Anybody here did volunteer work to get a start in IT?

SixtyCycle

How long did you stay? What was the job? How was the experience? Was it beneficial in finding a paid position later on?

Edit:

Do you have to specifically state in your resume the volunteer work you've done or are they in the same regard as a regular job? Do recruiters/employers view volunteer work any differently (lower value than paid position)?

emerald_octane

i did 3 years in high school for a small computer lab. the experience and recommendation payed off exponentially.

neo9006

I have some people say they have, you hear everyone say it, experience is king.

Xyro

Yes, I did this. I worked for almost 5 months. The experience was hell (very bad environment, intolerable coworkers). Yes, it was somewhat beneficial to obtaining a paid position later on but quite honestly I would have likely had that position anyway as I obtained it through a connection. It has made good "resume-fill" though.

jabokim

Where should someone look to volunteer to gain IT experience?

danny069

Put yourself out there, go to computer repair shops, companies, e-mail, be humble and have gratitude.

--chris--

I basically volunteered for my first gig ($800 over two months, covered gas for daily commute and that was it). Yes it was very helpful, the job was piss poor and the people treated everyone terrible but it gave me a solid foundation that made me interview well enough to get a real paying IT job

WafflesAndRootbeer

If you can swing it with your college IT department, go for it. Otherwise, it's pointless to do "volunteer IT work" since there's no centralized structure outside of Enterprise/business environments which are what campus IT infrastructure is these days.

Bokeh

I know several folks who have volunteered through volunteer match.com . Granted, a lot of it is not glorified network environments, but I have seen positions where helping non profits, helping senior centers and their residents with IT issues, etc.

Check everywhere - schools, churches, friends, business contacts, etc.