Would I be good in IT?

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I know IT is a very broad area and my question is kind of vague but I want to keep an open mind instead of getting too specific. Maybe I should've posted this in college section since I'd have to study first but I'm more concerned about how I'd cope with the resulting job than getting the degree.

My main career handicap is that I failed algebra and I never took calculus. I don't know if I'd fail it again but in 11th grade algebra made very little sense to me.

It just seems like I should do something computer related because computers occupy much of my interest. I thought about taking economics because that would avoid the higher maths but just because I could do it that doesn't mean it would be an enjoyable career.

So would I have a realistic chance of succeeding in IT without higher maths and would I have to work more than eight hours per day?
Not that I want to seem lazy but if I had one of those sixteen hour per day jobs I'd strangle myself with my own intestines.

Oh, I did great at Trig and Engineering math when working on engineering classes, BUT, I failed algebra.
The university I did my BS in CS at, actually broke down Algebra into 3 classes instead of one, covering the same amount of material. That was enough to get me into it. Day to day work, I've never needed really complex math, just basic stuff and Excel formulas can help make that easier than easy.

As for the hours, it depends upon the specialty you go into and the company you work for.
I know a lot of DBA's (database administrators) and many complain about the long hours. However, at the hospital I worked for, the DBA's had a standard work week. One of them would be on-call at a time for evenings and weekends, but, they said it was very rare to be called in, and, even if called, a lot of the work could be done easily from their computer at home in less than an hour.

Same with System Administrators. I do not work for the IT department, and I do not work in a revenue-generating department. THOSE guys can have very long hours, because if systems go down (same for the networking specialists and data architects), our company loses money and our clients get ticked off.
Me? I work in Facilities. Since my users work 40 hours a week, I work 40 hours a week.
Sometimes, I do need to make changes while they are not in the system, so, instead of working 8-4, I might work 10-6. Or I might leave early on a Friday and come in for awhile on Saturday, but, no, no crazy hours.
Most of the people who are consultants for the software package I support have to travel or work weird hours... that's why I'm not a consultant (at least not now, I'd actually like that, but, not while my kids are still at home).

Hmmm. I understood trig OK at the time. It would probably come back to me if needed but that's pretty simple stuff. Then again that was only school trig.

I probably wouldn't mind weird hours or night shifts so long as the total didn't exceed 40 hours per week. At least then I could actually do stuff during daylight hours. Since I work part time one of the great mysteries for me is how people with real jobs get other stuff done if you need to go somewhere that's only open during business hours on weekdays.

Oh, yeah, being willing to work the odd hours would up your chances for a gig, too. I couldn't ever work in one of those data center night shifts because of my kids or the 2nd and 3rd shift IT jobs at the hospitals and universities.

HA! Yes, I've been juggling the whole 'how to get stuff done' thing for my last two jobs. I'd usually take off work and use my vacation time to get things done (doctors appointments, dmv, salon, tax office, bank etc). I don't have any vacation time to spare here at my new job, though (though I can take sick leave for doctor's appointments here, which is very nice). I've been lucky the last few years, because my husband has stayed home with the kids, so he can do a big chunk of it.
Luckily my bank and other places have made more stuff available by smartphone app (bill pay and deposits etc), so I don't need to go to those places very often.

Absolutely, you sound like you would do great in IT! Especially the underlined part. I've been in the IT field for close to a decade now and have been working as a web developer for an insurance company for the past three years. Anyone that says things like "my life revolves around computers" or (as you said) "computers occupy much of my interest" is born for IT.

Believe it or not, unless your IT work revolves around physics or equations, you'll rarely need to know more than basic math. Outside of school and just learning how to do advanced math, I legitimately have never done anything more complicated than absolute values (if X is less than zero, make it zero minus X so it's positive). I think I may have seen one instance of a square root function being used, but never had to work with it. Creativity and logical thinking are far more important than math skills. Worst case scenario, if I don't know how to do something, I google how to do it. We all do, or we even ask each other for advice. There's a ton of resources out there for common problems us developers have.

Come in early and/or leave late, then do it during the day. My boss is very understanding about that kind of thing, but usually for me I like to work from home (a.k.a. "Telecommute") so I can work even when the office is closed. As long as I get in 8 hours a day, my boss is happy.

Fascinating. You might have a point that those who obsess about computers should work with computers. There've been times when I spent about twenty hours a day on a computer. I picked some knowledge but its very limited since i mostly use computers for recreation, not work.

So the question is, which field should I specialise in? I know I have to decide for myself but I sill wouldn't mind some suggestions.