Need advice for a career change

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for advice in regards to a possible career change. I'm 27 years old and want to start a new career in IT work. I've always enjoyed computers and IT stuff, but kind of lost touch for the past 7 years as I started a career outside of the IT world. I took some programming classes in high school and that wasn't my thing... I enjoy trouble shooting and more hardware/hands on things. I've recently been studying for my A+ to get a good start to my resume, but am looking for other advice. I am thinking about following that up with the Network + to try to get into network administration or something along those lines, but am teaching myself everything via books and Youtube. I think my biggest obstacle will be trying to get a starting salary around $40k a year to compete with what I'm making now. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated though. Thanks!

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Comments

Essendon

Work on your resume and apply for just about every entry-level job out there. Are you able to somehow give a IT/customer-service spin to your current work on your resume? You may not start at your desired salary, but you should be able to get there with a lot of hard work, a cert or two and some luck, within a year or two. Expect your starting role to be - Helpdesk/Service Desk/Tech Support/ISP Support or something on those lines. Good luck!

wholesalestunna

Thanks. My current job is that of a Police Officer so it's not IT related at all. I think leaving is going to hit me with about a ten thousand to thirteen thousand dollar paycut though, so I don't know if it's doable.

Essendon

Keep working as a copper and work on a cert or two to increase your chances of getting hired. Is there nothing at all about computers that you can put on your resume? Past jobs perhaps?

alucheni

Maybe target your job search to where a badge gets you some cred. Possibly government, healthcare, utilities. Also, places that do helpdesk for internal customers usually pay better. Keep in mind that hardware techs are pretty much at the bottom --- a reasonable salary is acquired through systems admin and networking stuff.

samurai86

Not exactly IT related. But a security niche is Digital Forensics. From what I have seen a lot of local sheriff's offices and City PDs hire sworn officers to do Digital Forensics.

5502george

Security might be a good start for you. Also, if I was you I would network like a MOFO. I would find anyone I know who has anyhting to do with IT and meet with them.

j.petrov

wholesalestunna,

I was in your shoes not too long ago with wanting to change careers. Here is the path I took:
A+
Net+
CCNA+

I didn't get my first IT job until all of these were complete. I started off as a contacted NOC Engineer, which made me a little over 40k a year. So it is possible to meet your salary requirement, although I do hesitate to think that you will get much after just an A+ and Network+. If you are lucky you may get some interviews... Just hang in there and keep your head up. Eventually you will get your break. (check professermesser.com, great free videos for the CompTIA exams)

After getting some experience I got there certs:
Sec+
CCNA Sec

I can happily say that since getting my first job in IT a little over a year ago I am now making 20k more than I was last year. Not bad....

wholesalestunna

j.petrov wrote: »

wholesalestunna,

I was in your shoes not too long ago with wanting to change careers. Here is the path I took:
A+
Net+
CCNA+

I didn't get my first IT job until all of these were complete. I started off as a contacted NOC Engineer, which made me a little over 40k a year. So it is possible to meet your salary requirement, although I do hesitate to think that you will get much after just an A+ and Network+. If you are lucky you may get some interviews... Just hang in there and keep your head up. Eventually you will get your break. (check professermesser.com, great free videos for the CompTIA exams)

After getting some experience I got there certs:
Sec+
CCNA Sec

I can happily say that since getting my first job in IT a little over a year ago I am now making 20k more than I was last year. Not bad....

It's funny that you posted this because I think the A+, Network+, CCENT is actually the path I'm looking at pursuing.

But as far as the other posts, I don't have any interest in pursuing any computer jobs within law enforcement, I just want an IT gig. I don't really have any experience other than growing up with computers, but I'm going to start going to work with my dad on my days off (he's a network administrator) to learn too. I'm watching the Professor Messer videos and really enjoy them. I also got the Meyers book on the A+ and will probably try to watch the CBT Nuggets videos too.

wholesalestunna

I also forgot to add that I'll be finishing my bleacher's degree in criminal justice at the end of next summer.

stryder144

Welcome, wholesalestunna. One way that you can gain some pretty valuable experience is, while studying and getting your certs, find a non-profit organization that you can volunteer at. Set up a blog and let the world know what you are learning. Cross post to a Linkedin account (if you don't have one, get one. It can be a very valuable tool). Use meetup to find people in IT, in your area, that you can meet and network with. I would suspect that in no time at all, you'll have enough connections, experience, and certs to be able to find a job that pays pretty close to what you are looking to make.

wholesalestunna

Thanks for the advice. I actually have a couple of friends (and dad) in IT so I will probably try to start hanging around with them on my days off to gain experience and soak up as much as I can. I've also created a Linked In account. THis is a very different world than the criminal justice one! Thanks for all the advice!

DissonantData

If you know you want to go into IT, have you considered doing a related degree, such as Information Systems or Information Technology? It will probably be a lot easier to get an IT job with a related degree. Although I have an unrelated major, I wouldn't advise others to do an unrelated degree if they know they want a job in IT.

wholesalestunna

DissonantData wrote: »

If you know you want to go into IT, have you considered doing a related degree, such as Information Systems or Information Technology? It will probably be a lot easier to get an IT job with a related degree. Although I have an unrelated major, I wouldn't advise others to do an unrelated degree if they know they want a job in IT.

No, I got my Associates in criminal justice 7 years ago before my career started. Then once I worked a while, I had an opportunity to transfer it to a local University and finish my bachealor's through their school. I didn't want to start over as a sophomore so I continued the CJ route and am now only like 5 classes from graduation (hopefully next summer).