How can I break into IT?

Rolloofthenorm · August 2021

So I want to go into IT but I have no experience whatsoever. I start classes tomorrow as I'm getting and associates degree in IT. I was wondering though should I also get certifications also?

UnixGuy · August 2021

Welcome to the forums

yes certifications are also a good idea, but think of it as a means for you to lean more rather than accumulate 'qualifications'. I'd say look for internships or any kind of paid work, that will give you some experience and exposure so you can get to put the stuff you learn in the degree and certs into practice.

CompTIA certs are good for beginners as they go over definitions, but I'd also personally look into Microsoft Azure an Amazon AWS certs as they tend to give you that foundation and they give you exposure to cloud

thomas_ · August 2021

Does your college have any student positions available? If so, that could be a good way to get some paid experience under your belt.

Johnhe0414 · August 2021

When I was getting into an IT career, this is what I did:

- Build a computer

- Created a network of PC's (I had 3 cheap computers at the time)

- Try to build your skills with printer support (A+ books helped me with this)

- Internships/free work: I helped assist our teacher with getting the college lab set up with computers

- Check with your current employer or if you know someone who is already working in IT (I visited a friend at his job location and was able to shadow him a few hours of the week)

- Check with the college for job postings (After getting my associate degree this is how i found my first job)

- Check with local government agencies (City, County, State) and look for entry level positions. (www.governmentjobs.com)

Good luck to you!

E Double U · August 2021

Best place to start is by asking your professors for help. Express your desires to them because I would imagine they have a network they could reach out to check on opportunities for newbies.

Regarding certifications, check if your program's curriculum contain any courses geared towards certifications. I would imagine your professors could assist with this as well. You could also tell us the type of courses you are enrolled in and we can advise on any certifications that compliment what you are learning.

Without knowing anything about your program, I can only guess that your courses might align with credentials offered by CompTIA or maybe even Microsoft.

Basic85 · September 2021

I've seen quite a bit of people working a IT call center for a couple of years than moved up or somewhere else.

Yelderim · September 2021

Hi,

I totally Agree with @Johnhe0414, "Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice." i started as a Telecom/Electronic technician, and now I work in Network and Cyber Security, at that time during 2005, the Internet was not like how it is now, I consider the Internet is the the largest source on information ever so you're not short of resources. however the main thing is practice, practice, practice, certifications are good, but does that mean you know your stuff? not necessarily..

before all that you need to decide where you want to be in IT, for example, Networking, Server and System Administration, cloud, software Development!!! (there are no Limits or roof to knowledge) accordingly you can start from there, and along that path, you will encounter different technologies which you will require to have at minimum high level understanding.

This was my path

Started to work as PC repair technician (and without Pay) for 9 months, during which i was exposed to computers and operating systems.
i moved to Telecommunication field for almost 8 years where i had to learn about VoIP, and i found interest in packet analysis which i developed passion to IP networking, and started learning more about networking,
I landed my first job and network specialist, i still remember my first project, i literary had no idea what to do, i had the concepts like VLANs, routing, IP addressing but i couldn't bridge those concepts together. during this time i didn't learn about networking but i also i learned more about virtualization (my new passion) from other team members, this was important to me as i had to design and implement the network infrastructure, i had to learn about storage protocols, backup technologies,
few years later I moved to one of our country's largest MSSP and i had to support and implement security and network solutions to huge customer base, i was introduced to cyber security in depth, i can say from this job i learned solving problems, and troubleshooting and also learned more and more about Cyber Security.
now i working as an IT assistant manager, where I handle multitude of tasks, from monitoring network and security infrastructure, managing and planning our virtualization requirement, IT procurement and also involving in making our IT Policies.

so you see there's no specific path .. key is practice, pick one path, and take the journey, make mistakes (if one thing I learned is from making Mistakes), mistakes makes you stronger and enhances your knowledge

and above all passion to learn

HTH

E Double U · September 2021

Yelderim said:

now i working as an IT assistant manager,

How can I break into IT?

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