Breaking into an IT Career

[GasX]

What is the best route for someone with no college degree to brak into an IT career? Does anyone have some advice or personal experience in this area?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Emulex]

two words: tech support

 

[iamwiz82]

get into tech. support, or other low level IT work to get some experience.

 

[GasX]

What would be the next steps - studying for a cert. of some sort?

 

[iamwiz82]

yep, A+ is pretty basic, it is the training wheels of the IT world. I never even got mine, instead, i'm working towards MCSEdom.

 

[bozo1]

Tech Support / Help Desk is where most of us started. Basically sucks but dealing with all the bizarre calls you get is really the only way to get a good deal of exposure to all the different things that go on in a corporate network. Some work on certifications while doing the help desk thing, others just move up in a company without doing any certifications. I did help desk stuff for about 3 years before moving into the network operations group at my last company.

 

[iamwiz82]

i'm the freak who never did any tech. support and jumped right into WinNT 4.0 administrating. I learned it quickly, and i could probably ace the 4.0 MCSE, but it is too late, and there is no point.

 

[rudder]

Use the great american know who. I used to fly commercially. I was always one the road and wanted a more stay at home career. Never had too much job experience with computers but knew my fair share. I used friends and networked and wiggled my way into my first networking job. Its real hard out there right now for someone without experience. There are jobs available but employers are a lot pickier now.

Your best bet would be to start small. Don't expect to go an get an MCSE and all of a sudden start making $50,000.

I was almost going to get back into flying a couple of months ago and had some good job opportunites, but now the industry is laying off people so I better stay put.

 

[vash]

I would agree with Tech Support. Starting at nearly the botton of the chain of things is a good way for you to learn things, have a desire to get into more stuff, etc. QA is where I started and it has allowed me to move many places as well.

vash

 

[StageLeft]

I don't want to discourage you too much but be sure this is what you want. IT is NOT hot right now for somebody breaking in. Based upon my experiences and people I've spoken to and others on AT you'll see that IT is a nightmare for a lot of people now unless they have a lot of experience. Even people with a couple years experience are often finding themselves out of work for months on end. Its not pretty. I got lucky enough recently to get a good job (had only a year experience + it college + university degree), but if I had to do it all over from scratch based upon what I know now I'd pick another field entirely. I'm never totally confident with the market and constantly worried about being laid off (even though my job in particular gives me no real reason to believe this will happen and I'm working with a strong company).

 

[GasX]

This isn't for me, it's my brother.

 

[Descartes]

I'll tell you what I've seen, and I haven't yet figured out exactly why this is the case.

There are two types of people in IT: one who pursues IT simply for monetary gain, and one who pursued IT because it was a natural progression of their interests. Two years ago, I worked with programmers who didn't even have a home computer. They didn't subscribe to any development magazines, and could care less about conferences, etc.. "They have a social life", one might say. Yes, this is true, but the problem is, there are many who are really passionate about their work, therefore they'll (in almost all cases) be better than those who are simply "8-5 transients". I posted not too long ago about a "developer" who knew next to nothing, but took his MCP test. To prove to the world that he (ostensibly) knew something, he wore his MCP pin on his shirt at all times. I have NO problem with those who enter the field trying to better themselves, but the necessary synergistic qualities between those involved in a large project (development or otherwise) are hindered by "8-5 transients", in that no new ideas are introduced aside from what's regurgitated verbatim from an MCP exam book.

I've actually had interviewers ask me what books I own, simply because there are standard books that anyone truly interested in their field would own. I've had people ask me, "do you like to code?", "what magazines do you subscribe to?", etc., all to establish a level of geekdom that greater facilitates that important synergistic quality. Make any sense?

 

[Windogg]

I started in...... tech support. Seems with all these layoff I'm am network admin, PBX admin, and....... tech support. Wow, it does come full circle.

Windogg

 

[StageLeft]

To prove to the world that he (ostensibly) knew something, he wore his MCP pin on his shirt at all times.

Thats too much!!

I think you're right BTW Descartes.

I worry about the economics involved but when I decided to enter IT it wasn't only because I had no other real options, it was because I truly did love computers as well.

 

[Swag1138]

Im going to IT college right now, and Im gonna be in the job market in about a year. Im betting on the economy being on an upswing by the time I get out, but I wont die if it isnt.

 

[koryo]

Get a bad haircut and don't bathe.

 

[joohang]

I agree with Descartes 100%.

Here is a list of what I find important:
1) Work in a company that provides a friendly, decentralized environment. Hence, you are free to express your ideas and not get discouraged by the large corporate bureaucracy BS. i.e. As soon as you say "I can't suggest this because he's a senior developer (or a manager)" then I would personally consider applying to a different company.
2) Follow your passion.
3) This is a field that changes so rapidly. Reading is ESSENTIAL.

 

[mithrandir2001]

It's a lot easier with a degree. Graduate with a BS and you can literally walk into a $50K+ job; after a few years, you could be looking at the $70Ks. The poor souls I know in entry-level tech support get paid crap ($25-35K), are underappreciated and often get ripped up by irate, technically-illiterate callers. It takes some backbone and lots of tolerance!

Don't discount college...it's never too late.

 

[StageLeft]

Graduate with a BS and you can literally walk into a $50K+ job; after a few years, you could be looking at the $70Ks. The poor souls I know in entry-level tech support get paid crap ($25-35K), are underappreciated and often get ripped up by irate, technically-illiterate callers. It takes some backbone and lots of tolerance!



I dunno about walk into. Fight your way into maybe! Yes if you're top of your class the sky is, of course, the limit, but I've heard of plenty of people with a CS (did you mean CS or just a BS?) who can't get a computer position.

 

[mithrandir2001]

I forget that times have changed. I graduated in 1996 and jobs were more than plentiful to college graduates with IT degrees. If you didn't get multiple offers, something was very wrong. I think it's a bad time now to find a job right out of college, but 4 years down the line the economy should be better.

 

[joohang]

This is my understanding of today's situation with CS graduates.

- It used to be that companies were willing to hire CS students fresh out of college and train them. Most universities avoid Microsoft as much as possible, yet there is a huge market for COM-based (and soon .NET-based) development.
- College degree + relevant work experience is definitely a valued asset.
- College degree + passion in coding + constant reading + experience would be nearly ideal.

I have quite a few friends who are pursuing a BS in CS. Very few of them understand what's going on in the job market. They seem to believe that a degree will simply guarantee them "a job." I ask them simple questions like "What kinda of IT career are you looking into? i.e. DBA? development? management? testing?" and they don't know the answer.

<-- was up 'til 5am last night studying ASP.NET

 

[Scarpozzi]

A+ is a simple two test exam that covers basic PC repair and operating system stuff. I passed mine and didn't study (it was the 142 question test too since they hadn't come out with the new adaptive yet), but I know a lot of networking and building pcs. MCP is an easy one to get as well because there are so many tests that qualify. You can take the 2000 Professional test and probably pass it with minimal studying if you know it (not real easy), but there's a loophole right now as well. They still haven't retired the 98 test and the only thing it's really good for is an MCP. So look into that. Also, I would check into the Cisco tests. You could start with a CCNA if you want to go into networking, but study hard. It covers a lot of different stuff from the OSI model to a lot of really specific networking and telephony type questions. Just remember, pass or fail.......you have to pay for these tests so be sure to study and know you can pass before you take the plunge.

Also, I'm working for a Help Desk right now because I'm a college student. It's one of the few jobs I could do that would allow me to work 2nd shift as a computer dude. The cool thing is that they gave me a $250 for getting my A+ AND they reimbursed me for my exam fees ($264). So try to find an opportunity like that and you might be able to get someone else to pay for you to get certified. Good luck!

 

[StageLeft]

I ask them simple questions like "What kinda of IT career are you looking into? i.e. DBA? development? management? testing?" and they don't know the answer.

They're in for a nasty surprise.

 

[Ameesh]

<< I ask them simple questions like "What kinda of IT career are you looking into? i.e. DBA? development? management? testing?" and they don't know the answer.

They're in for a nasty surprise. >>



why is that?

 

[iamwiz82]

well guys, help predict my outcome.

Right now i have about 2 years of experience with WinNT 4 and 1 year with Win2k. I will be graduating in 2004 with a degree in MIS, and will probably go for my masters in some sort of business. When i graduate, i will end up with 5 years of experience right out of the gate(i love coop schools )

I can program, but i do not enjoy it.

I am pretty fluent with Unix, win2k flavors, winNT 4 flavors, win9x, linux, will be learning citrix soon.

I have basically administrated a network of 200 PCs when my boss is on vacation, creating account, troubleshooting, building a wireless LAN, etc.