# Tips on how to get started in the IT field



## PinoyIT

How did you guys get started in the IT field?

I've been having a hard time trying to find an IT job as everyone wants someone who has professional experience.

I have an Associates in Cybersecurity. I also have an A+, Security+, and CCNA certificate. But, none of that seems to matter without professional experience in the IT world. I've applied for positions from help desk to network admins but haven't had much luck.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. How am I suppose to get experience when I can't get a job?


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## joeten

Hi and welcome to TSF many people do some volunteer work local church groups,local charity groups etc,and forums can be usefull to it shows a track record of some sort


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## Ninjaboi

Hi PinoyIT.

I know what you mean, how can you get experience for a job if you can't get a job for experience right? We'll, you could work in an internship, try local charity groups, even things like going around your friends and family and helping them as so they will spread the word of what you can do. By 'professional', they really mean 'in-field'. You can be book smart, but unless you can apply what you know, your useless in the IT world. Getting certifications and degrees are great to show that you know the stuff, but they still have to be sure you can apply the things in real-life situations.


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## PinoyIT

Most internships and volunteer opportunities here are for programmers. I applied at this one non profit organization looking for a pc tech volunteer but haven't heard back from them yet.

Has anyone heard of offering to work for a company for free for a couple of weeks so they can evaluate you? Is that even possible?


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## Ninjaboi

I'm sure that's been done, not sure what the term is when you do that though.

I'm guessing your not interested in becoming a programmer eh?


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## Laxer

I would find a local computer business and ask to intern/ job shadow the administrator.

It's a great way to get your name into there heads.


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## epshatto

How long ago did you have your degree? When I did my A+ class, our teacher was a CEO of a local computer company and he offered on the job training to anyone who was interested. I wasn't able to do that at the time, and I'm hoping I can when I complete my Network+ later this year.

Bottom line is someone at your school, a teacher, might be able to offer you OJT. Maybe that would help.

I know what you mean. I am about to complete my A+ and I haven't heard anything positive either, because everything I've been told is that they want experience, and I'm trying to break into the field as well.


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## PinoyIT

I didn't take an A+ class. I figured I need an A+ in order to get into an entry-level job so I started reading Mike Meyer's book 2 weeks ago. Took me about 5 days to go through the book but I didn't read the Historical/Conceptual and Beyond A+ parts.

I've inquired with my professors but since they all work government jobs, having someone with no clearance tag along isn't really an option.

I got a couple of leads today. Hopefully I can get a job with one of them.

Good luck with the A+. If you have sales experience, then it shouldn't be too hard to find a help desk job. It seems like they care more about customer service experience than a technical certificate. Having both would pretty much guarantee you a help desk job.


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## SportsITjunkie

Pinoy, where are you located?


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## PinoyIT

I'm in MD. Why?

I landed a part-time field tech job tonight. It's only 5-10 hours though but it's better than nothing. I got my first service call tomorrow.


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## joeten

Congratulations any time is good


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## SportsITjunkie

Just comparing locations. I know alot of people in some areas that have a real hard time getting there foot in the door. I'm in NYC and there are many opportunities


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## PinoyIT

Client wasn't home, and I'm out a few dollars for gas and tolls. =(

Where in NYC? I used to live in the Bronx.


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## PinoyIT

Woohoo!!! I finally landed a full time job. I'll be assisting the Network Engineer with designing and building a network from scratch. There was another offer for help desk support with slightly better pay but I chose this since I'll be learning a lot more from building a network than resetting people's passwords.


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## ao3lane

Congrats and good luck!


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## joeten

Well done indeed hope you enjoy the learning curve goodluck


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## PinoyIT

Thanks!

I started working on my CCNP as well, watching the CBT Nuggets for ROUTE 642-902. Hopefully I'll have my CCNP before I attend a university in the fall.


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## SamLea72

Great job! Only one more piece of advice that I can offer: network. talk to everyone you can. meet everyone you can. talk to people while youre out about what you do and bring personal business cards everywhere because you never know who you will run into. this alone has done more for my career than just about anything else.


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## greenbrucelee

PinoyIT said:


> Thanks!
> 
> I started working on my CCNP as well, watching the CBT Nuggets for ROUTE 642-902. Hopefully I'll have my CCNP before I attend a university in the fall.


First of all can I suggest that you not do the CCNP. Having the CCNA could be a reason why you found it hard to get a job. Certifications like the CCNA and most definetly the CCNP are designed to backup your experience as a network support engineer who looks after CISCO kit. Having high level certifications without the required experience level can be worse than having no certifications at all.


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## Crashburn

PinoyIT said:


> Woohoo!!! I finally landed a full time job. I'll be assisting the Network Engineer with designing and building a network from scratch. There was another offer for help desk support with slightly better pay but I chose this since I'll be learning a lot more from building a network than resetting people's passwords.


 
Hey, that's fantastic! How I long to be in your shoes! I have my qualifications but no job! It seems no employer is willing to give you a chance if you don't have experience.


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## greenbrucelee

Crashburn said:


> Hey, that's fantastic! How I long to be in your shoes! I have my qualifications but no job! It seems no employer is willing to give you a chance if you don't have experience.


thats right but its better to have the right qualifications/certifications too. Like I said above someone with CCNA/MCSA or MCSE and no experience will have a harder time getting a job than someone who has entry level certifications because having the high level certs means you don't need any training and IT managers will expect you to hit the ground running and know what to do.

Whereas somone with entry level certs will be trained up and shown the ropes.

I have seen so many people with high level certs and no experience find it hard to get a job as soon as they took the high level certs of their cv/resume and kept the entry level certs on they were hired.


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## PinoyIT

greenbrucelee said:


> First of all can I suggest that you not do the CCNP. Having the CCNA could be a reason why you found it hard to get a job. Certifications like the CCNA and most definetly the CCNP are designed to backup your experience as a network support engineer who looks after CISCO kit. Having high level certifications without the required experience level can be worse than having no certifications at all.


I don't think having high level certifications hurts your chances in getting an entry level job but don't expect it to help. The recruiters that called me for help desk positions couldn't care less about the CCNA. They wanted either an A+ or Microsoft cert. BUT, I think I got picked for the job that I have now because of my CCNA. The engineer that interviewed me is a big cisco fan and plan on implementing a lot of cisco devices. I got lucky though so I would suggest to everyone else like me without experience to get the A+ first before anything else.

I was going to do microsoft certifications but I don't want to be a systems admin. I want to be a network engineer so the CCNP route seems like the right way to go. When I graduate in a few years, I'll have several years of experience, a BS in Information Technology, an AAS in Cybersecurity, a CCNP and hopefully a CCDP as well. It should be a bit easier finding a job by then.


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## PinoyIT

Crashburn said:


> Hey, that's fantastic! How I long to be in your shoes! I have my qualifications but no job! It seems no employer is willing to give you a chance if you don't have experience.


Keep at it. Took me close to 4 months to get a full time job. It does seem like no one wants you if you don't have experience. I had an interview for junior noc administrator and they were impressed by how well I did on the tests. They gave me several tests where they said the average was in the 50s and they wanted someone that would score in the 60s. I scored in the high 80s. Yet, I get "We are impressed by how much you know, but we decided to go with someone that has more experience." :upset::upset::upset:

My advice would be to get the A+ if you don't already have it and look for part time field tech jobs. That was the first one I got. I had a phone interview and was hired the same day. Phone interviews always include tests though so make sure you know your stuff. Good luck!


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## greenbrucelee

PinoyIT said:


> I don't think having high level certifications hurts your chances in getting an entry level job but don't expect it to help. The recruiters that called me for help desk positions couldn't care less about the CCNA. They wanted either an A+ or Microsoft cert. BUT, I think I got picked for the job that I have now because of my CCNA. The engineer that interviewed me is a big cisco fan and plan on implementing a lot of cisco devices. I got lucky though so I would suggest to everyone else like me without experience to get the A+ first before anything else.
> 
> I was going to do microsoft certifications but I don't want to be a systems admin. I want to be a network engineer so the CCNP route seems like the right way to go. When I graduate in a few years, I'll have several years of experience, a BS in Information Technology, an AAS in Cybersecurity, a CCNP and hopefully a CCDP as well. It should be a bit easier finding a job by then.


You don't have to take my advice but like I said recruitment agencies generally know nothing but IT managers do. No network manager in their right mind will hire someone to look after their network with no experience regardless of how qualified you are.

Generally to get into networking you have to progress into it and that means starting at the bottom and the same goes for certifications.


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## PinoyIT

You're advice is great and you're right about network managers not letting someone inexperienced look after their network. One mistake and the whole network could go down. But for my situation, the CCNA helped. It took a while before I could get a job but I'm able to get one where I could actually mess around with cisco equipments. I should be able to get several years of experience through them since it's not a contract position, and I actually got a raise even though I haven't even started working yet. It was weird they offered me a certain amount and I said that's fine. Then they had me do a drug test. They called me again after they got the results and offered me a higher salary. Don't know why but hey I'm not complaining. LOL.


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## greenbrucelee

thats cool, just dont mention it incase its a mistake


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## Justin79

Dont listen to ppl that say certs like a CCNA wont get you a job. If anything Thats the reason you got the job because you have no experiance. ppl say these things because i have no clue. the more you learn the more you learn so yes certs are always gunna help you find a job as well as do better at your job when you find one. Great job goodluck! if you drop the ball just pic it back up. Good choice too btw experiance over te pay.


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## greenbrucelee

Justin79 said:


> Dont listen to ppl that say certs like a CCNA wont get you a job. If anything Thats the reason you got the job because you have no experiance. ppl say these things because i have no clue. the more you learn the more you learn so yes certs are always gunna help you find a job as well as do better at your job when you find one. Great job goodluck! if you drop the ball just pic it back up. Good choice too btw experiance over te pay.


I didn't say that I said generally people with high level IT certs and no experience will find it hard to get a job because high level certs are designed to show your experience level.

I know too many people who have had to hide the fact they are CCNA certified or MCSE certified on their CV/resume to get a job because when they have applied with it previously on their cv/resume has been discarded because of the no experience part. We do it at out company too.

If I want someone to work with me on the network I want them to be experienced it doesn't matter to me if they have all the qualifications/certifications in the world if they have no experience I am not going to trust them.

Now it would be different if that person was going for a trainee position where they had to ghost the technicians for 6 months or so before even getting anywhere near a switch or a VLAN then higher level certs may be accepted on their application but generally I would want someone on my team to have experience from the bottom and have worked their way up and gotten certified at each level appropriatley.

I have met and worked with too many people who have high level certs with no experience who don't really have a clue about what they are doing. Some people are good at passing exams but suck when it comes to real world stuff and there are people who are crap at passing exams and good at the real world stuff. This is why employers dont like to see people with no experience and high level certs because it makes choosing the right person for the job very difficult and it costs firms lots of money and time to have to keep re-advertising for new techs and getting rid of techs that are useless.

The OP got a job with his CCNA which is very cool but he is an exception rather than the rule. Not many people do that.


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## PinoyIT

I'd have to agree with greenbrucelee. A CCNA without experience is pretty useless in getting entry level jobs like helpdesks and field techs. I thought I didn't need the A+ since I have an associates degree, a ccna, and security+. But, every entry level job wanted an A+, and after a while I eventually gave in. Once I got my A+ I got several calls and got my first break with a part time field tech job.

I had my first day of work today. Very busy day. I came in at 8 and didn't have a break until 3:30. I enjoyed it though and the day went by pretty quick. Didn't mess with the cisco devices yet but worked on some computers and added some rules on the firewall of a remote site.


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## Justin79

I understand yeah it is the right way to get certs sorry i just thought you ment some one with an associates in networking an A+ and CCNA with no experiance will never get a job. I understand no one in there right mind will hire them to admin a network on thier own but they sure can get a level 1-2 network support or junior admin job. Sorry my appologies i miss understood u bruce.


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## greenbrucelee

PinoyIT said:


> I'd have to agree with greenbrucelee. A CCNA without experience is pretty useless in getting entry level jobs like helpdesks and field techs. I thought I didn't need the A+ since I have an associates degree, a ccna, and security+. But, every entry level job wanted an A+, and after a while I eventually gave in. Once I got my A+ I got several calls and got my first break with a part time field tech job.
> 
> I had my first day of work today. Very busy day. I came in at 8 and didn't have a break until 3:30. I enjoyed it though and the day went by pretty quick. Didn't mess with the cisco devices yet but worked on some computers and added some rules on the firewall of a remote site.


Sounds cool, well done.



Justin79 said:


> I understand yeah it is the right way to get certs sorry i just thought you ment some one with an associates in networking an A+ and CCNA with no experiance will never get a job. I understand no one in there right mind will hire them to admin a network on thier own but they sure can get a level 1-2 network support or junior admin job. Sorry my appologies i miss understood u bruce.


No probs


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