I Finally Made It! Career Switcher Success Story
ChickenNuggetz
Member Posts: 284
Today, I have officially switched careers. I just signed my first offer letter with a major government contractor as an IT Support Specialist. Words cannot begin to describe the things I feel, but here's a few: joy, relief, pride...
So here's my story (sorry if it turns out to be long):
In the year or so I've lurked around these boards I've seen a large amount of "getting started in IT" or "switching careers, need advice" threads. I havent seen too many success stories; I've looked for them, just to read about them and give myself hope that making such a risky move would pay off greatly. So I thought I'd share my story, just as a way to show all the starters and career-switchers out there that if with a lot of hard work, you can really get there and make it happen.
I've been a high school teacher for the last three years. I went to college and received my degree in Classics (complete opposite of IT), I even did some grad work as a classicist and eventually ended up with public school teaching job. Things were good at first. The job was steady pay, good benefits, and working with the kids was actually kind of fun. But something was missing. It didnt feel right. My heart wasnt in it.
Fast forward to 7 months ago. I'm toying around with my PC and it strikes me like a bolt of lightning. I've always loved technology, I've always loved reading and learning about it. I would spend hours after work toying around, building, and tinkering. I was always the "go-to" person for my friends and family when their machines were down. So I thought to myself, why not turn my hobby into a career? That's exactly what I did.
I immediately googled information on IT careers and found TechExams.net. I read anything and everything on these boards about career switching. I read other blogs and forums. On the recommendations of so many, I went out and purchased my first IT books: A+ certification books. I spent the next week reading the books in between lessons and when I came home at night. I quickly realized I already knew a lot of the information in them, so I thought to myself "I want to learn something I know very little about." A friend recommended looking into networking, so I jumped on the Cisco bandwagon and purchased the CCENT books. I was a machine. I studied every day after work. I studied every moment I could while at work. I read nothing but tech and networking blogs. I listened to podcasts on my way to and from work. I even started a blog to track my progress. IT and networking became my life...and I loved every second of it.
2 months after I began my journey, I sat and passed my first IT certification exam. I was CCENT certified! It felt really good, it was one of the best feelings of accomplishment I've ever had. I immediately jumped back in though and cracked open that CCNA book. By this time, I had already made arrangements to move 200 miles north to a new city and better opportunities for landing and IT job. I sold most of what I had owned just to pay for my way. In the meantime, I put together my resume (with the help of TE members!) and my cover letter. And then I posted the resume on Dice.
A week after posting on Dice, I received a call from a technical recruiter. He saw my resume, was impressed, and wanted to forward it to a big name company that had just won a HUGE contract from the government. 2 days later I received a phone call from the same recruiter saying that they were eager to speak to me; an interview! Great timing! The day after I finished my teaching contract, I arrived at the interview and turned on the charm, the passion for IT, and my optimistic and positive attitude. The interview ended after a half hour and on the way out they told me "hold on a sec." They spoke in hushed voices while I waited outside the conference room. A second later the manager came out and told me she wanted me to talk to someone. Minutes later, I found myself talking to her manager and her manager telling me that she was very impressed with me. I was elated. I was so happy. It was so surreal. Later that afternoon, I got a call from my recruiter and he gave me the best news I'd heard in last 7 months: "You killed it! They loved you and they want to extend you an offer."
So ladies and gents, here I am, a unhappy educator who dreamed of something better and got it. For all the career switchers out there, if there's anything you can take from this ridiculously long story (sorry), let it be this:
So here's my story (sorry if it turns out to be long):
In the year or so I've lurked around these boards I've seen a large amount of "getting started in IT" or "switching careers, need advice" threads. I havent seen too many success stories; I've looked for them, just to read about them and give myself hope that making such a risky move would pay off greatly. So I thought I'd share my story, just as a way to show all the starters and career-switchers out there that if with a lot of hard work, you can really get there and make it happen.
I've been a high school teacher for the last three years. I went to college and received my degree in Classics (complete opposite of IT), I even did some grad work as a classicist and eventually ended up with public school teaching job. Things were good at first. The job was steady pay, good benefits, and working with the kids was actually kind of fun. But something was missing. It didnt feel right. My heart wasnt in it.
Fast forward to 7 months ago. I'm toying around with my PC and it strikes me like a bolt of lightning. I've always loved technology, I've always loved reading and learning about it. I would spend hours after work toying around, building, and tinkering. I was always the "go-to" person for my friends and family when their machines were down. So I thought to myself, why not turn my hobby into a career? That's exactly what I did.
I immediately googled information on IT careers and found TechExams.net. I read anything and everything on these boards about career switching. I read other blogs and forums. On the recommendations of so many, I went out and purchased my first IT books: A+ certification books. I spent the next week reading the books in between lessons and when I came home at night. I quickly realized I already knew a lot of the information in them, so I thought to myself "I want to learn something I know very little about." A friend recommended looking into networking, so I jumped on the Cisco bandwagon and purchased the CCENT books. I was a machine. I studied every day after work. I studied every moment I could while at work. I read nothing but tech and networking blogs. I listened to podcasts on my way to and from work. I even started a blog to track my progress. IT and networking became my life...and I loved every second of it.
2 months after I began my journey, I sat and passed my first IT certification exam. I was CCENT certified! It felt really good, it was one of the best feelings of accomplishment I've ever had. I immediately jumped back in though and cracked open that CCNA book. By this time, I had already made arrangements to move 200 miles north to a new city and better opportunities for landing and IT job. I sold most of what I had owned just to pay for my way. In the meantime, I put together my resume (with the help of TE members!) and my cover letter. And then I posted the resume on Dice.
A week after posting on Dice, I received a call from a technical recruiter. He saw my resume, was impressed, and wanted to forward it to a big name company that had just won a HUGE contract from the government. 2 days later I received a phone call from the same recruiter saying that they were eager to speak to me; an interview! Great timing! The day after I finished my teaching contract, I arrived at the interview and turned on the charm, the passion for IT, and my optimistic and positive attitude. The interview ended after a half hour and on the way out they told me "hold on a sec." They spoke in hushed voices while I waited outside the conference room. A second later the manager came out and told me she wanted me to talk to someone. Minutes later, I found myself talking to her manager and her manager telling me that she was very impressed with me. I was elated. I was so happy. It was so surreal. Later that afternoon, I got a call from my recruiter and he gave me the best news I'd heard in last 7 months: "You killed it! They loved you and they want to extend you an offer."
So ladies and gents, here I am, a unhappy educator who dreamed of something better and got it. For all the career switchers out there, if there's anything you can take from this ridiculously long story (sorry), let it be this:
- WORK HARD
- STAY POSITIVE
- BE HONEST (with yourself and others)
- NEVER GIVE UP
:study: Currently Reading: Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator and Engineer by Ashgar Ghori
Certifications: CCENT; CCNA: R&S; Security+
Next up: RHCSA
Certifications: CCENT; CCNA: R&S; Security+
Next up: RHCSA
Comments
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dave330i
Member Posts: 2,091 ■■■■■■■■■■
Congratulations.
I had posted a career switch success story while back. Like you said, if you're passionate about it and work hard at it you're bound to find success. 2018 Certification Goals: Maybe VMware Sales Cert
"Simplify, then add lightness" -Colin Chapman -
spicy ahi
Member Posts: 413 ■■□□□□□□□□
Congratulations and welcome to the family! And you know, you're teaching experience may come in handy real soon as you'll be experiencing the joys of educating users on proper use policies and how to open their outlook mail.
Spicy :cool: Mentor the future! Be a CyberPatriot! -
VAHokie56
Member Posts: 783
cool story bro,congrats...so did you move to VA beach or did you move to somewhere else in VA?...I am in Richmond my self .ιlι..ιlι.
CISCO
"A flute without holes, is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish" - Ty Webb
Reading:NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching: Next-Generation Data Center Architectures -
kgb
Member Posts: 380
cool story bro,congrats...so did you move to VA beach or did you move to somewhere else in VA?...I am in Richmond my self
Curious to that as well. I'm in Suffolk
Congrats on the new job and new career!Bachelor of Science, Information Technology (Software) - WGU -
Somnipotent
Member Posts: 384
congrats man! get that rack going and finish up the CCNA... you'll be wanting to move up sooner than later and that's your ticket!!Reading: Internetworking with TCP/IP: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture (D. Comer) -
ChickenNuggetz
Member Posts: 284
cool story bro,congrats...so did you move to VA beach or did you move to somewhere else in VA?...I am in Richmond my self
Actually, I relocated from VA Beach to the DC metro area!Somnipotent wrote: »congrats man! get that rack going and finish up the CCNA... you'll be wanting to move up sooner than later and that's your ticket!!
I know! I'm just about done with my studies for the CCNA, looking to sit for the exam in the next 2-3 weeks or so!:study: Currently Reading: Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator and Engineer by Ashgar Ghori
Certifications: CCENT; CCNA: R&S; Security+
Next up: RHCSA -
jdancer
Member Posts: 482 ■■■■□□□□□□
Very nice story.
Your degree and educational teaching experience is going to be very important in your new career.
You'll be surprised how important "soft-skills" are. I predicate you'll go far in your new career due to your interpersonal skills.
Believe it or not, your past career will help you very much in your new career. -
onesaint
Member Posts: 801
Congrats! Great outlook and perspective on things. Keep that up and keep moving forward.Work in progress: picking up Postgres, elastisearch, redis, Cloudera, & AWS.
Next up: eventually the RHCE and to start blogging again.
Control Protocol; my blog of exam notes and IT randomness -
log32
Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 217
congrats! very nice, you're very brave, it is not an easy task to change jobs from school teaching to IT. this definitely proves that everything is possible at any given time with the right attitude.
hope you will enjoy your new role. -
GOZCU
Member Posts: 234
I am totally aware of the feelings you have. .Congratulations
I was an Air Traffic Controller ( Aerospace Observation Operator) between 2005-2010. Now, I am a student at a technical university, studying Computer Science, holding a CCNA and working for a company. This is what i call success.
Again, I am very happy for you, I know that the happiness is the only thing we should aim for. If necessary, why not to change everything ?
I Wish you luck and pls let us to know at the future what is going on ^^ -
Excellent1
Member Posts: 462 ■■■■■■■□□□
Congratulations and thank you for taking the time to encourage others. Nothing can take the place of digging in and refusing to give up. While not a fan of the man, I've always found the quote from Coolidge to be an apt expression of a truth that we all intuitively know, but don't often think about:
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
Good luck as you move forward. -
DEC901
Member Posts: 48 ■■□□□□□□□□
CONGRATZ AND BIG UPS to you!!! Always good to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for Padawans!!! -
alxx
Member Posts: 755
awesome!!! Congratulations!
I had an enforced career change a few years back .
Was working as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Avionics. Had a bad bike accident in 98 got medically retired, ended up getting into uni and starting a degree. Then working for the uni on various research projects and as a TA(mostly technical projects).
Finally starting a full time job as an Engineer (assuming I finish this subject project and get 9/40 for it) on the 1st July.
Project Engineer mostly on apc addin card project. Still at uni but its a commercial project
Been a 13 year slog to finish this engineering degree part time.
Still two subjects to go for the physics degree but thats mostly inconsequential (for now) though the physics has come in handy for
understanding the optics. I will finish the the physics degree as well as a few certs in the next 12 months.
Finally will be getting some decent money, approx 35k pay rise!!!! $58 an hour for 35 hours a week .
Better get back to the final project. Its harder than most of my work projects.
http://services.eng.uts.edu.au/pmcl/embsw/Downloads/ProjectSpec.pdf
If anyone is interested the lecturer puts his full notes up online
Embedded Software Home Page
and for all his subjects
Peter McLean's Home PageGoals CCNA by dec 2013, CCNP by end of 2014 -
sizeon
Member Posts: 321
How does recruiting work? I always turn them down because i think it is a scam.
