Question about the IT world.

S

SuperCell

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 24, 2005
Messages
314
Sorry if this question is outside the scope of this forum, I hope it isn't.

I need a better job, as I currently work as an auto mechanic and it's too labor intensive for pay that's only slightly higher than greeting doors at Walmart.

I want to get my CompTIA A+ certification, but will that alone open up any doors without a degree or experience in IT?

Would I be better off attempting to start a small business repairing PCs and setting up wirless networks?

Shoot me down, that's why I asked ;)
 
What sort of IT are you interested in? Networking, Security, Programming, Sysadmin, Helpdesk, etc. do you have any experience in any of these fields? I'd say look at an entry level position like Helpdesk and see what the requirements are and go from. Healthcare is a great field to get into.
 
A+ is pretty basic, although I've seen it listed as a requirement for a few entry level help desk jobs. The fact that you have an account on this forum likely means you could correctly answer a lot of the questions (I got A+ certified in high school in 2004, took the test again in 2011 and it's gotten MUCH easier).

As stated above, take a look at the job boards for your area (careerbuilder and dice are popular around here), and see what positions and qualifications employers are looking for. Keep in mind that simply fixing desktops or resolving peoples PEBKAC issues falls into the same 'working a lot for not much pay' stigma.
 
If all you're looking for is more money and less work then IT is not the career for you.

Unless computers and technology are really your passion then coming into this field is not the right choice. Too many people try to enter into IT looking for greener pastures from their previous career path only to find it just as mundane and uninspiring as their last job because they don't live and breath technology.

Follow your passion, not your wallet.
 
A+ can help you get an entry level position if you lack college or experience. As would probably be expected, different hiring managers will view the certification with their own filter and preconceived opinions. The entry level positions the A+ can help you with tend to be break/fix shops (Geek Squad) or entry level help desk positions. The A+ can show you have some foundation to work on off of if you lack experience in these fields. Entry level help desk positions tend to hire largely on personality over ability, but if they are looking at two people they find equal without experience and one has an A+ and the other doesn't it would definitely be an advantage to have the certification.

I personally find the Microsoft desktop support certifications/exams to be more real world. The A+ doesn't really get into the common usage & office environment scenarios. It also won't really touch on the AD/GPO environments. It's fine if you want to be a hardware break/fix troubleshooter, but there really aren't many career opportunities in that. Therefore it's only real purpose is to help you get that first job and from there you'll want to expand your skillsets and rely on future education and experience for your next job.

Whether you find it useful to spend the time and money on the study materials and exam is really up to you. If you decide to go down the A+ road I would recommend buying a book off Amazon (possibly used if possible) and study it while going on job interviews. If you get a job prior to completing the A+ I would skip it entirely and move towards advancing other skills you have an interest in (servers -> virtualization, storage, cloud; networking -> security, voice, cameras, switching & routing, etc). If you feel bored, overworked and underpaid at your current job an entry level help desk position won't fix that problem... it will give you a change of pace but it will be up to you to advance your skills to keep your career moving and somewhat enjoyable. However, this takes a lot of time and work. You'll have to live and breathe technology to advance your career and will find you'll likely be spending more time working/advancing your skillsets than you are now at your current job in hopes of a future payoff that may or may not come.
 
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sheesh721 said:
. It's fine if you want to be a hardware break/fix troubleshooter, but there really aren't many career opportunities in that.
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I just got put in for a few nationwide rollouts for this stuff.

To say its not a career is depending upon your desire to push to be better.

They're paying me $40-65/hr for one and $24-48/hr for the other.

Granted, those wages are not for 40 hour work week, but its definitely common place in the open market.

If you have wiring skills, you can earn some nice dough $70-100/hr + materials easily.
 
Honestly I'd start with CCNA. You can break it up into two different exams and the first one is a basically equal to Network+. But like it was said before if you don't have a passion for it, you're in the wrong business.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
If all you're looking for is more money and less work then IT is not the career for you.

Unless computers and technology are really your passion then coming into this field is not the right choice. Too many people try to enter into IT looking for greener pastures from their previous career path only to find it just as mundane and uninspiring as their last job because they don't live and breath technology.

Follow your passion, not your wallet.
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+1 to this.

The number of people I've encountered in my career that have entered the IT field for the wrong reasons is rather depressing. Everything from just wanting to earn more money, to thinking it's all sitting at a desk pretending to work while playing video games, to those who think telecommuting is the bomb and would allow them to do whatever they want and still get paid.

I'm a big believer in following your passion and making a career out of that. Don't care if it is baking, floral arrangements, computers, car repair, etc. If you love what you do, opportunities will come your way. If you're always just striving for the next dollar... you'll always be chasing your tail.

Anyways... off my soapbox... if you really enjoy computers/technology and want to get into the desktop field, in my opinion the Microsoft certifications are more important than A+. Also be prepared for your first job to be entry-level tech support or field repair at most, both of which don't pay all that well, require you to deal with a lot of interesting and stubborn customers, etc. You are most likely going to be living in "cubical world" for at least the first couple years with managers watching over your shoulder to answer and resolve phone calls as quickly as possible. Think telemarketing only with a requirement of resolving the issues and everyone that calls is having a life critical issue, at least in their minds.
 
IT is the one of the few careers I know where no degree is required and anyone can enter.

Is there a reason you would prefer doing maintenance work IT stuff instead of being a programmer? I think trying to become a programmer is easier since there are more opportunities to gain experience on your own before looking for work. And plus these days being a fast programmer is more important than being a clever/ good one.
 
stiltner said:
I just got put in for a few nationwide rollouts for this stuff.

To say its not a career is depending upon your desire to push to be better.

They're paying me $40-65/hr for one and $24-48/hr for the other.

Granted, those wages are not for 40 hour work week, but its definitely common place in the open market.

If you have wiring skills, you can earn some nice dough $70-100/hr + materials easily.
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There will always be cyclical or 1099 availability for computer grunt work, but pay fluctuates as does the availability of work. Most people don't make a career out of rolling out desktops. And I would argue an A+ isn't really required for most of those positions.
 
If you're looking for earning potential - Stay with being a gearhead, but get in to Heavy Duty mechanic work. 2 year apprenticeship, and you can easily get in mid 100k range if you're HD5 or higher. It's an industry with a massive need for qualified technicians. A friend of mine gets flown to Europe and South America 6 times a year to try to recruit HD Mechanics to a North American company - it's worth it for them to spend half a million annually on international recruiting and a $50k+ relocation bonus.

IF you're looking for easy money, stay out of IT. If you're looking to eat once in a while and maybe have a home, do NOT start your own "IT business", especially if you have 0 experience.
 
Cheetoz said:
IT is the one of the few careers I know where no degree is required and anyone can enter.
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I wouldn't say that. First, you are to competeing with other people who are also trying to get a job in the field many of which have a degree; even if IT is in demand at the time, you will be pushed to the back of the line by those who are certified. Second, nobody can just enter any field. You need experience and knowledge of the field as well as interest. If an employer sees that you don't have these qualities in an interview, they'll shoot you down in an instant.
 
you can make just as much money in either field... it's just a "grass is always greener" situation really... entry level people make entry level wages, that's just how it goes... even with tons of certs and no experience you are still entry level because you lack experience (not necessarily knowledge)

Sitting at home building VMs and playing with GNS3 is a lot different than working on live equipment in real datacenters and having to troubleshoot some sev 1 issue at 10am on a Sunday while on a conference call with 25 people who all think they are the smartest person in the world while the CIO is on the golf course screaming "JUST F#KING GET THE NETWORK UP NOW!!!" into his cell phone because the outage is literally costing the company millions of dollars.

I spend 7 days a week 12 hours a day working/studying/reading/learning in front of a computer... not sure I call that easy... tedious mentally exhausting work is just as hard as physically exhausting work
 
Innocence said:
If you're looking for earning potential - Stay with being a gearhead, but get in to Heavy Duty mechanic work. 2 year apprenticeship, and you can easily get in mid 100k range if you're HD5 or higher. It's an industry with a massive need for qualified technicians. A friend of mine gets flown to Europe and South America 6 times a year to try to recruit HD Mechanics to a North American company - it's worth it for them to spend half a million annually on international recruiting and a $50k+ relocation bonus.

IF you're looking for easy money, stay out of IT. If you're looking to eat once in a while and maybe have a home, do NOT start your own "IT business", especially if you have 0 experience.
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This x100.

Seriously OP, if you are 30+ looking at doing this, you are WAY behind the curve and guys with degrees and 2-3 years in will get the job that doesn't suck every time over you. You will grind your face off for 10 years and barely get anywhere if this isn't your passion, and it is NOT easy money 90% of the time.

Honestly the last thing this industry needs is more unskilled, unpassionate hack-retreads. Not that changing careers is bad, and more power to you, but almost ALL the IT retreads I have come across are grass is greener, whiny hacks that have not the passion or dedication to work the job properly. I work with 4 of them now. Worthless 10-15 year "vet-retreads" that cannot install windows, scared of a command line, don't know basic TCP/IP, refuse to work the extra hours and put in the extra effort to make it purr, cannot manage a server and cannot setup a switch to save their life. Worthless. There are too many of them and they REALLY make life hard.... BUT they keep me very much employed fixing their messes.

Food for thought from a 12 year Sysdamin/Network Engineer. I bet my thoughts echo with people here that have double my experience. Good IT people are NOT dime a dozen, shitty ones are.
 
pug said:
Honestly I'd start with CCNA. You can break it up into two different exams and the first one is a basically equal to Network+. But like it was said before if you don't have a passion for it, you're in the wrong business.
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Troll??

You have to be kidding me. Start out with CCNA??? I have my CCNA and there is no way i could have completed it and passed with no other schooling or exp. ICND1 (CCENT) is not the same at Network, please! They only share maybe 50% of the same information.
 
TSaL said:
Troll??

You have to be kidding me. Start out with CCNA??? I have my CCNA and there is no way i could have completed it and passed with no other schooling or exp. ICND1 (CCENT) is not the same at Network, please! They only share maybe 50% of the same information.
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Nope, not a troll. CCNA was my first. It came pretty easy to me with time, I guess it wasn't the same experience for you.
 
IT is a great field to be in if you are good at what you do. In my experience, it is very, very difficult to find good IT staff. The overwhelming majority of people in this field are merely mediocre (at best).

The skill set is also very mobile. You can go virtually anywhere in the country and get a job. Skills and experience actually matter. Who-you-know definitely helps but it's not as vital like in other fields. Being able to talk intelligently about the field will get you in the door.

The people who complain the most are the ones who put in the least effort. Get your certs and fight to be on good projects and you'll be way ahead of the game.

Go for your Microsoft certs first. CompTia stuff has little value in my opinion. Network+ is probably the most valuable out of all the CompTia stuff.
 
zero1945 said:
*snip*
Go for your Microsoft certs first. CompTia stuff has little value in my opinion. Network+ is probably the most valuable out of all the CompTia stuff.
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....and this is the minefield of certs.

In my experience, MS Certs are generally about as useless as A+. MS cert exams are also put together in a way that they can easily be "crammed" or passed by otherwise completely incompetent folks with minimal prep.

But it's all a crapshoot - and highly depends on who's hiring (whether it's a HR checklist drone, or a knowledgeable IT manager who knows what questions to ask)
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
If all you're looking for is more money and less work then IT is not the career for you.

Unless computers and technology are really your passion then coming into this field is not the right choice. Too many people try to enter into IT looking for greener pastures from their previous career path only to find it just as mundane and uninspiring as their last job because they don't live and breath technology.

Follow your passion, not your wallet.
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Well said.
 
IF you're looking for easy money, stay out of IT. If you're looking to eat once in a while and maybe have a home, do NOT start your own "IT business", especially if you have 0 experience.
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So much truth to these quotes in this thread...
 
awesomo said:
Nope, not a troll. CCNA was my first. It came pretty easy to me with time, I guess it wasn't the same experience for you.
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Nor with me. It is leagues beyond the Network+. For a newbie with very little computer/network skills, it's just harsh. Yes, it can be done, but you're not getting much of a foundation.

I'd go with the previous poster and hit the Net+ if you want networking.

But, A+/Net+ and maybe Sec+ would be a great start for entry level positions. Some require them, others laugh at them, but they do get your foot in the door to get started in the industry. Just make sure that's what you love. Sometimes, money is crap, other times it's great. At the end of the day, though, I leave knowing something new and had a good time. If you don't enjoy it, you'll burn out. It can get stressful, boring, chaotic, busy, and relaxing..... All in the same day...
 
awesomo said:
Nope, not a troll. CCNA was my first. It came pretty easy to me with time, I guess it wasn't the same experience for you.
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Nope not a troll. I guess I'm biased. I've worked a lot in networking over the years and just studied a lot. I work at "said" vendor now and working on CCIE
 
The IT field is no playground... It's like a major city with some tough neighborhoods. You really gotta like this city to live here. There are friendlier places.

I used to work helpdesk... now I'm working part helpdesk and part hardware config. Love this stuff... Loved it since I was a kid. I personally have no other schooling or certs other then a bit of on the job experience. The fact that I come here to help others out with computer problems should tell you how much I like this stuff :D

MCSE, A+, Net+ and Security+ are all good starting blocks for what you may want to do... research it a bit and see exactly what direction interests you the most.
 
"I've been into computers since HS/Jr High, I use a 10. network at home because seriously screw 192.168, and on a Friday night you're far more likely to find me in front of 3+ computer monitors than you are anywhere outside, so when I decided to finally get an official cert I started with CCNA"

is vastly different from

"Hi I'm a mechanic with minimal computer/network/IT background, brb taking CCNA"
 
-Dragon- said:
"I've been into computers since HS/Jr High, I use a 10. network at home because seriously screw 192.168, and on a Friday night you're far more likely to find me in front of 3+ computer monitors than you are anywhere outside, so when I decided to finally get an official cert I started with CCNA"
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LOL thanks for that. Made me feel like an absolute loser and nerd (which I am) haha. But yeah I'd say you're spot on. Thankfully, our college professors that teach all the IT fields preach this day in and day out. Certifications are meaningless as employers aren't idiots and know some people can take a million of them and do great when it comes to testing. But the ability to apply what you learned is an entirely separate thing altogether and if you have a cert with no real experience it will quickly be seen and you'll feel....well like crap.

Now if you start using packet tracer while reading the Cisco CCNA books (doing them all on your own) and maybe build you own mini-home network, flash your router, use settings just to play with them until you feel confident in what you're doing. Hell, even building your own router and doing that. That would be a great place to start a transition while heading down the CCNA route, if that is something you are serious about. Equipment is limited even for us networking nerds unless you're in a college environment. It might be worth looking into taking a class or two at the local college just to get in the lab and play with the actual equipment since it's going to be different than even Packet Tracer (which can be great and dreadful when comparing real equipment).

Good luck to you though. Make sure you love this though. If you learn about VLAN's and don't have your mind blown at the endless possibilities, then I'd say this ain't the field for you.
 
Some people here are pretty cold-hearted. What you need is some exposure to the industry to see if you even enjoy it. IT is huge and there is so much to get caught up in. In fact, we have a guy at my work who does nothing related to IT and was thinking about getting into the field and has zero experience outside of turning a computer on. I offered to let him work with me a couple of hours a week to give him exposure and help him make up his mind. Try and find a place to volunteer, take an internship, or even a college course or two to try and see if it's what you like.
 
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