So what's the big deal with math?
I have worked in I.T. for almost three years in a business environment. When I got the first job in the Help Desk, I had zero education. While I understand this is not a typical experience, I know from later doing the hiring that formal education is nothing more than a piece of paper with your name on it. Knowledge and experience weigh far more heavily in your favor than any amount of degrees or certifications. I've hired several people that were less qualified on paper than other candidates. The difference was obvious when I started asking questions on my interview guide. While this isn't a rule by any means, it always seemed that the people who came in with degrees and certs galore knew far less practical information than those who came in with 'hobby' knowledge and a passion to learn from experience.
The most important thing is experience. Hands down.
Do everything you can to get an entry level job, if even just an internship. On the job experience will go much farther than any degree and it's probably the most important thing an employer looks for.
That's not to say that degree's are worthless, because if it's between you and another guy and both have the same level of experience, but one has a degree, the one with the degree will land the job. Just don't ever feel that you'll never get anywhere until you graduate, because that's not always true.
Back to the math thing... I've never had to use any crazy math knowledge or skills in any IT job. The only 'math related' duties I've had were budgeting costs, which is all done in excel. That and writing code to calculate discount percentage for a function ((originalPrice - ourPrice)/originalPrice). Unless you're going to be designing motherboards or some other engineering function, as long as you can do the basics, that's really all you need in a support role. Oddly enough, the only time I really used complex math functions was when I worked for Qwest, trying to calculate sales incentives for supervisors. If you think that through, my point above is just reinforced. Unless you're an engineer, math is surprisingly absent in the workforce.
I have worked in I.T. for almost three years in a business environment. When I got the first job in the Help Desk, I had zero education. While I understand this is not a typical experience, I know from later doing the hiring that formal education is nothing more than a piece of paper with your name on it. Knowledge and experience weigh far more heavily in your favor than any amount of degrees or certifications. I've hired several people that were less qualified on paper than other candidates. The difference was obvious when I started asking questions on my interview guide. While this isn't a rule by any means, it always seemed that the people who came in with degrees and certs galore knew far less practical information than those who came in with 'hobby' knowledge and a passion to learn from experience.
The most important thing is experience. Hands down.
Do everything you can to get an entry level job, if even just an internship. On the job experience will go much farther than any degree and it's probably the most important thing an employer looks for.
That's not to say that degree's are worthless, because if it's between you and another guy and both have the same level of experience, but one has a degree, the one with the degree will land the job. Just don't ever feel that you'll never get anywhere until you graduate, because that's not always true.
Back to the math thing... I've never had to use any crazy math knowledge or skills in any IT job. The only 'math related' duties I've had were budgeting costs, which is all done in excel. That and writing code to calculate discount percentage for a function ((originalPrice - ourPrice)/originalPrice). Unless you're going to be designing motherboards or some other engineering function, as long as you can do the basics, that's really all you need in a support role. Oddly enough, the only time I really used complex math functions was when I worked for Qwest, trying to calculate sales incentives for supervisors. If you think that through, my point above is just reinforced. Unless you're an engineer, math is surprisingly absent in the workforce.