Going from hobbyist/side income to full time professional?

Coffee

Hey guys, I'll try to keep this short and see if you can give me any advice on a path to take.

So my experience with computers goes back to about 1997 where I made my first website on Angelfire .

I graduated HS in 2003 and had taken a few classes in Computer Engineering and one in Networking. I considered getting my A+ at the time but for whatever reason I did not. I've taken some practice exams recently on A+ and passed.

By 2004 I was running a couple adult websites and making a pretty decent living from affiliate referrals.

Over the years I've picked up knowledge on various things as I still build my own computers and help friends do the same. All my computers are either dual boot with Windows/Linux or at least have VMWare on the computer because I've spent quite a bit of time following online classes/tutorials. I definitely wouldn't call myself an expert in Linux but I've done a lot of troubleshooting and can make some stuff in Bash.

Currently I can create mobile responsive websites in HTML5/CSS3, make dynamic websites using PHP although I definitely wouldn't call myself an expert with PHP. I'm familiar with JavaScript and Python as well but again, not an expert. I do work for people at very reasonable prices and make a good side income but it's not something I can live on. I also SEO'd and monetized one of my sites to be #1 on Google for the best keywords for its most competitive keywords and held the spot for well over a year.

Security and Networking have been something that seems more appealing to me lately as I contemplate a shift in career from hobbyist to professional in IT.

I'm sure there's plenty of things I've left out that I've learned over the years(Photoshop, basic video editing, spyware removal,etc.) but I don't want to make this thread too long. It just seems I'm in one of those "Jack of all trades, master of none" situation and would like to get some guidance from those who have been there.

Thanks for reading and I hope this is posted to the right section.

N2IT

I personally think you gotta be careful when you do this. Sometimes all you achieve when you do this is ruining your hobby and getting into a low paying IT position. (I don't know what you do now). I've heard a lot of people talk about taking their passion and skills to the professional level (making money). A few months or years later you see them doing something else and a lot of times the commercialism of the new role burns them out. It no longer is all about the technology but the relationships and other elements which can severally change the dynamics.

With that said it can work and a lot of people on this forum have made the transition. It sounds like you have strong aptitude and desire which is a huge piece. Think about it, but if this is something you really want to do get a resume in order and high light your skills especially around the development part. You can leverage those skills for a technical analyst position. System analyst, business analyst, support analyst, even a UI or front end developer. I wouldn't worry about being an amature, once you get into a real world environment with set deliverables you should ramp up quick, most people do.

CoolAsAFan

For me, my interest in IT started as a hobby and now I am transitioning to getting a job in IT with school/certs. I imagine this is the case with how a lot of people in IT get their start, so your story is not uncommon. If networking and security are currently more appealing to you vs web design, then dig in and go for it. You might look into CompTIA Network+ and Cisco CCNA for networking, which you should have a solid understanding of if you want to get into infosec later down the road. Good luck!

N2IT

Yeah learning the basics about routing and switching through the CCNA path isn't a bad strategy.

In order to get to the networking or security roles you could come in as a developer or analyst get 1 - 3 years (something like that) of experience and then transition into networking or security. I don't see many people immediately going into security or networking right off the bat. The only exception I can think of is the NOC, which then you could get into if you had system or networking knowledge and maybe a certification to help bring your resume up like a MCSE or CCNA.

But I would still mention your development skills. That can seperate you from a lot of people.

Coffee

Thanks for the quick and informative replies.

Since I've never worked in a professional environment or looked at anything more than freelance gig sites, I'm just trying to sharpen up on all the job positions out there, different certifications and career paths. I went to school for medical and don't have any friends in the IT field. I spent all my time in college in medical classes and all my time at home doing some random thing on the computer.

One thing I was trying to find out.. I think I'd be confident enough to do the A+ with a few weeks of studying but would there be a more useful entry level cert. that compliments my web dev skills(as limited as they may be..I read a lot and follow a lot of the CourseRA and Udacity classes, but I don't really try creating as much as I should.)? Do you think Network+ and Security+ along with what I know, or the CCNA along with what I know, would be an employable combination?

I try to stay well read and up to date on things like SQL injections, JavaScript exploits and all the various attacks for my own personal Wordpress sites but I certainly would not call myself any kind of expert.

I did forget to mention I had a freelance contract with one of the biggest news outlets in the country, but it was basically doing some minor multimedia work during a certain live sporting event for their website. I would record the video live, and as exciting things would happen, I'd quickly convert the video to an animated GIF and trim it down to the highlights. I'd then host it and it would be posted on the live coverage play-by-play section of their website.

Is something like that even worth mentioning on a resume? It was about 150-200 hours of work where I was paid by the hour, but I was only using a screencaster and Photoshop.

Thanks again guys.

thenjduke

Always mention in minor detail on your resume what you did and then go into detail in the interview. I was actually interested on what you had to say and learn. So that says something :P

Coffee wrote: »

Thanks for the quick and informative replies.

Since I've never worked in a professional environment or looked at anything more than freelance gig sites, I'm just trying to sharpen up on all the job positions out there, different certifications and career paths. I went to school for medical and don't have any friends in the IT field. I spent all my time in college in medical classes and all my time at home doing some random thing on the computer.

One thing I was trying to find out.. I think I'd be confident enough to do the A+ with a few weeks of studying but would there be a more useful entry level cert. that compliments my web dev skills(as limited as they may be..I read a lot and follow a lot of the CourseRA and Udacity classes, but I don't really try creating as much as I should.)? Do you think Network+ and Security+ along with what I know, or the CCNA along with what I know, would be an employable combination?

I try to stay well read and up to date on things like SQL injections, JavaScript exploits and all the various attacks for my own personal Wordpress sites but I certainly would not call myself any kind of expert.

I did forget to mention I had a freelance contract with one of the biggest news outlets in the country, but it was basically doing some minor multimedia work during a certain live sporting event for their website. I would record the video live, and as exciting things would happen, I'd quickly convert the video to an animated GIF and trim it down to the highlights. I'd then host it and it would be posted on the live coverage play-by-play section of their website.

Is something like that even worth mentioning on a resume? It was about 150-200 hours of work where I was paid by the hour, but I was only using a screencaster and Photoshop.

Thanks again guys.

jthunderbird

A few notes here...

First, it sounds like you need to understand the IT career in general more than anything. I train people on my fairly robust home lab and the number 1 thing I realise (even among people who have worked in IT for military) is they do not understand the IT career structure... this was my problem when I first started as well.

You seem to like developing... development principles are nice to know in most every path, but as a full time job, is entirely separate from most operational positions. Typically, the starting point is helpdesk... you need A+ to get started there... looking at probably around $15-20/hour starting depending on where you are in the country.

While at helpdesk, you can get exposure to the network and systems side and decide which is for you. If you like the network side, go CCNA... systems go Microsoft tests. Then progress from there.

This method is how it is and does work, I and a couple people I have trained are proof. My honest opinion about importance of qualification is that experience is the number 1 factor, certifications 2nd and a degree 3rd. My CCNP is worth more than just about any bachelors degree and I make more than the "educated" people in my shop because of that cert and my knowledge.

Self study, knock out the A+, get a helpdesk job and start to see what the operational IT career field is truly like... if you like IT, you will love your job... I know I do.