Thinking of getting back into an IT career

Hey,

First post so I'll keep it as brief as I can!

I worked for two major PC system builders/retailers (not PC World :P) in sales, management and some time as a technician (upgrades/diagnosing faults etc) and have always been very technical.

PC's are my hobby, I produce music and edit photography to a very high standard using various programs (Studio One, Photoshop etc) and have been building/upgrading PC's for around 20 years (back to the DX processor days!).

So, I've strayed away from IT, my career took me down a management path and I've since gone all analytical too working now as an analyst - however - circumstances dictate I need to change jobs again soon and so I am looking to getting back to something I love - IT - problem is I have no formal qualifications and really want to avoid call centre roles (been there in different industries so this does give me valuable CV experience to prospective helpdesk employers).

I've sat and passed the Comptia A+ mock with no revision, know a bit about networking (wiring up the home with Ethernet, switches, wifi etc) so probably need to brush up on that to do the N+ - I lack server knowledge, but again, its just hardware/software and something I pick up very quickly.

Question is, is the only way realistically to make the jump back to IT to go in at the 1st line/helpdesk level? I'd prefer to be more hands on than taking phone calls and logging 60 tickets a day?

Any advice greatly appreciated

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dr3amz

oh to add, I've applied and received positive responses for first line roles in the past (due to my customer service, call centre experience and IT savvy) but have then changed my mind as decided against the call centre route!

Dakinggamer87

You might be able to move into a Desktop Support role. This would be more customer focused and you would be able to do more then just taking calls and submitting tickets. I would try to move into this type of position as a starting point then depending on what your interest are then move into something you want to specialize in such as networking, systems administration, development, etc.

Good luck!!

Dakinggamer87

Systems Admin. - MCSA/MCSE (Windows), RHCSA/RHCE (Linux)
Networking - Network+, CCNA/CCNP or Juniper
Virtualization - VMware, AWS, or Azure

Just some certification paths to consider

dr3amz

Great stuff, I guess I'm probably more likely to go the Network / Sys admin side of things (working as a network manager etc for a school/college always appealed to me). I've also got around 10yrs of people/performance management skills so would it be worth taking on the ITIL foundation courses now too?

I'm just thinking of everything I can do to avoid the basics at 1st line (as I probably know a lot more technically than a lot of people at that level - appreciate only time in that role can give you certain valuable experience however).

Dakinggamer87

dr3amz wrote: »

Great stuff, I guess I'm probably more likely to go the Network / Sys admin side of things (working as a network manager etc for a school/college always appealed to me). I've also got around 10yrs of people/performance management skills so would it be worth taking on the ITIL foundation courses now too?

I'm just thinking of everything I can do to avoid the basics at 1st line (as I probably know a lot more technically than a lot of people at that level - appreciate only time in that role can give you certain valuable experience however).

ITIL could definitely help if going into management is what you are seeking and want to do.