In need of some career advice!

[trevayne]

I finished up my Business degree from an IT college last Friday.

I'm expecting a 2.2, hopeful of a 2.1 - I also have the option to repeat 2 modules in August (repeats) if I want to, I passed but had Covid at the time so I get a 'do-over'.

I don't know where to go next - I've applied for general grad jobs/programmes but no real aim/direction.

Ultimately I want to climb to the top of my respective field.

I also think it's best to work towards my strengths.

I've always been better at English based subjects as opposed to Maths based.

I've gotten a 2.1 average in first year of my sisters philosophy module - She just needs to pass to make up credits.

So I've been doing her essays on top of my own course work.

• Fast learner, retain a lot of information
• Analytically minded, pragmatic, solid problem solver
• Willing to work long hours to work my way up
• Work well under pressure/don't get stressed

I'm considering:

- Consulting

- Law

- Software Dev

- Accounting

- Investment Banking

Consulting:

I'll need a Masters, and a good one.

Interesting work, always been fascinated with how businesses are ran, good exposure, exit opportunities, compensation etc.

Law:

Lends itself to my skillset/aptitudes.

Interesting, always enjoyed Law modules.

Would require a 2 year add €14k cost, and that's just to get on par with Law undergrads, I know I could sit the FE-1s without a Law degree, but that's seemingly ill-advised.

Software:

Out of left field but - Interesting work, best W/L balance, great employment prospects, compensation.

2 of my friends are in the field and loving it.

It looks interesting but I don't know if it's 100% for me.. I'm trying to delve into Java with some online courses this summer.

Would require a 1 year conversion HDip, at least.

Accounting:

Never struggled with accounting, never particularly enjoyed it either.

I've a lot of friends in this field, they say the work isn't all that challenging, exams are the worst part.

I asked a lecturer for career advice (C Suite Ambitions, getting into strategy side of things - what fascinates me about Business) - He said Big4 Public Accounting, Audit (best exposure), get chartered, use exit opportunities, MBA - Onwards and upwards.

I'd probably need a HDip to meet the CAP1 requirement.

Investment Banking:

Requires a stellar masters, even then I doubt I'd get into a target school, and I wouldn't do a Finance Masters regardless.

Sounds stupid, much like accounting because - Maths based subjects are not necessarily my forte.

I've an aunt who's an ex IB Client Relationship Manager - We share a lot of the same attributes, she's excelled in her career despite not being from a Finance background - Hence why I think I'd do well if I somehow got into that realm.

This all probably sounds stupid given my academic track record.

I'm quite ambitious.

I'm also more driven than others presume.

I know people will say money isn't everything or career isn't everything, but there's still people fighting to get to the top of their respective ladders, I want to be one of them, at least for now.

I just don't know what to do or where to even start!

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[joesailor61]

@trevayne If you rather English based subjects then software dev is a bit pointless no?

 

[trevayne]

@joesailor61 Arguably so, but it still interests me.

I've often said I would have been an engineer if I was good at maths.

I'm fascinated with how systems/things work and where you can find efficiencies/smarter approaches.

So that's translated to my degree because I've with why 1 franchise model has been successful, and another has fallen flat.

Why Starbucks is out performing Costa etc.

I've a friend who's a successful software dev and I'm better at maths than he is/was.

I don't know if I'm right, I realise Software has that same mathematical thinking but I see it as a separate skill in and of itself.

 

[joesailor61]

@trevayne Well, I’m a data engineer and there’s a certain amount of mathematical thinking but very little, if you can understand how to go from a to b with programming it’s all you need really, I didn’t do computer science in college and if I did I probably wouldn’t be where I am as that’s all maths essentially, best of luck whatever you choose but I love being in software

 

[justjude]

@trevayne You really shouldn't be doing your sister's course work. That's not good for you or her...

 

[trevayne]

@justjude She’s doing a drama course, she just has to choose additional modules to make up the course requirements it’s only for a year.

I’m not condoning it, I just also think it’s idiotic that someone studying a niche field of study has to take an entirely unrelated module from a list of equally unrelated modules (namely classics, Geography, Sociology etc).
So I said I’d help her out - she’s not going to con an philosophy grad programme out of this

 

[fishsticks2016]

@trevayne It’s idiotic to be doing someone else’s course for them whilst not getting very good grades in your own course tbh.

 

[trevayne]

@fishsticks2016 You’re dead right, I can’t argue with that.

I will say I found her coursework far more interesting and less like work.

 

[omegathefirst]

@trevayne "This probably all sounds stupid given my academic track record"

 

[omegathefirst]

I would advise you to not bounce into a masters. I would advise you to work for a year or two to get a better idea of what you'd like to pursue.

 

[trevayne]

@omegathefirst I think that's a smart move, it's always why I've been applying to everything and anything that's piqued my interest.

My main concern is time and money.

I'll be 25 soon and I don't want to live at home for ever.

I've an offer from a friend to move in with him and his mates, which I'm seriously tempted by but I feel if I do that I won't bother going back to education - because it'll realistically mean moving back in with my parents.

So I've been looking at doing a masters/add on while I'm still in the student mindset.

 

[omegathefirst]

@trevayne If you're living in Dublin, find a job, stay at home and start saving money like your life depends on it. Otherwise you'll move out, fritter money away, get caught living paycheque to paycheque with nothing to show. Save a deposit by 31/32 and move out without having to move home again at that age having rented for 5/6 years.

 

[trevayne]

@omegathefirst Nope not Dublin unfortunately.

It also means that even now, whilst living at home I'll realistically go to NUI Galway as that's within somewhat of a commuting distance.

 

[omegathefirst]

@trevayne Best of luck anyway. Great to have so many possibilities ahead of you.

 

[penguinpet]

@trevayne I’d say it’s pretty hard to get to the top of any career ladder if you’re not in love with the work. This would be really a ‘go with your gut’ decision for me.

 

[beckywarner]

@trevayne Sounds to me like you have no idea what you want out of life yet.

Just go applying for jobs in the various fields you are interested in. Oh and there's significantly more to IT than programming. Java sucks job wise, market is saturated with code monkies in India. Pick something niche and study the hell out of it, like Data Analytics/AI/Machine learning - look at java use cases for those, or pick up Python, Julia, R etc. There's huge market now for those. But then again you might not like programming so then it's all for naught.

Really you need to sit and think about what you want to do, what you want in the future. You've still a few years yet before you get to a critical stage, but getting am early start will help.

 

[resjudicata]

@beckywarner Can you elaborate why java jobs suck ? I still see a lot of postings for the skill , especially on the backend with scala?

 

[beckywarner]

@resjudicata That's interesting, I just had a look there on jobs[.]ie and monster[.]ie and they have a handful of job postings - senior / lead dev's, full stack dev, no scala specific roles that i could see, at least at a glance.

So everything i say after this is just my 2 cents, and obviously take it with a pinch of salt.

Look at it this way, if a junior/graduate role does show up, you will be competing against people who have been doing the language for 4 years through college, not to mention people relocating from other countries, and a lot of these people are genuinely good programmers. Unless you have some sort of incredible affinity for it (which tbh it doesn't sound like you do, as you're not even sure it's an area you want to pursue) then there is a very small chance you'll learn enough in a short time frame to be employable. Never say never, but it's unlikely imo. There's more than enough java developers out there to fill the roles, and lots of the basic roles are being offboarded to a countries where they can work the staff hard and pay them a pittance.

This is why i suggest something like AI, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, they are relatively new job areas and there isn't nearly enough people to fill all the rolls. There's too many jobs and no one to fill them. I work in AI and automation, and partner with DA/ML teams, and they literally cannot hire enough staff as there is not enough people trained or with degree's in these fields. Irish colleges still playing catchup in that scope.

 

[resjudicata]

@beckywarner I just go by linkedin ,indeed and my personal experience to be fair, last two interviews i had for a junior java position did ask me whether i was willing to learn scala , from what i got from it , it is a niche that experienced devs get good money for.

I wont argue that your probably way more informed than me being in the industry already so maybe i have the picture painted wrong. But positions involving java/scala , kafka , spark , aws i do come across often.

I'll just add that programming is something i definitely i want to do , i'm not from pure CS background and ive turned down engineering positions in pharma that pay well and in the end might even be more recession proof .Maybe your talking about OP..

Its interesting to hear your take though that theres a demand , for AI and ML , over in develeire people mention that theres feck all jobs in it . Something to do my own research on now .
Mind me asking how you pivoted into AI?

 

[beckywarner]

@resjudicata Ah sorry - thought you were OP ignore that bit so.

Ah okay I don't get linked in alerts for java jobs, so wouldn't see them there, obviously having a different experience gets different jobs sent to you!

I work for a one of the big tech companies. Started in IT support, moved into Cybersecurity - In that I learned a tonne about automating repetitive tasks, built a tonne of tooling from the ground up, and then pivoted into the cyber automation space, where I build anything and everything that can be automated, alongside testing and training models for various cyber functions. My role is more around things like robotic decision automation, SOAR, custom feeds and integrations with various other tooling. If you like solving puzzles, and programming, then cyber might be up your alley. Another sector desperately short on bodies to fill the roles.