I'm looking to get into the computer field, but I need some direction. I have always been in sales, and I'm looking for something a little more stable now. I have always been naturally good with computers, but I have never taken any training. I don't even know which each field does.

I have a bunch of questions, and need help.

Which classes are a must to take?
Is "information technology" the right degree to go for?


Thank you all in advance for your help!!

which country do you belong to? it will help people here to figure out solution for you, as each country has got its own education system

if you have time then go for bachlor degree in computer science it will be nice option.

Oh sorry, I'm in the US.

There is a IT degree at my old university that I can get done in about 12 months or so. The reason it would be short is I already have all of my general education courses from my AA degree.

What field does everyone think will be growing in the future?

anyone else have any input on which classes or certifications I should start working towards?

a degree in computer science is always good but your still going to have to get your certifications. I am currently attending New Horizons Computer Learning center. Most employers nowadays are looking for certs. A+, Net+, MCSA, MCSE and CCNA are big. I would recommend a minimum of A+ and your MCSA

Look at job boards like Dice.com and Yahoo! HotJobs for clues. What information technology positions do most employers advertise for within, say, a 50-mile radius of your zip code or wherever you intend to look for a job?

In my case, for example, I started taking ASP.NET, VB.NET and C# classes because there are more job openings for those technical skills. Off the top of my head, I can recall other skills that are in demand within a 30-miles radius of my zip code are in SAP, Oracle, Java/J2EE, LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl/Python/PHP), Javascript, HTML, CSS.

As for certifications -- based on posts in LinkedIn.com, it would appear that HR staff and hiring managers value experience over certifications. Many actually have a poor opinion of vendor-specific certifications. They were particularly down on a certain vendor based in Redmond, WA because you could "crash-course" your way to earning a certificate. However, they do still give merit to some certifications, specifically those which are so difficult to obtain because they demand a demonstrated level of proficiency. Examples they cited are CCIE, CCNE, CISSP and CISA. Now remember, these are not my personal opinions. These are the opinions of hiring staff and managers who posted in LinkedIn.com.

I think we need more information as to what your interests are in. Do you like taking things apart? Are you interested in digital circuitry and mathematics? If you can't stand math and have no desire to take a calculus course, computer science and computer engineering aren't going to be the right choice for you. Do you want to focus more on using/troubleshooting/fixing/being a computer power user ... or actually being a software developer and focus on computer programming?