Originally aired on Stratford's Tech Talk Radio Program
President, Stratford University
Table
of Contents
- First understand where the field is going by reading industry magazines or "rags." Most of these publications are free and give you something interesting to talk about during the interview.
- Second, get the competencies demanded by the industry, either through self-study or through an educational institution, like Stratford University.
- Third, learn the standards and procedures that support your industry in order to demonstrate that you will be in a position to make valid technical decisions.
- Fourth, package yourself with a well written resume that emphasizes where you are going rather than where you have been (particularly if you are making a radical career change).
- Fifth, network by joining user groups and trade associations (and don't make the mistake of asking for a job at these meetings!). You will uncover opportunities and make many friends through this process.
- Finally, survey employers to find out where they are going. Research each firm you visit and send thank you notes after you the complete informational interview. This process normally leads to a "lucky" discovery. Remember, you can't find a gold coin in the grass unless you are walking around the lawn.
Many links to help with this career transition process are listed below.
-
Read
Industry Rags Top of Page
- PC Magazine (www.pcmag.com)
- Information Security (www.infosecuritymag.com)
- Network Magazine (www.networkmagazine.com)
- CIO (www.cio.com)
- Info World (www.infoworld.com)
- PCWeek (www.pcweek.com)
- InternetWeek (www.internetwk.com)
- Network Computing (www.nwc.com)
- Data Communications (www.data.com)
- InformationWeek (www.iweek.com)
- Planet IT (www.planetit.com)
- WebReview.com (www.webreview.com)
(So you will have something to talk about at the job interview.)
-
Understand
where the Field is Going Top
of Page
- Network Infrastructure (including Telecommunications)
- Security and Security Policy
- e-Business (including e-Commerce)
- Distributed and Interactive Databases
- Web Delivery and Exchange of Info via XML
- Rapid Application Development (using Object Oriented Programming)
(And try to figure out how you will fit in.)
-
Know
Your Standards Organizations Top
of Page
- Internet Engineering Task Force (www.ietf.org)
- World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3c.org)
- XML Industry Portal (www.xml.org)
- O'Reilly XML Site (www.xml.com)
- NIST IT Laboratory (www.itl.nist.gov)
- NSF Computer, Information Sciences (www.nsf.gov/home/cise)
- IEEE 802 Lan/Man Committee (grouper.ieee.org/groups/802)
- IPv6, The Next Generation Internet Protocal (www.ipv6.org)
- ATI Forum (www.atmforum.org)
- Frame Relay Forum (www.frforum.com)
- International Telecommunication Union (www.itu.int)
- Telecommunications Industry Association (www.tiaonline.org)
- Electronic Industries Alliance (www.eia.org)
- Computer Emergency Response Team (www.cert.org)
- National Infrastructure Protection Center (www.fbi.gov/nipc/index.htm)
(A good place to start your education in IT.)
-
Join
User Groups Top of Page
- NT User's Groups (www.ntpro.org/ntserver)
- Virginia Oracle Users Group (www.voug.org)
- Mid-Atlantic Association of Oracle Professionals (www.maop.org)
- Capitol PC User's Group (cpcug.org)
- Washington Apple Pi (www.wap.org/info)
- Washington Area Perl Mongers (dc.pm.org)
- Washington Area Linux Users Group (wauug.erols.com/dclinux)
- Washington Area SGML/XML Users Group (www.eccnet.com/xmlug)
- XML for Windows (www.vbxml.com)
- Maryland Cold Fusion Users Group (www.cfug-md.org)
- Capitol Area Visual Basic Users Group (www.ntpro.org/vb)
- Washington Area Computer Users Group (member.apcug.org/wac)
- Washington DC Linux Users Group (dclug.tux.org)
- Northern Virginia Linux Users Group (novalug.tux.org)
- E-Commerce & Intranet App. Group (www.ntpro.org/ecommerce )
- DC Area Sybase User Group (www2.dgsys.com/~dcasug)
- Capitol Area SQL Server Users Group (www.ntpro.org/sql)
- Netware Users International (www.novell.com/corp/community/nui)
- Int. Assoc. of HP Computing Professionals (www.interex.org)
(And begin networking)
-
Join
Trade and Professional Associations Top
of Page
- Open Software Foundation (www.opengroup.org)
- IEEE Computer Society (www.computer.org/csinfo)
- Association for Computing Machinery (www.acm.org)
- Information Technology Association of America (www.itaa.org)
- Free Software Foundation (www.fsf.org)
- Association for IT Professionals (www.aitp.org)
- DC Association of Internet Professionals (www.dcaip.org)
- Internet Society (www.isoc.org)
- DC Chapter of Internet Society (www.dcisoc.org)
- Network and Systems Professionals Association (www.nascom.com)
- Network Professionals Association (www.npa.org/npa.htm)
- Advanced Computing Systems Association (www.usenix.org)
(And meet the hiring managers)
-
Check
the Women in Information Technology Sites
Top of Page
- Institute for Women and Technology (www.iwt.org)
- Women in Technology (www.womenintechnology.com)
- Women in Technology International (www.witi.org)
- Women Weaving Webs (women.weavingwebs.com)
- Girl Geeks (www.girlgeeks.com)
- DC Web Women (www.dcwebwomen.org)
- Capitol Association for Women in Computing (www.awcncc.org)
(IT is a great place for women.)