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what are some professional options
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Posted by: RBK25
not sure if this belongs here but i figured you guys and girls are as good to ask as any. i have recently changed my major to information technology (technical concentration) because i absolutely love troubleshooting other peoples computers. i spend hours upon hours trying to solve virus, internet connection, and other common problems that people have and i love every second of it. my only problem is that after taking my first semester of IT classes, all that we do is learn programing. a student could get straight As in all their IT classes and still not even know what spyware is. websites like OTS, google and myself have taught me everything that i know, not my university. i guess i want to know if there are other options for my career vs just programming. did i declare the wrong major? do i even need to finish college to make the sort of profession i mentioned above. i know there is money in this profession and i would really appreciate some suggestions
Posted by: armystud0911
I would highly recommend that you finish college, the possibilities of having a bachellors's are phenominally larger than w/out it. That goes for any profession really, my brother is missionary overseas and he is still getting a correspondance bachelor's degree.
I would recommend that you talk to a college guidance counselor for a true "professional" opinion, but we can still offer advice here since you asked 
Posted by: RBK25
i have talked to my advisor and he basically just says programing is (IT) is where i need to be, but there has to be something better aimed at my interests, right?
Posted by: Shalome
If you're not into programming, for the love of all that's holy, DON'T become a programmer. You will quickly wind up bored, frustrated, and lacking vision on projects at work.
Ask your counselor why s/he suggests programming. If it doesn't suit your interests or personal goals, then your counselor is only suggesting it because it's a stable, decently-paid career. There are far more concerns in life, and tons of ways to make a living with an IT degree.
FINISH SCHOOL. It's really, really important to have a bachelor's degree in ANYTHING in today's workforce.
If you like troubleshooting, problem solving, and things of that nature, I highly suggest you look into...
Network Administration -- design, troubleshooting, and general care and feeding of networks
Systems Administration -- same thing, but on the computer level
-- Linux sysadmin -- learning some shell scripting and Perl would be good for a Linux sysadmin.
-- Windows sysadmin
-- Migration Specialist -- people who plan, implement, and troubleshoot things related to upgrading operating systems or software distributions, like moving a whole company from Windows 2000 to Windows XP.
Security (my personal favorite) -- firewalls, proxy servers, network monitoring, anti-hacking, secure design of networks, locking down systems, keeping spyware off people's computers.. this is a really great, constantly changing, fast-growing field right now.
You absolutely must finish school. It sounds like you may be attending the wrong college/university if all it offers in IT is programming. Talk to a professor about your interests, and he or she will probably be able to direct you towards courses that would interest you.
Posted by: NegotiatorSmith
I don't know what college you're majoring in IT at, but I'm also an IT major and I have observed the EXACT same thing that you have - someone can go through all of the required core IT classes and not learn a thing. At my college, IT students start out by taking programming classes too; however, many of the upper-level courses are varied and very good. I'm not going to give up pursuing my degree, and neither should you. I like to troubleshoot too, and my concentration is going to be in network/system administration. I agree with Shalome that if you're into troubleshooting, net/sys-admin would be right up your alley.
You must realize that no matter what college or university you go to for IT, you're probably going to learn a lot more outside of class than you will in it. Most of what I've learned about computers and networking has come from people in other majors at my college, and I have learned a tremendous amount while doing independent reading and browsing/posting in tech forums. I think that when it comes to any area of study in college, if you're really passionate about it, the important things you learn will come from your experiences outside of the classroom.
If you like troubleshooting, I think that IT is the right place for you if you're going to pursue a college degree. It's definitely a better alternative than going to some place like "ITT Tech" where you won't get the college experience. 
Posted by: RBK25
thank you for your suggestions. i also agree, shalome, that security would be very exciting to persue. i had mentioned that to my counselour and he said that IT would be a good start. but it just makes me frustrated to think that i am going to fork out money for information that will be pointless in the future(Welcome to college). i guess i just dont see it tying in. i think that i would also like sys admin or network adm. if you feel that IT is the right major for me,(i know your not a counselor but i highly respect your opinions) than i will gladly go after it. i just want to make sure that my interests(virus, spyware, troublshooting) fit my major.
Posted by: armystud0911
Even in those other degrees, you will still need some programming classes, so I don't think that this semester was wasted for you as long as you can tranfer your credits.
Posted by: TheeMon
LISTEN TO SHAL,
omg i took cisco ccna networking, BORING as freaking hell i hated it... im still going to finish it out untill i can figure out a better computer job though, and trouble shooting pisses me off, i just ask ots and let them fix it
Posted by: Shalome
 Quote:
Originally posted by RBK25
thank you for your suggestions. i also agree, shalome, that security would be very exciting to persue. i had mentioned that to my counselour and he said that IT would be a good start. but it just makes me frustrated to think that i am going to fork out money for information that will be pointless in the future(Welcome to college). i guess i just dont see it tying in. i think that i would also like sys admin or network adm. if you feel that IT is the right major for me,(i know your not a counselor but i highly respect your opinions) than i will gladly go after it. i just want to make sure that my interests(virus, spyware, troublshooting) fit my major.
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Low-level core courses are often boring, repetitive, and seemingly unnecessary. However, they're also the gateway to the more in-depth, interesting classes you can take at higher levels and can introduce you to interesting professors. While "Information Security" is not a major, you will almost certainly be able to find courses, work-study programs, internships, etc, in that field.
Talk to your professors and get to know them. They're going to be the ones who can point you towards valuable internships and interesting courses, and they're going to be the ones writing you letters of recommendation when you graduate. Never underestimate the value of social networking -- often, in the real world, it's really not about what you know, it's about who you know.
If you want some reading recommendations on information security stuff, let me know. I did it for a living until last December (when I quit for personal reasons, not professional).
Posted by: Bunmiadefisayo
Your problem is, sadly, something that ive ssen in my college. A lot of my friends who are either engineering majors or computer science majors get frustrated and bored with the load that they are given. In fact, last year alone, about 20% of the engineering students moved to the school of business.
In any case if you like troubleshooting and solving otehr peoples problems you could be like me and become an Economist. TO me it is absolutely fascinating the things you learn when you study economics, plus you could minor in computer science also and still have your computer knowledge.
TO each his own i guess, sorry if this wasnt helpful in anyway
Posted by: RBK25
thanks for the suggestions. i am doing a great job socializing with my professors. not exactly kissing up, but i give them much respect and i feel that even after just a semester with them, they would already do favors for me. i will definitely build on that. i would have to say pass on the economist. i have finally decided ,after a 22 year quest in the fog(wow, thats deep ha ha), that i am 100 percent sure i want to work on and with computers. Shalome, i would absolutely love any info on security. feel free to pm me or whatever. not to be nosey, but now you got me thinking about why you left security. once again thank you
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