Posted October 30, 2019 (edited) So as the title says I'm looking for ideas and opinions on broad strokes entry level positions into IT and, well, working with computers in general. Always loved computers and been in school for it about a year now and certain events taking place are more or less forcing me to start looking into new employment opportunities so I figure now is as good a time as any to find one more or less in my field. So my questions is, assume the job is available near, what are afew ideal positions I should look into in order to make a solid IT based foundation? (whether its for actual skills or resume, either would be good) Edit: 1001 and 1002 A+ certs under my belts and looking to get first lvl of CCNA here shortly. Edited October 30, 2019 by AntiHero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 Without a degree or certifications, you're kind of limited. Maybe a very basic help desk job, but it likely wouldn't pay much more than retail. MacBook Pro 16 - i9-9980HK - Radeon Pro 5500m 8GB - 32GB DDR4 - 2TB NVME iPhone 12 Mini / Sony WH-1000XM4 / Bose Companion 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 Author Just now, Vitamanic said: Without a degree or certifications, you're kind of limited. Maybe a very basic help desk job, but it likely wouldn't pay much more than retail. probs should have mentioned that, i have the Basic 1001 and 1002 A+ certs and i am going for the CCNA lvl 1 here in afew weeks after this semester Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 A lot of people start out at helpdesk (read: helldesk) or tech support and work their way up from there. HAL9000: AMD Ryzen 9 3900x | Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black | 32 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 MHz | Asus X570 Prime Pro | ASUS TUF 3080 Ti | 1 TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus + 1 TB Crucial MX500 + 6 TB WD RED | Corsair HX1000 | be quiet Pure Base 500DX | LG 34UM95 34" 3440x1440 Hydrogen server: Intel i3-10100 | Cryorig M9i | 64 GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DDR4 | Gigabyte B560M-DS3H | 33 TB of storage | Fractal Design Define R5 | unRAID 6.9.2 Carbon server: Fujitsu PRIMERGY RX100 S7p | Xeon E3-1230 v2 | 16 GB DDR3 ECC | 60 GB Corsair SSD & 250 GB Samsung 850 Pro | Intel i340-T4 | ESXi 6.5.1 Big Mac cluster: 2x Raspberry Pi 2 Model B | 1x Raspberry Pi 3 Model B | 2x Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 Author 25 minutes ago, jj9987 said: A lot of people start out at helpdesk (read: helldesk) or tech support and work their way up from there. I have a solid "in" at the near by geek squad, and they have an employee leaving soon that'll need to be replaced. Worth checking out ya think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 4 minutes ago, AntiHero said: I have a solid "in" at the near by geek squad, and they have an employee leaving soon that'll need to be replaced. Worth checking out ya think? Don't quote me on this, but isn't Geek Squad more about sales than tech support? Or have I been brainwashed by the videos online.. But to be honest, I would probably look into an entry level IT job/apprenticeship position at either a specialized IT company, or a general company that has an IT department (e.g. hospital, school, etc.) "We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami. mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/ mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards work: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 I basically started with a local computer repair store, just fixing PC's and mobile devices and worked my way up from there (Similar to Geek Squad but paid a bit more than the minimum wage they offer and was hands on rather than mailing the PC off to a repair facility). With the A+ certs under your belt you should be able to get a decent starting position, I was able to get into an IT department without them but it really depends on your area and connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 Author 4 minutes ago, minibois said: Don't quote me on this, but isn't Geek Squad more about sales than tech support? Or have I been brainwashed by the videos online.. But to be honest, I would probably look into an entry level IT job/apprenticeship position at either a specialized IT company, or a general company that has an IT department (e.g. hospital, school, etc.) I mean you maybe right i honestly dont know, but the position opening up is a back of the shop hands on working with busted ass computers apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 1 minute ago, AntiHero said: I mean you maybe right i honestly dont know, but the position opening up is a back of the shop hands on working with busted ass computers apparently. You could check something like Glassdoor to get an idea of the company/location you'll be working at. "We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami. mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/ mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards work: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 49 minutes ago, AntiHero said: So as the title says I'm looking for ideas and opinions on broad strokes entry level positions into IT and, well, working with computers in general. Always loved computers and been in school for it about a year now and certain events taking place are more or less forcing me to start looking into new employment opportunities so I figure now is as good a time as any to find one more or less in my field. So my questions is, assume the job is available near, what are afew ideal positions I should look into in order to make a solid IT based foundation? (whether its for actual skills or resume, either would be good) Edit: 1001 and 1002 A+ certs under my belts and looking to get first lvl of CCNA here shortly. Have you considered getting some Cloud Certs? AWS has a great entry level cert to get your feet wet with cloud tech (AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner). Having Cloud certs can definitely open doors for you instead of CCNA. Main Workhorse:- Dual Xeon E5-2687W v3 | SuperMicro X10DAi Dual Socket Workstation Board | 64GB ECC DDR4 2400Mhz | Intel DC Series 500GB SSD | EVGA Geforce GTX Titan X | Seagate 7200rpm 2TB | SuperMicro Gold Series 1Kw PSU | SuperMicro EATX Chassis | LG Ultrawide 34inch 75hz | LG 1080p 22inch IPS 75hz | Ubuntu 19.10 x64 | Server:- Dual Xeon E5-2680 v1 | SuperMicro X9DRW-3LN4F+ Server Board | 64GB ECC DDR3 1600Mhz | 7 x Intel DC Series 500GB SSD's | SuperMicro SuperChasis SC119TQ-R700WB 1U | Redundant 450w Gold rated PSU's | ESXi 6.7 Laptop:- 2018 15 inch Apple Macbook Pro Touchbar with 16GB Memory and 256GB NVMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 Author 3 minutes ago, Clarkius said: I basically started with a local computer repair store, just fixing PC's and mobile devices and worked my way up from there (Similar to Geek Squad but paid a bit more than the minimum wage they offer and was hands on rather than mailing the PC off to a repair facility). With the A+ certs under your belt you should be able to get a decent starting position, I was able to get into an IT department without them but it really depends on your area and connections. defiantly intend to look around more, i wanna get ideas for now while i deal with all the BS going on with my current job and finish out the semester. Then use winter for job hunting and getting that lvl 1 ccna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 Author 2 minutes ago, ManyCoresGuy said: Have you considered getting some Cloud Certs? AWS has a great entry level cert to get your feet wet with cloud tech (AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner). Having Cloud certs can definitely open doors for you instead of CCNA. well im considering it now lol. just another cert to add to the list i suppose, i was told based on my major that the first 2 lvls of CCNA would be good to have and the official classes are required courses. for reference my major is cybersecurity and forensics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 1 minute ago, AntiHero said: defiantly intend to look around more, i wanna get ideas for now while i deal with all the BS going on with my current job and finish out the semester. Then use winter for job hunting and getting that lvl 1 ccna. Yeah I'm working towards my CCNA as well, honestly Geek Squad could be a good idea but just keep in mind there are different parts to Geek Squad as well, and there's not a lot of room to climb within the position. If possible try and find some local repair stores that would have you doing more hands on and be less focused on pushing unnecessary warranties and protection plans on customers to increase profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 If your major is cyber security then definitely going the cloud route will make more sense for you. There is a huge demand for cyber security professionals that have a background in cloud. Others have mentioned starting at the helpdesk level could be a good start but i respectfully disagree. You dont want to enter and industry thats already saturated and growth potential is limited. I suggest skipping the whole help desk idea and look for companies looking to hire on junior engineers or cyber security professionals. Another pro tip is that you should really learn how to use linux. Remember, most enterprise workloads are on linux so thats also a hot skill to have. Main Workhorse:- Dual Xeon E5-2687W v3 | SuperMicro X10DAi Dual Socket Workstation Board | 64GB ECC DDR4 2400Mhz | Intel DC Series 500GB SSD | EVGA Geforce GTX Titan X | Seagate 7200rpm 2TB | SuperMicro Gold Series 1Kw PSU | SuperMicro EATX Chassis | LG Ultrawide 34inch 75hz | LG 1080p 22inch IPS 75hz | Ubuntu 19.10 x64 | Server:- Dual Xeon E5-2680 v1 | SuperMicro X9DRW-3LN4F+ Server Board | 64GB ECC DDR3 1600Mhz | 7 x Intel DC Series 500GB SSD's | SuperMicro SuperChasis SC119TQ-R700WB 1U | Redundant 450w Gold rated PSU's | ESXi 6.7 Laptop:- 2018 15 inch Apple Macbook Pro Touchbar with 16GB Memory and 256GB NVMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 Author 2 minutes ago, ManyCoresGuy said: If your major is cyber security then definitely going the cloud route will make more sense for you. There is a huge demand for cyber security professionals that have a background in cloud. Others have mentioned starting at the helpdesk level could be a good start but i respectfully disagree. You dont want to enter and industry thats already saturated and growth potential is limited. I suggest skipping the whole help desk idea and look for companies looking to hire on junior engineers or cyber security professionals. Another pro tip is that you should really learn how to use linux. Remember, most enterprise workloads are on linux so thats also a hot skill to have. So cloud will deff be something to look into, i do believe thats another required course for me and all of them are official cert courses as well. I think you have to take cloud computing OR database management, but they let you choose which one you wanna take. Also working my way through linux now, gotta say, love it! really wish it was more main stream but maybe the fact it isnt is a good thing. The major linux course and second half to the one i have now is next semester entitled "Linux Administration" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 2 minutes ago, AntiHero said: So cloud will deff be something to look into, i do believe thats another required course for me and all of them are official cert courses as well. I think you have to take cloud computing OR database management, but they let you choose which one you wanna take. Also working my way through linux now, gotta say, love it! really wish it was more main stream but maybe the fact it isnt is a good thing. The major linux course and second half to the one i have now is next semester entitled "Linux Administration" Awesome! Linux is definitely mainstream (for enterprise that is) so its a really useful skill to have. Main Workhorse:- Dual Xeon E5-2687W v3 | SuperMicro X10DAi Dual Socket Workstation Board | 64GB ECC DDR4 2400Mhz | Intel DC Series 500GB SSD | EVGA Geforce GTX Titan X | Seagate 7200rpm 2TB | SuperMicro Gold Series 1Kw PSU | SuperMicro EATX Chassis | LG Ultrawide 34inch 75hz | LG 1080p 22inch IPS 75hz | Ubuntu 19.10 x64 | Server:- Dual Xeon E5-2680 v1 | SuperMicro X9DRW-3LN4F+ Server Board | 64GB ECC DDR3 1600Mhz | 7 x Intel DC Series 500GB SSD's | SuperMicro SuperChasis SC119TQ-R700WB 1U | Redundant 450w Gold rated PSU's | ESXi 6.7 Laptop:- 2018 15 inch Apple Macbook Pro Touchbar with 16GB Memory and 256GB NVMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 30, 2019 Author 1 minute ago, ManyCoresGuy said: Awesome! Linux is definitely mainstream (for enterprise that is) so its a really useful skill to have. good, i legit cant wait to work with it more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 31, 2019 10 hours ago, minibois said: Don't quote me on this, but isn't Geek Squad more about sales than tech support? Or have I been brainwashed by the videos online.. But to be honest, I would probably look into an entry level IT job/apprenticeship position at either a specialized IT company, or a general company that has an IT department (e.g. hospital, school, etc.) It is, and you're expected to upsell things. If you like dealing with randos (there's in-store and also drive-to-peoples-houses) then it's probably at least a safe job. However YMMV, if you live in a dangerous area, I would avoid it. In Canada it's pretty safe. In the US I probably would only recommend the retail positions and avoid going to peoples houses/apartments entirely. By dangerous, I pretty much mean that if the pizza guy will not deliver there, you should probably avoid it. You are not paid enough to be someone to have to deal with a confrontation by someone who doesn't want to pay or doesn't want you to touch their other stuff to do the work you're supposed to do. Ideally, if you can avoid working retail, you should avoid working retail. You can get some experience on the entire "customer service" skillset from it, but you will not learn anything, and the only way up is through attrition (eg someone else being fired/quitting.) In an office environment, it's more likely the position will last longer so long as you're nice and don't step on peoples toes when it comes to solving an issue. People who love working retail tend to be really sociable, but it's also very draining to be at a retail job where you're surrounded by people who don't know how to plug usb cables in the right way. Which is to say, in terms of work experiences I hated, I hated the ones where "someone else" was not competent and I had to de-escalate the situation. One time is "ok I'll just fix it", but when it keeps happening with the same people, you want those incompetent people gone ASAP because if you keep having to fix their messes, you may as well just fix it yourself and get rid of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted October 31, 2019 Author 12 hours ago, Kisai said: Which is to say, in terms of work experiences I hated, I hated the ones where "someone else" was not competent and I had to de-escalate the situation. One time is "ok I'll just fix it", but when it keeps happening with the same people, you want those incompetent people gone ASAP because if you keep having to fix their messes, you may as well just fix it yourself and get rid of them. Yeah i would defiantly like to avoid retail if i can... im not much of a people person and have a low tolerance for being treated like crap by total strangers. deff going to keep looking but it always helps to have extra input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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