I'm 27, and I need to get the ball rolling towards my IT career

For reasons nobody on this board wants to know about, I have neglected my education and my dream of becoming an IT professional. However, that all has to change, and I need to get started before it's too late.

Right now, I'm no more than a novice in computers and Information Technology, as I've let all past training I did slip away. I'm able to build and maintain my own PC's and network..but this is a hobby at best for me. It's time to get some real education and training so I can start making money in IT.

But I honestly have no idea where I should begin or where to start in my educational journey. I live in a small town, with no real access to technical schools or even jobs in the IT field. I'm considering an online Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from a school in Northern Missouri, but I'm not sure if this is the best route to becoming an IT professional or not.

Then there's the endless amount of certifications that are available...again leaving me confused about where to begin.

So I guess this whole post is a long way of asking: Where should I begin? I'm almost positive that I will want to complete an A+ certification, as that should get me reacquainted with all the technical jargon and nuance of computer hardware...but after that, I'm completely lost.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments

instant000

If you want to just cert up on your own: A+

I would advise you to self-study for the A+ first. This would give you an idea of where you stand.

After the A+, you should start to get an idea of what you would like to do.

Make sure to poke around on these forums, there's tons of information here.

The most recommended college on these boards is WGU, for obvious reasons. Would want to see if you could self-study for a cert on your own, prior to recommending you go there, though, as it is designed for self-motivated learning.

EDIT: Work. You trying to get a job doing this? It's not a get-rich-quick type of thing, but if you focus on your experience, education, and certification, you can go as far as you are motivated to go in IT.

Lugz

instant000 wrote: »

If you want to just cert up on your own: A+

I would advise you to self-study for the A+ first. This would give you an idea of where you stand.

After the A+, you should start to get an idea of what you would like to do.

Make sure to poke around on these forums, there's tons of information here.

The most recommended college on these boards is WGU, for obvious reasons. Would want to see if you could self-study for a cert on your own, prior to recommending you go there, though, as it is designed for self-motivated learning.

EDIT: Work. You trying to get a job doing this? It's not a get-rich-quick type of thing, but if you focus on your experience, education, and certification, you can go as far as you are motivated to go in IT.

By WGU, do you mean Western Governors University? I take it they're pretty respected on these forums? I'm a little leery of any online school after being burnt badly by Westwood when I was younger...

crrussell3

Lugz wrote: »

By WGU, do you mean Western Governors University? I take it they're pretty respected on these forums? I'm a little leery of any online school after being burnt badly by Westwood when I was younger...

WGU is the route to go over NW Missouri (Maryville) if that is what you are referring to in your first post. Besides, with all the eminent flooding around Big Lake and Hamburg, you might drown in your online classes

Nobylspoon

I started in the IT field a month before turning 27 No degree, just 20-30 credits at a community college and a MS Vista cert. (I am turning 28 next month.)

I went through a recruiter and had a very positive experience (this doesn't seem to be the norm but I guess I was lucky). They set me up with an interview for a Software QA position. I had no interest in software, I want to work with networks and then eventually security but it was a foot in the door of the IT field so I went with it.

I went above and beyond at that job and six months later, my boss asked if I would be willing to relocate for a year or two. They doubled my pay and paid for the move. Now I am supporting our software in one of our customer's labs. Along with the software, I am responsible for the 12 servers it is installed on. Even though I was on the polar opposite side of the career field, I am gaining work experience in my desired area less than a year later.

I just enrolled at WGU and I expect to have my Bachelors finished before moving back. If they extend my contract, I may be moving back with my Masters.

27 is a great time to get started. IT is a huge field. As soon as you decide what kind of position you want down the road, you can start mapping your path, education plan, and certs to delivery you to that goal.

Best of luck to you!

chrisone

Agreed 27 is still very young in health years

So with that said, just look at the long run. By the time you are 30 you can be very deep into your cert goals and your career.

If you break down year by year your cert goals and how many certs you want to accomplish each year. Then break down each cert and how long you need to study in "months" to accomplish that cert. Then break down your weekly study hours to accomplish your monthly goals.

The time goes by fast when your studying and 3 years you can accomplish a lot of things and master a lot of things as well.

So just chill on trying to be this and that and freaking out about it hahaha In all honesty you are doing fine with just this simple change in attitude towards your career achievements. Before you break down your goals figure out which direction/IT area you want to conquer. Stay cheerful!

Lord Nikon

27 is not old my friend, its actually a perfect time in your life. Most people in their late 20s have slowed down to the point they have their head on their shoulders and are serious about life. I honestly don't think any age is too late in your "career" to start.

Anyhow, best advice, ask yourself what do you see yourself doing in the IT field, 5 or 10 years from now?

Do you enjoy helping people over the phone and remotely?
Do you enjoy going directly to the problem and fixing it?

Do you like to stay away from people entirely and just design networks, grant access and design security policies?

First suggestion, Start on the Microsoft Path. Either the XP cert path or jump into the Win 7 path. depending on what you pick, there is a whole bunch of options of certifcations you can take once you pass the first one.

I wouldnt bother with CompTIA certs like A+ or N+. I haven't seen any jobs that actually require them or hold them at any value (at least in my area.)

WafflesAndRootbeer

You need to move somewhere where there is an actual IT industry. If you're living in Podunk County where there is no real technology to speak of, you have no future as an IT professional. Online schooling won't help you one bit if you can't lovingly fondle a good amount of hardware in front of you.

crrussell3

I would also like to add, that you will get different advise on whether or not to obtain CompTIA certification (A+, N+, S+). At the very least, I would advise that you purchase the study material and use it to get a good grip on the basics, and then decide if you want to take the exam or not. They come with a heftier price tag than MS exams, and some will debate of their usefulness once passed.

If it was me, I would self study the material for the tests, and then proceed with studying for MS exams which can help you get your foot in the door.

You will also need to gain some sort of experience, even living in a small town. You can see if you can start fixing computers around your town, doing basic troubleshooting, virus removal, etc. If you have a computer powerful enough of your own that is capable of virtualization, install VirtualBox (my preference) or another virtualization client and download trial versions of MS software and lab lab lab!

Devilsbane

I'll try to keep this short for you.

First of all, the fact that you said nobody wants to know makes me curious lol.

But back to topic. As others have said, 27 is that old. It is amazing the ground that you can make up in 3-5 years (and even less) with the right attitude and ambition.

A+ is a good place to start. What you need is a job in IT. To get that, you need to get some education in IT. Having some sort of a degree (even just an Associates) is important in the field, so definitely get started in that. While doing that I would study A+ or some other low level entry level cert and use that to get the first IT job you can find.

Once you have that first job you can move up the ladder and start to move around and get to where you want to be and doing what you want to do.

Devilsbane

chrisone wrote: »

The time goes by fast when your studying and 3 years you can accomplish a lot of things and master a lot of things as well.

So just chill on trying to be this and that and freaking out about it hahaha In all honesty you are doing fine with just this simple change in attitude towards your career achievements. Before you break down your goals figure out which direction/IT area you want to conquer. Stay cheerful!

+1 to this. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Breaking down all of the goals and times might be a little daunting. Personally I would just pick up an A+ book or something and start reading. Don't demand that you are going to pass the test in a week, month, or even 6 months. Like you said, you enjoy IT. It should be fairly easy to just pick up a book and start reading for the enjoyment of learning about a topic that interests you.

But sometimes sticking a date on the calendar can be that extra motivation to study. I caution you to use this sparingly. It is extremely to turn this into a business and start getting upset that you missed that goal or didn't do as much as you wanted. You're doing this because you like computers and want a job in IT. That should be enough motivation.

Jinuyr

Just as the others have said, don't let the age discourage you. I was away from IT for a good amount of time and I got back into it at age 27.

Keep your eye on the prize. Get your A+, find out where you are and go from there.

instant000

Hah, I just realized that I was 27 before I had a single certification, LOL. Perfect age to start!

Mike-Mike

ha, I started at 31.. racked up a bunch of certs then got this help desk gig... 2 promotions later and now I'm up for a System Admin role and a NOC position with only 5 months of experience.. just work hard and study hard and it will pay off

darkladdie

I didn't get my first cert, Security+, until 34. But I have moved from IT, did 10+ years of this, to Information Security over the last 3 years.

Age doesn't matter, just your desire to learn new things.

Lugz

Thanks for all the replies everyone...I honestly feel much better about my future after reading some of your posts. I guess 27 doesn't make me a dinosaur after all

I've decided that my first step will be to pick up an A+ book and get my certification. After researching WGU, apparently I would either need a cert like A+, or 3 years experience in the IT field. Unfortunately, I only have about a year and a half experience from working at a help desk job and some experience at a local computer repair shop...but that was years ago, and not enough anyway.

So A+ it is, and then I'll see where that leads me. And I guess now that I think about it...there are a few IT oriented jobs in my area...so after obtaining my A+, it will be my mission to get some experience at one of them.

Again, thank you all for you help and support.

pzero

Good luck on your journey!

tbgree00

I think 27 is fine, I work with a lot of 35+ year olds, a couple of which have less than 2 years experience. When I started in IT I was 24 and now, 4 years later, I'm a network administrator with 3 VMware installs behind me, a Xen install, and tons of server experience. I'm also the goto desktop guy when things go very wrong. I think self study and getting your hands dirty is the way to go.

If you can afford it and/or have a supportive spouse/SO get a Dell T110 server with 4GB ram, slap in a 1TB hard drive and install some sort of virtualization product on there (VMware is free and works on that machine). Then you can install windows 7, linux, server 2008, etc and break them to your heart's content without any fear or effort.

I think I was out 500 bucks on the server and 250/year on a technet subscription but I can do labs in cert manuals or test installs for work projects and not worry about messing anything up.

VAHokie56

good luck dude sounds like you got a plan now. One thing that always helped me with self studying for exams was to go ahead and schedule them when I start studying. This gives you a little more motivation because you have a dead line to meet ,you can always reschedule if need be but that kills the desired affect.