Advice

I been posting alot of low quality post so im going to try a little harder on this one.

Well first of all right now I am pursing a AAS at my community college, and I am paying for it out of pocket, no parents / no financial aid / nothing.. keep in mind I am 18 years old and have no job but always have to find a way to make that payment for school when its due. I have been posting on here and some people have been telling me to not look for a entry level IT job and just focus on school, but I don't think that will be possible for me to do seeing that school price is raising, no job.So i need something to get money to pay better than what I am doing to pay my way through.

Would it be a good idea to get a entry level job? I notice most are full time, and i'm going to school full-time too but my current schedule is just going one day a week. So should I wait til the summer time to apply for jobs? or can I still apply and just if interview comes tell them about my schedule conflict?

Will companies be willing to hire a 18 year old kid, or do they want a older crowd? I show that I want to learn and everything but is it likely that a company would want a 30 year old then a 5 foot 2 inch 18 year old.

I got my A+ and Network+ do you all think I need anything else right now that will make me more likely to land a desktop support/help desk role?

Because I am going for a AAS do you all think those credits will transfer to WGU?

What age did you get your first entry level IT job? Did you have a degree?

Any suggestions of online help desk type work I could do?

I see lot of jobs requiring exirence and I would like to have that so after college, I can start looking for a NOC tech/Networking position

Are my hopes to high?

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Comments

nerdydad

So one of the things I like about Community College is the fact that the instructors usually work in the industry. I also like evening classes because they often have students that already work in the industry but are looking to boost their careers by getting a degree.

Have you spoken to any of the instructors / fellow students to see if they have any leads?
Have you impressed your instructors / fellow students with your hard work and dedication to the point that they would recommend you for a job?

What is your degree for? If it is computer support / computer repair, I would tell you to pick a new degree, there is just a limited amount of growth in desktop support, and to spend the time and money to get a degree with no growth potential will just make you bitter in 5 years when you are posting about being stuck in your position. There is nothing wrong with getting a start on a help desk, just don't get a degree so that you can get the start, shoot higher and realize that you may have to start lower, but you have the growth potential for higher.

ChickenNuggetz

Former educator here. I'm going to be honest and blunt with you. It will take a lot of discipline and motivation to work full-time and go to school full-time. To be quite frank, I dont know too many 18 year olds that can handle that kind of stress and workload (I know I couldnt when I was 18, many of my former students couldnt handle it either). That's not to say you couldnt do, I'm just saying its going to be difficult and I think you need to take a step back and really consider the sheer size of the task you're looking to undertake.

I agree with what others have previously told you. Focus on school. Yes, money is tight but getting good grades and an education will pay off in the long run. I dont know too many help desk/desktop support/noc positions that are part-time. Here's what I did when I was in college and was also paying my way through:

Full time school: 12 credits per semester (15 if I was feeling ambitious)
Part-time job: Landed a tech position at a local big box retail store
Hours worked: No more than 20 hours per week, anything more than that I found myself too tired to study

It sounded great on paper to work and go to school, but honestly it was one of the toughest things I've had to do. My advice to you: focus on school, look for a part time pc tech gig or internship. Only having the availability of one day a week to work will make it very difficult to find a part-time gig. Your best option may be to wait until summer.

Kreken

What about grants and scholarships? When I was going for a BS, grants and scholarships payed more than enough for a semester that I was bringing money home from the college... before I dropped out to join the military. Have you thought about joining Navy or Air Force? After four years, if you decide to get out, you will have a profession, four years of experience in your selected field and a partially completed or completed BS.

Rosco2382

If you have no income, or financial support, I would imagine you should qualify for some type of grants. You don't wanna work full time and school full time, it isn't easy and sometimes the hard choice comes between work and school, which you might choose work and that leads to a slippery slope. I would do my best to find a way to make your situation work for yourself.

zidian

Rosco2382 wrote: »

If you have no income, or financial support, I would imagine you should qualify for some type of grants. You don't wanna work full time and school full time, it isn't easy and sometimes the hard choice comes between work and school, which you might choose work and that leads to a slippery slope. I would do my best to find a way to make your situation work for yourself.

At age 18 he is required to use his parent's income as the basis for his financial aid. Some parents choose to not help their children with school. My father told me and my siblings that we better get a scholarship if we want to go to college because he wasn't going to pay for it. He cleared right at 80k a year so using his income I wasn't even eligible for subsidized loans. My guess is that is the same for the OP.

However, at age 18 you are still typically eligible for scholarships as a first year student. I would recommend applying to as many as possible, even as little as $500 can make a huge difference. Do whatever you can to get help with funding. Some scholarships do not use the FASFA income rules to limit the candidate pool.

In regards to working and going to school. I'm 30 and go to school full time and work full time and have a 14 month old daughter. It is complete hell on my family. I should have finished sooner, but I did what you did at a younger age. I decided to get a job and work full time and go to school full time. I dropped 3 of 4 classes within the first month. I ended up taking 1 class per semester for 6 years just to get my A.A. degree. The workload was too much for me at the time as I didn't have the drive and motivation.

Your experience may be different, but in my case it was extremely difficult. I'd take semesters off here and there and often just take that one class, not even pushing to try for two. In retrospect, it would have been much better if I had done what ChickenNuggetz said and worked part time and went to school full time. The paycheck from my full time job became too enticing, and when I was too exhausted to keep up the pace, I decided to let my school take the back burner. Looking ahead at things it is very easy to project success and believe you can do it. Try to take a more rational approach and use your past experiences and understanding of yourself to know if you can do it. If you have doubts, do the part time job and full time school. That is a great starting point because you learn more about yourself and you can always change to the full time job as you move forward.

coreyb80

Zidian I feel your pain. I'm 32 and work full time plus attend school full time along with having a wife and children. I'm also working on a part time gig as a way of breaking in to IT. It's hard, but I'm sure both me and my family will reap the rewards later. My advice for the OP is focus on school and less on working full time. Find a pt gig working in IT, as stated before, to gain some experience and focus on getting at least a Bachelors as this seems to be the bare minimum requirement nowadays. Blessings on the journey OP and keep ya head to the sky.

ChickenNuggetz

zidian wrote: »

At age 18 he is required to use his parent's income as the basis for his financial aid. Some parents choose to not help their children with school. My father told me and my siblings that we better get a scholarship if we want to go to college because he wasn't going to pay for it. He cleared right at 80k a year so using his income I wasn't even eligible for subsidized loans. My guess is that is the same for the OP.

If you speak to a financial aid officer, there is a form that you can fill out (separate of the fafsa) that will allow you to "claim" yourself without having to use your parent's financial information. Might be worth a look.

MrAgent

Kreken wrote: »

What about grants and scholarships? When I was going for a BS, grants and scholarships payed more than enough for a semester that I was bringing money home from the college... before I dropped out to join the military. Have you thought about joining Navy or Air Force? After four years, if you decide to get out, you will have a profession, four years of experience in your selected field and a partially completed or completed BS.

Any reserve or guard component would be a great idea. Good training and a GI bill to pay for college, along with a paycheck.

swild

@MrAgent - Army/NG Reserve is a great idea! Lots of money, plus great training and GI Bill.

At 18 (and sometimes before) you can be an independent student. If you are making below the poverty line, go for the Pell Grant! That will pay for all of most community colleges, even some universities. Financial Aid at the College should have helped you with that.

Going for a degree without taking out any student loans is quite the admirable goal, but far from realistic for most people. Just don't take out more than you absolutely need, and try your hardest to only use federal money. Stay away from Private loans!

Also, I have never heard of a full time program where you only go to class one day a week. By federal guidelines, you should be in class no less than 12 hours a week to be full time, afaik. Usually it is an hour or an hour and a half 2 or 3 days a week. I could usually arrange my schedule to be either M/W/F or T/TH with the occasional survey course on a 3 hour block on Saturday. Out of class you should be spending 2 or 3 hours per in-class hour studying. If it is not requiring that much work, then I would say you should try for a harder program.

Based off of my ACT scores, I got a full ride at a state college plus grant money and a stipend. On top of that, I worked full time at a video rental store until I got a student worker position in Computing Services at the college. Amazingly, I blew it all and joined the Army. C'est la vie.

xenodamus

I'm all for working while in school. That way when you graduate, you're coming out with a degree AND a year or two of real world experience.

I did a 2 year AAS like you, taking between 15 and 19 credit hours per semester, while working full time or very close to it. I was lucky to work for a PC repair shop that was willing to schedule around my classes. I worked all day, every day, and took night classes 4 days a week. Homework got done on the weekend since all my night classes met once per week.

I finished that degree in 4 semesters with a 4.0 GPA and had 2 years of desktop experience to go with it. I know everyone is different, but you can do anything you put your mind to. I work 50 hrs a week now, but I still manage to study for certifications in my off time. I've got my nose in a book every morning that I'm not at the gym.

It all depends on how much drive you have.....

justinbreed

Join the military. Best thing I ever did.

4+ years IT experience (just make sure you don't join a force that contracts their IT work out)

GI Bill - The military wants you to further your education even while you are enlisted. Most supervisors will work with you so you can take classes.

Tuition Assitance (Currently suspended) - If this comes back it is a great. Pays for all classes you take while you are enlisted and you don't even have to touch your GI bill until you get out. Also, when using your GI bill you get ~1500 a month on top of your school paid for to pay for housing and such. So if you get roomates you can probably live off the GI bill while finishing your bachelor's if you didn't finish it within the 4 years you were enlisted.

Corrsta

Joining the Reserves or Guard is a great idea. It provides you with a great experience and plenty of opportunities. The only drawback I see with them is if you get activated towards the end of your semester, and are unable to finish your courses, you've essentially wasted 3-4 months unless you can arrange something with your professors.

I've said it a lot on here, but when you're starting out, it's good to learn an easy skill that will net you a good amount of cash. My roommate in college never worked a full-day in his life, yet managed to pull in around $5,000 per month by designing basic websites. Something to think about.

LarryDaMan

Internship! I have seen internships become the gateway to good positions for many people. You may have to work for free or for very little, but you can meet people in the industry and gain experience for your resume. Often times if you're really good, they'll find a way to keep you (and then pay you) when the internship is over. A bonus is that often times you can earn college credits from internships. Highly recommended.

charlemagne

Rosco2382 wrote: »

If you have no income, or financial support, I would imagine you should qualify for some type of grants. You don't wanna work full time and school full time, it isn't easy and sometimes the hard choice comes between work and school, which you might choose work and that leads to a slippery slope. I would do my best to find a way to make your situation work for yourself.

If all else fails, and I hope it doesn't, anyone (regardless of income level) can get (oooh, I don't like these but...) unsubsidized loans. Not a problem as long as one majors in a good area and borrows an amount that is reasonable. Again, this is if all else fails. Usually, there is some other option. There is some form of aid available to anyone....loans are better than not going.

Akaricloud

In my opinion the best thing you could do for your career and education would be to get a full time job. It's really not that difficult at all, myself and many that I know have done so successfully. It'll give you money plus experience and set you in a really good place to step into a more advanced position when you graduate.

Most companies don't have a problem hiring an 18-year old for entry level work, but you need to be professional and confident. Nobody wants to hire an "18-year old kid", but they will hire an 18-year old IT Professional.

Rosco2382

@swisschris104 where are you in chicago? I work in Broadview and we are actually looking to hire a help desk guy part time. If you inbox me your email or resume I could look at it. Just based off Certs, I am POSITIVE you would get an interview. Let me know if this is something you might be interested in.

swisschris104

Rosco2382 wrote: »

@swisschris104 where are you in chicago? I work in Broadview and we are actually looking to hire a help desk guy part time. If you inbox me your email or resume I could look at it. Just based off Certs, I am POSITIVE you would get an interview. Let me know if this is something you might be interested in.

Thanks, but that's a little too far from me right now but thank you. I'm south suburbs.

@others I tried to get finachal aid but I didn't qualify because mom makes to much and to file as independent they need copy of my tax returns and alot more things that I don't and can't possibly have. Military is out of question because I have slight stretched ears and at same time my gf would kill me. And I go one day a week because alot of my classes are half a semester and also hybrid classes where one day is in class next day is online assignment . But if I am able to find full time job I would only go to school part time (some classes take getting certification as a A. ) I got alot of gen Ed's finished. And that's pretty much everything

swisschris104

Edit: wanted to add that my big goal is to get into network administration

nerdydad

There are quite a few soldiers with stretched lobes, you would just have to take the plugs out.

W Stewart

If you're looking to get into network administration then maybe just study for the CCNA and get a NOC job and work your way up from there. Either you'll be making enough money to pay for school out of pocket eventually or you'll turn 24 and can be considered independent. You could also get married or have a kid or be homeless for the duration of college but those may not be the best options. I ended up having to have a kid before I could get financial aid for school.