first off, i have no skills or experience and am asking for some first couple of steps advice. i know a lot of guys here do this stuff for a living so i figure this would be the best place to ask im looking to get into it or a career and am wondering what the best path is in terms of education. i currently have a general studies AA and have done nothing with it lol. there are a lot of options out there. i have seen some certification programs that may be meaningless, associate degrees and then getting a bachelor's...which is likely just an equivalent to the associate's degree and with me already having an AA it seems that 2 associates would equal one bachelor's in the eye of an employer, but i dont know. it seems that there are two paths, either the IT direction or working with software. i dont really have a preference because i dont know the advantages, disadvantages and difficulties with either path i have heard that experience is key, but its the old catch 22 of how to get experience if i dont have any skills so whats the best way to get going on this? thanks in advance for the help
what do you want to do first off? fix them? deal them? compTIA has certifications you can get that will help you get a job from what I understand.
The military is a great way to get experience and training. Something to consider. And don't worry, I'm not a recruiter or anything. I'm actually leaving active duty in four months.
never thought of dealing them lol. i guess i assumed that you would start with learning how to fix them and then get paid for that i dont really know how the industry works
After playing around with computers for about 7 years I realized I wouldn't mind doing tech stuff for a living. I went to school and got my Associate Degree and attended the Cisco Networking Academy (need to get CCNA). I finished school last May and just got hired in the Advanced Tech Support department at a local Co-Op phone company and ISP provider. I am loving it thus far.
what was the Associate degree in exactly and were there certifications built in to completing it? because i have heard a lot about getting certain certifications
Honest, albeit crushing, piece of advice: If you really got no skills or experience, pursue some other career. There's quite literally a zillion people out there who have been doing this stuff since they were old enough to talk Dad into buying them a computer. You won't catch up with them. Heck, I've been doing it for the last ten years and I'm hopelessly outdated already.
The degree is in Computer Technology(networking focus). No certs if you don't want them. The degree stands alone but getting certs on the side helps. You usually get big discounts on cert test if you are in school also. Here are a few: A+ Networking+ All the MSCE stuff Novell CCNA, CCNP, and CCNA There are tons of them.
if we all followed the "i don't have any experience or skills" thing we'd never get anywhere. how else are you supposed to start but right now? you can find more info on compTIA and their certificates (A+, Networking+, Linux+, Security, etc) here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompTIA http://www.comptia.org/ I've studied bits of the A+ book (I've got one). It teaches you all the basics of computers. What's an IDE cable, a hard drive, ram, etc. all.
I wouldn't say that. If it is a hobby and a passion, you can get it done. May take some time but if it really what you want to do, then don't anyone stop you.
I've been working in the industry for over ten years now; if he doesn't have any experience with computers, his chances of finding a job are slim at best.
well im mean im not an 80 year woman who doesnt know what the internet is lol. i know my way around my PC, pretty much built myself by putting all the hardware together. id say my base level for a regular guy is pretty good thats also why i want to get an education in it. i cant say i have an expertise in any other professional field that requires some education either. i appreciate you advice. i just dont know how to take it if you know what i mean.
He was asking how to get started. Of course you're not going to jump right in with no experience. He can start by going to school and picking up stuff on his own by just digging in and working with computer equipment.
As the previous posters said, getting your certifications will help you get into the door. Now, which certifications? There are a lot of them out there and you can spend a lot of money getting the certs, which, without experience, aren't going to get you very far. That said, the degree and certs may get you in the door into an entry level position. Again, which area? If you like networking and want to focus on building networks, Cisco's series of CCNA, CCNP, all the way up to the very expensive CCIE certification are a track to look at. If you want to be a system administrator (i.e. maintain servers and such) you'll need the MSCE series and may also need some UNIX certification (Solaris (SCSA) is just one example). On top of either of those (or as part of the series), you'll need to look at Security issues. The Security+ certification isn't easily earned, but it can be done with a lot of studying. This can get you started towards a more Information Security oriented career (think firewalls, corporate security policy, vulnerability assessments, and the like). You can also focus just on security, but need the background in all that other stuff to be successful. Especially if you want to strive for the almighty CISSP certification. If you fancy web stuff, there are HTML certs, java, pearl, C++ programming, graphics design, and so forth along with the system admin and security stuff above. It's actually a VERY broad field of study and you can focus on a specific area once you figure out what you like. Of course, most employers like someone who is skilled across the board because they are cheap 'tards and want to minimize the number of IT folks they hire because we are fairly expensive. Oh, I haven't even really touched on programming. This takes a bit more work and you'll defiinitely need a Computer Science degree here with lots of programming work. The few programmers I've known find the work very boring and tiresome, especially at the entry level where your job may be to literally, review millions of lines of code for errors. Ofc ourse, some folks like that sort of thing. If you don't already have your own home network (i.e. a couple PCs and a router), I would suggest you start there. Find a few old cheap PCs and try setting up your own internal network at home--router, switch, file server, maybe a web and mail server. You should be able to do it on the cheap with some free UNIX downloads. If you find you actually like doing this and can spends hours without sleep tinkering with your set up and don't get tired of it, then perhaps an IT job is for you. If it wears you out, you may want to find something else. Why, do you ask? Because technology is always moving forward and most of your certifications will expire every 3 years or so, meaning that you have to retake the tests and such. It's a lifestyle commitment. As for finding work doing it, there are lots of entry level jobs out there, especially in the DC area. Of course, you're competing against college grads with Computer Science Degrees and such looking for work so it may be difficult at first. As someone who's helped out with interviewing for my company, I can definitely say it doesn't help your cause if I ask you a few basic questions and you don't know things like "CAT 5 cable," types of fiber optic connectors," "DNS," etc, etc. Sorry for rambling for so long, but IT is a big industry. We've got room for a lot of folks, but every customer I know hates the IT guy who doesn't know his *** from a hole in the ground--especially customers who think they already know it all. And yes, the military is a good place to get an IT education. It's where I got mine and it costs less (they pay you!!!). FYI...I am retired AF and now a government contractor working in IT.
Just to comment I don't think compTIA certs expire but they are outdated very quick as are most things computer related. I know programmers as well and it really takes a special breed of person to do that as a job.
steal a sh!tload of them and them sell them out the back of a van on the side of the street in an urban area. Thats how I got started!
Correct. The compTIA certs don't expire, but the Microsoft and Cisco ones certainly do and the CISSP requires 120 hours of coursework/experience every 3 years to maintain the certification and those are the important certs for the higher level jobs. The compTIA certs are a good starting point. I believe the Solaris SCSA certification is a one-time deal as well. One note on the compTIA certs. It's important that the study material you use for the test is CURRENT. I just went through getting my Security+ and the instructor who taught our class had outdated material which contributed (I won't say caused) to only 3 of 20 students passing the test the day after the class ended. The tests are updated regularly and buying that 1980's book isn't going to help you pass the 2008 or 2009 version of the test. Books from the previous test will get you the basics, but they will always miss the newest questions that have been added to the tests. Oh, lastly, when you study for the certs, study to learn the material, not just pass the test. It will actually help you on other tests.
i think i might wanna do the samething. is there trade schools i could goto where i dont have to have some magical high school gpa to get in?
start with compTIA. I've posted a link on this thread somewhere A+ is a good place to start. Network+, Security+
I think you about covered it right there. I know I have gotten only 2 or 3 hours of sleep some nights from trying to get something to work.
certifications if you don't want to go back to school. To fix computers just doing it is the best way to learn. Thats how I learned........
i agree w/lucky. find an old comp and just take it apart.. that's how i learned how to install a hard drive and what the cables were.. read up on it too that helps. get involved somewhere. i'm part of a linux distro (minutely) and it helps listening to those guys talk.
also choose a field. there are plenty, security, networking, database, programming, repair, it, etc....then google the certs for that area. you can often find hiearchies of what is easy vs the harder stuff.
There are classes available from many sources to help with certifications (i.e. CCNA Boot Camps and so forth). They are rather expensive and I would recommend holding off on attending one until you've got some basics under your belt and are comfrtable with the material. I'd hate for you to spend $2500 on a two-week class, another $150 for the exam, and then not pass it. The CISSP test is $500 a shot. Oh...there are also deals to be found on the cert tests. Look around as some cert tests vouchers can be bought at a deeply discounted rate. These are usually vouchers that are about to expire. If you know when you plan to take the test, this can save you some money if you time the voucher purchase right.
if you go with computer science, you better like programming. my programming teachers thinks its funny to throw enourmous curveballs at us on exams. Nothing more fun than solving a computer problem that youve never seen before, without the aid of a computer. Hand written programming tests are the dumbest thing ive ever encountered in my eductation.
Depending on which state you leave in, you may find a cheaper way. For instance, here in SC there is lottery assistance that pays 80% of tuition for 2 year tech schools. Our computer program offered the Cisco Networking Academy which is a boot camp spread out over 2 semesters. It was 4 different classes and made it easier to digest the information.
Loops, ifs, ands, thens, encapsulate.........arggghhh. See what you have done Gish? My head hurts from just thinking about it. I hate programming with a passion. I had to take a couple of classes and found quickly I would be taking the networking path.
For Next, Case statements, While WEND Variables, Functions Real numbers, Integers, Random Number Generators, Binary Trees Top-Down Program Design Pseudocode!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
