So... I'm a computer technician

[theocnoob]

I don't know where else to post this. I'm a computer technician. I'm working on getting some compTIA certifications right now to get a better IT job. I thought maybe if there were any other computer nerds here we could talk about our computers or maybe somebody has a problem I could help with?

Here's my setup. I've put a lot of time and effort (and money) into making it great.

 

[Karen]

Very nice set up!

 

[theocnoob]

Thanks Karen!

 

[XstatyK]

Nice setup, here's my setup, personal on right, working from home on left

Another IT nerd here

 

[theocnoob]

Nice setup, here's my setup, personal on right, working from home on left

Nice. I like the ultrawide monitor. I would have one except I'm a gamer so I needed 16:9. I really like my G sync monitor.

I use a Steamlink to beam my desktop to the living room. I use the PC remotely from the livingroom more than I do in the actual computer room. Steam Link is a great product.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Impressive setups.
@theocnoob What games do you play? I used to do a lot of gaming but I don't have the attention span for it lately.

 

[XstatyK]

Nice. I like the ultrawide monitor. I would have one except I'm a gamer so I needed 16:9. I really like my G sync monitor.

I use a Steamlink to beam my desktop to the living room. I use the PC remotely from the livingroom more than I do in the actual computer room. Steam Link is a great product.

When I played PC games mostly using Steam, I would play them on the 32" on the right hand side of the personal. But sidelined the PC games for a while and been mostly using Playstation. Video card is an older GTX 760 4GB.
Funny thing about being on a console now, Chappie will perch himself on the controller sometimes.

 

[JLcribber]

What kind of IT do you do? Networking? Security? Sweep floors? Get coffee? Do you write code?

 

[XstatyK]

Jack of all trades, master of none.

 

[theocnoob]

What kind of IT do you do? Networking? Security? Sweep floors? Get coffee? Do you write code?

ATM I build computers for people and do hardware upgrades and such. I also do physical laptop and desktop repairs, virus removal, data recovery, etc. Just basic entry level tech stuff. I'm working towards A+ and network+

Impressive setups.
@theocnoob What games do you play? I used to do a lot of gaming but I don't have the attention span for it lately.

I play a bit of everything. Right now I'm dividing my time between Sims 4, Planet Coaster, Overwatch, and i occasionally mess around in sandboxy stuff like kerbal space program or cities skylines but I suck at those. The game I have the most hours in is GTA5. The LSPDFR mod for that game is so hilariously fun. When you fly around in the police jet music from top gun plays in the background.

I can't recommend G-sync enough. I can sustain 140FPS constantly in Overwatch maxed out and this coupled with the 1ms response time of my monitor has doubled my K/D ratio from when I had a poor response old crummy 60Hz LCD. I wasted the lifespan of my 980 on that thing. When I got a 1080 I said it was time to get a real monitor.

 

[webchirp]

Educational tech here...mainly web 2.0 stuff, LMS, CMS and lots of video...

 

[zoo mom]

Computer illiterate here (or nearly so). But your setups look awesome.

 

[JLcribber]

Are you looking to get a real job in a big firm? Otherwise those certifications don't get you much.

Everything these days is focussing on machine learning and artificial intelligence. Steer yourself towards those things and you'll have a very successful career and probably a lot of money

 

[theocnoob]

Are you looking to get a real job in a big firm? Otherwise those certifications don't get you much.

Everything these days is focussing on machine learning and artificial intelligence. Steer yourself towards those things and you'll have a very successful career and probably a lot of money

What kind of courses should I take to learn that stuff?
Yes, I was thinking of being an IT guy at a firm of some sort eventually. I'm having a hard time grasping some A+ and network+ concepts though.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Educational technology and Assistive technology here.

 

[jmfleish]

My suggestion to you, as a coder near 50, is to go to your local tech school and see what they are offering and talk to someone in the department who can tell you a little bit about where they see your side of technology going. It all changes at an alarming rate and if you can keep up with the game and know where things are heading and keep up with the newest stuff, you could probably do well in the comp sci field in general. Those of us dinosaurs who stick to a single technology and root ourselves there are generally the ones who get stuck. Everything is going cloud based, much to my chagrin. We are currently trying to move all of our legacy systems to Salesforce. No idea if it's a good idea or not but I don't get paid the big bucks to make the decisions, I just go with the flow! Ten more years of this crap and I'm running as far away from it as I can and I have a degree in comp sci!

 

[theocnoob]

My suggestion to you, as a coder near 50, is to go to your local tech school and see what they are offering and talk to someone in the department who can tell you a little bit about where they see your side of technology going. It all changes at an alarming rate and if you can keep up with the game and know where things are heading and keep up with the newest stuff, you could probably do well in the comp sci field in general. Those of us dinosaurs who stick to a single technology and root ourselves there are generally the ones who get stuck. Everything is going cloud based, much to my chagrin. We are currently trying to move all of our legacy systems to Salesforce. No idea if it's a good idea or not but I don't get paid the big bucks to make the decisions, I just go with the flow! Ten more years of this crap and I'm running as far away from it as I can and I have a degree in comp sci!

Do you find that after coding for so long you have lost passion for it? I worry that I'll lose my passion one day for this stuff.

 

[jmfleish]

Do you find that after coding for so long you have lost passion for it? I worry that I'll lose my passion one day for this stuff.

I've only been at it for 18 years as my first degree is in Geology and I took some time off before I went back to school get my second degree in Comp Sci. I have to say that my career has had its ups and downs but I've been very fortunate to work with an incredible bunch of people who I see as my family. Most of them have either now retired or scattered to the wind when the department we all worked for was eliminated and we had to merge with another department but I'm still working with a few old people and I've made some really good new friends as well.

I like to program but I think that politics can get in the way and the incredible rate at which everything changes drives me completely crazy. I'm currently programming in a software language called PowerBuilder that is considered a sunsetting technology but all of our client server apps were written in it and I know my way around them very well. We've been trying to figure out how to re-write them and what to re-write them in for the last decade at least and even in the last five years, we've had outside companies come in and run out the door because they don't want to touch anything as big as our main application which is daunting. I have to admit that I have the kind of personality where I like to get comfortable and then really excel at something because I know it inside and out and I've never been one to look into all the new and shiny things that come out. I never knew that this personality would not serve me well in some ways as a programmer.

As to the core of your question though, no, I don't get sick of the actual programming of things. I like the challenge of figuring out the different ways to solve a problem and making it come to life in the form of an application. I'm just sick of everything that comes with that...I'm ready to move on to something that isn't so taxing emotional. When you work for the government, you understand what I'm saying! Politics is the pits!

 

[iamwhoiam]

I don't play any of the games you mentioned. I was playing "Life is Strange" & "Alan Wake" but I took a break from both of them. I purchased "Tomb Raider" and started to download but my internet is soooooo slooooooow that I stopped the download. I just want to go to the store and buy the game but many games have to be downloaded. Will try it again late in the evening before I got to bed. I wanted to get "Syberia 3" but the reviews have been mostly negative. Too bad. I enjoyed 1 and 2. I was playing Star Trek online for awhile but I could never get into it so I gave up on that.

I learned Python but since I rarely if ever use it I've forgotten most of what I've learned. Used to know Unix, too.

 

[theocnoob]

I don't play any of the games you mentioned. I was playing "Life is Strange" & "Alan Wake" but I took a break from both of them. I purchased "Tomb Raider" and started to download but my internet is soooooo slooooooow that I stopped the download. I just want to go to the store and buy the game but many games have to be downloaded. Will try it again late in the evening before I got to bed. I wanted to get "Syberia 3" but the reviews have been mostly negative. Too bad. I enjoyed 1 and 2. I was playing Star Trek online for awhile but I could never get into it so I gave up on that.

I learned Python but since I rarely if ever use it I've forgotten most of what I've learned. Used to know Unix, too.

I have 160Mbps internet and so should you. Internet is life. I can download even a 100GB game in a couple of hours. Fast internet is a must these days.