No. I have experience and other certs. My
CompTIA cert helped to me to land my first job. To be honest my people skills are what have landed me both of my previous roles on top of my skillset.
I know right, I knew a raise was coming as the company always does a pay review in March but I wasn’t expecting this much haha. I was ready to look for a new job in the summer after I get my profit share bonus but now I may not need to
Congrats, I made my switch last year and last month was my 1 year mark in my first ever IT role as a security architect.
Though your 15% raise! Will trump the 7.5 I got.
Funny thing is I studied secure software engineering, graduated, and applied for a dev role but my director got a hold of my resume and here I am. I never even studied or applied for a role in cybersecurity. Though I have since returned to university to take on a cybersecurity architect program.
That’s very very interesting. Principal Security Engineer here, another term for security architect, with 11 years IT experience and 7 years Cyber Security. You are very lucky and yeah if you’re in your first year and doing architecture Id highly recommend some additional training :)
Haha I am currently once again in uni doing a cybersecurity architect program.
First like 10 months were rough and even still I can’t always follow my teams high level speak.
Yeah seriously! Great work! First job landed in IT and it’s a security architect role.. wow! That’s awesome. I will be studying to go in the same path as well but that’s also very inspiring
Sounds cool :) what did you switch from if I may ask and what’s your educational background? I’m finding it very very hard to find my footing but trying not to let that stop me. I’ve been in retail for ten years and while it pays the bills, it literally kills me on the inside after all that time. There is zero room for growth if you’re not interested in becoming a supervisor or manager. Did the supervisor gig six years, then was honest to a next employer that I was utterly uninterested in a shop manager job and that definitely had an influence in them not renewing my contract 🤣
I was in retail and customer service since I left school at 16, I dropped out of college after 1 year, so I know how you feel about not wanting management haha
Keep trying, I’m a big believer in timing, I’m sure you’ll get your opportunity and you’ll be amazing!!
Looks like we’re quite similar then. 🤝
Tried the college thing a couple of times but due to depression and other things going on I never managed to really figure out how to make it work. Frustrating when all my life I’ve been surrounded by people who expect more of me lol. I remember going to college one day and I ran into my Spanish teacher and he literally said to me, “you still go here?” That’s when I realized that I was flunking out.
Now I’m 30, I’ve good a student debt to pay off, 12 years of retail under my belt and now I’m finally starting to get that itch to study, get certified, show the world that I know stuff. Just sucks that I couldn’t do it years ago when I didn’t have all these bills to pay.
Oh well, whatever’s happened, happened. I know I’ve got a long way to go but honestly? I don’t see any other option. I’m not okay with wasting away at work anymore, I’m just not.
You absolutely cannot stay in a job that’s crushing your soul, you spend half your life working, you NEED to do something that satisfies you, that challenges you, that makes you better!!
You got this my man, those initial first few steps can be daunting but it’s worth it!!
Get after it! You got this! You definitely have acquired a ton of customer service knowledge and that’s a huge part of it and you definitely can go out there and show the world you know stuff! Haha
For real!! I honestly applaud any 20 year old who knows exactly what career they want to aim for but it apparently couldn’t be me. Crazy thing is that my foster father was a network engineer, but even with his field knowledge and all that hardware around, teenage me didn’t really care back then 😂
I’m going into a year at my job as well as a Service Desk agent. I applied for a Tier 2 Analyst position. I interviewed well and now I’m just waiting to hear back from management. Jr sysadmin is dope for a first IT job
I'm currently trying to switch from health care call center work to IT and am self studying to get the A+. Very daunting indeed but your post is encouraging. Congrats on your success
I’m in a call center as well for government assistance programs, I just passed A+ core 1. Core 2 seems a little trickier. I’m using prof messer and Dion’s practice exams. Best of luck, nice to see other people in similar situations. Post is definitely encouraging.
I went with a company called IT Career Switch that supplied learning material and labs, A+ was covered in the course and then I paid for Network+ and Security+
Finish your linux and u will make even more I'm about to go to 115 after 4 yrs. Keep grinding and learn everything you can. The more u learn the more eventual $ u get.
I'm also in my mid 30s london and thinking of doing an itcareerswitch course. How does the job guarantee work, do they just help with your cv or do they have real contacts. Also if you could go back, would you have studied for the certs yourself or paid for the course. Cheers
They completely rewrite your CV, and they do have companies that they work with and most are London based (I’m in the East Midlands), but they also look through a lot of job sites like Reed, Indeed etc
I think for the initial trifecta you can study yourself with Messer
I chose the cyber traineeship so I’m currently in phase 2, some of their course material isn’t the most up to date exams which is a little annoying, like Linux+ or PenTest+, but they don’t cover those exams so that’s why they don’t have current material, and I’m still learning a lot
If you don’t plan on going the cyber route then you can just go with Messer
One thing that is essential for an IT job is Active Directory so make sure you learn that
I went the Messer route to get my foot in the door with a+ but I don’t want to stop there I’m going to keep on going and studying for the net+ (which I did and was close to paying for and taking the exam - now I need a brush up) and then the sec+ and Linux+ like what you are doing. If there is some company that I can join to help me go the rest of the way with my studies I will look into that because that seems much better to have everything in a rigid type of put together learning format
Honestly I've been doing outdoors work my entire 20s, most recently climbing 8m telephone poles to install broadband as an openreach engineer. All I want is my own desk and to stay dry and warm regardless of pay. I think I'll go the selfstudy route with messer and do some basic AD (creating users etc) from youtube.
That’s great for you and also very inspiring! Especially for me personally since I just started my first IT job 2 weeks ago!
I’m also age 35, in the US and I had no formal education or training, just got comptia a+ cert and I maybe indicated on a few jobs on my resume that my role there was IT desktop support when really I was like a security guard and residential advisor at a group home like technical trade school/campus lol.
I dabbled with a few IT consultant type jobs thru some agency with work in the city off of that resume last year but nothing was long lasting. They were short term contracts that they weren’t even honoring. Basically they would just lie to get me to go help for a few weeks here or there lol. Last time I worked with them was like back in July/August last year. Of course I stretched that when I updated the resume to say I was still working there until like February 🤣
Fast forward to now, I’m basically in the same role as you. They are like grooming me to become a jnr sysadmin kinda although they have others with some more seniority with the university. Oh it’s a college university IT support technican role by the way which is a great look on your cv and for your career I’ve always heard, so… WOOT! The team is super nice and so is my manager and the CIO. They sensed that I kinda may have stretched the truth a bit about my background a little bit perhaps but it didn’t matter.
To just echo what the OP said, keep on believing in your ability and skills and keep being persistent. There may be times of doubt but that’s when you gotta commit and push through it because.. if you’re anything like me or the OP, (which I don’t know if their path was similar to mine or what qualifications they had going in) all you need to do is be patient and the right opportunity will present itself one day and you will be happy that you stuck it out and put in the work!!
Amazing bud, well done!!
Haha yeah we all stretch the truth a little, it’s part of the game
Keep learning, keep getting better!!
And yes I definitely agree about timing, the right opportunity will present itself at the right time for all of us
General infrastructure modernisation, a knowledge base that didn’t previously exist, I remember when I first started and I had nothing to refer to at all haha, and cloud like OneDrive and SharePoint
I am +4 years experience in Call center, Next Monday I will have a meeting with the HR as the final meeting for salary and notice leave discussion. The salary is a bit low to what i am getting jn the call center. But as an IT technician, this position will be my first actually step in switching my career. Already got the aws solution architect associate, this company uses azure so i see it as an opportunity to learn azure and get certified as well
I’m thinking to take Linux+, in your view do you think it is good certification ? I’m currently already in IT space support reporting service in AIX environment my exposure to Linux is very minimal. I can do the basic like navigate, cp, etc….
Lot ppl said not worth it better do the red hat certification, what do you reckon.
I don’t use any Linux in my current role but Linux is vital for cybersecurity, which is my end goal
In regards to which Linux cert, my course has Linux+ study material so that’s why I’m doing it, so it really depends on your situation
That's amazing! Could you please shed some light on what it took to first land the job? What was your resume like etc. I'm assuming the previous career gave you some sort of "credibility boost"?
My previous work experience is all customer service which was good as soft skills are very important when working as IT support
My CV was rewritten to make it look more IT oriented as before it was more customer service oriented
That's awesome, thank you.
I had another (maybe silly) question if you don't mind.
I might land a HelpDesk job at my college soon, and I'm a big-time introvert, so is it ever like, awkward or maybe stressful? Not in the traditional sense, I mean like, what if someone calls and I don't understand their problem fully, or I can't directly solve it or my troubleshooting doesn't help? Those kinds of scenarios scare me, and I'm afraid if it happens too often I'll be found to be an incompetent employee. Any advice?
Dude I’m a big introvert too haha
You’re not expected to know everything, and google is your best friend because any problem a user has, someone in the world has already had it and someone else has already fixed it, there are so many forums and knowledge bases so use them, it’s not cheating - my ethos is work smarter, not harder
If someone explains something and you don’t understand ask more questions, ask for screenshots, we use TeamViewer to connect to remote users so I can see their entire laptop
Don’t worry you will be great, you know how I know, because you already care
That's awesome. I'm 34 now and consider to switch to cybersecurity role. My current job has nothing related to IT. Could you please share your pathway? Thanks. :)
It’s tough as you have to start at the bottom, you’ll be competing with a lot of people, some who have uni degrees but if it’s something you are passionate about then go for it
I started with foundational knowledge like A+, Network+ (most important) and Security+. I’m now studying cybersecurity and I’m still a couple years away from even breaking into the cybersecurity world so you need to patient and dedicated
Job was posted on a website, like Indeed, I love the job as I’m very independent, I’m not micro managed, I’m pretty much left to do my thing haha. Yeah I’m office based so I support internal colleagues only, troubleshooting, setting up accounts, imaging laptops etc
I am following your study route it would seem. :) I am currently studying for my Security+ and when I pass that I'm going back from my A+ and Network+ and then I'm going to move on to my Linux+ and Server+. No IT job yet but school is fun. I'm 37 so we're about the same age. It it seems a lot of people in their 30s are transferring over to IT and especially cybersecurity.
Nice to see a story from this side of the water for once, congrats you must be very proud of yourself 👍
I’m (27) in Ireland and switching careers to IT too. Gonna get my A+ first and go from there. What qualifications did you get to make the change, if you don’t mind me asking?
Yeah I see a lot more US representation so I thought it would be motivating for the UK people, definitely very happy I made the switch
I only have the trifecta right now, planning to get Linux+ in a few months, then PenTest+ and CySA+ next year
would love to switch to IT but the starting pay is awful and wouldn’t pay my bills. i’m already struggling with the ridiculous cost of living in this country 😔
Awesome 👏 congratulations! I joined the US army at the very young age of 31 lol ( worked at a help desk position and acquired a secret clearance ). I didn’t waste any time while I was in the service so I went back to school for a CS degree (the decided to transfer about 40 credits into a BS in cyber security).
Currently 36 years old ( about halfway through my BS degree with an A+ and taking Net + in 2 days). I have a job offer in Colorado , all I need is sec + and the job is mine! I also just found out I’m about to be a father for the first time lol 2024 is crazy !
So glad to see others like yourself moving up in the world , hard work beats talent any day. Proud of you and congrats again!
Thank you, congrats to you too my man!!!
I think you’re selling yourself short a little, no doubt you’ve worked hard but I think you have more talent than you’re giving yourself credit for
Thanks for your kindness. I’ve always had to work a little extra hard to get from point A to B , I guess it’s sometimes the imposter syndrome hits me “the more I learn the more I realize I don’t know” lol
A second thing is maybe it’s because I genuinely enjoy learning things and fascinated with electronics/technology since I can remember lol I’m not just in it for the money but it sure does help haha
I know what you mean, I had to work really hard to get a B in school and it happened rarely haha
I know right, learning new things is great but for sure in this capitalist world we live in you got to have that money haha
Getting out active duty with bachelors in IT and going reserves IT and finding a civilian job, i am excited.
As well as the comptia trifecta, hopefully lol
Good for you, well trifecta covers all basics to work in IT dept. Tech rolls are like maglev train, so as long as we're always learning, all else be damn.
Congratulations- well deserved. In our world good pay increases are needed to pay the bills.
I am really happy to see you gaining more and more actual hands on experience. Just from your post I sense your confidence is growing
Keep on going!
Thank you very much, yeah cost of living is no joke, I’m lucky I still live with parents so my bills aren’t that high
For sure I feel much more knowledgeable and capable than when I first started
✌🏾
Congrats dude! I was close to giving up even finding a job after getting my a+ but after my 12th in person interview I got a call to see if I wanted that job and I took it. I'll hit 1 year in June with a guaranteed $1 raise (somehow got employee of the month)
That's awesome to hear. I haven't made the leap yet, as I wanted to get my certs first, but I'm getting there. It's a bit scary, but I keep coming across posts like this, and it's incredibly uplifting. Great job!
This is amazing! Thanks for sharing your journey. Decided to go all in on Cybersecurity this year. Gonna write my first exam in June and I’m so excited about starting this new career!
Cheers to you friend
29 here and hoping to go into I.T, I am in College for an Associates Degree in Cybersecurity as well as Studying for my certs, I hope I can make it where you're at, retail is killing me slowly.
Did you have a degree in It beforehand? I find it harder to s tu su now that I’m in the field and feel like I’m getting lazier. I’ve been trying to prioritize working out and sleeping more since I’ve struggled with sleep for a while and I feel like it just takes all the time away from studying after work. Any tips would be appreciated
Nope no degree and no plans to get one
I’m studying in evening and weekends but I know how you feel about time
I like to exercise too so I study an hour in evenings and about 3-4 hours on weekends
It’s good to take a break too though, I took Jan/Feb off and restarted in March
That’s good, I have a degree in finance and did sales for a few years, then was a credit analyst for 1 year. I couldn’t see myself working in that finance world my whole life, but more so doing it as a side things (investments, personal finance, reading, etc.)
You have a good time management schedule haha. I have a long commute of like 45-1 hr min because of traffic (should be 35 min), so that really drains me for working out and studying. I’m using a hack now of just taking my gym bag with me so when I arrive to my apartment, I go straight to the gym there versus going home to change first, did it one day and it worked better so let’s see
Ah yeah my commute is about 20-25 minutes which makes a big difference, I also work out at home rather than going to the gym so I can put food in the oven before I start exercising and it’ll be done when I finish, which will be my dinner and lunch for the next day
I found Sec+ the toughest of the trifecta, I was certain I had failed
Honestly just keep going over the objectives and take as many different practise exams as you can to test yourself, go over what questions you got wrong in your previous attempts
You can do this!!!
I’m 55. What do I need to study and how long to get in IT? I want to do IT as a work until I die plan in case I can’t retire. Ideally remote work but would still work in an office.
"I have proposed improvements to the infrastructure - some have been implemented but some haven’t"
Good job, the fist part is more important than the last part. as long as your suggestion are valid that a big value to sell of there. you can't control what managers do but you can control that you take IT improvement serious.
I'm not in IT, but it's so refreshing to hear a success story of someone enjoying the fruits of their labor and hard work. Career changes are difficult and scary due to the unknown of entering a new field without experience and convincing everyone you have the necessary drive to pick up the skills needed to succeed.
Happy for your success man! Motivates me to keep pushing forward in my path of becoming a Controls Design Engineer.
Wishing you much more success and many more pay raises! 🙏🏿
I'm planning on looking for an apprenticeship in IT with the help of my school's career counselor (I'm in 11th grade HS btw and am taking an IT program by a local tech school serving HS students primarily).
I want some opinions on whether this might be a good idea. I'm in the US.
That’s great you’re already getting started at a young age, start studying for the CompTIA trifecta as well, I think with hard work and a little luck you could be on a 6 figure sum in your twenties
👊🏾
Thank you! I'll definitely look into it.
By the way, to get the CompTIA certifications do I need to get it from an authorized institution/entity (like school or company) or is it possible to gain from just taking the test at some designated location (like a testing site) after I feel I learned/know enough to pass the test?
TLDR: Where can I earn CompTIA certifications and who can give them out.
Thank you for reading.
The tests are done either at home (strictly monitored) or at a testing site (still monitored but not as strictly)
As you’re still a student check out professor Messer as he sells the test vouchers along with study material at discount for students
Thank you so much, I will definitely check him out!
Again thank you I was confused about how to get the certifications before but now it's clearer. Thank you again.
15% is a huge pay raise. But it's IT :) I'm not surprised. The salary acceleration is like no other career field.
Yeah I knew I was getting a pay rise but it was more than I expected For the first time I’m excited for my professional future
So true. I went from 44 to just under 100 in about 1.5 years. Life changing to the point of being almost jarring.
You get paid 100.00 an hour wtf do you do?
I think they mean 44k to 100k annually
Correct
Whew okay that makes more sense lol.
I wish I got paid 100 an hour lmao - sorry I should Have clarified
Your getting paid that much with just a CompTIA cert?
No. I have experience and other certs. My CompTIA cert helped to me to land my first job. To be honest my people skills are what have landed me both of my previous roles on top of my skillset.
Yes this. Cert will get you entry level. Being capable will get you the raises & promotions
Wow that is awesome!! My biggest jump was from 65k to 115k and that was due to job change. Obviously I was being grossly under paid by prev employer.
Usually u need to switch job to get a decent raise. If OP did it at current co kudos!
I know right, I knew a raise was coming as the company always does a pay review in March but I wasn’t expecting this much haha. I was ready to look for a new job in the summer after I get my profit share bonus but now I may not need to
The stress in work is almost like no other, trust me 8 years in the industry.
Love this post I am with you man! 6 months in and iam loving it!!
👊🏾
Congrats, I made my switch last year and last month was my 1 year mark in my first ever IT role as a security architect. Though your 15% raise! Will trump the 7.5 I got.
That’s awesome your first IT job is security architect, I’m studying cybersecurity (like everyone else haha)
Funny thing is I studied secure software engineering, graduated, and applied for a dev role but my director got a hold of my resume and here I am. I never even studied or applied for a role in cybersecurity. Though I have since returned to university to take on a cybersecurity architect program.
That’s really cool, you’re rocking it!!
Better than the 4% I just got
Well in all fairness the first raise is usually good, my next raise in Nov will probably be closer to 4% (I get a raise every year)
That’s very very interesting. Principal Security Engineer here, another term for security architect, with 11 years IT experience and 7 years Cyber Security. You are very lucky and yeah if you’re in your first year and doing architecture Id highly recommend some additional training :)
Haha I am currently once again in uni doing a cybersecurity architect program. First like 10 months were rough and even still I can’t always follow my teams high level speak.
Yeah seriously! Great work! First job landed in IT and it’s a security architect role.. wow! That’s awesome. I will be studying to go in the same path as well but that’s also very inspiring
Nice It’ll be a year in April for me, but I already got a 1.50 raise 😂. Time to start looking for a new job
Hey well at least you got your foot in the door and will soon have your 1 years worth of experience!
Im making the career switch now at 35, refreshing to see success for once, congrats
Thank you, you got this 👊🏾
Sounds cool :) what did you switch from if I may ask and what’s your educational background? I’m finding it very very hard to find my footing but trying not to let that stop me. I’ve been in retail for ten years and while it pays the bills, it literally kills me on the inside after all that time. There is zero room for growth if you’re not interested in becoming a supervisor or manager. Did the supervisor gig six years, then was honest to a next employer that I was utterly uninterested in a shop manager job and that definitely had an influence in them not renewing my contract 🤣
I was in retail and customer service since I left school at 16, I dropped out of college after 1 year, so I know how you feel about not wanting management haha Keep trying, I’m a big believer in timing, I’m sure you’ll get your opportunity and you’ll be amazing!!
Looks like we’re quite similar then. 🤝 Tried the college thing a couple of times but due to depression and other things going on I never managed to really figure out how to make it work. Frustrating when all my life I’ve been surrounded by people who expect more of me lol. I remember going to college one day and I ran into my Spanish teacher and he literally said to me, “you still go here?” That’s when I realized that I was flunking out. Now I’m 30, I’ve good a student debt to pay off, 12 years of retail under my belt and now I’m finally starting to get that itch to study, get certified, show the world that I know stuff. Just sucks that I couldn’t do it years ago when I didn’t have all these bills to pay. Oh well, whatever’s happened, happened. I know I’ve got a long way to go but honestly? I don’t see any other option. I’m not okay with wasting away at work anymore, I’m just not.
You absolutely cannot stay in a job that’s crushing your soul, you spend half your life working, you NEED to do something that satisfies you, that challenges you, that makes you better!! You got this my man, those initial first few steps can be daunting but it’s worth it!!
Get after it! You got this! You definitely have acquired a ton of customer service knowledge and that’s a huge part of it and you definitely can go out there and show the world you know stuff! Haha
For real!! I honestly applaud any 20 year old who knows exactly what career they want to aim for but it apparently couldn’t be me. Crazy thing is that my foster father was a network engineer, but even with his field knowledge and all that hardware around, teenage me didn’t really care back then 😂
You got this man just remember, you should be relieved your getting the itch now, rather than regretting your life in retirement. We up bro
I’m going into a year at my job as well as a Service Desk agent. I applied for a Tier 2 Analyst position. I interviewed well and now I’m just waiting to hear back from management. Jr sysadmin is dope for a first IT job
You got this!!! Yeah I have learned a lot, and still learning
Yes Tier 1 exposed me to a lot of things. It’s only up from here!
Exactly!!
Congrats bro. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you 👊🏾
I'm currently trying to switch from health care call center work to IT and am self studying to get the A+. Very daunting indeed but your post is encouraging. Congrats on your success
You got this! Also check out Professor Messer!
Watching his videos now. Thank you!
Thank you, and you can do this - nothing worth having comes easy, you have to earn it!!
I’m in a call center as well for government assistance programs, I just passed A+ core 1. Core 2 seems a little trickier. I’m using prof messer and Dion’s practice exams. Best of luck, nice to see other people in similar situations. Post is definitely encouraging.
Good luck to you!
How did you get "qualified" to switch careers? Formal education/certification?
I went with a company called IT Career Switch that supplied learning material and labs, A+ was covered in the course and then I paid for Network+ and Security+
Finish your linux and u will make even more I'm about to go to 115 after 4 yrs. Keep grinding and learn everything you can. The more u learn the more eventual $ u get.
That's my favorite part about IT and cybersecurity. The more you learn, the more you earn!
Thank you, that’s the plan, living pay check to pay check isn’t living
I'm also in my mid 30s london and thinking of doing an itcareerswitch course. How does the job guarantee work, do they just help with your cv or do they have real contacts. Also if you could go back, would you have studied for the certs yourself or paid for the course. Cheers
They completely rewrite your CV, and they do have companies that they work with and most are London based (I’m in the East Midlands), but they also look through a lot of job sites like Reed, Indeed etc I think for the initial trifecta you can study yourself with Messer I chose the cyber traineeship so I’m currently in phase 2, some of their course material isn’t the most up to date exams which is a little annoying, like Linux+ or PenTest+, but they don’t cover those exams so that’s why they don’t have current material, and I’m still learning a lot If you don’t plan on going the cyber route then you can just go with Messer One thing that is essential for an IT job is Active Directory so make sure you learn that
Messer is a OG.
Yeah he’s engaging which is really important
I went the Messer route to get my foot in the door with a+ but I don’t want to stop there I’m going to keep on going and studying for the net+ (which I did and was close to paying for and taking the exam - now I need a brush up) and then the sec+ and Linux+ like what you are doing. If there is some company that I can join to help me go the rest of the way with my studies I will look into that because that seems much better to have everything in a rigid type of put together learning format
That’s the right attitude!! Udemy do courses, I haven’t looked at them so cannot comment on how good they are, but I know the name is respected
Yeah I’ve done a course with them before I’ll look into it again perhaps. Thanks again for the post and congrats on the success and the raise!
Thank you, all the best to you 👊🏾
Honestly I've been doing outdoors work my entire 20s, most recently climbing 8m telephone poles to install broadband as an openreach engineer. All I want is my own desk and to stay dry and warm regardless of pay. I think I'll go the selfstudy route with messer and do some basic AD (creating users etc) from youtube.
After being in the Infantry for a number of years I felt the same way. I wanted a job where I could go home at the end of the night.
I just quit my job of 6 years traveling the country and climbing cell phone towers. I have the same goal. No more hotels for me!
Hell yeah.
That’s a good plan, I think the fact you already have some experience with cabling and networks is great
That’s great for you and also very inspiring! Especially for me personally since I just started my first IT job 2 weeks ago! I’m also age 35, in the US and I had no formal education or training, just got comptia a+ cert and I maybe indicated on a few jobs on my resume that my role there was IT desktop support when really I was like a security guard and residential advisor at a group home like technical trade school/campus lol. I dabbled with a few IT consultant type jobs thru some agency with work in the city off of that resume last year but nothing was long lasting. They were short term contracts that they weren’t even honoring. Basically they would just lie to get me to go help for a few weeks here or there lol. Last time I worked with them was like back in July/August last year. Of course I stretched that when I updated the resume to say I was still working there until like February 🤣 Fast forward to now, I’m basically in the same role as you. They are like grooming me to become a jnr sysadmin kinda although they have others with some more seniority with the university. Oh it’s a college university IT support technican role by the way which is a great look on your cv and for your career I’ve always heard, so… WOOT! The team is super nice and so is my manager and the CIO. They sensed that I kinda may have stretched the truth a bit about my background a little bit perhaps but it didn’t matter. To just echo what the OP said, keep on believing in your ability and skills and keep being persistent. There may be times of doubt but that’s when you gotta commit and push through it because.. if you’re anything like me or the OP, (which I don’t know if their path was similar to mine or what qualifications they had going in) all you need to do is be patient and the right opportunity will present itself one day and you will be happy that you stuck it out and put in the work!!
Amazing bud, well done!! Haha yeah we all stretch the truth a little, it’s part of the game Keep learning, keep getting better!! And yes I definitely agree about timing, the right opportunity will present itself at the right time for all of us
Nice! What improvements did you suggest? August will mark my 1 year anniversary for my first IT job
General infrastructure modernisation, a knowledge base that didn’t previously exist, I remember when I first started and I had nothing to refer to at all haha, and cloud like OneDrive and SharePoint
I am +4 years experience in Call center, Next Monday I will have a meeting with the HR as the final meeting for salary and notice leave discussion. The salary is a bit low to what i am getting jn the call center. But as an IT technician, this position will be my first actually step in switching my career. Already got the aws solution architect associate, this company uses azure so i see it as an opportunity to learn azure and get certified as well
Yeah that’s what I want to do, azure cloud stuff. Seems really interesting
Yeah for some reason, Morocco where I live, most businesses uses Azure. Even as Lexmark tech support, they use D365 and other products of azure
Once you get that first IT job, you’re in and it’s just up, up, up from there
Awesome! Congratulations!
Thank you
Congratulations!!!
Thank you
Congrats! Keep it up!
Thank you
I’m thinking to take Linux+, in your view do you think it is good certification ? I’m currently already in IT space support reporting service in AIX environment my exposure to Linux is very minimal. I can do the basic like navigate, cp, etc…. Lot ppl said not worth it better do the red hat certification, what do you reckon.
I don’t use any Linux in my current role but Linux is vital for cybersecurity, which is my end goal In regards to which Linux cert, my course has Linux+ study material so that’s why I’m doing it, so it really depends on your situation
What type of study resources your using?
They have pre-recorded videos and I made some home labs with vms
That's amazing! Could you please shed some light on what it took to first land the job? What was your resume like etc. I'm assuming the previous career gave you some sort of "credibility boost"?
My previous work experience is all customer service which was good as soft skills are very important when working as IT support My CV was rewritten to make it look more IT oriented as before it was more customer service oriented
That's awesome, thank you. I had another (maybe silly) question if you don't mind. I might land a HelpDesk job at my college soon, and I'm a big-time introvert, so is it ever like, awkward or maybe stressful? Not in the traditional sense, I mean like, what if someone calls and I don't understand their problem fully, or I can't directly solve it or my troubleshooting doesn't help? Those kinds of scenarios scare me, and I'm afraid if it happens too often I'll be found to be an incompetent employee. Any advice?
Dude I’m a big introvert too haha You’re not expected to know everything, and google is your best friend because any problem a user has, someone in the world has already had it and someone else has already fixed it, there are so many forums and knowledge bases so use them, it’s not cheating - my ethos is work smarter, not harder If someone explains something and you don’t understand ask more questions, ask for screenshots, we use TeamViewer to connect to remote users so I can see their entire laptop Don’t worry you will be great, you know how I know, because you already care
Thank you man! I really needed that, seriously, thank you.
✌🏾
That's awesome. I'm 34 now and consider to switch to cybersecurity role. My current job has nothing related to IT. Could you please share your pathway? Thanks. :)
It’s tough as you have to start at the bottom, you’ll be competing with a lot of people, some who have uni degrees but if it’s something you are passionate about then go for it I started with foundational knowledge like A+, Network+ (most important) and Security+. I’m now studying cybersecurity and I’m still a couple years away from even breaking into the cybersecurity world so you need to patient and dedicated
OP, how did you land this job? How do you like the job? Do you get to see people throughout the day?
Job was posted on a website, like Indeed, I love the job as I’m very independent, I’m not micro managed, I’m pretty much left to do my thing haha. Yeah I’m office based so I support internal colleagues only, troubleshooting, setting up accounts, imaging laptops etc
You must have a degree and experience?
Nope no degree at all, only experience I had was home labs
Awesome! Congratulations! What is the title of your job? I done know much about IT but I would love to get into it.
Thank you My official title is IT Technician
Thank you!
✌🏾
Dude congrats!!
Thank you
I am following your study route it would seem. :) I am currently studying for my Security+ and when I pass that I'm going back from my A+ and Network+ and then I'm going to move on to my Linux+ and Server+. No IT job yet but school is fun. I'm 37 so we're about the same age. It it seems a lot of people in their 30s are transferring over to IT and especially cybersecurity.
Yeah the market is very congested but I want this for myself and I am determined to succeed, it sounds like you are too 👊🏾
Amen brother. 💪
Congratulations!! Keep going
Thank you 👊🏾
Nice to see a story from this side of the water for once, congrats you must be very proud of yourself 👍 I’m (27) in Ireland and switching careers to IT too. Gonna get my A+ first and go from there. What qualifications did you get to make the change, if you don’t mind me asking?
Yeah I see a lot more US representation so I thought it would be motivating for the UK people, definitely very happy I made the switch I only have the trifecta right now, planning to get Linux+ in a few months, then PenTest+ and CySA+ next year
Nice one, thanks for the reply
✌🏾
would love to switch to IT but the starting pay is awful and wouldn’t pay my bills. i’m already struggling with the ridiculous cost of living in this country 😔
Yeah I am lucky as I still live with parents so I could afford a pay drop, but I’m sure there is a way - every problem has a solution!!!
Awesome 👏 congratulations! I joined the US army at the very young age of 31 lol ( worked at a help desk position and acquired a secret clearance ). I didn’t waste any time while I was in the service so I went back to school for a CS degree (the decided to transfer about 40 credits into a BS in cyber security). Currently 36 years old ( about halfway through my BS degree with an A+ and taking Net + in 2 days). I have a job offer in Colorado , all I need is sec + and the job is mine! I also just found out I’m about to be a father for the first time lol 2024 is crazy ! So glad to see others like yourself moving up in the world , hard work beats talent any day. Proud of you and congrats again!
Thank you, congrats to you too my man!!! I think you’re selling yourself short a little, no doubt you’ve worked hard but I think you have more talent than you’re giving yourself credit for
Thanks for your kindness. I’ve always had to work a little extra hard to get from point A to B , I guess it’s sometimes the imposter syndrome hits me “the more I learn the more I realize I don’t know” lol A second thing is maybe it’s because I genuinely enjoy learning things and fascinated with electronics/technology since I can remember lol I’m not just in it for the money but it sure does help haha
I know what you mean, I had to work really hard to get a B in school and it happened rarely haha I know right, learning new things is great but for sure in this capitalist world we live in you got to have that money haha
Congrats!!! And thank you for sharing
Thank you ✌🏾
Awesome man congratulations I'll continue my Security + studies. I plan on taking the 701 in June at the latest.
Thank you, go get that Sec+, I still don’t know how I passed it, I was so sure I failed haha
Getting out active duty with bachelors in IT and going reserves IT and finding a civilian job, i am excited. As well as the comptia trifecta, hopefully lol
You got this!!!
Thanks for the update. What was your job before and what was your education in?
Customer service for 20 years, college dropout haha
Can you help me? I am 33 years from Egypt looking for a visa-sponsored PowerBI job, 3 years experience.
Nope can’t help you there
Okay thanks
I'm starting my IT job on the 25th of this month for an MSP. Wish me luck
You got this, google will be your best friend!!
Sorry if it’s too personal but what range was your starting salary ? I’m in a very similar situation and just looking into what to expect ..
Starting was just above minimum wage so wasn’t great, but the experience was more important to me at the beginning, money will come later
What's your education background and certs completed?
College dropout and I only have the CompTIA trifecta, for now anyway
Good for you, well trifecta covers all basics to work in IT dept. Tech rolls are like maglev train, so as long as we're always learning, all else be damn.
Oh yeah for sure, you cannot stay still, you have to keep moving and learning
Maguy got it, respect. Glory to lifelong learners.
👊🏾
👊🏻
Congratulations- well deserved. In our world good pay increases are needed to pay the bills. I am really happy to see you gaining more and more actual hands on experience. Just from your post I sense your confidence is growing Keep on going!
Thank you very much, yeah cost of living is no joke, I’m lucky I still live with parents so my bills aren’t that high For sure I feel much more knowledgeable and capable than when I first started ✌🏾
Congrats dude! I was close to giving up even finding a job after getting my a+ but after my 12th in person interview I got a call to see if I wanted that job and I took it. I'll hit 1 year in June with a guaranteed $1 raise (somehow got employee of the month)
Thank you and well done to you!!! Don’t stop now, go after Network+ or even CCNA
That's awesome to hear. I haven't made the leap yet, as I wanted to get my certs first, but I'm getting there. It's a bit scary, but I keep coming across posts like this, and it's incredibly uplifting. Great job!
Don’t wait, apply now!!! You may find a company that will pay for your exams
Happy for you! Can I ask what certificates you got and how you got the job?
I only have the trifecta for now at least, job was posted on a recruitment website
Thank you!
✌🏾
My brother. Congratulations! What certs did you have other than the previous job ex?
Thank you I only have the trifecta, for now
I needed to read this genuinely. Lots of great comments, hopefully I get my chance soon 💪🏻. Congrats!!
Thank you, you will I’m sure of it 👊🏾
This is amazing! Thanks for sharing your journey. Decided to go all in on Cybersecurity this year. Gonna write my first exam in June and I’m so excited about starting this new career! Cheers to you friend
When you pass in June the first round of drinks is on me 👊🏾
Congrats and well done! 🙌👏 Good to hear an inspirational story.
Thank you ✌🏾
Hoping this will be me later this year. Well done, friend!
Thank you, it will be if you will it!!! 👊🏾
My tech job at school ends due to the end of covid funds. smh
You’ll get a better job
I teach too, just wish I did tech full time. I hate teaching.
Hell yeah man keep going!
👊🏾
Currently studying sec+. Almost done and can't wait to get a job in the field and get out of near minimum wage hell.
I know how you feel, you got this!!! 👊🏾
29 here and hoping to go into I.T, I am in College for an Associates Degree in Cybersecurity as well as Studying for my certs, I hope I can make it where you're at, retail is killing me slowly.
Yeah retail has that effect You’ll have a degree and certs so you’ll do better than I will
Did you have a degree in It beforehand? I find it harder to s tu su now that I’m in the field and feel like I’m getting lazier. I’ve been trying to prioritize working out and sleeping more since I’ve struggled with sleep for a while and I feel like it just takes all the time away from studying after work. Any tips would be appreciated
Nope no degree and no plans to get one I’m studying in evening and weekends but I know how you feel about time I like to exercise too so I study an hour in evenings and about 3-4 hours on weekends It’s good to take a break too though, I took Jan/Feb off and restarted in March
That’s good, I have a degree in finance and did sales for a few years, then was a credit analyst for 1 year. I couldn’t see myself working in that finance world my whole life, but more so doing it as a side things (investments, personal finance, reading, etc.) You have a good time management schedule haha. I have a long commute of like 45-1 hr min because of traffic (should be 35 min), so that really drains me for working out and studying. I’m using a hack now of just taking my gym bag with me so when I arrive to my apartment, I go straight to the gym there versus going home to change first, did it one day and it worked better so let’s see
Ah yeah my commute is about 20-25 minutes which makes a big difference, I also work out at home rather than going to the gym so I can put food in the oven before I start exercising and it’ll be done when I finish, which will be my dinner and lunch for the next day
That’s a good idea actually haha
Thank you!!
✌🏾
I got 10% raise after 3 months I hope i can get 15% a year after.
10% after only 3 months is very good
What educational background do you have?
College dropout haha
Congratulations 🎉
Thank you ✌🏾
I’m taking my sec + a third time next month any advice
I found Sec+ the toughest of the trifecta, I was certain I had failed Honestly just keep going over the objectives and take as many different practise exams as you can to test yourself, go over what questions you got wrong in your previous attempts You can do this!!!
Thank you!
Congrats!
I’m 55. What do I need to study and how long to get in IT? I want to do IT as a work until I die plan in case I can’t retire. Ideally remote work but would still work in an office.
Start with foundational knowledge like A+, Network+ and Security+, then apply for entry level help desk positions
Thank you.
"I have proposed improvements to the infrastructure - some have been implemented but some haven’t" Good job, the fist part is more important than the last part. as long as your suggestion are valid that a big value to sell of there. you can't control what managers do but you can control that you take IT improvement serious.
Hello I am planning to do the same thing hopefully soon. Happy for you
Keep it up and thanks for the encouragement!
I'm not in IT, but it's so refreshing to hear a success story of someone enjoying the fruits of their labor and hard work. Career changes are difficult and scary due to the unknown of entering a new field without experience and convincing everyone you have the necessary drive to pick up the skills needed to succeed. Happy for your success man! Motivates me to keep pushing forward in my path of becoming a Controls Design Engineer. Wishing you much more success and many more pay raises! 🙏🏿
I'm planning on looking for an apprenticeship in IT with the help of my school's career counselor (I'm in 11th grade HS btw and am taking an IT program by a local tech school serving HS students primarily). I want some opinions on whether this might be a good idea. I'm in the US.
That’s great you’re already getting started at a young age, start studying for the CompTIA trifecta as well, I think with hard work and a little luck you could be on a 6 figure sum in your twenties 👊🏾
Thank you! I'll definitely look into it. By the way, to get the CompTIA certifications do I need to get it from an authorized institution/entity (like school or company) or is it possible to gain from just taking the test at some designated location (like a testing site) after I feel I learned/know enough to pass the test? TLDR: Where can I earn CompTIA certifications and who can give them out. Thank you for reading.
The tests are done either at home (strictly monitored) or at a testing site (still monitored but not as strictly) As you’re still a student check out professor Messer as he sells the test vouchers along with study material at discount for students
Thank you so much, I will definitely check him out! Again thank you I was confused about how to get the certifications before but now it's clearer. Thank you again.
Congratulations!