29 year old struggling to feed himself seeking employment in IT

[PhoenixFire22588]

1 minute ago, beerdrunkmonk said:

29 is still young, however the older you get, the harder it is to wedge your foot in the door. Experienced professionals who are in their 40's, 50's, even 60's have no trouble finding work in IT these days, but these are also people who have built up a valuable skillset. And that's really the mindset you want. You want to do whatever you need to to get your foot in the door, and then proactively work toward building up a skillset that's valuable in the current market. Cloud and DevOps are in demand now, and so is security (but you'll need a few years under your belt). 

 

If you don't know exactly what direction to go and have no professional experience, I'd start with CompTIA A+. It's good for just getting a foot in the door for that first help desk job. After that, I recommend getting three entry level certs in the following three areas: networking, administration, and security. I suggest CCNA (skip Network+), Linux+, and Security+. And do a Python course on CodeAcademy. Once you're at this point, you can hopefully start narrowing down what you're interested in and what opportunities are available so that you can pick a more specific path. 

 

Make it happen. Success in IT is mostly your attitude toward solving problems. If you're the type that self starts and figures things out on your own, you'll do well. If you're not, you won't. 

Thank you! Getting those certs is what I'll aim towards first. I appreciate you laying them all out for me in such a clear manner.

[AngryBeaver]

On 1/23/2021 at 5:49 PM, PhoenixFire22588 said:

Thank you! Getting those certs is what I'll aim towards first. I appreciate you laying them all out for me in such a clear manner.

Another path in IT to look in to is Infosec. Anything in IT security is highly paid and in tremendous demand. Since you don't have a degree I would aim for thr comptia trifecta (A+, Network+, and Security+). Now depending on state/country an entry level Infosec analyst normally start in the 60-70k range on average. Get 5+ years of experience and that pay can easily break 6 figures.

 

I am throwing this out there because while IT professionals are a dime a dozen when it comes to Information security there is a huge worker deficit.

[DavidKalinowski]

Don't know if its been mentioned (I did not read all three pages) But if there is a (and don't roast me for this) a bestbuy around you, try to get on there in the Geek Squad, it may not be great, but its a "tech related field" to get some basic experience.

 

Also if you are in the US, look into Western Governors University, they have a nice tech program, (i am currently going back for B.S. Cyber Security and Information Assurance) The nice thing about WGU, its done in 6 month blocks, you can focus on one class at a time, just have to make sure you are progressing. I think 3-4 completed classes in that 6 month term is minimum. But if you can go faster than that, that's just less time and money you have spend on it. Also they throw in covering the cost of like 15 certs by going through their classes. And since you are 29 you should qualify for Pell grant, and at least Federal student loans. (two options on the loan part, only take what you need and have less to pay back, or take the full amount for helping with living expenses and have more to pay back. You could take the excess and throw it in savings account/bond or something)

 

My explanation for my recommendations: I took some basic computer repair classes in high school through a Vocational tech school. Graduated, started working at Walmart in Electronics, then Cell Phones, 13 years of retail.. (during that time I moon lighted as an independent Computer Repair Tech and went to peoples houses and helped them with computer issues, setup TVs, and what not 50-200 bucks a pop depending on the time and effort put forth, I also registered my self as an LLC with the IRS. People are more willing to pay higher prices if you look like a "real" company) I then finally got tired of retail, got my A+ and got lucky, my local community college had a Help Desk/Comp Tech position open up, and two of my former Vocational teachers where friends with the two guys that wound up being the ones who hired me.  The moral of my story? There are options, and hope. You are not old, I'm pushing 40 and just now going back to finish my schooling. Where there is a will, there is a way and all that. Good luck.

[DavidKalinowski]

1 hour ago, SGT-AMD said:

Another old post, so here goes: I'm 58 and have been unemployed for 2 years.

I now have many health issues (just came back from being in the hospital for 18 days), and if you do computer work, then troubleshooting can be something you can try.

Remember flow charts? You can apply them to almost anything, not just computers.

I have fixed cars, when mechanics could not even figure out what was wrong.

I was in the radio communications business for 39 years in one form or another, and troubleshooting is the puzzle that is interesting to figure out.

Might be something to think about.

 

 

Ah troubleshooting, I forgot to mention it in my post. 90% of my job is troubleshooting. and most of the time it ends up being a lose connection or user error.

[PhoenixFire22588]

Thank you everyone for your continued support. It means a lot. It's been about 2 months now and despite not even limiting my search to tech oriented positions I'm simply not getting replies. They say we're in the midst of another great depression and well... I'm feelin it. I think it's especially worse in my city (Las Vegas). Our economy is HEAVILY based on tourism and we're just not getting it (rightfully so tbh). I'm still trying and doing what I can.

 

Thank you again for the support, everyone  

[DavidKalinowski]

Vegas, yea I can see the issue a little bit more clearly now. Are there any neighboring towns that might be easier to find work in? (I'm sure you have tried, but I had to mention it.) Try this, I put Las Vegas into indeed and come up with some possibilities https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=&l=Las+Vegas%2C+NV

also, if it gets really really bad (i hate to suggest this, because I honestly would not do it my self) you could always look into military service, national guard reserves or something. buddy of mine did that to help get through a really tough time after we got out of high school, it paid for a good chunk of his college tuition too. 

[PhoenixFire22588]

4 minutes ago, DavidKalinowski said:

Vegas, yea I can see the issue a little bit more clearly now. Are there any neighboring towns that might be easier to find work in? (I'm sure you have tried, but I had to mention it.) Try this, I put Las Vegas into indeed and come up with some possibilities https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=&l=Las+Vegas%2C+NV

also, if it gets really really bad (i hate to suggest this, because I honestly would not do it my self) you could always look into military service, national guard reserves or something. buddy of mine did that to help get through a really tough time after we got out of high school, it paid for a good chunk of his college tuition too. 

Yeah its a big one lol. Im on that app all the time haha. And all the other ones. I'm kind of stuck here. Transportation is an issue for me. I'm pretty much walking/bussing everywhere. I've got my gaming rig/work from home station but beyond that I'm relying on the good graces of others till I lock down some income.