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How to go about this career/ how do i get started?

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Subject: Career question for you

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Teklemuz’s Answer

Getting started in a career in technology, computer science, computer software, or information technology requires education, hands-on experience, and curious mindset. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
1. Identify Your Area of Interest
Technology is a broad field. Consider the following areas within these fields:

Software Development: Writing code to create applications and websites.
Data Science and Machine Learning: Analyzing data and building intelligent systems.
Cybersecurity: Protecting computer systems from cyber attacks.
Networking and IT Support: Managing networks, servers, and providing technical support.
Cloud Computing: Managing cloud infrastructure and services.
Artificial Intelligence: Creating machines and systems that simulate human intelligence.

2. Get Education and stay updated
Formal Education: A degree in computer science or IT.
Online Courses/Bootcamps: Learn coding and relevant skills on platforms like Coursera, edX, Udemy, Codecademy, Udacity or freeCodeCamp.
Certifications: Consider certifications for areas like cybersecurity (e.g., CompTIA, CISSP) or cloud computing.
3. Learn Core Skills of software engineering field
Programming Languages: Start with Python, JavaScript, or Java.
Computer Science Basics: Understand algorithms, data structures, and software development tools like Git, GitHub
Problem-Solving: Practice coding challenges and logical thinking on HackerRank, Leetcode, and exercism.
4. Build Projects
Create personal projects to apply skills and showcase them on GitHub or a personal portfolio.

5. Network
Join tech communities, attend meetups and conferences, and connect on LinkedIn to find job opportunities and learn from others.

6. Gain Experience
Apply for internships or entry-level positions in tech to build hands-on experience. If you follow these steps carefully, you can succeed in securing a high-paying job.
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Hagen’s Answer

Cory,

There are generally two ways people end up in careers. Ideally, I guess, people chose a career and then pursue whatever education and training required by the role. However, it's probably more common for people to 'fall into' a career or at least once a general career plan is decided upon, what you actually end up doing is determined by what real work opportunities present themselves - the job you fall into.

Assuming you achieve whatever education or training is required, your first job is going to have a significant impact on your career. This is not to say that means you have to obsess about that job like it leads to a binary black or white career trajectory, but careers have a long horizon line - you end up spending years in a job and that experience begins to accrue as a kind of domain knowledge. Domain knowledge matters.

Domain knowledge relates to the kind of business or service sector are you working. You might be a lawyer or software programmer, but you still end up working in healthcare, finance, manufacturing, media and so forth. Overtime that domain knowledge becomes almost as important as your primary skill set. People tend to 'fall into' their domain. That's not a bad thing but it something to be aware of because the domain you fall into is going to shape your practical day to day experiences and potentially the impact of changes in the economy. For example, the decline in the newspaper industry has seriously impacted the opportunities to work in some media careers.

Think about both the career specialty you wish to pursue PLUS the business sector or vertical you choose (or chooses you ' a company in healthcare is offers you a position'). You might well want to or need to take whatever entry level job you find but don't let that pick your domain for you - you still need to consider what kind of business or service in which you want to work.

In keeping with the above, careers tend to follow longer 10 year pathways. It's rare for people to change jobs or at least employers a lot. At your age it can be challenging to thinking in terms of your 20s, 30s, 40s but that's how it really happens. Staying your job for 10 years has several advantages:
1. You develop your technical skills - you learn how to accomplish a task for which customers are willing to pay money. People need to be willing to pay you or your company for the skill or service you provide. Sometimes that obvious - you're an electrician and you install an electric car circuit. Sometimes it's less obvious, you write a grant proposal for a non-profit that gets approved.
2. You develop domain knowledge - both in the business sector and in terms how your current company chooses to get things done.
3. Different roles open up within your current company so you can change your job without sacrificing the gains made in 1 & 2.

Finally, if you're considering working for yourself - running your own business, most of what we've just discussed still applies. When you run your own business you must provide a service that people are willing to pay for. In most cases, it takes years to develop that kind of skill. Ideally, you'd spend 10 years working for a company that successfully runs a business similar to the business in which you want to create. Business is complicated and even if you're REALLY GREAT at delivering the service people want, you're probably not great at a number of other business demands (human resources, accounting, legal etc.). Understanding the WHOLE business and its various demands and how your current employer addresses those is critical to success and take a long time to learn.

Hagen recommends the following next steps:

Think about the skill you want to acquire - keeping in mind people must be willing to pay you to do that thing. Would you pay someone to perform the services you're pursuing in your career?
Think about the domain in which you want to work. It may be a good skill but it the domain doesn't interest you (or worse you hate it) you need to develop a plan to change domains.
Read. Sorry I always put this one it there. Reading is guaranteed to accelerate your career.
Look for opportunities to learn from mentors in your chosen career. People are surprisingly willing to help you and their experience can help you a lot.
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Amy’s Answer

What I like about your question is that it's much easier to answer than a year ago. I recommend you start with ChatGPT. That may seem like a strange answer, but I mentor many students in career navigation and it's effective.

Start with your question:

Step 1:"How to go about this career/ how do i get started?"

Step 2: Then add some details. I'll give you some ideas, "I'm interested in computer science because I like to solve data problems. For example, I want to create an app that helps forecast extreme weather in California and suggests how to prepare a year in advance by planting trees, clearing brush, or creating irrigation systems." Or, you may say, " I want to design cool apps that help me pick the right music depending on what I'm doing and my mood."

Step 3: Ask ChatGPT what and how. "What skills do I need based on the examples of why I want to learn computer science? What Kind of programs and colleges should I research? What can I do as a high school student to understand if I would enjoy creating the technology I described? For example, can I take summer or after-school programs in my city-state?"
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