# How can one 'specialize', while being in the IT field ?



## ahmadka (Jan 5, 2007)

Hi guys .. I've been reading quite a few career advice related thread here, and so now I've decided to post my own question 

My question is, how can a person entering the IT field, 'specialize' in something ? I keep hearing people that job experience helps you out, but what else is there apart from just job experience ? What about certifications ? Are they worth the time and money they require ? Or is it something else ? Like how can someone stand out from the crowd, while being in the IT field ? I don't really understand this, because the way I see it is that every guy in the IT field might as well be a programmer, with no major difference among them!

Maybe some specific fields within the IT industry are hotter than others ? Which are paid much better, and stuff ? .. What are those areas ?

I'm a recent graduate working outside the US. I graduated with a Masters degree in ECE from Georgia Tech last hear. I've been working at a software company for the past one year, primarily on BPM related software development (in Software AG's My webMethods Suite, and IBM Lombardi). And now, I feel I need to do something to improve my overall profile, so that I can continue to evolve professionally and maybe specialize myself in some specific IT field.

I know that one thing one can do is get certifications. But this is a big question mark for me. Firstly, I dont know if there really is any advantage of certifications or not, and secondly, if there is an advantage, what exactly is that ? More job offers, better salary, most 'respect', or what ?

Also, in the future I plan to maybe move to UAE, as I like that place a lot (hate the hot weather though!). So if anyone has any advice on whether certifications are an eye catchers there or not, please do let me know.

And lastly, how else, other than by getting certifications, can someone grow professionally in the IT field ?

Needless to say, I'd be very grateful if someone can help me out here. Apologies if this message is a bit too long


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

You specialize in something by working with a technology, discovering that you enjoy working with it, becoming good at it, and getting a job doing only that. Only problem is, you limit your potential job opportunities by specializing. For example, there are a lot of server administrator positions out there, but few that require someone who does nothing but administer Exchange Server all day long. An Exchange expert would be more likely to get the Exchange Server admin job, but there are fewer of those jobs available.

There really isn't anything apart from job experience. You can study continuously about Exchange, but if you've never touched a production Exchange server in your entire life, you're not likely to get a job doing nothing but administering Exchange. 

Certifications (and degrees, for that matter) do not help you "grow professionally". They simply make you look more attractive to employers. Experience by working in the IT field helps you "grow professionally" in the IT field. You can't certify your way past experience, and you can't degree your way past experience. 

If you've been working at a software company on BPM related software development, you HAVE specialized, have you not? 

In any case, I can promise you that IT is full of positions that have nothing at all to do with programming. 

What you need to do is to find something you enjoy doing and do it. If you do that, then the money will follow; if you enjoy what you're doing, you're likely to do a better job at it, which will help you "stand out from the crowd" simply because you are passionate about it. On the other hand, if you're in IT simply for the money, it will be extremely difficult for you to stand out from the crowd, because you're doing it simply for the money, not for the love of _what you are doing_.

I hope this helps bring things into sharper focus for you, perhaps giving you a different perspective of IT as a career field.


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## ahmadka (Jan 5, 2007)

Thanks Michael for your excellent advice .. Needless to say, I appreciate it a lot 

Well the thing about IT is that, ... I can't quite figure out what I want to do .. :/

I mean, yes, I have worked with BPM related stuff for about a year now, but I don't _feel_ like I've specialized .. I just feel as if I'm just doing the work thats being given to me ..

Plus, I don't think I like BPM all that much as well .. But then again, I don't really know yet what _do_ I like ... And I don't even know how to determine what do I like .. :/

I'm passionate about video games, and several years ago, the idea of maybe working at a game studio seemed exciting to me .. But then I think, that yes, after gaining some experience at game development for example, you might be paid slightly better .. But at the end of the day, your whole life will be like sitting in front of a screen for 8 hours a day, coding all the time ..

I guess I'm just trying to say that I don't really know _where_ within the IT field will I fit the best, and I wish I knew how to determine this .. I do like technical work, but at the same time I want something which is dynamic, always changing, involves socializing professionally, involves physical movement, etc ..

I personally feel that I'm good with dealing in money matters (I've always been like this since I was a child), because as a hobby I've earned money through my own part time small 'businesses' that I completely cooked up and did myself ... because of this, I sometimes think I should move into the marketing/financial side of IT ... But then I don't know how _important/respected_ those jobs are, and what do they pay like ..

And lastly, I mentioned certifications because of my elder brother ... My elder brother is an actuary (a very specialized form of chartered accountants, that are paid really well), whose currently in Dubai .. He's just 3 years older than me, but this salary is almost ten times higher than mine right now ... The thing is, to become an actuary, you have to clear like 15 or so extremely difficult papers, and the more you clear, the higher your salary goes, etc .. It takes about 8-9 years to clear all these papers, but by the end, once you become a full actuary, you're like filthy rich ..

So basically, the reason why I mentioned certifications in the first place is because I was wondering if there's anything similar to those papers, in the IT field, which I can keep clearing, no matter how long it takes, so that it will increase my 'market value' professionally, and so far I've not really found such a thing in the IT industry ...

The way I see the IT industry right now is that, you might as well just spend your entire life in front of a screen, doing technical things, and the benefits you get at the end of the day are average to good at best ..

Hope you get what frame of mind I'm in right now


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## BosonMichael (Nov 1, 2011)

The way to determine what you like doing is by trying everything until you figure that out. If you don't like BPM, find something you do like doing.

Programmers do sit in front of a screen and code 8 hours a day. No big surprise there - what else would coders be doing? Some people enjoy that... some people don't. 

If you like physical movement... I've got to be honest with you, information technology doesn't really involve a bunch of movement!  But who says you have to be physical in your job? Do what I do: take a martial arts class. Or swim, or hike, or mountain climb, or scuba dive, or run. I enjoy all of those things... but they're not my job.

There isn't really a "marketing/financial" side to IT. There's marketing jobs and there's financial jobs, and if they happen to be in a company that does IT, that's fine... but it's still marketing and finances. It's not IT.

You seem to really be fixated on the salary side of things. What does it matter that your brother is "filthy rich" with a salary almost ten times higher than yours? Do you need wealth to be happy? I can't stress this enough: *do what you enjoy*.

I may be wrong, but I don't think IT is the right field for you. You seem to be passionate about making a lot of money, but you don't seem to be passionate about information technology. From what I've seen in my years in IT, that's not a recipe for success. People who get into IT just for the money end up burnt out and miserable... many of them tied to their jobs due to their financial obligations (house, car, family, etc.). That's not a place you want to be. That's why I probably sound like a broken record when I say, "Do what you enjoy doing." If you do that, then going to work will be enjoyable for you... something you want to do, not something you're forced to do.


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## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

To supplement Michael's comments for the OP and anybody else who might be reading this thread re: the question, "And I don't even know how to determine what do I like ".

Advice from me about that would be that you should be okay with failing.

What I mean is this - as Michael said, you determine what you like to do, by doing everything and finding what you enjoy through experience.

In my experience nobody is good at _everything_. As you tinker around in IT doubtless you'll find some things that you're good at and enjoy doing but in the process you'll probably also uncover some things you stink at.

So it's okay to fail at something, don't get discouraged if you find something you're not great at doing. You can improve those skills over time, and in the meantime you're a little closer to finding your niche in IT.


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