My Future in I.T

sanitybreaks

My future in I.T officially started yesterday. First I was going to intern as a technology assistant at a small internet provider, but I decided to go with something that was closer to where I stay.
Upon that decision, I was soon hired for a work study position in the I.T department at my community college. They said that I will be doing alot of imaging, troubleshooting and installing network cables. I will be getting my A+ in a few months too. Will I be able to land a help desk or desktop support role? Thanks.

PCTechLinc

Congrats on the start!  I would say after your A+ and 6 months to a year of the tasks you described would fit you into a Level 1 support role.  It is dependent on how much information you retain, and the quality of your work.  Out here (Monterey CA) those skills would get you a Junior Admin role to start, since the competition is pretty fierce.  Build up your experience, knowledge, and certs, and the rest will fall into place.

mikey88

Agree, the hardest part is getting your foot in the door. Work hard and it will pay off for you.

scaredoftests

You are getting the experience you need to move further up! Congrats!

LordQarlyn

I would say you are getting a very good start, and a well rounded exposure to IT in your work study job. With imaging PCs, yes you can leverage that to a help desk job. Learn about Microsoft servers and, if applicable where you are at, Linux servers. Learn Active Directory and its basic functions, notably creating users, creating groups, creating objects, org units, assigning AD objects to groups and org units, resetting passwords, for starters, and you will be well on your way to getting a help desk job.

Infosec_Sam

Hey, congratulations! That first job is always the hardest to land, so it's great to get it out of the way. I would say yes, this experience along with the A+ cert would be more than enough to land you a full-time desktop support role in the future. Just make sure that you're keeping track of the skills you're learning along the way, and you'll be in a great spot to take the next step.

SteveLavoie

The first 2 years in IT is what make or break a career. Work hard, do certs and after it will get easier. 

sanitybreaks

Thanks for the encouragement guys. This role will only be for 5 and a half months, as I will be graduating this year. Is that still enough time to start looking for help desk roles afterwards?

yoba222

I'd start applying several weeks before those 5 and a half months are up. HR can be very slow with some companies.

sanitybreaks

yoba222 said:

I'd start applying several weeks before those 5 and a half months are up. HR can be very slow with some companies.

Thanks for the advice, will do.

PCTechLinc

Try to network with established people in your area.  Who you know can go a long way.