How to get a job in IT support?

I currently live in the southwestern part of the United States. I have found out that where i live, the market is extremely hard to get a job in IT; even with an associates degree and a certification in data networking. The job market is good but just not hiring individuals that do not have experience such as myself. I also have an associates degree in data networking. I am less than a year away from getting my bachelors degree in computer science. Calling all recruiters and hiring personnel, how can i get a job in IT at an entry level? I have no problem working from the bottom to a more higher position. I will be pursuing a masters degree in IT as well but it is very discouraging that a lot of employers will not hire unless you have experience. It just seems to me that it is a double negative because employers want educated individuals in their organizations but will not hire those that do not have experience but have the education.

Also what certifications that employers really like ? I am just trying to make my chances better at getting an IT job. Should i just try getting an internship at a company unpaid? It just seems a little ridiculous when a lot of companies do not do internships in my city well i guess a lot are not offered.

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Comments

pinkydapimp

You should look at the job postings and see what skills/certs they are asking for. But typically, you want to start with A+, Net+, CCNA and an OS cert(microsoft, linux, etc.). Then, get those skills. Does your school have a help desk? try getting a job there. In the meantime, build a homelab and start learning some of these skills. Even if you havent had a job you can still put it on your resume if you get good at them and can talk intelligently about them.

jcarrillo26

Hey pinkydapimp,

Thank you for your feedback, i feel my skills are a good amount and feel they are above the A+ and Net + but i am going to take the cert tests to be able to put them on my resume. Do you recommend any MCITP? Also when you are talking about OS cert do you mean linux + windows 7 and windows 8 cert?

pinkydapimp

jcarrillo26 wrote: »

Hey pinkydapimp,

Thank you for your feedback, i feel my skills are a good amount and feel they are above the A+ and Net + but i am going to take the cert tests to be able to put them on my resume. Do you recommend any MCITP? Also when you are talking about OS cert do you mean linux + windows 7 and windows 8 cert?

Sure. MCITP is a good start. I just meant any os. You want to start with networking and os as your foundation. That will get you in the door quickly.

jcarrillo26

Hey pinkydapimp,

Thank you for feedback and advice i am going to tackle those certs pretty quick.

tkerber

It sounds like you're in the right direction. Have you considered relocating? There are certain areas where they literally cannot find enough people. I know several of the companies I worked for were hiring recent technical grads and training them in because they needed people. These positions were: Support Techs, Desktop Support, Support Specialist, etc..

jcarrillo26

Hey tkerber,

Thanks for the feedback, I am always willing to relocate but my family isn't. I will literally go where the money is, and that is exactly the kind of job/career that i want. I want to start at an entry level and go from there. I feel my skills are far from amateur but i know i have to start somewhere.

Jon_Cisco

Nobody is born with experience.
I remember 20 years ago thinking the same thing, but the truth is every single person that has a job today started with no experience. Someone will higher you and it only takes one person.

What you need to consider it that companies have limited budgets and time so it's easier for the to ask for experienced people in the job postings. However they will eventually take the best person for the job. You just need to apply anyway and be honest about your knowledge.

Preflux

Consider getting yourself extremely familiar with *NIX. The job market currently is growing and will continue to do so. There's a lack of *NIX specialists and (In my experience anyway) having this knowledge helps you get looked more highly upon. As for certs, jump straight in with something recognized depending on the field you want to go into. For *NIX, do the Linux+ (Numerous certificates in one!) and then look at Red-Hat practical exams. For networking, look into Cisco etc.

Also, experience means everything in IT, Along with who you know, so if you have to take a job at the bottom (help-desk) and work up it will work as fine, as it did for me

jcarrillo26

Hey Jon_Cisco,

Thank you for the feedback and advice. It is just hard because i feel nowadays that it is not what you know, it is who you know. That messes up the job market because now it is all about networking. Job recruiters would rather give the job to someone they know versus someone that is actually qualified position.

jcarrillo26

Hey Preflux,

Thank you for the advice and feedback, i do have some linux experience nothing to great. I do plan on getting apple certified as well because i heard you are not supposed to work on apple products without the certification because it voids the warranty. I do not know if that is true anyhow but i want that certification. I feel more comfortable with windows but i know technology does not just evolve around windows. I do plan on getting my A+, Net +, and Security +. I do plan on getting my CISSP because from what i heard there is not enough security guys to fill the need of the market.

murphy80

About 2 months after I graduated with my associate's I landed a 3 week contract. I finished that up and started looking for another job which I'll be starting in about 3 weeks. I worked on getting some certs and enrolled in WGU and basically kept tweeking my resume and kept applying. Just keep trying and working on your resume. I've had some success at least hearing back from companies that I applied to through job boards, but if I had to break down the ratio of companies I've had a response from comparing jobs I've applied to through boards versus directly applying via the company website, I'd have to say directly applying has proven to be more worthwhile. Try doing a Google search for IT companies in the surrounding area and apply. In some cases they may not list open positions, but will have an option to submit your resume or they will list an e-mail address so that you can send it to the HR department.

jcarrillo26

Hey Murphy80,

Thanks for the feedback and advice it just discouraging because i am in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the market here sucks because they want a minimum of a bachelors degree while other cities like phoenix az wants associates and are willing to train. I would of had a job a long time ago if i was in phoenix.

murphy80

Even if that is the case you could still give it a shot; you have nothing to lose if you apply. Worst-case you won't get a call. Also, if you haven't added that you are pursuing your bachelors to your resume in my opinion I think you should. After adding that to my resume it made a noticeable difference in how often I received calls or e-mails about potential positions.

jcarrillo26

Hey murphy80,

I guess i just have to stay positive, but i think i am just going to try and do an unpaid internship with a company. Although i would like to get paid i think who would argue free IT services.