"Discover the 8 Reasons Why Now is the Best Time Ever to Change to a Computer Career"

J

I'm talking about employment or (much better!) self-employment as a techie.

If you are reasonably intelligent, over the age of 22 and caught in the modern I-hate-my-job-and-I'm-afraid-of-losing-it trap, you must read every word of this article, because there IS a way out.

If you are . . . (check which one applies to you)

unhappy with your current job -- your salary, your work and your promotional opportunities (or all three)

attracted to working with computers, either hardware or software

unemployed and looking for work

retired or close to retirement and looking for a way to supplement your pension and Social Security

. . . you are about to learn why there will always be career opportunities in information technology and how you can break into the field. Even if you're not a 22 year old Computer Science degree holder.

FACT: Computers and the Internet are NOT going away.

Obviously, computers and the Internet are going to remain an integral part of our lives -- in fact we're going to find more and more ways to use them for work and play. Clearly, computers will continue to produce jobs in designing, programming, installing, administering, trouble-shooting and fixing them.

And they will continue to "spin off" jobs and opportunities that nobody even dreamed of, such as web designer, search engine optimization specialist and eBay PowerSeller.

Nobody predicted or planned this. It grew out out of the human drive to help people and make money -- using the vast capabilities of the Internet.

Nobody can now foresee the future in its details and, as a techie, you are positioning yourself to design, make, program, install or repair the "picks and shovels" that Internet miners need and want.

According to Gordon (co-founder of Intel) Moore's Law, the processing power of microchips doubles every 18 months. This explains why computers are constantly more powerful.

Combine the availability of this ever-increasing processing power with the drive of businesses to help people in more and better ways . . . and the use of computers in creative and innovative ways becomes inevitable.

It's getting more difficult every day to separate TVs from PCs and cell phones from personal data assistants (PDAs) and digital cameras.

How long before we are permanently hooked up to the Internet through a personal wireless network?

Someone will have to design, program, install and sometimes repair all these computers. Why not you?

The 1991-92 recession was tough on techies. Lots of them changed to other jobs. Yet in 1994 the world discovered the Internet and the tech boom began, lasting until early 2001.

The 2001-2004 recession was tough on techies. Lots of them changed to other jobs. Given that computer usage continues to grow, how long before the next boom begins?

Now is the time to get in: to study hard, get certified and get experience - when it's not the popular, "in" thing to do. When TIME and NEWSWEEK run cover stories on the new tech boom -- guess what? it's too late to join it for maximum reward. You'll be one of the masses of wannabes hammering at the doors of the computer schools.

Millions of near-desperate Chinese and Indians want to answer our customer service calls and sweat out the donkey work of IT -- coding software. They'll use computers running Windows and spend some of their paychecks on products and services made in America, creating more jobs here.

And companies will continue to need people who understand software AND who can communicate effectively with customers AND who can manage projects on budget.

And guess what? It's not only American companies who need such employees -- so do foreign companies. And some of them will come here to hire such employees. Americans are the hardest working, well educated employees outside Japan -- and unlike Japan we don't erect bureaucratic obstacles to foreign companies coming here to do business.

Eventually, coding software will become as obsolete as the IBM punch card machine I used in 1977 when I took a college class in COBOL. Why don't we just go back to programming by IBM punch cards, to "save jobs?" Ain't gonna happen.

It's already started (boomers began turning 55 in 1999) and will soon create huge gaps in the labor market at all levels. Yes, many of us boomers will grow bored with playing golf all day or be too far in debt to stop working completely. But we won't keep working hard at the same old IT jobs. We'll teach inner-city children to read or make home movies.

What if you're a baby boomer who wants to change to a computer career? Perfect -- some business will get a competent hard worker to replace one who's gone back to tie-dying t-shirts. You change to a career you love. Win-win.

Viruses, worms, hackers, crackers, info thieves, cyberterrorists and "offline" terrorists -- our computers and networks need more protection from these threats. Protect us - please.

It takes a lot of processing power to sort out strings of DNA, run models of how well hypothetical experimental drugs would cure diseases and to analyze the biochemistry of newly discovered rain forest herbs -- somebody has to develop and design these programs.

We are going to live longer and healthier lives in the futures, and computers will supply the data-crunching muscle power than will unlock the genetic secrets we are looking for.

Virtual Reality (VR) was the big thing in early 1990s science fiction's vision of the future -- until the real world Internet overshadowed it. Still, expanded PC processing power and broadband and fiber optics capacity will create possibilities we can barely dream of today.

How would you like to play a VR game of Dungeons and Dragons over the Internet? Given enough computer capacity, a band of international players could create their own internetworked game world, put on their VR suits and feel as though they're fighting each other with swords or light sabres.

Given this trend, and the universal human desire to perform another, more "adult"  activity in any way possible . . . the science of creating physical sensations via force feedback -- called "haptics" -- will continue to grow in the future.

Believe it not, governments from villages to the Federal government, are looking to information technology to cut costs. The Social Security Administration plans to do away with all paper by 2007.

How can you ride one to an exciting and rewarding career?

Now I hear you asking me, but what about the recession and all the stories about techies laid off and quitting?

Yes, the recession was brutal. The boom in IT employment collapsed after major businesses completed designing and implementing their LAN and WAN networks, finished buying new equipment to prevent a Y2K disaster and the dot com bankruptcies threw thousands of experienced web designers and developers into the streets.

But no businesses threw their computer networks away, did they? Many techies continued to work at their jobs.

And people like you are still flocking to the IT industry looking for new opportunities. This means the knowledge I've gained can save you a lot of time and money by guiding you to what is best for you.

Obviously, people need computer careers information even more than before because the employment picture in other industries is even worse! NOBODY has any job security. People in many fields are being laid off and downsized right and left and many of them are looking to switch to a computer career and need this information to guide them.

These people can least afford to waste $5-10,000 on unnecessary training.

Because when there's even greater competition than before for even fewer available IT jobs, you need every possible edge to beat out the other "paper" MCSEs in your area looking for entry level jobs.

Can you really change to a computer career? After all, you're over 22 years old.

Let me be frank -- the biggest prejudice in the IT industry is that of age. Information technology has traditionally accepted women, racial and ethnic minorities, the disabled etc. -- anybody and everybody who produced good work.

Except people over 25.

The bad news is, Microsoft is not going to hire you. Neither will AOL or Oracle.

The good news is, most IT jobs are in companies that use IT for their businesses, but their business is not IT. That means, their main concern is, can you do you the job?

The other good news is, as I like to mention, is that you can always hire yourself. When you own the company, you don't have to be concerned about your age or anything else, except can you do the job!

I'm Richard Stooker, and in 1999 I started hearing the stories of how short order cooks were going from minimum wage to $60K a year just by earning pieces of paper called CNE and MCSE.

I did my homework and soon learned that the hype coming from computer schools that paying $5,000 and up to get "paper certified" was NOT the way to guarantee yourself steak and job opportunities for the rest of your life.

Don't Let Recessions or Outsourcing Get You Down

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Save Time and Money With This Step by Step Roadmap to Your IT Career

I devote an entire chapter to each of the eleven mostly likely to serve as an entry level position. For each position I've broken down the steps as thoroughly as possible. So you can go from step 1 to step 2 to step 3 . . .

I also give you an inexpensive way to check each one out before you do spend a lot of money and commit yourself to some computer career that is not right for you.

You don't want to start looking for work until you're fully prepared, so I give you a list of the skills for each computer careers area.

Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career is meant to be used, not simply read.

That takes strategy and persistence. You must supply the persistence. I pass on lots of ideas I found in the course of my research and ones given to me by the career counselors I asked.

Part of the tons of research I did for this computer careers book was contacting experts and getting their opinions. These 5 career counselors work daily in the info tech career job application trenches. One of them has written a book himself. I quote their opinions in Secrets.

I've done my utmost to make Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career everything I wish I could have had bundled into one easy convenient inexpensive package. It is designed to give anyone who is not already an experienced techie an overview of all their computer career possibilities.

I bend over backward to point out how you can learn and get certified with the least possible expense. After all, if you're thinking of changing to a computer career, you want more money, am I right?

Maybe you're not cut out to be a techie after all. No disgrace, not everybody can or should be one. One woman wrote me with gratitude about how much she appreciated the time and money reading Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career saved her. It helped her realize she didn't WANT to be a techie after all! If she'd enrolled in the horribly expensive certification class she was considering, she would have wasted months and thousands of dollars to find that out.

The techie "shortage" we heard so much of in 1999 was never a demand for test takers. That's why the MCSE was never a magic bullet to success. Yet there is never a shortage of money or opportunity for people with good ideas and the willingness to bring them into reality.

• The very best field for mid-life career changers to switch to a high tech career. You'll probably want to target this one . . . See page 66


• The only 2 absolute barriers to changing to a computer career, and how to get over them . . . See page 26


• The one IT job field where you may be able to get a decent part time moonlighting job. Keep your day job and make the extra money you need . . . See page 123


• How to make money by playing new computer games . . . See page 107


• The IT skill that attracts many career changers but is difficult to impossible for anyone but 22 year olds with fresh Computer Science degrees to get an entry level job in. Don't waste your time or money . . . See pages 55-57


• The IT job field where you may be able to make money because you know popular software packages well. Use your current on the job experience with Microsoft Office and others. (For most people, using Word or Access is just a way of doing their jobs, not actual IT skills.) . . . See page 98


• The Top 10 Info-Tech Using Industries . . . See page 31


• Learn the ultimate computer careers change secret. In 1999 I wrote that the ultimate computer careers change secret was experience, since so many people without experience were paying $5000+ for a piece of paper they thought was going to guarantee them a high paying job.
  
  Although people are still falling into that trap, I now reveal the *real* ULTIMATE computer careers change secret. It's old, yet all of us must be reminded of it . . . See page 123


• Best IT certification for mid-life career changers . . . See page 69


• Why you can't time your career switch. In 1975 everybody knew that the money in computers was in hardware. Software was just part of the package. They told Bill Gates he was a fool to start a software company. . . . See page 21


• The only question to ask yourself to get everything you want out of life . . . See page 125


• A comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of various ways to get your IT education, so you'll save time and money while learning what you need . . . See page 37


• The vital business skill few techies possess -- but you probably do . . . See page 32


• Why I now stress the self-employment options of the various computer careers IT fields I describe for career-changers. You can win financial independence in your spare time if necessary. For lots of us, this is better than giving up our current jobs (for now) -- and can lead to a rewarding "retirement" from your current rat race . . . See page 5


• The only REAL financial security you can count on in good times and bad . . . See page 19


• How to make a lot more money with your computer careers skills, once you have 2+ years of experience. How you can combine the advantages of being an employee with the freedom to take vacations between projects and avoid the necessity to market yourself evenings and weekends . . . See page 93


• Why a 4 year, B.S. in Computer Science isn't a good option for most computer career changers -- not if you want a higher income, fast . . . See pages 37-38


• The "hot" IT skills to learn now . . . See page 119


• Don't fall for computer school hype. Why the MCSE certification is now worth so much less than it was in the beginning, yet is now a necessity for anyone hoping to switch into the network engineering field . . . See page 23


• The biggest trend in IT now and for years to come -- and how to get in on it . . . See page 68


• The IT job that can make you some extra money for your entire life, because it will always be necessary. It's a good foundation for other computer careers but it doesn't pay much so treat it as a stepping stone. It now requires one popular certification, which itself is a good beginning for more complex IT skills . . . See pages 15-17


• Don't blindly pay the $9,000 training schools want you to. And yet that is usually the minimum charged for certification training. Throughout Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career I strive to clue you in on ways to save money on the training where possible. You weren't born yesterday and you know you can't learn what you need without expending some time and money. But why pay too much? . . . See page 40


• Going for your MCSE? Great, but first get this other Microsoft certification - it can get your career started while you keep studying for your MCSE . . . See page 70


• How you must deal with the changed IT economic climate since the 1999 boom. No matter what career you're already in or change to. Not understanding this can lead to financial disaster for you and your family . . . See page 1


• What if there are alternatives to spending that $9,000+, don't you want to hear about them? And if you still decide to spend that $9,000+ (which some of you should do), you will do so knowing that you are making the best possible decision for you and your future. . . . See page 40


• Why not all computer certifications are created equal. I've sen books that listed every high tech certification on the market, without pointing out that many of them were a total waste of time and money except for a few specialists already working in that particular field. I tell you the ones you need now . . . See pages 38-39


• Learn the technologies coming down the pike, which could put you far ahead of the computer careers demand curves. By the time they are on "hot" job skills lists, the pioneers who already know those skills will be making the big money. Why not you? . . . Included in many chapters


• Learn the unsuspected computer job skills you are bringing to the table - employers wish all techies had these, but most techies don't. The youth and geekiness that makes them good techies, makes them poor at other important business skills . . . See page 28


• One suggestion for succeeding despite all the obstacles. If you can't take this suggestion for yourself, that's OK. It works even better when you include your loved ones. . . . See page 126


• Why networking certifications help established pros more than beginners. And why beginners must still have the RIGHT certifications, so don't expect to get off easy! . . . See page 67


• How to make a lot of money if you can think of an idea for software that either solves problems or is fun for people. You don't have to duplicate Microsoft -- If you sold just 1,000 copies a year of a $29.95 software program, wouldn't that pay off a few bills? Who's stopping you from creating ten such programs? . . . See pages 102-106


• Want to stay ahead of your younger coworkers by competing effectively in the 21st century? -- learn the skills you must have in addition to IT skills . . . See page 33


• What must happen in business for you and everyone else to have a job. You can fight it -- most techies do -- but getting over your psychological bias against it will help your understand your employer, whether it's a mega international corporation, a small shop or your own business. Learning it yourself will greatly enhance your career and financial status. . . . See page 34


• Why there is a large consumer demand for computer consultants. One example of a man who for health reasons cannot hold down a regular job, but who has made $40-$100 an hour teaching newbies how to send email and surf the Net. His daily dose of pain pills would kill you and me. . . . See page 95


• Just want a hot job? Learn three other career fields that are now booming . . . See page 3


• Who does your ultimate success or failure depends on? (Hint: Look in the mirror, bucko) . . . See page 17


• Why companies should thank you if you can bring customer-focused communication skills to their Help Desks and IT departments. In reality, not all of them will thank you, but their customers will . . . See page 30


• Why I admire those techies who had the guts and vision to start their own companies during the dot com boom years more than I do employee-minded techies who just want management to leave them alone to "code in peace." You may not have any plans now to start your own NASDAQ -listed corporation, but thinking like an entrepreneur is how to make the real money. The work of "code monkeys" is moving to countries where hunger and desperate poverty is the rule . . . See page 114


• Where can you fit yourself into the big picture of worldwide economic changes? Why were so many techies -- who know the capabilities of computer networks better than anyone else -- surprised by the outsourcing of routine programming work to India? Would they expect anyone in the U.S.A. to dig a ditch with a shovel and pick . . . See page 20


• You want income for life. The first step is, don't fall for lies. Why "lifetime job security" is media propaganda. NO generation in history has ever had it, so it's unrealistic for you think you will. And nobody pays you to believe myths - or the people who call phone psychics would be rich . . . See page 17-19


• You can join them - examples of how people are using the Internet to make part-time, full-time and, for a few, extremely large incomes . . . See page 20


• What you must know and do to have a lifetime computer career . . . See page 33


• The business software that is transforming big companies. Training for it is extremely limited and in America not easily available to anyone not already working for a company using this software. So if you have experience with it, you've got a marketable skill . . . See page 87


• Where many current IT job skills will be in 2-5 years . . . See page 33


• Check out four outstanding books to teach you true financial freedom. . . . See page 25


• The best reason to take an IT -- or any -- job. (Hint: it's why the rich take jobs.) . . . See page 24


• The only retirement income you can really count on -- and yes, it's NOT Social Security or a pension or even an IRA or 401(k) plan . . . See page 19


• The career helping computers do what computers do best and how to get started in it . . . See page 75

If you've read this far, by now you know this computer careers book is for you. You realize now that computer careers are not going away. You have the intelligence to read the material, learn and use it -- and find your own computer career.

What would it mean to you to start an exciting career in a field that is helping to change the world? What would it mean to your family to have more money coming in with every paycheck?

There's only one good reason for you not to invest in Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career now. And that is, you already know everything you need to change to your chosen computer career.

If you don't by now know everything you need and yet you are seriously thinking of changing to the IT industry, you need Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career.

Or you risk spending months of your precious life re-doing all the research I did in 1999 and since then. Why risk your hard earned cash or future credit card bills on books, classes and certifications that will not help you achieve your career goals?

What is the value to you of seven or more months of your life? So you can begin to achieve your career goal right away? Not next year or next month, but now? The sooner you get started in the right direction, the sooner you begin making the higher salary of an IT professional.

Secrets to Changing to a High Pay Computer Career is an investment in you and your family's future of only $24.95. Because without it you risk making a mistake on your computer careers that will cost you much more money, not to mention months or years of your life.

For less than the price of dinner and a movie for two, you can take that first -- most important -- step toward financial freedom.

Therefore, if at any time within the next 12 months you do not see how the computer careers information contained in Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career can either make or save you at least $250 in money and/or time, I'll refund your money.

You risk nothing.

How can I make such a strong guarantee? Easy. Two days in the wrong training class would alone cost you 10 times your investment in Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career.

Technical computer books cost $40-$60 each and not all of them are worth it. More high tech resources such as CD-ROM, computer based training etc. cost even more. Training classes cost much much much more.

The advice I give you of what to do while you are in training will make finding yourself a job much easier and quicker. If you find a computer careers job just one week faster because of Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career, how much more would you make?

Some of the things you learn in this book could enable you to earn a higher starting salary. That could easily be worth more than $2500 in just your first year.

If you follow the advice to continue adding to your job skills, you can continue to leverage and increase your income throughout your computer career.

I give you a lot of suggestions for using IT skills to make money on a self-employed basis, both part-time so you can keep your current job and full-time when you're making enough money. When you run your own business your income is limited only by your hard work, creativity and marketing.

I give the example of an IT-related business that could bring you many streams of automated income that over time could add up to a literal fortune. At the very least you could create streams of residual income that could supplement your current income and even replace it if you become retired or disabled.

If you want, you can save yourself this $24.95 investment by learning everything that's in it just by devoting the next seven months out of your life to researching all these areas, as I did.

By the way, while doing this research I bought many computer books that cost me more than $24.95. And you'll have to contact experts and specialists, as I did. You'd have to spend hundreds of dollars.

I wish I'd had this book available when I started this research, but I had to create it myself. You can get started on your computer careers seven months sooner, thanks to my research.

As you sit there reading this, I know you are thinking of all the ways the extra money you will earn as a techie will improve you and your family's lives.

So go ahead, try out Secrets of Changing to a Computer Career now, risk free.

Four Points I Wish to Make Clear:

Rick Stooker

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