Hopefully my 2 yr journey into IT inspires you...
ILUVIT
Member Posts: 24 ■□□□□□□□□□
I have been a long time lurker on this website and it has helped me many times, so I thought I'd give back by sharing a positive story that hopefully will inspire some of you. Sorry if this is super long.
I'm roughly 2 years seasoned into my current IT role of Service Desk Lead, soon to be transitioning into a Systems Admin role hopefully in the next 6 months . It's great now but wasn't always that way to start. Let's start from the beginning.
Mid 2011 my position as a reporting analyst doing basic SQL stuff was being eliminated and they gave me about a 3 months lead time (they liked me enough to give me time to find another job). So I told myself, ok I have 3 months to find a job. I wanted to break into the IT field considering I was enrolled at the local university finishing up my Bachelor's degree in IT.
The goal: Have a job before I get my degree.
The problem: No one was willing to hire a newbie with zero experience, even for the entry level positions. Isn't the point of an entry level position so a newbie can acquire some skills?
Anyway, A friend of mine got me an interview at her company, it was the perfect job (10 min commute, great benefits, room for advancement). I met with the IT director and he loved me... I nailed the interview BUT, he needed someone with experience for a level 2 helpdesk role. Since my current job was eliminating my position they gave me some major leeway with days off, so I gave the IT director (whom I had just interviewed with) an offer he could not refuse. I offered to intern for free to get some experience. The company didn't have an IT intern position but they created one for me. This was my opportunity to learn, so I rolled up my sleeves and did all the work the other techs and system admins didn't want to do, just for the purpose of learning. Luckily, one of the system admins became somewhat of a mentor for me and happily assisted me whenever I was stumped on something.
A month before my job was set to be eliminated the IT director offered me a position as a level 1 technician since they were not happy with the current level 1 tech and wanted to hire me instead. So I went from making $15/hr as a reporting analyst to $19.50 hourly (They initially wanted to hire me at $18, but I negotiated to $19.50... I knew my worth even for being 2 months new). 6 months later, once I graduated with my degree, I got a raise to $44k yearly. On my 1 year annual eval in late 2011 they bumped me to $50k. I was determined to learn all that I could and be the best I could be in my position... so i bought an annual subscription to CBT nuggets and began building a virtual lab at home.
Fast forward a year later to late 2013, a new IT director, a newly created CIO position with a new CIO and a new SharePoint implementation company-wide under my belt (I learned how to implement SharePoint including writing workflows on CBT Nuggets). My annual eval was all 5's, all C level execs know who I am, including the CEO and I just received the employee of the year award complete with a $500 check, oh and I got bumped to $58k.
I put in the HARD leg work of starting from an intern to the sky is the limit as my company is growing. Granted I still have a ways to go, but as long as you are motivated and willing to work hard, anything is achievable. Be proactive in your professional development and never get comfortable, keep challenging yourself to do more and be better. If you are not no one else will be for you.
I am expecting an increase to mid 60's next eval in 2014 and I know they will give it to me because I am indispensable to the company, but only through putting my ducks in a row am I able to achieve this.
I'm roughly 2 years seasoned into my current IT role of Service Desk Lead, soon to be transitioning into a Systems Admin role hopefully in the next 6 months . It's great now but wasn't always that way to start. Let's start from the beginning.
Mid 2011 my position as a reporting analyst doing basic SQL stuff was being eliminated and they gave me about a 3 months lead time (they liked me enough to give me time to find another job). So I told myself, ok I have 3 months to find a job. I wanted to break into the IT field considering I was enrolled at the local university finishing up my Bachelor's degree in IT.
The goal: Have a job before I get my degree.
The problem: No one was willing to hire a newbie with zero experience, even for the entry level positions. Isn't the point of an entry level position so a newbie can acquire some skills?
Anyway, A friend of mine got me an interview at her company, it was the perfect job (10 min commute, great benefits, room for advancement). I met with the IT director and he loved me... I nailed the interview BUT, he needed someone with experience for a level 2 helpdesk role. Since my current job was eliminating my position they gave me some major leeway with days off, so I gave the IT director (whom I had just interviewed with) an offer he could not refuse. I offered to intern for free to get some experience. The company didn't have an IT intern position but they created one for me. This was my opportunity to learn, so I rolled up my sleeves and did all the work the other techs and system admins didn't want to do, just for the purpose of learning. Luckily, one of the system admins became somewhat of a mentor for me and happily assisted me whenever I was stumped on something.
A month before my job was set to be eliminated the IT director offered me a position as a level 1 technician since they were not happy with the current level 1 tech and wanted to hire me instead. So I went from making $15/hr as a reporting analyst to $19.50 hourly (They initially wanted to hire me at $18, but I negotiated to $19.50... I knew my worth even for being 2 months new). 6 months later, once I graduated with my degree, I got a raise to $44k yearly. On my 1 year annual eval in late 2011 they bumped me to $50k. I was determined to learn all that I could and be the best I could be in my position... so i bought an annual subscription to CBT nuggets and began building a virtual lab at home.
Fast forward a year later to late 2013, a new IT director, a newly created CIO position with a new CIO and a new SharePoint implementation company-wide under my belt (I learned how to implement SharePoint including writing workflows on CBT Nuggets). My annual eval was all 5's, all C level execs know who I am, including the CEO and I just received the employee of the year award complete with a $500 check, oh and I got bumped to $58k.
I put in the HARD leg work of starting from an intern to the sky is the limit as my company is growing. Granted I still have a ways to go, but as long as you are motivated and willing to work hard, anything is achievable. Be proactive in your professional development and never get comfortable, keep challenging yourself to do more and be better. If you are not no one else will be for you.I am expecting an increase to mid 60's next eval in 2014 and I know they will give it to me because I am indispensable to the company, but only through putting my ducks in a row am I able to achieve this.
Goals for 2014: 70-687, 70-688 :cheers:
Comments
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Asif Dasl
Member Posts: 2,116 ■■■■■■■■□□
Congrats on your successful journey and award! Always good to hear these types of stories.
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astrogeek
Member Posts: 251 ■■■□□□□□□□
Man that's a great story, I'm going to have to keep this bookmarked as my own personal motivation! -
EngRob
Member Posts: 247 ■■■□□□□□□□
Congrats! With an attitude like that you'll continue to succeed. Keep it up and thanks for sharing your story -
FloOz
Member Posts: 1,614 ■■■■□□□□□□
Congrats and keep up the hard work! Soon you will be hitting that six figure mark! -
--chris--
Member Posts: 1,518 ■■■■■□□□□□
Awesome work ethic and good luck (you don't need it though apparently)!! -
coreyb80
Member Posts: 647 ■■■■■□□□□□
Excellent story. Keep up the great work!WGU BS - Network Operations and Security
Completion Date: May 2021 -
CoolAsAFan
Member Posts: 239
Great story, it was very inspiring! Just goes to show how hard work and determination can pay off. Next post, don't be afraid of getting some white space in there :PIvyTech - AS CINS (Completed: May, 2013)
WGU Indiana - BS IT Security (Started: August 1st, 2013)
Transferred: AGC1 CDP1 BVC1 CLC1 CVV1 DHV1 DJV1 GAC1 CIC1 CDC1 UBT1 IWC1 IWT1 TCP1 TJP1 TJC1 EBV1 WFV1 EUP1 EUC1 CJC1 UBC1 TBP1
Completed: CUV1 BOV1 DRV1 DSV1 CTV1 CJV1 COV1 CQV1 CNV1 TPV1 MGC1 TXC1 TXP1 BNC1 TYP1 TYC1
Required: SBT1 RGT1 RIT1 -
joemysterio
Member Posts: 152
Very inspiring!
I hope you don't mind me sharing mine?
I was lucky enough to get hired this past August as a driver / technician, with no IT work experience and no certifications but they amazingly started me off at $18/hour. My company has two divisions, one side they provide technical support for clients, and the other side they rent and sell equipment. They mainly had me driving for a few months, and in doing so I was able to help with Oracle open world this year. That was stressful but fun.
Now, since mid-October, they sent me to a school district to train for a bit with a coworker but he took a job else where and I took his role temporarily. Then just last week I was informed I would go back to driving for the month of January then I'll be back at the school district - full time. Currently, I'm supporting 2 high schools, a middle school and 2 elementary schools.
No pay raise... yet... but we'll see!Current goals: CCNA/CCNP -
earonw49
Member Posts: 190 ■■■□□□□□□□
Well then.
Looks like I will be bookmarking this post.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your inspiring story!WGU B.S. IT - Progress: Feb 2015 - End Date Jan 2018
WGU M.S Cyber Security & Assurance - Progress: March 2019 - End Date June 2019 -
LinuxRacr
Member Posts: 653 ■■■■□□□□□□
Great story! You remind me of me when I first started in IT. I worked in operations for a few years, and then became a sys admin at a widely known telecom company. This is where I became a little complacent for a few years. It became a dangerous decision when my then company started laying off every year to outsource, or to make the numbers look good. Now I survived several years, but I feared eventually my number would come up. This finally woke me up and got me back on the path in 2012. What I found is that when I got back on my game, I had missed out on years of critical self-growth (the company wasn't going to give it to me). I decided to have a new job by the end of 2012, and went about building my home lab, and finishing out my degree at WGU. 6 months later I had a new job that would require me to learn new skills pretty much every day, and with higher pay. I got lucky because there were many more candidates that did what I didn't over the years, and could have beaten me out. On top of that, since I waited so long to pursue finishing my degree, it is a more difficult journey with a wife and kids, and a high-profile sys admin position.
The moral of this story: Never stop learning, and never get complacent. And if you made that mistake, you can still turn it around!My WGU B.S. IT - Security Progress : Transferred In|Remaining|In Progress|Completed
AGC1, CLC1, GAC1, INC1, CTV1, INT1, BVC1, TBP1, TCP1, QLT1, HHT1, QBT1, BBC1 (39 CUs), (0 CUs) (0 CUs)
WFV1, BNC1, EAV1, EBV1, COV1 | MGC1, IWC1 | CQV1, CNV1, IWT1, RIT1 | DRV1, DSV1, TPV1, CVV1 | EUP1, EUC1, DHV1| CUV1, C173 | BOV1, CJV1, TXP1, TXC1 | TYP1, TYC1, SBT1, RGT1 (84 CUs) DONE! -
Dakinggamer87
Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
Congrats great story always great to see!! *Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
*Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
Certs/Business Licenses In Progress: AWS Solutions Architect, Series 6, Series 63 -
finneyjabraham
Member Posts: 37 ■■■□□□□□□□
Thanks for sharing your story. I'm doing a desktop support role currently and am looking into breaking into a Sys Admin role also. Hopefully with WGU and hard work, I can achieve such a goal.Finney Abraham
2014 Goal
WGU BS-Network Administration [ ]
CCNA [X] CCDA [ ] MCSA [X] Project+ [X] Storage+ [ ] -
-hype
Member Posts: 165
Glad to hear there are great companies like that out there.WGU BS IT:Network Administration
Started: 10-1-13
Completed: 9-21-14
Transferred: 67 CU Completed: 54 CU -
tofuspeedstar
Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
You sound just like me man! Great to hear there's other people out there that have a story similar to mine where someone gave them a shot and they went all the way with it!
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the_Grinch
Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
Congrats! Amazing what hard work can do
WIP:
PHP
Kotlin
Intro to Discrete Math
Programming Languages
Work stuff -
acharya007
Member Posts: 16 ■□□□□□□□□□
Great story and very good motivation, thank you for posting your story!
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MCITBound
Member Posts: 65 ■■□□□□□□□□
Great story!! Seems like you are climbing the ladder at a great rate!
If I gave good advice or was insightful, please add to my reputation!! If you have a LinkedIn account and want a new connection, feel free to add me! If you have any questions, ask! :cool: -
GBAKER2204
Member Posts: 91 ■■■□□□□□□□
This is an awesome story... congrats
Some good advice in there too. WIP: 2017 - VCP6.5-DCV (Achieved), VCAP6-DCV, Citrix CCA-V -
gorebrush
Member Posts: 2,743 ■■■■■■■□□□
And *THAT* is how you nail and start building a great IT career.
Here, you deserve this: -
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gabypr
Member Posts: 136 ■■■□□□□□□□
Great story of dedication and how hard work pays off. Wish you the best in 2014!!!EC-Council Master in Security Science M.S.S [Done]
Reading Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam prep by Sohel Akhter -
MarDavid
Member Posts: 9 ■□□□□□□□□□
" Be proactive in your professional development and never get comfortable, keep challenging yourself to do more and be better."
I've just joined the forum today and this was an amazing post! -
ILUVIT
Member Posts: 24 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hi Everyone, wow...I haven't logged on here in a while. Work has kept me very busy. I appreciate the feedback and am very much overwhelmed by all the responses. I live in California. This year I have decided to contribute more to this site.
Hope you all had a great new year!Goals for 2014: 70-687, 70-688 :cheers: -
Tremie24
Member Posts: 85 ■■□□□□□□□□
Great story man.
I just landed my first IT job after months of interviewing and being turned down because I had no experience. All I have been doing was shitty IT contract work. Now I have a job that pays me 40k+, good benefits, and good hours.
To those that are frustrated, keep plugging away, get your resume on point. I had a lot of resume critique, which I think helped a ton with getting interviews. -
wallpaper_01
Member Posts: 226 ■■■□□□□□□□
This is really inspiring. I made the mistake of not taking a job because it was lower pay than my current job. Had I discovered this forum 2 years ago and realised thats what I needed to do, I would probably be sitting here now in a similar position to you. It sucks but the progression in IT is fast so im staying confident and now just need to get that break through job!
