Question for the IT Professionals

[jb12780]

I have a degree that has no overlap/connection with the field. What would be the best route to get education/training/certification in the field?

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[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

Depends what kind of IT you want to do.

[Mabster]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

Following up inquiries is probably the best place to start.

[ehh]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

It's such a crapshoot and varies so much. There are gigs you can get with almost no experience or certs though most IT job openings are written as if Bill Gates is the only man on the planet that would be suitable to fill the role.

I've always felt that the certification nonsense was a racket and total BS but you might need an A+/Net+ to get your foot in the door somewhere. The good news is that they're relatively easy and cheap to study for. I don't know how much the tests cost these days but I believe you can still get vouchers that give you a nice discount. Both tests should cost less than $400 combined IIRC.

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/network.aspx

Buy the book below as well as the Net+ book and study on your own. You shouldn't need a class for either of those tests.

https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certi.../dp/007179512X

[Herky]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

It might be good idea to get a Security + certificate because pretty much any work on a military base requires that and there is a need for contractors who work for the government in IT.

[jb12780]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

Thanks for all of the input from everyone. The reason I'm floating this out is my degree isn't really marketable (Political Science) so I'm looking for alternatives that's don't require going back to school.

IT to me seems like it going to be a field in demand due to society's reliance on technology.

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[wwharton]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

Thanks for all of the input from everyone. The reason I'm floating this out is my degree isn't really marketable (Political Science) so I'm looking for alternatives that's don't require going back to school.

IT to me seems like it going to be a field in demand due to society's reliance on technology.

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But saying "IT" is like saying you want to work for the Government... in other words, it's like saying "I want a career."

If "IT" is as far as you've gone into thinking about it, you need to go out and do some more research first. Programming doesn't have to be related to security which doesn't have to be related to networking which doesn't have to be related to database administration which doesn't have to be related to hardware, etc.

[jb12780]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

But saying "IT" is like saying you want to work for the Government... in other words, it's like saying "I want a career."

If "IT" is as far as you've gone into thinking about it, you need to go out and do some more research first. Programming doesn't have to be related to security which doesn't have to be related to networking which doesn't have to be related to database administration which doesn't have to be related to hardware, etc.

I was thinking something in Security.

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[mattsb84]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

Here's some reality for ya;

You have a few major things against you already. No experience in the field, no certifications, and your degree isn't useful for much of anything in the IT field. Those are three major hurdles. The fourth would be the number of other people who do have 2-3 of those things competing for jobs right there with you. Doesn't mean its impossible, just very difficult.

I'd start trolling job sites for entry level spots for a helpdesk tech and get in that way. Hell, even an internship. We brought a college kid in to work for us last summer doing the tedious stuff (although we paid). He can put that on his resume now though as some experience. Once you get a job in an entry level position, start getting certs aimed towards the field you want to work in. And it better be something you love to do, because some of the books you'll need to read are very dry/boring/technical books.

Also consider that most, not all, IT positions are thankless soul crushing jobs. Few will appreciate the amount of work you do, but many will be quick to **** on you when something breaks.

Not to change your mind, but there are plenty of blue collar jobs that need people badly (Mike Rowe told me that). Once you put your time in for most of those jobs, you can pretty much make up what you want to be paid.

[23]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

It's such a crapshoot and varies so much. There are gigs you can get with almost no experience or certs though most IT job openings are written as if Bill Gates is the only man on the planet that would be suitable to fill the role.

I've always felt that the certification nonsense was a racket and total BS but you might need an A+/Net+ to get your foot in the door somewhere. The good news is that they're relatively easy and cheap to study for. I don't know how much the tests cost these days but I believe you can still get vouchers that give you a nice discount. Both tests should cost less than $400 combined IIRC.

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/network.aspx

Buy the book below as well as the Net+ book and study on your own. You shouldn't need a class for either of those tests.

https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certi.../dp/007179512X

I have that book. I was using it to supplement self study last summer but man the reading was sooo much. Its just way too detailed and burned me out quick.

I was using Professor Messers youtube videos because he has an entire A+ class on there for free but its alot but he gives you the entire thing and demonstrates with the hardware/software while he talks.... .I'd reccommend

The thing i wanted to do after that was go for my CCNA and from there you could do any of the cisco stuff because supposedly thats where all the money and jobs are, especially when it gets to security.

[Matt10]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

Here's some reality for ya;

You have a few major things against you already. No experience in the field, no certifications, and your degree isn't useful for much of anything in the IT field. Those are three major hurdles. The fourth would be the number of other people who do have 2-3 of those things competing for jobs right there with you. Doesn't mean its impossible, just very difficult.

I'd start trolling job sites for entry level spots for a helpdesk tech and get in that way. Hell, even an internship. We brought a college kid in to work for us last summer doing the tedious stuff (although we paid). He can put that on his resume now though as some experience. Once you get a job in an entry level position, start getting certs aimed towards the field you want to work in. And it better be something you love to do, because some of the books you'll need to read are very dry/boring/technical books.

Also consider that most, not all, IT positions are thankless soul crushing jobs. Few will appreciate the amount of work you do, but many will be quick to **** on you when something breaks.

Not to change your mind, but there are plenty of blue collar jobs that need people badly (Mike Rowe told me that). Once you put your time in for most of those jobs, you can pretty much make up what you want to be paid.

Great post.

As someone who is trying to get into the field as well, it really is difficult without any experience, degree or certifications in IT related field of study. I had 4 years of help desk experience pre 2011, and that's not getting me anywhere right now other than call centers that aren't within the field.

What I would also recommend is teach yourself some things on your own. I'm using teamtreehouse to teach me front end web development so I can do some freelance and consulting. I'm going on 3 months unemployed, and instead of collecting unemployment, I'm going out and consulting the best I can.

[ehh]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

I have that book. I was using it to supplement self study last summer but man the reading was sooo much. Its just way too detailed and burned me out quick.

I was using Professor Messers youtube videos because he has an entire A+ class on there for free but its alot but he gives you the entire thing and demonstrates with the hardware/software while he talks.... .I'd reccommend

The thing i wanted to do after that was go for my CCNA and from there you could do any of the cisco stuff because supposedly thats where all the money and jobs are, especially when it gets to security.

Professor Messer is great, completely forgot about his YouTube Channel. He is very thorough and explains things about as well/simple as possible. I started on my CCNA years ago but never bothered keeping up with it, at my current firm I have no need for it. Probably short-sighted of me, but Cisco just pisses me off and I haven't felt like learning it.

My recommendation is try to find a job with an MSP, preferably a smaller one. In general they will be more willing to take a risk on a someone that isn't as experienced, plus you'll get exposed to all sorts of environments at their different clients. An entry level job there will get you dealing with hardware/software deployment and basic networking stuff. Plus you'll be able to pick the brain of the more experienced techs working there. I've been in the MSP field for over a decade and have seen plenty of inexperienced techs at both rival MSPs and MSPs that I worked for, I don't think it's impossible to get a job at these firms. But be warned, if an MSP is willing to hire someone who's inexperienced they will probably work you like a dog and not treat you very well. That being said, it gets your foot in the door and you now have some experience.

As mattsb84 said, a lot of IT jobs really, really stink. I'm lucky to have found a great one and plan on staying here for as long as possible. Make sure this is something you want to do. It's a lot of time, effort and money to break into the field. You don't want all of that to go to waste.

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: Question for the IT Professionals

You need to think outside of the box too. There is more to IT than just maintaining computers and a network.

I work for a company that employees about 600 in their "IT" department. About 100 of those could be considered in networking, server engineering, security, field services, or something more stereotypical.

The rest work on supporting the various applications that the rest of the 20,000+ employees use. I am responsible for 6 servers that my applications reside on, but if I can't get logged in or something is being wonky with it's performance I contact our "server engineering" team. If the entire network goes down I don't have to work!

Your best bet is to do some deep research and find a company that has a service desk. A service desk that helps employees of the company with issues (level 1 support). Not some mega call center where you are customer service for paying customers. Something on the small side where the SD only needs about 20-30 people to function. You will have to start at the bottom, but if you are good helping employees on the phone it will be noticed. You will then be able to apply for openings within the company and have an inside track to those jobs.