How did all of you make your start into I.T.

Ok. How did all of you make your start into the I.T working world.
Share the experience and tell us if you had any certifications, a degree or nothing? What job did you do before your first I.T job ? How did you find the job on a job website, on a news paper, from contacts/friends ?

SHARE THE EXPERIENCE!!!!!

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mikedisd2

After leaving high school, I looked at the list of subjects to study at TAFE and figured I could sit down all day if I took the Computing course.

Forsaken_GA

I finally figured out that if I wanted to make any money in my life, I was going to have to turn my hobby into my career, because all the other stuff I like to do results in a reverse cash flow

neathneathneath

I used to be in Electrical Engineering but due to redundancy a hobby gone wrong turned into a carreer path.

Bokeh

Went into the military, had a guaranteed job in crypto maint, and then slots got lost. Was offered jobs as tailgunner on B-52, bomb disposal, cook, or computer operations. I took the safe route.

JBrown

Walked into the nearest college and said " I want to study it " (I arrived to USA about 2 weeks prior to that, and did not know english much) and they put me into IT/ Data Communications program.

rsutton

Computers were a hobby for me from roughly 1988-1999. In 1999 I had acquired enough knowledge from messing with my own systems to start doing Technical Support which I did for a few years. That progressed in to Help Desk which then progressed in to a System Admin role which I am currently doing. No degree or certs yet although hopefully a week from tomorrow I will have my CCENT taken care of.

JavonR

I knew I wanted to go into IT directly out of highschool. I got lucky and landed a helpdesk job at an ISP, which eventually transitioned into a NOC position after 6 months or so.

After grabbing my CCNA and taking some vacation time I moved to a consulting company to work in their network monitoring department (NOC). I've been at this job for about a month now and so far so good. I get tons of exposure to Cisco equipment and plenty of training opportunities.

human151

My first job tech related job was help desk in a call center for an ISP.

L0gicB0mb508

I actually got a very early start. I started fixing computers for small businesses and home users when I was still in high school. No certifications or anything at that point. Then my high school actually made a "class" for me. I basically fixed their computer and networking issues for a class period each day.

janmike

Self defence!

keenon

music.. i used to own and run a recording studio back when the all recording was going toward smaller home sized units.. i used to write, produce, perform, mix and recable alot

cbigbrick

I got tired of standing in 6-8 foot pits classifying soil for drainage fields then doing perk tests so that future million dollar homes could be built.

I just walked away....

itdaddy

Air force
finished a 2 year degree Networking-CIS
drove truck/attend collge
got a job local town
love my careerfield

Agent6376

I was serving coffee at Starbucks and I knew that I didn't want to be in food service anymore. I thought about a job that I would love to get up and go to work each day, and IT was my conclusion. After work one day, I walked to the Best Buy next door to the Barnes and Noble that I worked at and found the first guy in a Geek Squad uniform. I introduced myself, told him that I was interested in becoming a member of GS, and asked who I could speak with in charge of hiring. He was the guy...

brad-

Enthusiast/gamer, chose CIS as my degree path. Worked full time at a proprietary software company doing support while finishing the degree.

Once I had the degree and a couple of years xp, I started looking, and after about a year got a govt job.

jscimeca715

brad- wrote: »

Enthusiast/gamer, chose CIS as my degree path. Worked full time at a proprietary software company doing support while finishing the degree.

Once I had the degree and a couple of years xp, I started looking, and after about a year got a govt job.

This sort of sounds like the path I'm on. It's awesome to see people who are from the same life paths!

itdaddy

wish i had a government job.they look really good..i miss the miltary

Turgon

itdaddy wrote: »

wish i had a government job.they look really good..i miss the miltary

You cant all work for the government and the military. Someone has to create the wealth. Just a thought!

itdaddy

tru dat!

azjag

Got out of the military in '99 as a flight medic and decided to make my pc hobby a career. That and to get the same job outside of the miltary would require 3 more years of schooling minimum. Took an A+ class and some nt4 classes and got my first job fixing computers at Staples.

Kaminsky

deleted ..

exx1976

My mom was going to college to finish her Masters degree so she could advance her career as a math professor. Having 3 small children at home, my parents decided it would be beneficial for her to be able to study from home as much as possible, so they purchased an Apple //e and a 300 baud modem when I was about 6. I started playing with Logo (the little turtle) and basic stuff like that. By the time I was 10, I was reading computer-related magazines, and typing in the programs that were in the magazines. By the time I was 12, I was using a hex editor/sector editor to give myself all the weapons in Car Wars.

Right around age 12, I figured out what the modem was for. Shortly thereafter, I started running my own BBS. When I got to high school, I discovered women and alcohol, so I got out of computers briefly. When I was 18, the internet started getting popular with the "geeks", so I bought my first PC, a P120. Wanted to upgrade the video card to play better video games, so I learned how to do it. Wanted a bigger hard drive, so I learned how to do it. Faster processor, more memory, etc etc. Then I built my own computer. Then I built one for my mom. Then for a friend. You get the idea.

Then I started going to college as a CS major. In my second semester, I landed a help-desk job by accident, and realized there was a LOT more to IT than just programming. By the end of my third semester studying C++ and JAVA and LISP and Assembly, I decided I didn't want to be a programmer, so I quit college and decided to focus on certifications and experience.

As I gained more experience, certified on more and more things, and demonstrated my aptitude, intelligence, and willingness/ability to learn, I began to quickly move up the ranks. Help Desk tech to junior admin, to network/systems admin, to network/systems engineer, to network/systems manager.

Now, here I am 12 years later, and I am the top of the IT food chain at my current job. Life is good.

Kaminsky

exx1976 wrote: »

When I got to high school, I discovered women and alcohol, so I got out of computers briefly.

YEP that'll do it !

They are called the fun years ... <shudder>

pipemajor

I stumbled into it. Started working out of high school with a bank part time as a vehicle messenger. Wound up 8 years later as a mainframe computer operator. Bank shut down the data center due to a consolidation effort so I left and went somewhere else as a Computer Operations Manager, then got into the LAN/WAN area.

I got my BBA and MBA degrees while working full time. Oh yeah, five years active duty as a commissioned officer didn't hurt either.

My bachelors degree today would cost me $112,000 back at the private university I attended. MBA was also from a private school.

I have 17 years as an IT supervisor/manager/director but, currently unemployed. I've gone through 4 layoffs in the past 19 years.

You sure you want a career in IT?

bertieb

pipemajor wrote: »

I have 17 years as an IT supervisor/manager/director but, currently unemployed. I've gone through 4 layoffs in the past 19 years.

You sure you want a career in IT?

This seems to be the norm these days no matter what career you end up in. I know friends who work in finance and retail and they are all suffering the effects of job threats and redundancies, and have done over their careers. The days of 'job for life' are long gone. My dad worked for the same firm (non-IT) for 30 years with no threats and he absolutely loved it. I've been at the firm I work for now nigh on 10yrs and have been through seven takeovers and four 'at-risk' periods though still just about hanging on

My dad feels for me and practically everyone else at the moment, though I suspect he's happy pottering about in the garden not having to worry about keeping a job.

orissa

I was worked as

News paper salesman in local local train and metro

RoomBoy in 5 star hotel

Travel agent

Genitor

pizza delivery boy

Cashier 7-Eleven and decide to jump to IT field in 2000 by taking A+ Net+ MCSE 2003 and CCNA.

http://pclaptech.com

itdaddy

orissa
i really like your site very professional and very complete.
you give me some ideas. thanks

captobvious

Dunno, I'm still looking!

cbigbrick

orissa wrote: »

I was worked as

News paper salesman in local local train and metro

RoomBoy in 5 star hotel

Travel agent

Genitor

pizza delivery boy

Cashier 7-Eleven and decide to jump to IT field in 2000 by taking A+ Net+ MCSE 2003 and CCNA.

Home

Leesburg, VA!!! Right down the street from where I work.

sagewalkinthere

itdaddy wrote: »

orissa
i really like your site very professional and very complete.
you give me some ideas. thanks

Umm...

The FAQ is my favorite part.