Where to start ?

pickelweasel

Ill start saying im a 15 year old high school student.Currently im seeking information on where to start my IT career,doubt I can do anything at the moment though.

But really im wondering how you guys started in your careers so I can have a guideline on where I should be.

routingbyrumor

Hi! I would say pick a area in Technology your interested in and start learning the most you can about it since your young. If you like operating systems consider books on different OSes, There are so many fields in Information Technology to go into so you need to pick a path or learn as much as you can about everything if your going to be a jack of all trades. Also experiment with what you have you don't need much these days to practice and perform lab's. You should consider some certifications such as Microsoft, Cisco, and Comptia as well. This will give you a head start on a lot of people. I started my IT career after High School in College so you have plenty of time.

Hope this helps.

Claud Murdock

Now you remind me of where I was a few years back, not knowing where I wanted to go for a IT job. Get into a vocational school first, then something they teach you will spark an interest (security for myself) then you will be driven to success! Trust me man, I JUST turned 18, have over 15 some odd certs, and work for the Federal Government in Cybercrime. And this was all over a two year period. Trust me, find your niche, and learning about it will be like an addiction. Pen-Testing is like crack for me, I loved it since the very first day I was introduced to it when my (stupid excuse for a) teacher said, "ok guys, just set up a couple of computers and do whatever, I dont even care if you hackinto them". That was my first hit on the crackpipe of success. I'm sorry for the stupidly funny analiogies, but it gets the point across.

Good Luck,

Mike

goforthbmerry

After you have a cert or 2 (A+, Net+, or MCP), try to get in with a IT department part time. You might be able to use the HS guidance department to help you. I know that normally they are pretty useless but this situation may make them look good so they may be more willing to help. Even if you have to work for free and do the boring work for a while you will really learn a lot more than you would out of a book. My bosses son started when he was 15 and he has a great start in an IT career if he wants. Sometimes smaller companies give you greater ability to try new things. Big companies may have a department for everything so you don't get the exposure. In a small company, you may start doing help desk, start monitoring servers, learn a little email, hit some java, and move on from there.

Good Luck.