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Who Else Wants To Know About Computer Jobs?

During the dot com boom, I had several friends who were working at computer jobs in Silicon Valley. Many of them had work at home computer jobs, but even those who had to go into an office had it pretty cushy. Don't get me wrong – they had to work pretty hard in their computer information technology startup firms. Even still, they had it good. They had great perks including fantastic health care, plenty of vacation time, and stock options, and the salaries that they made were unbelievable.

When I saw how they were living, I instantly wanted to get a computer job for myself. Practically everyone did, in fact. This was understandable – who doesn't want to be rich? Even so, it caused a problem. With all of the people going into computer jobs, and many of the computer information technology startup companies going bust, there had to be a crash. And when information technology crashed, it crashed big! The bottom of the computer job market fell out. I knew people who had been making six figures starting salary who suddenly could not find computer jobs to save their life. There were no jobs in computers to be had, even for some of the most qualified and experienced programmers out there.

Nonetheless, although it has been slow, the computer job market has recovered. Many of my friends who were unemployed a few years ago are now working as systems administrators, running the computer systems for some of the most important companies. I got into it too late. There is no hope for me of ever getting any of the top computer jobs, but I can still work at home and make a living off of my computer science education.

There are more computer jobs out there than you might think. You see, as information systems have become more complicated, jobs that used to be menial have now become rather specialized. What was once secretarial work, requiring very little besides typing skills, now requires the mastery of several programs. From data entry, to traffic coordination, to freelance writing and Web design, there are millions of computer jobs available for those who are willing to look.

Of course, if you are interested in home-based tech work, it is crucial that you get the credentials. The people I know who had the hardest time finding computer jobs after the market bust were those who were self educated. Even though they were qualified to program, no one would hire them.