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The Noob Path...
TimByte
Registered Users Posts: 4 ■□□□□□□□□□
This message board has been a great resource for me the past few months, and I wanted to post this as a bit of a 'thank you' to it's regular contributors. I lurk here a lot and there is an abundance of good advice being posted on a daily basis. It has really helped me.
That being said I just wanted to share my recent success and what I did to break into the IT field. I hope that someone in a similar position to myself can benefit from this in some way, and of course further career path suggestions for me from anyone here is definitely welcome!
I have always been the guy in the office who fixes technical glitches, installs, upgrades and takes care of what needs to be done but doesn't get paid to do it. I had a decent background with computers but no certifications or degree. My education in Computer Science amounted to a class in Visual Basic in High School and a College level troubleshooting/support course. These were both well over a decade ago as well, so nothing current by any means!
Just over a year ago, I decided I wanted to get into IT. I have always been excited about technological advancements and truly love learning. I also have some excellent people skills and really felt I could combine these two into a career. I looked at some of the 2 and 3 year college programs and their curriculum. I really didn't want to accumulate another student loan to pay off, and noticed that the programs I was seeing really were geared towards preparing a student to write for things like CISCO and Microsoft certs. I started to think that if I could find study resources for these on my own that I could self study and get certified in about the same amount of time. More on this aspect later...
I also started to look to job postings around this time. I looked at the job titles, experience and education requirements and what the pay range was. I looked at a broad range of job postings for System Engineers/Architects, Network Admins, Help Desk reps, and everything in between. My general impression was that in my area, only about 50% were asking for a formal education degree, and it was typically further down the list of requirements. The top two in almost every instance was experience and certifications.
Upon looking into certifications I discovered that the CompTIA A+ is the de facto starting point for IT certs, so I decided this was going to be the first one I'd obtain. Initially, I tried studying by some of the very popular videos on Youtube, but felt I wasn't absorbing the material. I'm old school, I need a text book! So I ordered Mike Meyer's AIO A+, 8th edition. When it arrived I was a little overwhelmed by the length of the text. About 1500 pages and a broad range of topics! I dug in, reading the text and making notes as I went. I'd usually review my notes the next day to help things sink in. Given that I work anywhere from 45-55 hours a week, have a wife and child, I knew it'd be a couple of months until I was finished studying and ready to write the test.
After studying on a daily basis for about 3 months I was finally done the text book. I then watched Professor Messers A+ vidoes which really helped me review the material. I also started doing some of the practice exams that came with the A+ text, getting 93% consistently. I started to feel ready to write the test, now it would just be a matter of booking the exam...
One thing studying for the A+ really did for me was it exposed me to what I can now see as different career paths within the IT field. Some people choose to go down the hardware path, the Microsoft support path, Networking, Virtualization etc... well the A+ touches on all of these, so you can get a little taste of them and then pick what you'd like to learn more about next. I, found I really enjoyed the Networking and Security aspects.
The entire time I was studying I kept an eye on job postings (Kijiji, Craigslist, Indeed, Monster). I was aware from reading posts on breaking into the IT field, that people have been able to land an entry level position without any experience or certs, and if the right opportunity came up I wouldn't want to miss out! I also re did my resume around this time. I removed things that wouldn't matter to an IT manager, like flipping burgers and driving forklifts. I also added in the support and maintenance things I had done in various job settings like Server Backup routines, VPN setups for warehouses, etc. I also mentioned in my resume that I was currently studying for the A+, and I referenced different operating systems I had experience working with.
One day I came across a job posting by a local ISP that I had heard and read a bit about. They were arguably at the top of the pile. It was for an entry level position so I applied. No where in the ad was wage/salary mentioned, and in hind sight I feel this is a bad thing.
I took a new approach to writing a cover letter at this time. Previously, I had always made my cover letters somewhat generic. I decided to touch upon a few things they were looking for in my cover letter, even if they were things that were mentioned again on my resume. About a week later I was called for an interview. It was an hour away but I felt I could justify the drive if the wage was worth it. It actually took me about 80 minutes to get there on interview day. I filled out an application form when I got there which also asked for salary expectations. I put down a bit more than I felt they'd likely pay (I put $40,000/ year,
but felt ok doing this since at no point was wage mentioned in the advertisement or initial phone call, and that usually means to me that there is some wiggle room. Also, for me to make that drive I felt it better be worth it. They were not located in a major metropolitan area and I was told that everyone else there commuted as well. There was also an agreement to work overtime, and in my experience, working overtime means you are paid for it, so naturally I signed that.
My initial interview was with the Tech Support department head and a Team Lead. They mostly touched on generalities, my experiences, and the usual questions like "tell us about a time when you had to deal with a client and..." I felt this interview went well and was then instructed to go to the next phase, which was a phone test. It was a simulation of a phone call, actually 5 of them, with varying requests and difficulty. Nothing technical though, just testing my people skills. After this I did a typing test which I passed, and then there was a written test which asked basic questions like "What does error 678 mean?" and "if a client calls and tells you about all these different issues, what should you do first?" It wasn't very difficult at all.
Upon leaving I was told they were making their decisions early next week and they'd let me know. After Tuesday passed I felt that I wasn't going to get the call. Even though I wasn't eager to take a job where I'd have to drive that much, I was excited by the opportunity to get into the IT field, so I was a little disappointed I wasn't called. On Thursday they called while I was at work and left me a message saying they would like to give me some feedback on my interview. I took that for what I felt it was worth, that I could learn from it, so I called the HR manager back. She said they felt it went really well and wanted to offer me the position. I was happily surprised (and sneaky move on their part) and then asked what I could expect salary wise. It was $28,000 to start and $30,000 after three months. It would be a salaried position, so no hourly wage. (I start to realize the sneakiness of having me sign the agreement to work overtime at this point). I asked for 24 hours to consider their offer.
That night my wife and I went over our household budget, and there was simply no way I could accept the position with that kind of commute. I already knew this and seeing the numbers on paper confirmed it wouldn't be wise to take this position. I called them the next day to let them know, and left things on a very positive note. I was still feeling very down about not being able to break into the IT field yet. I really feel that wage expectations should be mentioned up front.
About two weeks later I came across another job posting from a local ISP. The rival to the first one I interviewed with, if you will. they were closer (only about a 35 minute drive for me) and the starting wage was $16.00 per hour. They were asking for 2 years of experience, but I applied anyways. The job posting was through a placement agency, and within 24 hours the agency called me. It was a bit like a casual phone interview to start, just talking about my goals and experiences. I started out by registering with the agency (no fees or anything) and was given by email, links to their candidate profile questionnaires. These were interesting to do. There were two of them, each about 100 questions, and at the end you are given a personality and compatibility profile. It was surprisingly accurate for the most part. I felt pretty good about this and felt it showed I'd be a good fit. The agency forwarded my information off the the ISP's HR department, and then I waited about a week to hear back. I was then sent a link to do an aptitude test for the ISP. The questions were very similar to a lot of the A+ material I had already been studying and it wasn't very difficult although in hindsight I stressed over it a lot!
After completing this I waited a full week before having a phone interview set up with the HR department. At this point I had attributed the delays to back and forth communication between the placement agency and the ISP, and was right about this in the end. The phone interview was fairly general and touched on my goals, wage expectations, and some of the ongoing training for employees. This part particularly excited me and was notably absent from the previous ISP I had interviewed with. Basically, every 6 months they conduct a CCNA prep course and actually pay for you to take any other courses that relate to the job. Since they have a lot of services for a ISP, including web hosting, I was already seeing a lot of further growth for myself there.
About two days after the phone interview, I was called for an in person interview with the IT manager at the ISP's head office the next week. The interview was fairly general. At this point my distinct impression was that they were looking for someone who is going to be a good fit personality wise and were going to some length's to ensure they are picking the right person. I felt this supported their ongoing training and investment in their employees. Obviously, for someone like me, this would be a great benefit.
The next day the agency called and told me they wanted to offer me the position. I happily accepted and signed an offer with them two days later. In all, this process took a full month from the day I was initially called by the agency. It was stressful waiting, especially with other job opportunities coming up during that time that were not IT related but would have paid better. I actually had accepted another while all of this was happening just in case it didn't work out. My first day at the ISP is tomorrow.
Now with all of this going on in my life I still, to date, haven't written the A+ yet! My question to some of the more experienced people on this board would be, should I bother at this point or should I focus on what may be coming next, like the CCENT or CCNA?
I'm sorry for the length of this post, I just wanted to illustrate the process. It can be frustrating, but I guess my point is that if you have the drive, determination and personality, that with a little luck and preparation, you can get into the field you want if you are persistent.
That being said I just wanted to share my recent success and what I did to break into the IT field. I hope that someone in a similar position to myself can benefit from this in some way, and of course further career path suggestions for me from anyone here is definitely welcome!
I have always been the guy in the office who fixes technical glitches, installs, upgrades and takes care of what needs to be done but doesn't get paid to do it. I had a decent background with computers but no certifications or degree. My education in Computer Science amounted to a class in Visual Basic in High School and a College level troubleshooting/support course. These were both well over a decade ago as well, so nothing current by any means!
Just over a year ago, I decided I wanted to get into IT. I have always been excited about technological advancements and truly love learning. I also have some excellent people skills and really felt I could combine these two into a career. I looked at some of the 2 and 3 year college programs and their curriculum. I really didn't want to accumulate another student loan to pay off, and noticed that the programs I was seeing really were geared towards preparing a student to write for things like CISCO and Microsoft certs. I started to think that if I could find study resources for these on my own that I could self study and get certified in about the same amount of time. More on this aspect later...
I also started to look to job postings around this time. I looked at the job titles, experience and education requirements and what the pay range was. I looked at a broad range of job postings for System Engineers/Architects, Network Admins, Help Desk reps, and everything in between. My general impression was that in my area, only about 50% were asking for a formal education degree, and it was typically further down the list of requirements. The top two in almost every instance was experience and certifications.
Upon looking into certifications I discovered that the CompTIA A+ is the de facto starting point for IT certs, so I decided this was going to be the first one I'd obtain. Initially, I tried studying by some of the very popular videos on Youtube, but felt I wasn't absorbing the material. I'm old school, I need a text book! So I ordered Mike Meyer's AIO A+, 8th edition. When it arrived I was a little overwhelmed by the length of the text. About 1500 pages and a broad range of topics! I dug in, reading the text and making notes as I went. I'd usually review my notes the next day to help things sink in. Given that I work anywhere from 45-55 hours a week, have a wife and child, I knew it'd be a couple of months until I was finished studying and ready to write the test.
After studying on a daily basis for about 3 months I was finally done the text book. I then watched Professor Messers A+ vidoes which really helped me review the material. I also started doing some of the practice exams that came with the A+ text, getting 93% consistently. I started to feel ready to write the test, now it would just be a matter of booking the exam...
One thing studying for the A+ really did for me was it exposed me to what I can now see as different career paths within the IT field. Some people choose to go down the hardware path, the Microsoft support path, Networking, Virtualization etc... well the A+ touches on all of these, so you can get a little taste of them and then pick what you'd like to learn more about next. I, found I really enjoyed the Networking and Security aspects.
The entire time I was studying I kept an eye on job postings (Kijiji, Craigslist, Indeed, Monster). I was aware from reading posts on breaking into the IT field, that people have been able to land an entry level position without any experience or certs, and if the right opportunity came up I wouldn't want to miss out! I also re did my resume around this time. I removed things that wouldn't matter to an IT manager, like flipping burgers and driving forklifts. I also added in the support and maintenance things I had done in various job settings like Server Backup routines, VPN setups for warehouses, etc. I also mentioned in my resume that I was currently studying for the A+, and I referenced different operating systems I had experience working with.
One day I came across a job posting by a local ISP that I had heard and read a bit about. They were arguably at the top of the pile. It was for an entry level position so I applied. No where in the ad was wage/salary mentioned, and in hind sight I feel this is a bad thing.
I took a new approach to writing a cover letter at this time. Previously, I had always made my cover letters somewhat generic. I decided to touch upon a few things they were looking for in my cover letter, even if they were things that were mentioned again on my resume. About a week later I was called for an interview. It was an hour away but I felt I could justify the drive if the wage was worth it. It actually took me about 80 minutes to get there on interview day. I filled out an application form when I got there which also asked for salary expectations. I put down a bit more than I felt they'd likely pay (I put $40,000/ year,
but felt ok doing this since at no point was wage mentioned in the advertisement or initial phone call, and that usually means to me that there is some wiggle room. Also, for me to make that drive I felt it better be worth it. They were not located in a major metropolitan area and I was told that everyone else there commuted as well. There was also an agreement to work overtime, and in my experience, working overtime means you are paid for it, so naturally I signed that.My initial interview was with the Tech Support department head and a Team Lead. They mostly touched on generalities, my experiences, and the usual questions like "tell us about a time when you had to deal with a client and..." I felt this interview went well and was then instructed to go to the next phase, which was a phone test. It was a simulation of a phone call, actually 5 of them, with varying requests and difficulty. Nothing technical though, just testing my people skills. After this I did a typing test which I passed, and then there was a written test which asked basic questions like "What does error 678 mean?" and "if a client calls and tells you about all these different issues, what should you do first?" It wasn't very difficult at all.
Upon leaving I was told they were making their decisions early next week and they'd let me know. After Tuesday passed I felt that I wasn't going to get the call. Even though I wasn't eager to take a job where I'd have to drive that much, I was excited by the opportunity to get into the IT field, so I was a little disappointed I wasn't called. On Thursday they called while I was at work and left me a message saying they would like to give me some feedback on my interview. I took that for what I felt it was worth, that I could learn from it, so I called the HR manager back. She said they felt it went really well and wanted to offer me the position. I was happily surprised (and sneaky move on their part) and then asked what I could expect salary wise. It was $28,000 to start and $30,000 after three months. It would be a salaried position, so no hourly wage. (I start to realize the sneakiness of having me sign the agreement to work overtime at this point). I asked for 24 hours to consider their offer.
That night my wife and I went over our household budget, and there was simply no way I could accept the position with that kind of commute. I already knew this and seeing the numbers on paper confirmed it wouldn't be wise to take this position. I called them the next day to let them know, and left things on a very positive note. I was still feeling very down about not being able to break into the IT field yet. I really feel that wage expectations should be mentioned up front.
About two weeks later I came across another job posting from a local ISP. The rival to the first one I interviewed with, if you will. they were closer (only about a 35 minute drive for me) and the starting wage was $16.00 per hour. They were asking for 2 years of experience, but I applied anyways. The job posting was through a placement agency, and within 24 hours the agency called me. It was a bit like a casual phone interview to start, just talking about my goals and experiences. I started out by registering with the agency (no fees or anything) and was given by email, links to their candidate profile questionnaires. These were interesting to do. There were two of them, each about 100 questions, and at the end you are given a personality and compatibility profile. It was surprisingly accurate for the most part. I felt pretty good about this and felt it showed I'd be a good fit. The agency forwarded my information off the the ISP's HR department, and then I waited about a week to hear back. I was then sent a link to do an aptitude test for the ISP. The questions were very similar to a lot of the A+ material I had already been studying and it wasn't very difficult although in hindsight I stressed over it a lot!
After completing this I waited a full week before having a phone interview set up with the HR department. At this point I had attributed the delays to back and forth communication between the placement agency and the ISP, and was right about this in the end. The phone interview was fairly general and touched on my goals, wage expectations, and some of the ongoing training for employees. This part particularly excited me and was notably absent from the previous ISP I had interviewed with. Basically, every 6 months they conduct a CCNA prep course and actually pay for you to take any other courses that relate to the job. Since they have a lot of services for a ISP, including web hosting, I was already seeing a lot of further growth for myself there.
About two days after the phone interview, I was called for an in person interview with the IT manager at the ISP's head office the next week. The interview was fairly general. At this point my distinct impression was that they were looking for someone who is going to be a good fit personality wise and were going to some length's to ensure they are picking the right person. I felt this supported their ongoing training and investment in their employees. Obviously, for someone like me, this would be a great benefit.
The next day the agency called and told me they wanted to offer me the position. I happily accepted and signed an offer with them two days later. In all, this process took a full month from the day I was initially called by the agency. It was stressful waiting, especially with other job opportunities coming up during that time that were not IT related but would have paid better. I actually had accepted another while all of this was happening just in case it didn't work out. My first day at the ISP is tomorrow.
Now with all of this going on in my life I still, to date, haven't written the A+ yet! My question to some of the more experienced people on this board would be, should I bother at this point or should I focus on what may be coming next, like the CCENT or CCNA?
I'm sorry for the length of this post, I just wanted to illustrate the process. It can be frustrating, but I guess my point is that if you have the drive, determination and personality, that with a little luck and preparation, you can get into the field you want if you are persistent.
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Raisin
Member Posts: 136
The A+ is a bit expensive since it's split between two exams. I'd say go for the security+ instead since a good portion of the things you studied will carry over and it's not a bad cert for someone early in their career. Don't spend too much time studying, it's not that hard of a test, just set an exam date about a month out and spend that time preparing. After that start studying for the Cisco path. -
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Cisco Inferno
Member Posts: 1,034 ■■■■■■□□□□
See if your company will reimburse the cost of the exam once you pass it. You should also get your Network+ at least.
If a company reimburses exam fee's, you shouldn't worry about taking more exams.2019 Goals
CompTIA Linux+[ ] Bachelor's Degree