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Been watching Linus for more than 10 years now and boy has that whole entity evolved throughout time... Just wanted to share my appreciation for what Linus and the whole company at this point is doing since It has been extremely helpful in my life so far. I've always been interested in computers but despite following a tech-oriented educational path I never really got into places where they would teach us anything really. So it was me, my spare time and a couple of local tech enthusiasts just figuring it all out. Then I got my access to internet and everything got way easier lol. When I found Linus on youtube I already had a basic grasp on most fundamental topics but it was very shallow with a lot of holes and partially misunderstood. With the help of numerous LTT videos (watched literally everything back then) in the span of 7-8 years I learned A LOT while also being entertained. Following my university graduation (did electrical engineering) and obtaining a couple of certificates from online courses and mostly carried by my passion and the things I've learned and done on my own at home throughout the years I landed a junior system administrator job position at a leading local tech company. Fast forward 2 years I'm now administrating quite an infrastructure and working on many diverse projects. I believe I owe Linus and the whole team a big THANK YOU for educating me while being very entertaining all these years and most importantly for keeping that spark which is very essential to one's desire to learn and improve and seek new adventures instead of being scared of change. Would be interested in reading your stories of how LTT was part of your career path and how they've influenced you and your life! Thank you!

So I’ interested in building PCs as a career, but when I was doing research I saw hardware engineering. So my question is, are they the same thing and if not what is the difference, what is the extent of what a hardware engineer do and etc?

Hello LTT Community, I have been with General Motors as a network / telecommunications engineer for the past three-ish years. I have primarily focused on Interactive Voice Response (IVR) development and automatic call distribution (ACD). I am brand new to the telecommunications industry with graduating from university in 2019 and immediately joining GM. I like my team. They are all very talented. I like my manager. She is very supportive. I really like the work-from-home and is probably the only reason I have not left. However, I feel overworked, underappreciated, and overwhelmed. Is this typical for the industry or should I be looking elsewhere? Total compensation: 127k (102k salary; $8160 in 401k matching; $10,200 in performance bonus; $7531 in medical/vision/dental benefits). Ohio/WFH.

So 10th Grade for me in high school is coming to a near end (4 months left till summer vacation for us), and I have to figure out some courses for me to take. And I just turned 17 on the 3rd of March so responsibilities will be up to me real soon... Honestly: I don't even know where to go. I took an auto class, changing car oil, brakes, parts, taking apart a car engine and rebuilding it, and all sort of stuff, and it was okay but not my interest. Graphics, which is design for like business cards and posters and stuff, its okay but not my interest but of a hobby if doing it at home or whatever. Took drafting which is 3D modeling designing buildings and 3D printings and all the fancy stuff, not my interest really. Music tech, making music on computers and it's just not my interest but of a hobby. All the stuff I took would pretty much seem to be stuff to do when I need to and or a bit of a hobby like music/design. What I'm curious now is how you guys got jobs in computer stores, or IT, Tech, Support those kinds? I love to fix problems on computers, even though some of them are a pain (dealt with problems that took nearly half of my day), and fiddle around with stuff. I fixed many of my friend's computers, laptops, my desktops and so on. Taking out parts, cleaning, getting drivers fixed and or dealing with nasty viruses, I just like doing that. Many times I just facepalm at my school IT such as replacing the whole computer in school just for an easy error fix or buying like over 20 new desktops with SSD, but all the desktops have the SSD unplugged... I'm rambling on here a bit but I just wanted to get the idea out like who I am or what kind of tasks would be good for me. My school offer lot of courses: Engineering, IT Tech but that's just teaching all the basics of computer parts... IT A+ certification course, however, that's just a course to just get a certification, an exam pretty much than a class. There's coding, but the HTML coding parts turn me away since it's basic... and there's Computer science which is all the basics combined in one, making robots do stuff, a bit of coding and whatever. I think you guys get the idea. I thought about being a YouTuber for tech reviews/talk but of course that costs money (maybe I'll just do tech news? But nobody would watch that since the competition is high for example LTT pretty much covered everything). I like to talk about tech things, mention the pros and cons of things, and learning overall, recommending people what to do or get. I'm just throwing some stuff out there but in short: What steps did you guys take? OR.... what steps you guys think I should take? Any help would be great! ^^ EDIT #1: Some grammar fixes

Hello, and thanks for taking a look at my thread. I've been a fan of LTT for a couple years now and I'm just about finished with my generals in community college and I wanted to ask a few questions about the industry. It's also part of my assignment which is kinda convenient. Also yes I plan on using google, but I'd like to use personal experiences from other users on this board. 1. What are some key issues within our industry? Besides specific jobs being pretty competitive. 2. What jobs are the most demand, least demand? ( Pay isn't a concern, I'm looking for percentiles) 3. What types of studies are a "Trap" or most likely to not get you a career? 4. What are the higher paying jobs at which degree levels, (AA, BA, Masters) 5. Is there any writing involved? (Writing reports and such) Thanks once again if you decide to take the time to help me out with my assignment, and possibly with some guidance in my future career(s). (P.S. I had a weird issue trying to make this thread and had to reset my account and when I came back my post was still saved, this forum is sweet.)

Hi everyone, I'm a self employed computer consultant but I'm thinking of taking on full time work with a company. This question is geared towards systems administrators and network engineers. I'd like to buff up on any knowledge gaps by asking what a day in the life of your particular job is like. What technologies does your company implement? What MaaS, IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS platforms do you use? How many servers do you manage? Do you employ a lot of virtualization? What ticketing systems do you use? Does your job expect you to be cross trained in programming, web development, and database management? Walking me through a day in your job would be cool. As I make money as a self employed contractor, I still do a lot of self study and it would be nice to bone up before possibly shooting for an interview. I also scan through job requirements on job listings but it would be nice to hear some word of mouth. Thanks.

Hi all! I'm an architect in training who's thinking about how to incorporate my tech skills with my career. Right now I'm doing IT work for my architect boss, but I'd like to kick it up a notch. Does anyone know of any companies that regularly recruit draftsmen, architects, etc. to design their components? I'm mostly interested in case design, but I also love putting together parts lists and assembling computers.

I earnt my first wings by learning the ins and out of building my first PC ( thank you you tube and linus tech tips big inspiration ) specked it 10 times and built it in a month last year and my interest in PC tech, advances and threats have sky rocketed since then. I'm learning Python in my spare time to get a computer language under my belt but where do I go from here. Also I know AI, deep learning and machine learning will take over many tech jobs so what jobs will be left for us in the near future and how do I go about getting them? Anyone with knowledge, experience and advice I'm all ears. Orion

I couldn't find a place to put this thread so I dropped it in general discussion, but I thought this was the best place to ask. While i'm still in High School, I need to beef up my job and college resumes because I haven't been super active on campus and I only have one job on there which is a retail store. I'm really interested in IT so I thought why not get some important certifications that'll help me later on and maybe I can even go work for my University and have a lot of my expenses paid off as an IT. But I don't know where to start. What are the most lucrative certifications to have for a University's network?

Hi all, I'm an architect in training who recently graduated college and is working at an architecture firm, but I'm starting to realize that my passion for design may be able to be fused with my passion for building computers. I specialize in making my builds beautiful inside and out, a lot like how architects do so with their buildings. My question for you all is this: is there a career out there that would allow me to design and/or build beautiful computers as a full-time gig? I don't really know where to start looking for something like this, so if anyone has any personal experiences that offer insight I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. Cheers!

Kind of tired of working in the tech industry. I've worked various technical support roles for computers, home theater systems, televisions, been a network administrator, a network engineer, a network security engineer and technical support for enterprise security appliances. The pay is good (now anyways) and I know the common issue is always me. I love technology. I just am tired of having to pick up the phone for it. Any suggestions? I'll take any comments...deep, shallow, constructive, funny, 'suck it up buttercup', etc.

Having recently turned 24 years old and since completed my last IT related college course in 2013, I have spent the past 4 years trying my best to begin a career in IT. I have always been a computer enthusiast and it has been my dream to one day achieve a skill job in Information Technology, but on every interview I ended up being beaten to a candidate with at least 1 year of IT work experience. If there is a course online I can take for additional qualifications which might help, then I would be very interested to find out. I want to spend money on additional qualifications, but I want to be well informed and sure that what I'd be spending money on is actually beneficial towards getting a job. My budget is £3,000 (basically my savings) and I am willing to quit my current job if that's what it takes to gain the right skills. Being an IT technician is the only thing I ever wanted to be professionally and I would give it everything I've got if I knew which direction to go in. I'm looking into networking, hardware and software, but I am open to the idea of starting from quite low down in areas of programming. Let me give you an example of a new entry level IT job I would try to apply for: I know for a fact and are fed up of the fact that every time I would apply to a job like this I would either get no response, or a notice I wasn't successful, or sometimes I would get an interview and then be told days later I'm not experienced enough. I feel like I've been so long outside the IT scene that I need to revise things I have learned about how networks work. What I am really trying to find out is what qualifications I can gain that would make an employer look at my résumé and think I was made of the right stuff. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I am willing to do exactly what I said to push towards getting an IT job. By the way, I live in the city of Bristol, within the United Kingdom.

Hello there everyone, I'm not sure where to post this so I decided to start in "Off Topic" and if I'm wrong here just say so. I'm really good at troubleshooting and fixing hardware and software but that is just the basics of IT and I've seen that a lot of companies are trying to find more people that know more about managing, programming, and networking. I hate programming, I'm not that good at leadership and networking it's all right but it can sometimes be too complex for me. I am studying IT (Information Technology) at Keiser University and I'm not sure where to start once I finish my bachelor's degree. Does anyone have or had any similar experience? If so, how did you know where to start? What would normally be a good place to start? Also, what certifications should I start studying for?

Hello Everyone, I will try to keep this short and sweet, My name is Dustin I am 25 and I was hoping to get some help from fellow tech people. This is my first time posting in any type of forum so please bear with me. I don't have any type of Tech background besides loving video games and computers since I was a kid, but I'm looking to get into the Tech field. To give you a little background on me, I love working with my hands, I do not have a college degree, and I do have my diploma/GED. I currently work as a Courier for FedEx and It's wearing on me due to the fact that I have nothing in this field that I am passionate about. The field of Tech has always intrigued me and I have always loved everything about it. I have been watching LTT and MKBHD videos for a very long time and those two guys are definitely a big influence on why I want to finally make the move. I have always been interested in computer hardware and computers in general, but due to the fact that I don't have a degree, I feel limited. I am not very good in classrooms, I went to college at one point in time for Automotive but dropped out because I was failing and I knew I didn't want to be in the field all along. I am a car guy and I love tinkering and building things, but cars are more of a hobby than a passion for me. With my lack of education and experience, I have no idea where to start and I am very scared to leave my stable job just to go somewhere else and fail. If you have any questions about me, or for me please feel free to ask, I am an open book. I know this is a broad post but any help is much appreciated, I don't know where else to go. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for any input you may have. *I am Located in the Northeast region of USA if needed to know*

Hello all, This is my first post on the forum and I would like to know if anyone has any advice for me with regards to changing in career. Long story short I am in healthcare it sucks and I would like to move to IT security. I have been told that the CompTia Security+ is the way to go. does anyone else know if this is a good place to start? Also I would like to know how do people get experience as all the jobs in the field seem to want 3-5 years experience. Any advice would be grand. :) Ultirian

I am in need of guidance, fellow Sea/b/ass/tian/s Sebastians. I am on a long, long journey, and this is only the beginning. To start, my long term goal is to be a cutting edge genius beyond what even Elon or his child could hope to become(shoot for the moon, and all that). Short term goal is to become at least as knowledgeable as the most knowledgeable sys admin(and as wise). Shorter-term goal is to gain at least 3 tech certifications in the next 2 years, begin an entry-level IT job, and rise to at least a $70,000 annual pay rate within, at most, 2 years, due to my level of value. No need to worry about the time frame; I use SuperMemo(super-memo.com, NOT supermemo.com. I used to use Anki, but switched due to superior algorithm and much better long-term application.). Good ol' Musk said it best: And so I must master the complete fundamentals before mastering the advanced. There are so many different things to learn, I frankly just can't figure out what I need to learn first. I guess everything CompTIA+ is obvious- oh, I do need to say, I'm not meaning to come off as arrogant or pretentious, if I am coming off that way. But, well, where do I start? What educational path do I follow? And I would like to thank @LinusTech for inspiring me to pursue technology, as he has many others. ... I know I'm not the best at speech or writing, but... Thank you for your help, in advance.

Hi all, been helping with some network engineering, small jobs. My engineer I was working with, suggested that at least in the networking industry, he sees outsourcing be something very prevalent in the future. He also said there is less and less demand for network engineers. I'd like your thoughts on outsourcing? What IT jobs can be outsourced? How big of an issue is it? How concerned should I be? What can I do to stop my future career being made redundant by outsourcing? If you have any personal anecdotes or experience please feel free to share. Thanks in advance, Zac.

Hi everybody, hope you're all doing well. I'm in my late teens and looking to start my career in the IT Field, I've always been interested in the field and studied every related course in high school, I'm learning Python online via Udemy, as it was recommended by someone who interviewed me and I've had experience with HTML and CSS. But ultimately I don't know which path to go down. IT is such a broad field and most jobs require formal education. I'm torn between a job in software and a job dealing more with hardware like server side and Networking. Any of you out there working in the industry? What's your job like and what do you enjoy about it? What advice would you have for someone trying to figure out their career path? I appreciate all your replies and advice, Thanks, Zac.

Hello, So I love watching Linus Tech Tips and the topics you guys discuss are awesome but hear me out every time I watch these video it makes me wanna consider which career path I should take in life, So I decided to join the #masterrace and to be honest I love watching tech videos but I'm really a novice and most of the tech things you talk about on the channel I don't understand majority of it,so I decided to go back to school and start from the begining with IT then later persue Computer Engineering Technology. So basically I would love some advice on how to start or how it was for you guys on the forum and at Linus tech tips to start your careers in the field of computer technology Oh and yes I will be doing this course in Canada so if you also have any suggestion on which college would be best for me that would greatly be appreciated

Hello. First post here. I'm looking to change career paths and enter a field in computing. I have been considering going into software engineering. I already have an unrelated Bachelors, so I was planning on entering a Masters program in this field. For those of you with experience and knowledge in this and other related fields, what would you advise that I know before I begin applying? What would be the basic requirements for someone wanting to enter the field of software engineering cold? Assume that I only know the rudiments of computing. I took a programming course in high school which I enjoyed very much and excelled in. I was planning on going for a computer science degree but, although I was one of the best in my programming class, I could not comprehend my elementary linear algebra course, so I switched majors. Now, I feel confident enough (now that a decade has passed) to try to re-enter that world again. Thanks for any advice.

Considering the fact that demand for programmers are high, what level or proficiency does a self learner have to reach until they can begin applying for jobs as a programmer?

Hi all, I want to share something with you all and hear what you think. I started my first IT job at a small firm in a small town, about 6 years ago. Worked there for just under 2 years doing tech support (mostly) and the odd computer setup, router setup and network cable installation. It was just me and the senior guy, doing work for the general public, but mostly on maintaining the internal IT infrastructure. I then moved on to another company, they did tech support and installations and retail for the general public. I only worked there for just under a year, mostly due to conflict of some sorts. I then decided to open my own company, doing support, installations and retail in the same small town. The first company I worked for stopped doing work for the public and focused on doing only their internal infrastructure and maintaining it, so I scored quite a few clients off that. I did this for 4 years and I enjoyed it. The freedom of doing your own thing is unlike anything I've had before. I made a living, but didn't grow much. I had a lot of time to "play" with things, I learned FreeNAS, pfSense, Ubuntu, all the things I wanted to learn, I could. And then, when I "mastered" these things, I could sell them to my clients as solutions. I never got any certifications, degrees or diplomas in my field, all I had was experience. As much as one could get by playing with different things. At the end of 2017 I got a job offer from quite a massive company to be an IT Technician (Junior, for now, hopefully) at one of their branches in a near city. They didn't offer as much money as I was making on my own, but they did offer benefits, such as medical aid, a pension fund, and so on. They also wanted me to get my CompTIA A+ in 1 month, and so I did, and I took the offer, we moved. I did this mostly out of the view point of having the security of a salary and for the benefits (medical aid) for me and my wife's future. I've been here basically a month now. My problem though, is that I don't feel like I'm learning anything here (yet, hopefully). I am not allowed to fix the important things like the routers, firewalls, etc. Those problems are for the SysAdmins, Network Admins, etc. My job, mostly, is remote logging into users' machines and fixing whatever issues they may have. My goal is to be a network admin for this company. Their infrastructure seems so cool, and it looks like I can learn quite a lot here. How fast do you think I can climb this ladder? I am 26 right now, turning 27 this year. I only have my CompTIA A+ right now. Which diplomas/certificates would you suggest? I don't know if anything Cisco would apply here, they seem to use Mikrotik and Ubiquiti for most of the networking equipment. Thanks

If there's a startup builder and you as a programmer in your business, please kinda tell me how did the process or how you were build it ? I mean something to do before publishing our project. Now i'm making a startup that base on PHP and don't know how I make my site secure and fast. I'm afraid if soon there's so many complain from my users about the security and i don't know how to tell them. If you guys have a resource or something I can do next, please describes below and give me some links. Thank you.

So, before I start I also want to know where you would go if you were me or where you plan on going in your own careers. But I also want some opinions because I'm torn between two options. So, I am currently 16 years of age, in high school (New Zealand) doing both L3 and L2 computer science (don't worry about L2 L3.) Which essentially means it's like a course provided by the local university to help me and other students understand computer science. I've always been a networking guy, I've always enjoyed routing and switching and even have my CCNA Routing and Switching certification. The problem is that I was originally planning on going to college which isn't as much theory but more practical (Cisco Certifications, Vmware, Apache, SQL etc.). But, while doing this computer science studies in my cs classes I'm finding I also enjoy the theory. We've been doing things like FSMs, representing data using binary, formal languages, complexity, algorithms etc. I always though math was very boring, but I've started enjoying it ever since this year. So I'm wondering what would be the best bet for my career and my enjoyment? Doing practical stuff and get my certifications, or do theory and science at University. I'm torn between the two because one person says that networking is dead, while the other says it's alive, and one person says I might never like networking and the other says that computer science leaves my options open etc etc. So, I've come to this forum to ask what you believe the best bet for me is. I'm probably going to head into the network security area or maybe down the system analyst route. Not sure yet, but I like both of them and am wondering which would be the best for me. Another thing to consider is that I've never actually worked in a real networking environment, meaning I've never physically wired buildings and installed new routers. Although I have used GNS3 and Cisco Packet Tracer. Thanks guys, I really hope you can give me some input because in the next year or so I may end up going to Uni or College and don't want to get in a mess.

I searched for awhile and I was unable to find a thread on it so here we go. So what does everyone do for a Profession, career, job, work, way to make money, or if you dont make money what do you do?