/08/2019 - 14:33
Last edited 28/08/2019 - 15:40

Hi Guys.

I'm keen to hear from the IT workers out there.

I'm looking for some advise regarding career progression in the IT industry. I have an undergraduate degree in IT and have been working in HelpDesk for a little over a year. I am thinking about pursuing a Master of IT or Master of Computer Science for future career progression however i'm not sure which of those i should do.
Whatever it is i will be studying online as i am working full time and i don't want to change that.
To be honest i'm not certain that i want to do programming/development in the future, rather just grow in the industry and have a good respectable job that pays decent enough.
I do enjoy IT and i can't see myself doing anything else so i would like to stick with this industry.

Alternatively does anyone have any other opinions on further study and how to improve job prospects?

Open to hear as many thoughts as possible.

Cheers.

Poll Options

  • 0
    IT
  • 10
    Computer Science
  • 3
    Other
Education & Work

Comments

  • GG57 on 28/08/2019 - 14:41

    I'm not in IT but the people I work with (who are) have all streamed into specific technical courses / skillsets. You might need to choose a direction and follow that.

    • MrSKK on 28/08/2019 - 14:46

      Thanks for that. I'm thinking about going into programming, but i'm unsure what's the best path to take.

      • HighAndDry on 28/08/2019 - 15:10
        +2

        Data! Big Data!

        That seems to be all the rage these days anyways.

        • serpserpserp on 28/08/2019 - 15:15
          +1

          This. This is the future and you don't necessarily need to be the guy that writes all the code to spit the data out.

          • HighAndDry on 28/08/2019 - 15:17
            +1

            @serpserpserp: It's getting to the point where so many people talk about it, even I know if you want to work in the field you need to learn to use R. AND I HAVE NO IDEA WTH 'R' EVEN IS!

  • arkie0 on 28/08/2019 - 15:19

    Higher demand and generally higher pay for the CS type roles - Programmers, Data specialists, modelling, AI

  • nep on 28/08/2019 - 15:26

    Have you checked the study modules for both stream? In my case both stream were usually the same, the only difference was in computer science you could do research work but not in IT.

    I'd suggest look for the module once then decide. Because you can tailor the career depending upon the selection of subjects regardless of MIT or Master of computer Science.

    Hope it helps :)

  • prisonmike on 28/08/2019 - 15:32
    +2

    Don't go after degree. Continue to work and chase after certificates instead.

    • 87percent on 28/08/2019 - 16:04

      IT is changing weekly, and in my opinion this suggestion is the best route.

      IMO, you're better getting an actual job and growing with it. I did computer science, got a job and did some programming and then moved into PM and haven't coded in about 5 years.

      • prisonmike on 28/08/2019 - 17:02
        +1

        Specially in Australia having a degree doesn't matter much. It will probably be sitting on the last page of your resume. Certs are however have better perceived value in industry. Degrees are better if you are getting one in US and working there too. Here a tradie probably earns more than most of us ever could with a degree :D.

  • Icecold5000 on 28/08/2019 - 17:35

    Alternatively does anyone have any other opinions on further study and how to improve job prospects?

    1. Why not try to get another job with the degree you have?
    2. Do you actually have any idea what you want to do and the skill set required?
    3. Why do you think having a masters will enable you to get a better job rather than undergrad?
  • fishball on 28/08/2019 - 18:01
    +2

    The degree helps you get past the HR or recruiter filter which can help but really never hired anyone over the other because they had more/better degrees or certs

    I've hired a people in the past year in a few roles and seen people ranging from certs to degrees to self taught.

    The biggest thing for us was whether or not they could demonstrate what we needed and what they said they knew. It could be language (programming) or working knowledge of a framework or other stuff. You would be surprised how many people have XYZ certs from Microsoft or whatever but they could not do any of it.

    If you're keen to go into a particular niche then work towards it. Programming? Have a github portfolio and then gun for the specific language. PM? Start leading projects where possible in your current role and expand on that experience w/ certs. Web dev? Have your own website. Data analyst? Python/VBA. Data scientist? Python/R/Pandas/hadoop/stats courses etc. Automation? VBA/Blue Prism/Automation Anywhere/UIPath etc.

    If there's one thing for sure though, don't bother with a MSc in data science because there's like 40k graduates coming over the next few years and there aren't any jobs for them.

  • urahara on 28/08/2019 - 18:25

    If you really wanna work in IT rather than spending so much money , work for free at a startup and learn in your spare time. You would be better off IMO

  • monkeybusiness on 28/08/2019 - 19:09

    IT is a very broad area in today's environment. It ultimately falls on what you want to do for a career

    If you want more technical, then do programming, architecture and possibly data modeling

    If you want less technical (while still operating in IT space), do more business analysis, project management, etc

  • Ugly on 29/08/2019 - 13:01
    +1

    Heard recently that there are big shortages in Cyber Security. Hard to find skills usually mean higher pay, so you may want to explore that if interested.

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