IT job with no experience or certs?

I have been looking around the forums a bit but I did not find anyone that asked a similar question. I was wondering if there are beginner IT position that require no certs or education. I am currently working on my A+, I'll be taking the exams in October. Right now I'm working for a local website as a sort of webmaster/customer service agent (when I told the interviewer I wanted to get into IT I guess he thought I meant web developer). Anyway, I was just wondering if there any IT positions that require no education or experience to at least begin gaining some experience in the field of IT which I plan on making a life long career out of. I ask because I've looked around the boards and spotted some people that grabbed IT jobs with no certs or degrees and did not even think of getting either till after being a tech for about 4 years. I have no illusions of grandeur yet, I realize I will not be making 50k right out of the gate. For the moment I'm hoping for at least 23-25k, but i'll most probably take lower if it means getting into the field that I want to break into. My end goal is going into Cisco and becoming a Network Architect. I am currently 22 years old. Any advice or maybe a necessary slap in the face would be appreciated.

Thank you

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Comments

Iristheangel

*SLAP*

Heh. Just kidding. If you don't have a lot of experience but you're smart and good with computers, you *might* be able to land yourself a service desk role. Something where customer service is the priority but they also try to resolve some tier 1 technical problems. That's probably the best scenario you can hope for without any education, experience or certifications. Other options you might want to try is contracting work (Craigslist, onforce, workmarket, etc), repair work in a computer shop, or an unpaid internship. Once you have *some* experience, it starts getting easier. Good luck!

YuckTheFankees

Of course there are jobs out there that you can get without certs or education but I would definitely suggest getting certs and a degree. I was able to get my 1st I.T. job last year without either a cert or education but I had to take a pay cut to take the job (27k for NOC/linux support/customer service). After I obtained a few certifications and 6 months of experience, I was able to double my salary with an ISP in a NOC environment. Once I finish my degree, I'll be knocking on the door of being promoted to network engineer. So yes you can get an entry level job without certs or education but the more certs, education, and experience you have will increase your pay pretty quickly.

Apply to jobs on craigslist, indeed, simplyhired, dice, monster, and career builder..but depending on your area, there may not be too many entry level jobs. You might need to move if you're currently living in FL.

N2IT

Service Desk or NOC comes to mind.

A+ or Microsoft desktop certifications are good for Deskside or Service Desk
CCNA or Linux + is good for the NOC when starting off. (At least all the ones I have known of)

networkjutsu

N2IT wrote: »

Service Desk or NOC comes to mind.

Not all NOCs are the same. Some of the NOCs really require you to know networking.

N2IT

Fair share of them let you come in with no experience. I've worked in several fortune 500 companies and usually guys with ~1 or < years of experience and a decent networking/linux certs can get you in.

But while you are at it not all service desk are the same. I forget which hotel company it is, but they pay their help desk ~75 usd's a year but have insane first call close resolution and a few other stringent metrics.

the_hutch

People who get IT jobs without experience or education tend to get them because of connections. And if you don't have any, then probably about time you start hitting the books.

networker050184

The problem with no experience, certifications or education is what exactly are you going to put on your resume? What would make a company want to hire you?

networkjutsu

N2IT wrote: »

Fair share of them let you come in with no experience. I've worked in several fortune 500 companies and usually guys with ~1 or < years of experience and a decent networking/linux certs can get you

I am talking about the NOCs that only deals with networking devices and not Linux or MS servers. May not be as common as before but there used to be some NOCs that only handled routers, switches, and data circuits. The NOC job that I speak of is something like this or this. My first networking gig was a NOC type job that only dealt with routers, switches, APs, CUCME & CUCM. Two years after I left that department, they started handling APs and WLCs since they moved a way from Symbol/Motorola APs and went with Cisco's solutions. They also started to work on Fortinet UTMs as well. Sadly, those guys are going to lose their jobs soon as the company.

the_hutch wrote: »

People who get IT jobs without experience or education tend to get them because of connections. And if you don't have any, then probably about time you start hitting the books.

I've worked with some people who didn't have IT experience and was hired because of their connections. In the NOC that I was talking about, over 90% of them knew each other from previous jobs. One got in and when the company started hiring more people, they contacted their buddies.

4_lom

Just to get your hands on computers you might want to apply at Geek Squad or Staples Easytech. I was an on-site Easytech for a few months, it wasn't too bad. I did learn a lot from that job, being that I was just starting out (like you