Many of us bootstrapped ourselves into IT careers due to our early exposure to the commercial internet.
Posted by harry_dangler808@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 31 comments
As an adolescent I went from BBS / Dailup user -> Unix-based command prompt "net access" -> Linux box -> broadband w/ Windows. I Majored in English, but managed to land an IT gig and now lead a enterprise web dev team. It's just second nature. Anyone else?
Plus-Opportunity-538@reddit
Even further back than the commercial internet for me, My digital immersion started out in the analog world with programming VCRs. I am old enough that my parents had a betamax and VCR player and learning to record from one format into another started me down the path of digital hoarding that I exist in now. We used to tape stuff off TV onto beta and when that format didn't pan out I had a bunch of beta tapes to record back into VHS. These were early lessons about format compatibility, generation loss, and obsolescence.
burgundyblue@reddit
I got into it because I graduated in 2007 just in time for the recession. I was ok with tech, so I got a job doing repairs and teaching the basics. An Engineer now, stuck in a field I was doing until things got better, but a wedding and a child later, it pays too much to leave.
shaggydog97@reddit
I learned CSS and HTML via MySpace.
Intelligent-Bed7284@reddit
Same. And Neopets lol
El-Royhab@reddit
geocities here
jasonrubik@reddit
I was the go-to guy on campus for computer issues in 97. Ethernet was new and it was real.
trainwreckhappening@reddit
I drive trains my dude. I daydream of having a 9-5 and living in the "rat race." The idea of working just 8 hours most days is so foreign to me it feels like a myth. I went 9 years getting 5 sleep events for every 7 days (moved to a new railroad and now I get set days off, sort of). But it pays well enough to be a trap that I will never get out of. I can't start over with zero transferable skills.
Middleage_dad@reddit
I managed to move from IT into being a sales engineer. I could never code but I got the concepts and knew how to talk to developers. The problem was I wasn’t as great at dealing with executives and salespeople, so I was never great and find myself aged out of the industry
New_me_310@reddit
Guilty. I became a web developer as an English major because I raised my hand at my first job to help with the website. I was a reporter at a print paper and the youngest employee in office on a night when the one web guy was out sick. They needed someone to get the next days stories up, and I volunteered. Shortly thereafter learned the hourly pay differential for web work vs journalism and made the switch. It has served me well.
bikeonychus@reddit
Got the internet in about 1997, and immediately started making my own websites. Ended up working in Computer games for 15 years until about 6 years ago, in different art roles.
I'm damn sick of technology now. It went from the exciting future to an absolute turd pile. AI is ruining art too, but the way I am seeing folks react to that is to stop using digital and to start making physical pieces and crafting arts.
BritOnTheRocks@reddit
So what are you doing professionally now? I’m sad the magic of building websites is gone, I so badly want it back.
bikeonychus@reddit
Unfortunately, nothing. I had to stop due to long-term disability. I can't draw for more than 15 minutes anymore.
BritOnTheRocks@reddit
Sorry to hear that.
hamburgler26@reddit
I still credit a lot of my troubleshooting and problem solving skills to trying to get games to run on DOS with my dad, or trying to get a soundcard or modem to work. My cousin setting me up with some software and a list of BBS numbers was an incredible time.
AppalachianHillToad@reddit
Sort of? Became a data scientist when this was still a niche/weird job that no one had heard of.
alittlejoy@reddit
I have a degree in English but I’ve worked in technical support and then marketing operations. I’ve just always been generally adept at learning platforms and how things work.
nanonoise@reddit
I left school and went to a college studying electronics that was boring as hell. I got a job building PCs for this Armenien bloke who smoked like a chimney. I did that for a while and left IT altogether as it was around the dotcom crash times.
I worked retail for many years until going back to college for a IT cert. Been working back in that game for 15+ years now. To be honest I am totally over it and on the lookout for something different, but sadly not coming up with anything. Knowing how to do IT well pays the bills.
daughtcahm@reddit
I don't work in IT, but the skills I picked up have served me well.
My first real job was based on the fact that I could touch type quickly and accurately. Because that used to be a big skill.
I currently work in training for a software company. My ability to figure shit out and having no fear about pushing software buttons has made me a ⭐ Star Employee ⭐
I'm always shocked by the number of people on my team who will ask what a button does. I dunno, did you fucking push it to see what happens?
optimaloutcome@reddit
I never had a target job aspiration like doctor or lawyer. I was always "good at computers" so I just rolled with that.
Ended up as a UNIX admin (like Solaris, AIX) for a bit before they put me on linux and now I do devops work. I still like the work, I personally like the mix of tech and business in a large corp, and it pays well. Happy it went down that way.
harry_dangler808@reddit (OP)
Exactly this. My role is more of a liason between our IT infra / DNS / Devops guys and the digital marketing / front end devs. I speak both languages and can build and manage major projects. Love my work.
bahaki@reddit
Started around '96 with chat rooms and VB 3 programs mostly using sendkeys. Eventually dabbled in later VB stuff with winsock, then into web dev (early PHP days) & Linux.
Then took a few years off around the early-mid 2000s because sabotaging my future seemed like a good idea at the time. Eventually got back into it with Linux sysadmin & more modern development stuff. Lots of missed opportunities, but it's been a fun trip.
dan-lash@reddit
Almost same exact path but stuck with dev the whole time. Life is about balance, it probably was a good idea to have some fun in your 20s - there’s not many 40yo people having fun
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
Shout out to the OG IT who actually knew computers. Anyone who does IT under the age of 35 is tech illiterate.
rearwindowpup@reddit
Been in IT for almost 20 years. Had a 25yo help desk guy tag along on a wireless install I was doing to get some experience. The lack of basic fundamentals he had blew my mind. Thought the difference between cat5 and cat6 was one had 5 pairs and the other had 6 pairs...
OkBaconBurger@reddit
Ah yeah. I was always messing with computers. They got me with the allure of fun games and then I learned about the Dos prompt, commands, installing the OS, hardware drivers…. One day i woke up and I found myself working in IT for over 20 years.
Purring4Krodos@reddit
As a Prodigy user left unsupervised in our "computer room"/office:
cornedbeef101@reddit
I started with basic, Visual Basic, pascal, Delphi, html, asp 3, and that was before I had a job.
Then asp.net, c#.net from ~2000 and have built a career from that. It paid off being a nerd in high school.
no1kn0wsm3@reddit
I got Internet in HS in 1996. Wish I hanged out with the Linux nerds of my HS.
Many of them are now CTOs of our country's telcos.
litchick@reddit
Yep. Majored in English too. When I was sick of sitting in front of a screen all day I went back to school for my masters in special education.
Now I sit in front of a screen at a school instead!
heresmytwopence@reddit
Similar pipeline for me. I cut my programming chops making utilities for my BBS with a borrowed copy of QuickBasic from an IT manager neighbor, did 5 years in IT after getting my political science degree and have been a .NET developer since 2007.
odin_the_wiggler@reddit
It all began with AOHell...