Whats the best way for me to land a job and begin an IT career?

ImAllLikeOkay

I am currently 27 years old with 0 work experience. The reason I have no work experience is because I pursued a poker career, which I failed at:/ I did attend community college and almost received my associates degree(6 credits away from liberal arts degree). But can't go to college until i pay back a 6k loan so that won't be happening anytime soon. Now that I got that out of the way whats the best way for me to get started in IT? I want to do networking and I planned on starting with my ccent then getting my ccda and then ccdp. Once I have those three certificates which I plan on getting in the next 2 years I plan on applying for jobs. Obviously my question is who would hire a 29 year old with no degree and no work experience and a ccdp? What kind of networking jobs should I apply for? And does this plan sound good or what plan is recommended?

Mishra

Study really hard, network with groups in your area, and learn networking from everyone you run into.

Ask lots of questions, build a home lab, and start to pretend to put yourself in the seat. (AKA, start coming up with lab scenarios on your own)

Look up volunteer opportunities and do as much as you can by the way of public service. Get lower end IT jobs if possible.

There are a lot of threads on this forum about this so do a lot of research and you will be able to build yourself a plan. 21 or 29 years old doesn't matter when you have skills. That's the key.

markulous

CCNA is going to be a more recognizable cert so I would recommend getting that before the CCDA to make your resume jump out more.

I'd also recommend trying to get some volunteer experience (online or otherwise). That'll be something else you can put on your resume.

With that big of a gap, I'd also recommend just being honest about everything. Some places may look down on being a pro poker player, but there's no incentive to lie.

TheFORCE

So you will apply for jobs only after you pass your certificates? What will you be doing for 2 years, just studying? Why not try to get some work experience and at the same time study for certifications? You can volunteer or get a Helpdesk job to get your feet in the door. There are plenty of traveling field tech position out there paying $15 per hour + milage. You don't need much experience on that since most of break fox type work. This will get you connected with your area's IT people and get you experience and money for your certifications. As you get 1 certificate you can then transition to the next job using the newly acquired certificate. Progressively going to the next level.

ElGato127

Good news:

You have transferrable skills. During your time in professional poker, you would have learned to read people, stay cool under pressure, be comfortable with risks. You can probably think of more along those lines.

Bad news:

You have no experience. Some, but not all, places will hold this against you.

Plan:

I was in a similar boat starting out. Here's what I did:
1. pass the A+ and only the A+. Reading for other exams is fine, just no need to take them yet.
2. networking. Meetup is great for this. Get your name out there.
3. Contract agencies. CtoH is the most efficient way to get started. Many of these try to keep people after the contract.
4. Identify help desks that are related to your previous work. For me it was IT support in a hospital system. For you a casino may be a good place to start.

Hope this helps

Node Man

+1 go for CCNA.

Many IT people get their start by working the unpopular time shifts. IT departments are often will to take fresh meat for graveyard over the weekend.