Marketing seems to be the most logical path to take. It’s not necessarily about figures and stats, it’s not boring like in most other jobs. It’s making ideas up – thinking of how people want to use the products – you have direct input into what happens. C’mon, I got the Report Abuse buttons and links in Messenger 8.1 for a start.

Go marketing – the people I worked with and on occasion still do – I’ve got some great contacts, and they’re great people

-Zack

Personally, I’m going for the technical route as it is where my heart lies and what I really want to do.

Is there anything stopping you applying for both positions? Maybe after discussion in the interviews, you would be in a better position to decide.

One thing I do not get about the programme is – why does it start in January?

Good luck!

* FOLLOW YOUR INTERESTS – You know how folk who aren’t interested in computers can’t operate them and folk who are interested in juggling can juggle? It’s the interest that drives them and helps them find ways to succeed. It’s a better motivator than a career path or financial gain. You may have a passion for MS but at some point it will become ‘a job’ – it will be paying for your mortgage, kids etc and you will, inevitably, some day say to yourself “What the hell am I doing in this job?”. That’s usually when the company or your life is going through a difficult patch. I was a bit unlucky at one point in that my workplace had a long and messy period with an issue that hit the national press. Work was depressing and actually a bit dangerous for a while. Throughout that though I still found things interesting and managed to keep sight of why I started the job – because I was really interested in it. I’d left other companies for much less reasons where I was not really interested and it was just a means to an end.

* STICK TO YOUR INTERESTS – To be quite honest I never thought sales & marketing would be your cup of tea. Make no mistake it’s a cut throat area with a different motivation to the one you outlined in your original post – I.E. shifting sales ‘units’ rather than technical stuff. You’ve got to ask yourself what would happen if you had to market or sell something that you technically had no faith in (MS has done it in the past!). The focus will be on selling the product whatever it’s technical merits. Your collegues will most likely be coming from a sales/marketing background also – they are interested in sales and not the technical side.

* KEEP A WIDE VIEW – Don’t narrow your sights down to a particular path that MS have laid out. I notice you have an idea of where you could go with all the MS schemes available but maybe you should have a long hard think and get a ‘Blue Sky’ idea of which way *you* want to go and then see how MS fits into that. All I mean with this is that the horse is supposed to be in front of the cart IYSWIM Once you’re out there then who knows what else might catch your imagination and a broad base of experience will help you perhaps change path or get onto a better version of the one you are on. [Cue Victorian limerick re narrow paths]

There was a young man who said “damn!,
it appears to me that I am,
an engine which moves in predestinate grooves,
I’m not even a Bus – I’m a Tram!

* SUMMARY – To be quite frank Darren the fact that you are even asking the question does not bode well. Here you are at the start and you already have doubts about the marketing/sales thing – does that not tell you something?! When ‘all around are losing their heads and blaming it on you’ are you going to jump up and shout “I NEVER WANTED TO DO SALES IN THE FIRST PLACE!!” and will you get so disallusioned with the experience that it affects your interest in the technical stuff? I reckon look back to what motivated you to go to college, what kept you going through the difficult bits. I can’t see you getting as excited about the latest invention in how to market/sell stuff as you would with the latest technical stuff. Maybe being involved internally in ’selling’ the idea of MS stuff to the MS sales staff so *they* can sell it but with your feet firmly on the technical side of the fence.

Just passing general thoughts but I am increasingly (58% and rising) interested in getting some sleep now so I better follow my motivation

BTW – Whatever you decide to do I wish you every success with!

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
* Remember the value of your personal interests may fall as well as rise.
* You may not get back what you put in.
* Your interests are at risk if you do not keep up the devotion due on them.
* Past interests should not be taken as an indication of future interests

ATB