Have Bachelors in IT, but no experience at all

Hello,

Im hoping that someone can shed the light on me because right now I do not know what to do and hope someone can motivate me.

I just currently graduated about a year ago with a Bachelors in Technical Management, with a concentration in computer networking. However, the downside of it..is that while I was in school the whole 3 years..I never got experience or anykind of internship besides doing the labs at school because I had already had a full time job. But it does not pertain to the IT Field. Another disadvantage is that I'm know young teenager who can just take any part time job or internship and get experience, I was 33 when I finished and have a family and one kid and just bought a new house with my wife, so it was hard and scared to leave my job.

Anyway, enough with that. I am currently working doing collections in a call center for 4 years now. and I want to get out and start working in IT. Can anyone tell me or lead me to the right path..on what certifications is best that I can get so that it would open the doors for me more. I am shooting for A+, network +, security +, MCDST...you think once I get one of those..I will get interviews along with my Bachelors that I have?

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Comments

phantasm

It all depends man. A B.S degree is nice, certs are good to show basic knowledge, but like you said experience is king. If I were you I would shoot for thw A+, Net+ and maybe Sec+ and hope for a helpdesk job. It's a start, and all of us in the IT field have done time in the trenches (I'm still there). It's not glorius, the money often sucks but you have to start somewhere.

Good luck.

Deesiel

Start looking at / applying for federal government IT jobs at the GS-5 level if you haven't already. You qualify for GS-5 level jobs with just a Bachelor's degree and zero 'specialized' experience. If you earned your bachelor degree with a GPA above 3.0, you may qualify for GS-7 level jobs as well. I heard it takes a while to get in, but you can at least start applying while you work on your certs. From my searches, it looks like the Dept of Homeland Security and Dept of the Navy are looking to hire IT professionals from entry level and up, in locations all over the country.

phantasm

Deesiel wrote: »

Start looking at / applying for federal government IT jobs at the GS-5 level if you haven't already. You qualify for GS-5 level jobs with just a Bachelor's degree and zero 'specialized' experience. If you earned your bachelor degree with a GPA above 3.0, you may qualify for GS-7 level jobs as well. I heard it takes a while to get in, but you can at least start applying while you work on your certs. From my searches, it looks like the Dept of Homeland Security and Dept of the Navy are looking to hire IT professionals from entry level and up, in locations all over the country.

I wish it were that easy. I'm prior service and have been trying to get back into the government for 8 yrs. No luck.

Deesiel

phantasm wrote: »

I wish it were that easy. I'm prior service and have been trying to get back into the government for 8 yrs. No luck.

Agreed. I wish it were easy too. Still, it's better to keep applying and maybe get something than to not apply and definitely get nothing.

I'm prior service as well, and while I haven't been trying to get back into gov for the past 8 years, I've submitted several apps over the past year and have only managed to get one interview. The interview I got was for an IT related federal technician position with my national guard unit. At the time, I had A+, 270, 271, 620, some college credits (working on my associates in CS), and some related experience from my time on active duty. The person who got the job has a Bachelors degree and credits towards a Masters... no certs, and no related experience... BUT he is an officer and I'm enlisted, and the people doing the hiring were officers so maybe that had something to do with it as well.