What Is Your Angle?

What Is Your Angle?

Your idea of what getting into the IT world looks like depends on your angle. Probably you grew up with a computer or have been using one for a while now.
Do you avoid the overly technical stuff? Do you want to be able to manage a local network at home? Are you the competitive type and want to see how far you can go ... how good a programmer you are or can be? Maybe you had a taste of programming at school and you liked it well enough. Maybe you have a feeling that being able to create software (apps or a web application) might make you rich some day.

You should play the thought that you have finished learning and are looking for a job now. What vision gets you exited emotionally? Is the money you earn the most important thing? Do you want the challenges / your work to be interesting? Do you want to be proud of the product or services you provide? What is important to you? What would be a deal breaker?

• Do you want to be a decent generalist or do you want to specialize fast?
• Do you want to work as an employee? If yes: for a large or a small company?
• Is there an industry you prefer (Automotive, Education, Marketing, CRM / Business Intelligence, Games etc.)?
• Are you primarily interested in web design?
• Are you interested in mobile / apps?
• Are you interested in Big Data and similar new developments?
• Are you still trying to find out what "your thing" is?
• What area areas might be right for you?

1. Operation / Support
2. Administration
3. Development (Apps, Web Backend/Frontend, Software Architect, Embedded Software...)
4. Testing
5. Project / Product Management
6. Freelance work
7. Consulting

Don't worry about if you are good enough at Math yet. The IT world differs a lot depending on where you enter it so I will not scare you with generalisations any time soon. It is just important that you set the course correctly ... and that you can accurately compare the option to alternative career paths.
You might have a skewed idea of what working in the IT environment feels and looks like if you judge based on the little experience you have.

Before you look for the best programming language to learn and what books you should read you should do a little research and come up with a vision of what you want to be able to do in the future.
Communities and sites that tell you first steps without asking for your goals are hardly helpful in my opinion.