Starting the IT job quest - must have beginners certification?

[ViviTheMage]

Wow, so much hate for IT, LOL.

 

[zCypher]

Get your CCNP certification, you can get a good job with that.
Even a basic helpdesk job is good and infinitely better than flipping burgers. Flipping burgers... LOL.

I guess it depends where you live.

 

[Demo24]

I just got a job without any certifications, but I do have years of experience in the field so that definitely helped me land it. I've noticed most are asking for CS degrees though, only a couple actually ask for a A+ but it can be helpful to show you do know something if your experience in the field is low.

 

[Red Storm]

IT is a great field to be in. Spans a vast array of industries (medical, real estate, education, you name it, IT is a part of it), and as any business grows its IT needs increase. Also you aren't forced to relocate to a select few locations just to get a job, and it doesn't matter where you went to college.

In other words, it's just like flipping burgers except you aren't flipping burgers and you make a shit ton more money.

 

[Wordplay]

Took a practice test and, you're absolutely right, questions on SCSI interfaces, etc. are a bit foreign to me and I've taken enough shortcuts through life, I'll study this time

I'll check out the local library but any software packages worth investing in for test prep?

The practice questions on CompTia's website are good. Also check out techexams.com as they have a good round up of resources that can be used for this exam and more.

 

[Udgnim]

if you have no established IT experience in the past, imo you should start taking community college courses while preparing/studying for whatever certification interests you

imo for someone with no prior IT experience and no degree that indicates they want a career involving IT, getting a foot in the door into the IT industry is the biggest hurdle given the supply of people also trying to compete for an entry level IT job

depending on the area, imo landing a full time entry level IT job with just certifications will be pretty difficult, but taking community college courses might increase your chances of getting a part time IT job (foot in door).

could always try to network your way into an entry level IT job or hope you get lucky and fall into one

 

[blurredvision]

As said before, A+ and Net+ are a good start, then a MCP cert would be good (70-680, W7 Configuring would be a good one). That at least gets your foot in the door at some places and some nice logos to be able to legitimately put on your resume. Of course, different employers look at these certifications in different ways. Some will laugh in your face with just these while others will give you a closer look.

I've found that putting personal experience with computers in general has helped me out a bit. If you're lucky like me, you'll find a decent help desk position that is comprised of a small team with access to more advanced engineers with which to get knowledge from. I'm allowed to do more advanced stuff if I know how, it's not locked out of my view. My employer also pays for exams and encourages us to take them even if we fail them multiple times. At $150+ apiece, that's a good deal.

 

[sourceninja]

what don't you like about the tech industry?

I love my job, but I'm getting older and being old and being in IT are increasingly harder to do.

People don't seem to think old people can be good at IT, so as I get older I will find it increasingly harder to find a new job if I ever lose my current job. I've thought about going to school and getting a MBA and trying to move to management, but I really enjoy making things (which is why I am a programmer). Without a degree I have also hit a brick wall. I make good money and make a lot of decisions that can make or break where I work, but I don't really see anywhere to go. The only position over me is the CIO, and I don't think most companies would even look at me with only a HS diploma and 15 years of experience working my way up the ranks of phone support to systems architect. I think the only way I could still be doing this in 20 years is if I find the means to start my own company.

So it's not so much I don't enjoy IT, it's that IT seems to be hell bent in not enjoying me.

 

[RearAdmiral]

I think I'd rather be unemployed than help desk. Aim higher. Make your own little virtualized sandbox environment or something. Then you can have that and you can throw around lingo in an interview.

vmware
xenserver
hyper v
whatevs

Virtualization is fun.

 

[Blueychan]

Wow @ the comments here. I was happy a month ago when I got an entry level IT position. Little did I know that it is worst than flipping burger for ATOTers.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

Janitorial is a great field to be in. Spans a vast array of industries (medical, real estate, education, you name it, janitorial is a part of it), and as any business grows its janitorial needs increase. Also you aren't forced to relocate to a select few locations just to get a job, and it doesn't matter where you went to college.

In other words, it's just like flipping burgers except you aren't flipping burgers and you make a shit ton more money.

Fixed

 

[mrCide]

any aspects of virtualization and cloud infrastructure/management. vmware, citrix.

microsoft certifications will also be helpful since many companies are windows environments, but you will also need to know Exchange

 

[brotj7]

What do you envision yourself liking in IT? Hardware, software, databases, security, vendor integration?

 

[dougp]

Wow @ the comments here. I was happy a month ago when I got an entry level IT position. Little did I know that it is worst than flipping burger for ATOTers.

One person said that, so don't read into it dude.

 

[slackerinabox]

What do you envision yourself liking in IT? Hardware, software, databases, security, vendor integration?

My sad recent realization is that "like" and "job" don't mix for me. I'm looking for the fastest (not easiest, fastest) point of entry while planning to go back to school once I find an entry level position. Suppose the question would be which is in more demand. I "like" tinkering with hardware, troubleshooting, etc.

 

[dougp]

My sad recent realization is that "like" and "job" don't mix for me. I'm looking for the fastest (not easiest, fastest) point of entry while planning to go back to school once I find an entry level position. Suppose the question would be which is in more demand. I "like" tinkering with hardware, troubleshooting, etc.

That's generally the lowest end of a desktop job, but even then, there's not a lot because your company will expect you to take advantage of the hardware vendor warranty. Your best bet for a position like that would be to look for an entry level datacenter tech position - but you would be better off concentrating on security, virtualization or vendor integration.