https://www.reddit.com/r/it/comments/tx4ifd/some_steps_for_getting_into_it/
created by stackjr on 05/04/2022 at 20:38 UTC
819 upvotes, 154 top-level comments (showing 25)
We see a lot of questions within the r/IT[1] community asking how to get into IT, what path to follow, what is needed, etc. For everyone it is going to be different but there is a similar path that we can all take to make it a bit easier.
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/IT
If you have limited/no experience in IT (or don't have a degree) it is best to start with certifications. CompTIA is, in my opinion, the best place to start. Following in this order: A+, Network+, and Security+. These are a great place to start and will lay a foundation for your IT career.
There are resources to help you earn these certificates but they don't always come cheap. You can take CompTIA's online learning (live online classroom environment) but at $2,000 USD, this will be cost prohibitive for a lot of people. CBT Nuggets is a great website but it is not free either (I do not have the exact price). You can also simply buy the books off of Amazon. Fair warning with that: they make for VERY dry reading and the certification exams are not easy (for me they weren't, at least).
After those certifications, you will then have the opportunity to branch out. At that time, you should have the knowledge of where you would like to go and what IT career path you would like to pursue.
I like to stress that a college/university degree is NOT necessary to get into the IT field but will definitely help. What degree you choose is strictly up to you but I know quite a few people with a computer science degree.
Most of us (degree or not) will start in a help desk environment. Do not feel bad about this; it's a great place to learn and the job is vital to the IT department. A lot of times it is possible to get into a help desk role with no experience but these roles will limit what you are allowed to work on (call escalation is generally what you will do).
Please do not hesitate to ask questions, that is what we are all here for.
​
I would encourage my fellow IT workers to add to this post, fill in the blanks that I most definitely missed.
Comment by Dynasteh at 05/04/2022 at 23:59 UTC
158 upvotes, 5 direct replies
I myself was a high school dropout who always had an above interest in computers since I was a child. I got my GED at age 16 and when I turned 18 I applied for Community College for their Associates degree program. In 2018 I received my degree and struggled to find a job but I was persistent, every failed interview was a learning experience. I was able to land a temporary 5 months technician gig at a very low wage in mid 2019. That job landed me my first full-time job as a Help Desk Technician for a Law Firm. I have been working in IT at Help Desk for 3 years now, next week I start a new job as a Jr Systems Administrator. This is the time to learn new skills, the technology world is changing more than ever and outdated Sys Admins who refuse to learn new technologies will be replaced.
Comment by Cheerie_oh at 08/04/2022 at 16:47 UTC
76 upvotes, 6 direct replies
I like this post cause my mom is now kicking me out over wanting to pursue a certification in IT instead of taking a 4 year course at a college/university
Glad to know I always have her love and support
Comment by UnderstatedUmbrella at 11/05/2022 at 08:27 UTC
38 upvotes, 1 direct replies
LinkedIn Learning has a very good COMPTIA courses, presented by the guy who wrote the most popular prep book. It’s $30 a month for the whole service, and that gets you whatever courses you want. My boss wants all of our Helpdesk staff to have the certification, so he set it up so our employer pays for the LinkedIn learning licenses for us.
Comment by Introspec-singularus at 07/05/2022 at 03:45 UTC
30 upvotes, 1 direct replies
How valid are the Google IT certificates on coursera? Does anyone know? I think it’s like $40 a month.
Comment by _Badscat_406 at 11/06/2022 at 09:30 UTC
23 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I’ve seen a good amount of IT courses through Coursera for a decent price. Has anyone gone through them?
Comment by JulyFluffyCar at 18/05/2022 at 08:23 UTC
15 upvotes, 1 direct replies
There are so many different courses for IT. But many of them are just empty shells to get money. I recommend paying attention to courses from large companies. For example, IBM regularly conduct courses for more info[1]. IBM is one of the world's largest manufacturers and suppliers of hardware and software. The company has existed for more than a hundred years, throughout this period it has led technological progress. Largely thanks to her, we have magnetic stripe cards, hard drives and personal computers.
Comment by RaynEmbers at 12/06/2022 at 23:04 UTC
13 upvotes, 5 direct replies
I know this is an old thread but I wanted to post how I am currently working on getting into the IT field.
From an online creator that mainly discusses news I found out about an IT program through Merit America. I am currently in this program and encourage people who do not have the money for traditional schooling to look into it, and of course research thoroughly to see if it would be a good fit for them.
If you are accepted into the program (there's a video interview and some pre-work studies, free) you take a Google IT certification course, all online. They also provide support and resources on helping you with job searching skills throughout the course period and for some time after.
As for payment, you are not asked to pay until you find a job making 40k a year or more.
As I said I'm still in the program so I can't speak for everything the program offers or claims yet, but so far I'm feeling hopeful and enjoying it. They have many options to work with your schedule, but it does require like 20+ hours of work a week (I'm doing this while working full time).
Comment by CtheAutomata at 09/04/2022 at 15:55 UTC
11 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Here's a harder one for you. Tired European waiter who wants to get into IT, doesn't know anything about it, thought about Sys Admin, or Data management, doesn't know what those entail either. I'm thinking of just throwing myself in a 1 year education that the government offers here, but I'd like to get even a little bit familiar with it to see if I even like it (or understand it, OR have the patience to look through massive lines of code for a [ )
Comment by ThisIsMattNesz at 01/05/2022 at 19:14 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Might have a job at a helpdesk, with close to no experience. Very driven though, want to make it, gonna make it. Would feel ashamed to forward simple questions and make stupid mistakes though. My social anxiety is killing me on this one.
Comment by Negh at 13/09/2022 at 22:24 UTC
7 upvotes, 2 direct replies
This is the exact thread I've been looking for! I'm a teacher looking to switch careers and IT has always been at the back of my brain as a "what if?" possibility for my future.
Looked into CompTIA and there's a lot to unpack. Sorry if this isn't the correct place to ask questions (if it's not, I'd greatly appreciate some direction or guidance!), but I'm wondering a few things:
Thanks in advance to whoever sees this! I appreciate any and all information :).
Comment by Knightwytt at 05/04/2022 at 20:49 UTC
6 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Thank you so much for this post! Lots of really great Info here. I am currently studying for my A+ Exams. Currently work for a parts company doing Parts Id, and hoping a help desk position opens soon. What is a fair salary range to aim for? Im currently a little over 40K and hoping to at least make a small Jump when transitioning to a help desk role. If at least 50k is not possible il have to pick up a part time gig while I gain the experience. What is your advice? Thank you in advance!
Comment by Zombiphilia at 11/05/2023 at 16:10 UTC
6 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I see this is still somewhat active, so I figured I would try and ask my question here instead of making a new post. Someone I know *really* wants to get into IT. He works a lot and studies for certs whenever he can. I've heard that Help Desks are the way to go to get the experience part of higher jobs. However, every single job (even the help desk jobs) I find seems to require like 3 years of experience (or require a bachelor's degree) and are paying a unlivable wage (like $18/hr in California). How does anyone get their foot in the door? Any suggestions would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance :)
Comment by NoMordacAllowed at 05/04/2022 at 20:50 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Pinned for discussion and expansion.
Please ask questions, or suggest changes for a future version of this post.
Comment by [deleted] at 07/04/2022 at 04:34 UTC
4 upvotes, 2 direct replies
How do you choose between an IT job and programming? Interested in both but idk
Comment by [deleted] at 22/05/2022 at 06:27 UTC
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by [deleted] at 16/07/2022 at 03:47 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I got my AA degree in May of this year so I could transfer from my local community college to a University. And I had trouble deciding on what my major was going to be for my Bachelor’s and I finally decided that I wanted to get into IT. I have always had a fascination for computers since I was a kid and I believe this is something I definitely want to do. I am so excited to start this journey!!
Comment by Stock-Philosophy8675 at 12/09/2022 at 02:08 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Hey guys. I'm 32 and decided I need a career change. I'm about to complete my cs degree.. atm I'm doing electronic repair, phones consoles and laptops. However. Databases have interested me quite a bit! Anyone have any tips as to how to get into the database field?
Comment by Vc0nn423 at 21/09/2022 at 05:13 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Anyone get into the field in their late thirties? I received 2 associates from communities college back in 2004 and worked as a low wage basic IT consultant back when I worked at a car dealership. I was in the position for a few months then let go because they didn’t need my help anymore. Been thinking about getting out of my dead end supervisor job at a car parts manufacture plant but I’m pretty broke and scared of change. Also I have no certs and think my degrees are worthless now. I’ve only played around with computer hardware since school other than my short stint in a small IT department.
Comment by A_clean_sheet at 25/09/2022 at 13:20 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This thread is old but here’s my situation anyway. I have studied IT since my grade 9 I’m currently in 1st semester of bachelor of IT. I’m not a complete novice in this field but I only know like the most basic surface level of things in IT I have read many things during this time like HTML,Java, PHP,SQL, C,C++,networking and hardware. I know the most basic terms and what they are but the thing is I don’t know anything in detail to actually say I’m good at this sure I can do some basic level things like writing a html code or c ,c++ codes but the thing is I don’t know in depth about any thing like a jack of all trades master of none. My bachelor studies isn’t helping either it’s like we’ll scratch basic detail and you bear the burden of finding the rest of the topic and finding the material to that topic and studying it because we will ask that in exam. I don’t even know which direction to go to now because of this issue. I have been into computers since childhood so there’s that and like solving problems if it’s any help. Is there any guidance for me like where to start and figure out this mess. I love computers and I want a career in IT but don’t know how to even get started to be able to actually do that. Sorry if somethings off I’m on mobile.
Comment by DejarikChampion at 03/12/2022 at 04:01 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Teachers looking for a career change into IT can become end user experience instructors which can lead to Analyst, PM, or Management
Comment by KindPerception9802 at 14/04/2022 at 04:47 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Hi, I hope you see this comment, can i skip compia a+ as is it for hardware only? I really wanna dwell on programming or cybersec. Not really on actual computer problem.
Comment by ThemPandasBeLieing at 02/06/2022 at 01:38 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
To see if anybody has some input for me I guess, getting extremely discouraged. So I’m a few class away from my Associates degree in Information technology security. I have my A+ and my Sec+ certification. I am currently trying to learn Java currently. But I’ve applied to anywhere from 100-200 and I’ve only had 3 interviews. I usually don’t hear anything back. I feel like my resume is decent and I’ve heard a lot of people say the Atlanta Market is hot, but idk what else to do at this point. I’ll almost take anything to get some experiences.
Comment by [deleted] at 29/06/2022 at 21:56 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thanks this is exactly what I was looking for. Just changed from building to IT (always into hardware tech and that) and I've been catapulted in with a company that doesn't do IT but want me to learn how to integrate cloud systems for clients
Comment by Grabacr6464 at 19/07/2022 at 02:55 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm looking to getting into IT/Networking cuz im tired of my retail job ik currently at. Been here for 7 years and I just want to do something I like which is computers. I'm currently taking classes at a community college for my associates degree although I can really only do part time school because full-time is not really an option for me because of lack of time. Any advice on what i should do on top of my associates I'm going for?
Comment by Megalunchbox at 19/07/2022 at 19:11 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
One thing you can do is join the army national guard. I unknowingly set myself up for a good career. A secret clearance, training, paid for certifications, and an easy to land job. You can be making $25 an hour within 6 months. The MOS I chose is 25B.