career/education query

[stitcher]

Hi, I just received this e-mail from my cousin regarding her son. What
I know about the field of computers is pretty much limited to my
ability to post here, but I would certainly appreciate any advice.
What advice would you give this boy?


"JH has ADD (not sure if you all know this) he was diagnosed in 4th
grade and once the doctor worked with him and got him on medication he
did wonderful in school. Made good grades in High School and placed out
of several classes when he was ready to go to Community College. He did
well for the first three semesters, and then he decided that he really
didn't need his medicine for whatever reason. He did not do well the
last two semesters and in the end did not get his associates, as he was
taking the mail from the college and not letting his father and I see
it we were unaware of this until he was already over at the university.

Now for the present:

JH has come back home and is doing great in school. He is seeing a
Therapist who is trying to find ways for him to remember to take his
medication on a daily basis. He is also working with a friend of
ours, a job coach, who is helping him figure out what he really wants
to do (but because this friend has seen the good and bad of JH since he
was 5 years old his father and I are not sure how objective he is
being). JH has always said that he wanted to work on computers,
networking them, making them talk with each other. That is simplistic
but what we found out was that the counselor didn't understand John
at community college and university and put him into programming
classes, which is not what he wants to do and why he did not do well.
JH needs to work more with his hands and use the energy. His assignment
from his job coach is to find out what does this type of job look like
in the real world "working on computers, networking them, making them
talk with each other" what type of training/education is needed? "

Thanks in advance.






of qualifications are needed with companies.

[Brian Harvey]

Post by stitcher
JH needs to work more with his hands and use the energy. His assignment
from his job coach is to find out what does this type of job look like
in the real world "working on computers, networking them, making them
talk with each other" what type of training/education is needed? "

The "work with his hands" part makes it sound as if he wants to work in
computer *repair*. But the "network them" part is called "system
administration"; for the most part, it exercises only the fingertips on the
keyboard, but it's still relatively concrete work.

There are commercial vocational schools that teach both of these. Also, at
my university there is an Extension Division that offers courses to the
general public including sysadmin training (I don't think we do repair), so
that might be true near you, too.

[Posted and mailed.]

[Phlip]

ADD ... programming

If JH does not already enjoy a hobby of lightly programming a home computer,
and if programming does not relax him, then "learning" programming won't
help. It has to start with the knack, and the ability to fall into a groove
and enjoy computing.

My daughter (who is watching me write this) has many of the prerequisites,
but she doesn't do the light programming thing. She prefers sewing, and we
send her to beating-people-up lessons to make sure she doesn't get lazy. A
hundred programming classes won't help if she doesn't want to do it!