How did you get your first job in IT?

Betrayal

How did you get you first job in IT and what experience/certifications did you have when you first started out?

MeanDrunkR2D2

Having my BS helped me quite a bit. No experience in IT or certifications at the time either. Basically for my entry role, it was my personality and communication/people skills that really swayed them to make the chance to hire me. Of course, it really wasn't a great job/fit for me as half my time was spent training end users on software, which I didn't really enjoy as it was the technical part/troubleshooting of the software. Lack of growth and how long I'd have to be stuck in that position encouraged me to move elsewhere and I was able to move those skills over to a better position.

JamesKurtovich

I impressed the hiring manager by tracking him down at a local job fair and talking to him about the position and what I could do to be hired. It must have been my persistence because I had interviewed with him before but didn't get the job.

No certs and no education.

mjnk77

First IT job was at a HD supporting a customer website, employee computers/apps, and company priority software application. A friend submitted my resume. But I did come from another HD supporting home satellite dishes. So I had some technical experience, but really nothing IT. I learned as I went. But in the interview, I was outgoing and could walk through my process of determining cause and solution for problems. I had an offer a few hours later.

With no IT experience, you might want to try getting into a HD, as long as you can talk and are personable, that will help you a long way.

TheProf

I was fortunate to get my first job straight out of school. At the time I already had the A+ and MCP (XP) and pretty much studied all the time. When I went to the interview, I was able to easily answer the questions which impressed the interviewers and got me the job.

Experience wise, I didn't have much, other than an a part time jobs here and there that were not related to my field but exposed me to customer facing situations, I am sure that helped too. I am also pretty sure that at the time (9 years ago), I've beat out some candidates who already had some experience! Just have to make yourself stand out!

xocity

Got my Comptia A+ and Network + through self study which sucked since I was making peanuts working at a non-it related job and didnt want to spend money on books or Tests but it was worth it. Afterwards, Looked for a Recruiter, 2 weeks later got 1 interview. Got a job at a small call center for $10/12 an hour. Was there for about 8 months then went to a small MSP as a level 1 Helpdesk. Went up from there.

markulous

I volunteered at protonic.com and worked at a call center that did password resets and minor browser troubleshooting for a few months. After that I got a temp job migrating PCs from XP to 7. No certs, but I had my Associate's in IT.

ScrawnyRonnie

The main thing that got me hired was putting that I'm an Eagle Scout on my resume. Yes, I had the required certs for the job, but Eagle Scout is what stood out the most to my to-be boss.

Arod95

Went to a tech school for high school, and picked up some certs along the way.(Net+,A+, MCSA:2008,CCENT.) While currently doing my AS in Network Engineering I've been looking on craigslist almost everyday. Applied for an entry level network support job, and I prepared for the interview like I've never before. Got the job, and now I start march 1st. Haven't started but with talking with one of technicians about all the technology I'm going to be working with I know I'm going to be really happy.

ImYourOnlyDJ

A small local IT consulting firm called the local career center and asked for the top student of the CCNA academy (me ). It was an internship doing Help Desk, Desktop Support, and some server maintenance(viewing logs, doing update, and viewing monitoring software) and lasted about a year making $7 an hour. I didn't have any certs but finished the Cisco Academy and A+ training through the career center.

My second IT job came about 6 years later after I was working an entry level non IT job. I finished A+ and Network+ certifications and was using a Cisco router for home internet, and I also had a web server running on a Raspberry Pi when a Help Desk position came up. I knew several employees and the supervisor from company events which I'm sure helped quite a bit.

I've found that getting that first full-time IT job is the hardest step and it just takes time to move up to bigger and better things. If its your first IT job I would recommend getting a Help Desk job as you learn so much and gain a good amount of experience.

E Double U

During my freshman year of college, I had an internship with Pioneer Electronics working on the 1st level helpdesk. All I did was open tickets and assign them to the "real" techs lol. No certs at the time.

After college, I worked for a subcontractor with the school district building, delivering, and installing computers. I had my B.S. in Bus Admin - Info Sys, but no certs. I had that job for over two years and got several CompTIA and Microsoft certs while there.

RHEL

I went on indeed.com and applied to anything with the title "Linux/UNIX Systems Administrator" or "Security Engineer" that requires years experience.

I had a worthless degree from a major state university which I defaulted to getting because I didn't want to spend another year in school pursuing the degree I intended to get. I had zero certs. I was tech savvy, used Linux as a hobby, and had worked tech support for an ISP, IT support for state gov't, IT support for my university, and did a summer stint in Boston as a network admin for a computer camp.

I app'd 4-5 months prior to graduation, had several interviews w/ multiple companies across the US (and Marshall Islands), and took the first offer that met my criteria. First job was a UNIX admin for a global aerospace/defense company. Ended up picking up some certs and a masters degree during my 2.5 years there.

VinnyCisco

In the Navy - 1997. I was an Operations Specialist on board a Destroyer and they needed 2 people from each division to be a Tech Liaison since they didn't have a dedicated IT division. This was before the RM's were re-designated to IT'man. Since I had real life experience with computers in the 80's as a teen, this definitely helped me gain one of the liaison positions in my division. Back then we were supporting UNIX systems and Windows NT on the Public and Secret LAN.

Heero

Internship in Network Services at a Fortune 1000 company, summer between junior and senior year of college and then part-time during senior year.

Got it by having 3.9+ GPA, already having my CCNA, and doing fairly well at the interview.

My plan was to stand apart from other students by keeping a good GPA and also getting some networking certs independently. It worked out fairly well I suppose.

kly630

It was an internship at a local public hospital for me that got me started. I had just recently joined a masters program in computer science and was determined to get really good grades. Had a 3.9 after 2 semesters. After that, I posted my resume on the school's career website and they called me.

I guess there's a lot to be said for being willing to study hard and do well. One of the reasons we're all here on this forum I suppose.

BerkshireHerd

Reached out to a VP on Linkedin and asked for a meeting for career advice, he offered me a job about 10 minutes in.

Mooseboost

I got my foot in the door through a friend. The company I currently work for doesn't post public, so you either have to know someone or be related to someone. That got me the interview, and I did well enough that they decided to hire me on.

kohr-ah

First role found a job on craiglist and went to the interview and I guess knocked it out of the park. Only had my A+ and Net+

A year later went to a MSP and a friend worked there and got me an interview. I told them I just wanted my foot pin the door and I can do the rest to prove it was a good decision.

ProtoPrime

I had next to no IT experience (except for the typical Hobbyist good with computers type.) I'd applied for serveral jobs for over 6 months with no callbacks and couldn't afford to take any certifications.

My friend submitted my resume to his boss's boss (Boss rejected me due to not enough experience,) they called for an interview and I impressed them in the interview with my personality and my knowledge.

I personally believe that when it comes to getting in the door, if you don't have prior experience, education or certifications, then networking is the best way to have someone take a chance on you. Most entry level jobs don't require specialized skills or knowledge, it just requires someone that can deal with customers and be a sharp thhinker.

If you don't have any buddies already in the industry, meet everyone that you can. Use meetup.com to meet with various professionals, see if you can link up with people at the various Community colleges, LinkedIn and etc... If you impress the people you meet, there's always a chance that they can keep you in mind when an entry level position opens up.

anhtran35

No certifications and no experience. I had graduated from college and started working for a Security Contracting company. Very small office. It only had one IT guy. I was doing admin. work; however, it was never busy. I ended up assisting the IT Manager who I ended up being good friends. Company went under and now I had IT experience under my resume.

anhtran35

I like to add that my first 6 years of IT experience I WORKED MY ASS OFF. Meaning you say YES to overtime. You work crap 3rd shifts just to get the job title( ex: NOC technician ). And sometimes you go to high threat areas( Iraq and Afghanistan ) just to get a clearance and hazard pay. Now I can relax and get my blood pressure down. I look back and I tell young people don't get tied down( wife/kids/mortgage ) until you get your career established. You most likely have to move out of state and even out of the country for a few years. The days of people staying in a company for 25 years are over.

Nafe92014

I landed my first IT job back in 2011 when I finished my first year of college. A longtime family friend of mine owns a IT/cell provider shop and he was looking for a full time Service Tech for 3 months during the summer. I just had my MTA:OS certification at the time, and got the job offer.

Kinet1c

I created it Set up my own support company, don't miss it though.

earonw49

Im not sure if Geek Squad counts as "real IT" experience however I will mention that I worked as an "Agent" for one year.

I then started a miniature computer support company and was an apprentice to system admin who was a close family friend. This guy had 20+ years of IT experience under his belt so I was sure to absorb as much knowledge as possible.

A few years later, I applied to a random level one helpdesk job posted on SimplyHired.com. This was on a Sunday. They called me that following Monday, offered me an interview the next day then gave me a formal offer the following week. At the time I had one year of experience (on paper), no degree or certs.

Fast forward to a year later. I work for the govt as a Level 3 DSE admin/Field Tech III. I now have an A+, N+ and in a few days, a S+. I'll be finishing my BS: IT Security in 10-11 months.

Because of these opportunities/experiences I am more noticeable than before. I have recruiters blowing up my phone and on top of that, I now have interviews scheduled for IT positions with 2 extremely popular multi billion dollar aerospace & defense companies.

If I can get my foot into the door and climb the ladder YOU can too!