Is it possible to get an IT job with no experience?

It is. We all started with zero experience!

What other experience did you have so far? Do you have any customer service experience? (retail/hospitality/Sales?). Do you have a non-IT degree?

You can land a helpdesk role if you have a customer service experience but it's going to be tough. It's even harder now due to covid but not impossible. Think how you can leverage your non-IT background. If you have any contacts in the industry, reach out to them and see how they can help.

CompTIA A+ seem to be good for that purpose. I don't know what your background is, but if can learn A+ & Network+ material that will help. Then learn something like Windows support, or Mac OS, or even Linux. It's possible.

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Neil86

Do you have any work experience at all? It will be very tough, but not impossible. I found that some computer/electronics recycling facilities sometimes offer positions to recondition computers and what not to resell/reuse. Maybe check in your area for an opportunity like that to learn. Even check nonprofits in the area and see if they offer any opportunities.

scaredoftests

no experience at all? no classroom? no labs set up at home?

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Have you held any job at all before? Have you finished High School?

I'm asking because perhaps you'll benefit from joining a community college, and you'll benefit from using previous experience.

If you share more of what you did in the past, we'll be able to help you more. At the moment, we can't provide more help as we don't really understand your situation.

iBrokeIT

Sure however there is typically a lot of competition for entry level IT jobs. Have you reviewed the job postings for the types of positions you want? How do you plan to develop and demonstrate you have the required skills for the position?

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Cool so you're starting like we all did. It's tricky, you'll need to find a way to gain education to learn, that can be through certificates, community college, or university. That can be online, or through night classes or day classes.

Try out for helpdesk roles and if it's hard then you need to plan to get income somehow while you build your knowledge to get your foot in the door

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Neil86

It's NEVER a waste of time to learn something. We all started where you are at one point.

CompTIA A+ certification will get you familiar with computers, hardware/software, networking, etc. Very well known certification. I think it's a great starting point in my opinion.

https://www.comptia.org/certifications/a

Edited - i noticed in your previous discussions that you've already started a degree program?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rrjVbvg5JY

Patience! you might get a helpdesk opportunity but the odds are against you. You may need to get a non-IT job first while you build your knowledge. There is no easy way.

What steps have you taken so far that will lead you to get a job in IT? What are you willing to do get there? You'll need knowledge, certs, some degree (optional), networking/contacts.

stryder144

Here is the hard truth: there is no one path into IT. Some people on this forum lucked out, applied for a job that they had no experience or training in and got a job. Others went to school, got a degree, then got a job. Others, like myself, got certifications and found a company interested in hiring veterans and people with no experience in the telecom world. I know it seems like it is impossible to find a job when you have nothing objectively that they could use. Here's the deal: a lot of companies need willing, hard-working, punctual people to work for them. Plain and simple. A strong cover letter stating that you are that person might get you an interview. Unfortunately, in the present situation we are in, it is getting harder to find jobs because so many people, like myself, have lost ours. Thus, you are competing against some people who have the degree or the cert or the experience. The advantage that you have, at least for entry-level jobs, is that no one in their right mind would hire me for a tier 1/entry-level position because I do have experience. I am either too expensive or too much of a flight risk once the market upturns a bit. So really, you just need an opportunity to prove yourself.

If you and I sat down together to formulate a plan, here is the advice I would give you. If you live near a Best Buy, I would encourage you to apply to both sales and Geek Squad positions. If you think that GS has a bad rep, I can tell you it comes from the fact that they all too often hire sales people to repair computers. If your goal was to get experience in IT, GS is a good way to get it without having a bar that is too high. Unfortunately, GS positions are often very competitive, so the GM of the store wants to know the character and work ethic of the individual s/he hires into GS. Thus, it might be necessary to take a sales job first, then talk your way into a GS position.

If there is no local Best Buy, I would find a local computer store that does repairs and ask them if they would be willing to give you an internship. I would hang out there every day, even if just for an hour or so each day (just don't get yourself kicked out for loitering). Let the owner/manager/lead know you want to work in IT and you are willing to soak up as much knowledge as they are willing to provide. Barring that, find a nonprofit and ask them if they need volunteer help in IT.

While doing the above, I would look at two certifications to start with: ITIL 4 Foundation and CompTIA A+. The ITIL 4 Foundation is picking up steam and is seen as a certification that teaches you how IT services are supposed to be managed. Granted, few, if any, companies actually use the principles learned in the ITIL 4 Foundation curriculum, but that is another story for another day. The CompTIA A+ is useful simply because just about every facet of IT is touched on while studying for the two exams that you would need to pass. Does an A+ cert mean you can take apart computers, troubleshoot problems, and leave the customer smiling? No, not even close. But, the cert does give an employer a certain baseline of knowledge that they can at least expect you to be familiar with.

As a past hiring manager, I write job requisitions that look for the ideal candidate. Some companies want perfect matches (which is why they constantly post the same req time-after-time). Some want 25, 50, or 75% match. Most, not all, managers are okay with bringing someone on who has less experience just so long as they are willing to learn and contribute as quickly as possible. Also, if you do not have any demonstrable customer service skills (called soft skills), then you will have a hard time sticking out among all of the resumes and applications. Simply put, find ten companies you want to work for in the area you live, go to LinkedIn, find out who is the IT manager for that company, then try to make an appointment with the manager. You would be surprised how effective showing up to the business and talking to the manager can be in getting your foot in the door. Now, they may not want to talk to you since they are busy, so offer to meet at a coffee shop and buy them a coffee. Take notes, find out what needs they have, and find ways to either relate your ability to fill those needs or ask how you might be able to develop and grow your knowledge to be a good candidate in the future. If you are as young as you seem, that will impress the heck out of those managers. By meeting those managers, talking to them, and becoming someone that they can relate to, they will be more likely to hire you based on those interactions. Sometimes they have jobs, sometimes they don't, but most will refer you to friends that they have in the industry. After all, it is often who you know more than what you know that counts.

scaredoftests

I lucked out, I was a Data Management Assistant at a lab and there was a need for a network admin, I volunteered. It helped that I had a AA in computer applications. From there, I gained a wealth of experience.

--chris--

@Connor2kwik I worked for free (for a few months) when I was in a similar position as you, just to get some experience to put on my resume. It helped, a lot and I landed a paying gig a few weeks after leaving that spot. I made a video about my experiences with that if you want to check it out.

@--chris-- Makes a good point.

Here are my suggestions

Short term contract. weeks, month or even months. These are usually hard to find people to work the contract and a lot of times they will hire people with little to no experience.

For free sucks, but..... You can sometimes expedite your learning curve by jumping into something a little more challenging which in turn gives you some experience which can then later be parlayed into a real paying job. A few of my friends from India did this, work for a friend for 3 - 6 months for free and then apply for a position in development or something in that space and a lot of times they ended up getting a job paying 90+ right off the bat.

Help desk.......

--chris--

Free sucks, really sucks. BUT...I don't regret doing it. Like @DatabaseHead mentions, because I worked for free they never felt like giving me tasks that should be "over my head" would be waste because...they don't pay me lol. Like I said in the video, in this situation...its 100% up to you to make the most of your opportunity. Get EVERYTHING you can out of the experience.

beads

Difficult but not entirely unheard of finding work in the field when jobs are plentiful, maybe not so much when jobs aren't so plentiful as today's market. You need real IT skills to do anything. I suggest finding a junker or two to learn your way around unscrewing covers, removing cards and memory and learning the very basics to see how these things really work. Memory is easy to crack, video cards can be a pain to replace. How much tension is needed before you break something, all those things.

Learn how the operating systems really work and why they break. Again, very basic but most people in IT don't have a clue and make the same basic mistakes over and over again because they don't really understand what they are talking about past installing applications - don't be that guy.

Chances of being able to support yourself as an analysts while going to school are slim to none unless someone feels real sympathy toward you. Not that it can't happen but be prepared for a life of working Mc-jobs till you have enough education to warrant an IT job or position, they are different things. A job is basic, low level work, while a position is more career orientated. Positions also involve more business and business means politics. Something IT people are famously bad. LOL.

Worry more about basic skills, less about the certification of the month club and you do fine. If you love the field you will likely stay in the field, if you dislike the field after a year or so, get out and find something that suits you. Nothing worse than devoting yourself to something you will learn to hate.

Good luck and continue to ask questions!

- b/eads

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JDMurray

Volunteer opportunities are also a "working for free" situation that helps you build experience and make contacts that can help you find a paying job opportunity. There are many professional organizations looking for people to help organize online activities, contact people (marketing/advertising), maintain Websites, and create content for presentation. It's all work worthy of including on a resume or CV.

beads

Better off getting your degree and a bit of experience based on your continuing education. If you can find work working a PC lab, mentoring IT subjects, etc., will be worth far more in the long term than the half-in, half-out of career/college methodology. Few people pull it off as life has a habit of throwing obstacles and complications in our life's path. My advice would be go big or go home, when it comes to completing a bachelors, as the vast majority of IT people have technical degrees. Bachelors with Masters not uncommon.

IT has always been a difficult field to break into save the dot com era which was an anomaly. I heard the same horror stories from Data Processing folks back from the 60s and 70s, graduating into the worst IT market on record in 1987. Where we were often offered jobs and positions for minimum wage ($3.35, at the time) due to low demand. No apologies. No one on this board should have the gall to say IT positions are easy to get or they have been at the same job too long and haven't interviewed recently or at least seriously looked.

Treat certification as part of your personal learning journey and you will do just fine. Treating certification as market tool or substitute for either experience or education and you will be disappointed.

Good luck navigating your own personal path.

- b/eads

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yoba222

If you do switch, I recommend going for the CompTIA A+. I did that back while in college for about 5-6 months of studying. Also had no experience in IT at the time. It gives you an edge over other students. In a choice of college graduate A with a degree and no experience compared to college graduate B with the same degree, no experience, and a cert or two, I'll pick B.

Connor2kwik said:

I guess I didn't explain my situation enough. I'm currently attending a community college and thinking about changing my program to Computer Technology. What I was trying to ask was is a good idea to get a cert or two while im in college so that way I can have a little bit of experience before I graduate.

Usually you'll have several classes that align with a certification. In that case it might not be a bad idea, but 1 would be max IMO. Especially if you are just starting off.

Of course you'll have to find what interest you.

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Connor2kwik said:

while im on the subject does having an associate degree only get your foot in the door?

As opposed to nothing, yes. I think it most certainly does, may I ask what is your associate degree in? Networking, Programming, PC Tech?

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stryder144

Another thing that you could do, to help you build your experience, is to contact IT recruiters in your area or the unemployment office. Let the recruiter know that you are looking for anything that they feel you would qualify for. That might mean doing operating system migrations at night for a week or two per contract. While that isn't the most ideal employment situation, it will give you vital skills you can put on a resume, experience, and possible sources of recommendations for future jobs. Another type of business to look into is printer/copier repair places. They often need people to travel around and help customers with their print related problems. I have a former student who worked for a company like that. He had no IT experience but he got the job simply because he was willing to do the job (a lot of IT people think that printer repair is beneath them). He met many, many business owners who, after finding out he was taking classes in IT, wanted to hire him because he proved himself working on their printers and copiers.