I'm 18 and I'm so lost

[hellyt6]

If you are planning on trying to be youtube famous, then don't you will get nowhere fast I guarantee it

Naw, too many people have that dream and don't get anywhere with it. I'd just want to try it and see what my voice sounds like on the other side of the microphone, and see what other people think.

[hellyt6]

Go try 1 year of computer science / computer fields in university. You are still young , burning 1 year of tuition may seems like a lot for something you may not decide to go with as a career , but you will find out if this is what you really want to live with.  IMO, burning 1 year of tuition to find out the answer to whether you love it or not is worth the money. If you don't want to do as a career? Just keep it as a hobby as you said . 

That's a good idea actually. What do you think of Eastern Kentucky University?

[MeltyMoon]

I live in rural Kentucky, cars are cheap, but no one around here has any money anyways. I think what I'm going to do is go ahead with my Cisco Education, make it big as a network admin somewhere, working on pcs on the side with my own little side-shop in some bigger city, and once I have a nice base.. Invest in a couple of the junker cars around here, a tractor trailor and a hauler, and a small lot somewhere south of Cincinnati and just have at it. What do you think?

Personally to me, it sounds like you still aren't sure as to what you want to do. Give it some time to think it over, because to me it looks like you are just throwing potential ideas into one large solution. The idea itself seems great, it just looks very difficult to pull off. My best suggestion would be to talk to your parents, and sit down and mull it over with family/other loved ones .

[d33g33]

It's a tough one to answer... I don't think you'll find an answer here but...

 

 

I enjoyed PC's when I was at school then studied after, where I live it was hard to geta  decent job in IT so ironically i got a job at an abattoir... then I did a trade as a jeweller... Then I traveled over the other side of the country and that's when I really started doing IT.

 

I really like it, I work on PC's all day and still work on them when I get home. The environment for me is very different, very enterprised base at work and then watercooling and vcore to the ballz when I get home... 

[M-ursu]

Follow the jesus to find a right path

[hellyt6]

It's a tough one to answer... I don't think you'll find an answer here but...

 

 

I enjoyed PC's when I was at school then studied after, where I live it was hard to geta  decent job in IT so ironically i got a job at an abattoir... then I did a trade as a jeweller... Then I traveled over the other side of the country and that's when I really started doing IT.

 

I really like it, I work on PC's all day and still work on them when I get home. The environment for me is very different, very enterprised base at work and then watercooling and vcore to the ballz when I get home... 

I love the idea of the IT field, I'm just unsure if I can deal with the people and the time strains.

[hellyt6]

Follow the jesus to find a right path

... He does have a nice taste in guns and smokes.. I trust him.

[EChondo]

I love computers as well, been so since 14 years old and now I'm a senior as well.

 

I specialize in computer hardware, but I recently got a job in IT and I'm doing networking and VOIP and a bit of desktop work on the side.

 

Have you thought of going into a different fields of computers? The IT Department I work for is my school district's, so if I'm not at the office, I'm at the local elementary, middle and high schools doing VOIP and desktop work, mostly work orders unless we have to install new things.

 

Usually in IT there are multiple levels. There's help desk where you answer phones and try to help the person on the other line with the problem, if the problem is not solved then the help desk employee will have the person fill out a work order and one of the technicians will come to the location when they are available. Then there are the head guys like the director and whatnot that overseer the offices and technicians. 

[pit5000]

If you are planning on trying to be youtube famous, then don't you will get nowhere fast I guarantee it

 

i agree

 

for me: 2 years (1year with some consistency), only 28000 views

[TheMissxu]

Get a business degree (manage the nerds + don't touch a computer part except at home, and maybe a keyboard) -- have fun!

[hellyt6]

Get a business degree (manage the nerds + don't touch a computer part except at home, and maybe a keyboard) -- have fun!

I'm tempted to mark the thread solved at this answer

[hellyt6]

I love computers as well, been so since 14 years old and now I'm a senior as well.

 

I specialize in computer hardware, but I recently got a job in IT and I'm doing networking and VOIP and a bit of desktop work on the side.

 

Have you thought of going into a different fields of computers? The IT Department I work for is my school district's, so if I'm not at the office, I'm at the local elementary, middle and high schools doing VOIP and desktop work, mostly work orders unless we have to install new things.

 

Usually in IT there are multiple levels. There's help desk where you answer phones and try to help the person on the other line with the problem, if the problem is not solved then the help desk employee will have the person fill out a work order and one of the technicians will come to the location when they are available. Then there are the head guys like the director and whatnot that overseer the offices and technicians. 

I didn't actually know that. I'll have to do some more research. As TheMissxu said, a business degree would probably help me get to higher levels, correct?

[Enderman]

Step one: Quit smoking.

[EChondo]

I didn't actually know that. I'll have to do some more research. As TheMissxu said, a business degree would probably help me get to higher levels, correct?

Possibly yes, but when I went into the interview they primarily asked me what my past experiences are and what kind of certification I had. They mostly asked if I had my CompTIA+ certification.

 

CompTIA+ is a certification for the most basic things about computers. Since I didn't have my CompTIA+, but I knew a lot about computers they hired me. A little after my boss ended up giving me a CompTIA+ study book. I linked you the cram sheet page, but the actual book delves into each category. 

 

Also, depending on where you work in IT, there are other levels of certification. Most places use Cisco phones and call manager setups. There are CCENT, CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE certifications, they all have different levels and different fields that you can be certified in such as firewall, networking, VOIP, data center, etc.. All in all, you pretty much just study for the certification test, pay for the test and hopefully you pass it, if you don't you'll have to pay for it again and retake the test, but certifications hold a lot of ground in the IT field. My bosses didn't even care if I planned to go to college or not. One of my bosses just has certifications from different areas like Novell and Microsoft, but he doesn't have a college degree in sight.

[hellyt6]

Possibly yes, but when I went into the interview they primarily asked me what my past experiences are and what kind of certification I had. They mostly asked if I had my CompTIA+ certification.

 

CompTIA+ is a certification for the most basic things about computers. Since I didn't have my CompTIA+, but I knew a lot about computers they hired me. A little after my boss ended up giving me a CompTIA+ study book. I linked you the cram sheet page, but the actual book delves into each category. 

 

Also, depending on where you work in IT, there are other levels of certification. Most places use Cisco phones and call manager setups. There are CCENT, CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE certifications, they all have different levels and different fields that you can be certified in such as firewall, networking, VOIP, data center, etc.. All in all, you pretty much just study for the certification test, pay for the test and hopefully you pass it, if you don't you'll have to pay for it again and retake the test, but certifications hold a lot of ground in the IT field. My bosses didn't even care if I planned to go to college or not. One of my bosses just has certifications from different areas like Novell and Microsoft, but he doesn't have a college degree in sight.

My Cisco Teacher is like that, doesn't even have an education degree, just knows enough about networking to be able to pass it on to the younger generations. I'll have my ComTIA+ and CCNA certifications by the end of my high school career, and over the summer I plan on taking the Linux+, Net+, and Windows Server certifications on my own. My only issue right now, is if after all of this work is it going to be worth it?

[Yoinkerman]

I'm a telecom/radio/signals tech for a major railway.  It's very tech related, but doesn't directly compete with my love of computers, so I can separate the two and it's great.  That's an area to look into possibly, being a telecom tech.  Get to learn all about the backbones of the world.

[EChondo]

My Cisco Teacher is like that, doesn't even have an education degree, just knows enough about networking to be able to pass it on to the younger generations. I'll have my ComTIA+ and CCNA certifications by the end of my high school career, and over the summer I plan on taking the Linux+, Net+, and Windows Server certifications on my own. My only issue right now, is if after all of this work is it going to be worth it?

If you have your CompTIA+ and CCNA certs before high school ends, I'd say it is very well worth it. I know my IT department would more than likely hire you on the spot, if they had money in their budget to pay you though(since it's school regulated).

 

Have you ever considered emailing or getting into contact a IT employer? For information sake. With a CompTIA+ and CCNA(depending on which CCNA it is) could land you a nice job at any IT department, but they might be weary of your experience. Personally if a 18 year old turned an application in and they had zero experiences, but had CompTIA+ and CCNA certifications, then I'd definitely have them come in for an interview, but hey, I'm only 17 years old here! I'd say at least have a CompTIA+, my boss just recently passed his CCNA(I think it was networking) and he's in his middle 30's.