Is an IT career for me?

I'm 21, in the Royal Navy and work on submarines, part of my job is to maintain the network onboard - which is the only part of my job that I actually like.
I've been on computers my whole life and have found that I enjoy learning things on them that other people I'm around find uninteresting at best.
I haven't been to college or university (which is why I'm in the navy), and always thought that to get a job in IT I would probably need to go back to school and achieve a degree of some description in order to work my way into the job.
After speaking to a friend that is now leaving the navy (having done his full career), he told me his plan of action and said that he wished he looked into this 20 years ago.
I know certification isn't some sort of magic wand that will instantly grant me a job, but what I'm trying to find out is will employers even consider me without having been to university?

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Comments

remyforbes777

You sound like you have a genuine passion of computers and technology. I would definitely go to school but compliment that with certifications. It sounds like you have relative experience so that will help you as well. Being passionate about IT, in my opinion is one of the single greatest factors in moving up in the field.

mikej412

remyforbes777 wrote: »

Being passionate about IT, in my opinion is one of the single greatest factors in moving up in the field.

Yep -- and being really really really really good at what you do also helps.

It's a combination of Experience, Education, Certifications -- and some luck (being in the right place at the right time, knowing someone to get an interview, having your interviewer be retired Navy,

etc) that will get you the interviews and land you the jobs. Having people skills and a good personality can also help get interviews.

If it's the same in the UK like it is in the US, if you have your security clearance, that can be very helpful for getting a job with a defense contractor when you leave the Navy.

Certification to go along with your current experience is a great idea. If you can fit in some school while serving, even better.

ggriffith

Thanks for the information, I did find it both helpful and motivating, although I'm getting the impression that I will have to go back to school.
Will having certification be enough for me to land a job when I leave in the lower pay band, in order to gain experience and further my qualifications - and then work my way up to the higher pay scales?
Or should I really be looking at going back into education?

kriscamaro68

Well I work at a major university in my state and have never sat for a single second in a college class. My job title is Computer Professional. I support 1500+ users, network , and servers so I would say no you don't have to go to college you just have to show that you know what your doing. Certifications didn't play a role in me getting the job either.

veritas_libertas

ggriffith wrote: »

I'm 21, in the Royal Navy and work on submarines, part of my job is to maintain the network onboard - which is the only part of my job that I actually like.
I've been on computers my whole life and have found that I enjoy learning things on them that other people I'm around find uninteresting at best.
I haven't been to college or university (which is why I'm in the navy), and always thought that to get a job in IT I would probably need to go back to school and achieve a degree of some description in order to work my way into the job.
After speaking to a friend that is now leaving the navy (having done his full career), he told me his plan of action and said that he wished he looked into this 20 years ago.
I know certification isn't some sort of magic wand that will instantly grant me a job, but what I'm trying to find out is will employers even consider me without having been to university?

I would say your job experience should find you a job in IT after you get out. What type of networking are you involved in, Cisco, Juniper, Microsoft, Linux? Whatever it is it would be a good idea to get certified in it. College is also good idea, though certainly not required.

mikej412

Eventually (and usually) experience trumps everything else -- but the others come into play getting an chance to compete for a position/job/opportunity. Education opens doors that your experience alone may not -- but your experience can get you jobs that education alone wouldn't.

If you have an opportunity to gain some education on, er, in the US Military it's on "Uncle Sam's dime," um, on the Royal Navy -- then it's something to seriously consider. And if the your Navy is willing to ease your transition back to civilian life by paying for, and placing you in the company of college coeds, even better.

If you're "academically inclined" -- then think about heading off to college.

If you're about "getting the job done" -- then look for a job after you get out of the Navy, work on gaining even more experience, and to dig in (I was US Army Infantry, um, Navies "hold the line" sometimes, right?) and earn some education credentials along the way.

But either way -- even if you get a chance to go to College or University, you're probably going to want to keep you job experience current -- you're probably going to be looking for a job, so keep track of your current skills and achievements and keep (or start to keep) your resume (CV) up to date.