Leave Engineering for IT?
Leave Engineering for IT?
(OP)
I am a telecom engineer and have been offered a position by our IT department. The engineering department I have been working in for 10 years has been fine but I can tell it is a dead end for my career. It seems all of the projects in engineering follow the lines of "this is what we have done for the past 30 years" and the technology does not change; I do work for a utility. This new position offers a flex time environment and the chance to ramp up my skills in new technologies.
I'm wondering if anyone has experience moving from engineering into IT. I'm afraid that the IT managers may not appreciate the amount of work that went into an electrical engineering degree. I'm also working on my MS in cyber security which I'm guessing is why the IT department approached me about this position. Pay is about the same initially, but less in the long run.
I'm wondering if anyone has experience moving from engineering into IT. I'm afraid that the IT managers may not appreciate the amount of work that went into an electrical engineering degree. I'm also working on my MS in cyber security which I'm guessing is why the IT department approached me about this position. Pay is about the same initially, but less in the long run.





RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
I used CAD, so managers thought "Hey, you use computers...lets move you into IT!". ugh
IT was the first to get hit in layoff.
I'm happy to be back in engineering.
Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks 13
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
TTFN

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RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
Neither seem like particularly good options to me.
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
The real question is: with all of the new skills to be learned, why not do it? You could be a very marketable asset with additional usable skills; and your cross-functional experience provides a wider breadth of value.
Your future pay in either case is unpredictable, and always will be. I wouldn't let that be an influencing factor. Value-add is a good thing.
Experience: accumulated knowledge over time.
Talent: the ability to use experience.
Which is more valuable?
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
I enjoyed system administration, Sun Solaris, when I did it. It sounds like I was on a much nicer team. I still run Linux on my computers at home.
One of the things I learned was that you want to be using the system administrator's favourite software. I did an excellent job of setting up and support AutoCAD. I was pretty good with PordWerfect. I was hopeless with Lotus 123.
As an administrator, you will spend you time installing stuff, and fixing user problems. You will learn the word "luser". If this appeals to you, it will be fun. I was a part time administrator. The rest of time I did mechanical design.
--
JHG
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
I almost did the same as you when I was in IT, including the ACAD support for a major aerospace company.
But, I did zero design work for 3 years. On the plus side, I got to travel some.
Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks 13
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
- Steve
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks 13
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Leave Engineering for IT?
Maui
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