Anyone work in IT?

Im looking to change careers and really want to get into IT. The thing is I don't have any tech experience and just have moderate knowledge.
A friend of mine was just hired as an IT consultant who was in the same boat as me- no experience and limited knowledge, but the firm is training him.
My question is-is this common for the field? Do companies frequently hire entry-level guys and then train them themselves? I really dont have the time or money to go back to school and I'm looking for anyone who is in the field that may be able to offer some info. Thanks

 

Check with the poster 'IIIIIIII'. He's a very nice fellow and I'm fairly certain he works in IT. He may be able to assist you, and is typically online here during the day.

In our company, a larger communication base operation, we will hire people without much experience and send them off for their MPLS or whatever other certifications and absorb the cost. The individual pays for the courses themselves, and upon passing the program, the company reimburses. It's kind of a way to ensure the individual is serious about their career and has the ability to obtain the knowledge and know how for related problems in the field.

Not a huge help here Im sure, but it's something to get the ball rolling until those truly in the know step in to assist.
Good luck in your future career, whatever avenue you choose.

 

I'm in IT. I saw the "Can't get a job without experience, but can't get experience without a job" conundrum a mile away. I enlisted in the Air Force at 19, went off to BMT at 20 and during tech. school received very good training. You receive even more for a few years after training has ended, which is money in the bank.

I got out at 24 and knock on wood have never had a problem finding a job, even without a degree (which I'm working on now).

So if you're able, that might be an answer to your question.

 

IT Admin here. wasn't my initial career choice but I made the change early on - I accepted an offer from an exec/partner & that decision led me to where I am today. to be honest I had no experience prior to the offer - it's all about having the ambition & knowing the right people.

as far as in house training & continuing education goes, those are very common. the vast world of technology grows day by day, hour by hour even. it's awesome that big employers make such offers to keep your knowledge sharp.

 

did IT tech work in the Corps. Telephone Systems and PC repair

hook me up with a job bebop damn! lol I mean I'm a former Marine, older so i value anything, i have a TS clearance.....and did I mention I did IT work in the Marines??!! lol

 

^^ I would if I could nebro - seriously but as far as IT goes we aren't hiring. we are always looking for sales account execs though (TV & Digital)

 

Thanks for the responses so far. It's encouraging to hear it may be posibble with some connections.

 

let me add in what others havent. you will get bored of it. anything computer related you will not to touch afer 4-5 years of doing the same thing over and over and over again. family will bring you their pcs and want you to fix em. you must learn to say fuck you i fixing shit. trust me when i say its a good paying job but holy shit does it become redundant

 

I'm hoping to get into the field soon also. I'm halfway done with my degree and I am going to try and get my A+ really soon and then my Network+. I have personal experience with computers, a few years of making house calls for electronic support, but I haven't had any luck finding anything yet. I haven't seen a lot of entry-level openings either though. If I have, they are all requiring more experience or more education/certs than I have.

 

actually this thread pertains to me too.

I have no real interest in IT but that's where jobs are at. I need to leverage my people skills with some IT knowledge. My background is management science and leadership and if I incorporate some IT in there, I wonder where that would bring me.

edit: Connections for me are NOT a problem at all. My brother in law is a manager at a fortune 500 company for one of the biggest software development companies and is constantly hounding me to work for him. I want to finish school.

I would like a career in something where if I eventually told you what I did, I may have to erase your memory kinda thing. But I know it takes time, training and connections to get into that.

 

A lot of IT entry-level jobs are call centers supporting VERY structured and narrow products. Almost any problem (and their resolutions) they can possibly have is most likely documented and they provide training.

It is a good stepping stone, but it is not as exciting as ITT commercials make it out to be. You'll be dealing with a lot of idiotic and ungrateful people every single day. You will say "fuck you" under your breath every time your phone rings. It's a pretty thankless career.

 

I feel being a people person is literally just as important in the field as experience/knowledge.

 

Same here except Navy.

You can self study and get a certificate and someone will hire you. Do an internship for a 20 hours a week somewhere while you are studying for your MCSA or CCENT and you will make 45-50K entry level when you get a certification.

I live in the midwest making good money (we'll say 75-100k range) for a company that offers phenomenal bennies. I have no college and no desire for college, and if I did, the company pays for it. I get 45 paid days off a year, cohabitation partner bennies (so I don't have to marry her to bennie her), etc

 

appreciate the kind words, jmac.

from my own experiences, most employers expect folks entering an entry-level position, to understand basic mac/windows operating systems. some examples would be installing software, mapping printers, creating users, giving permissions, basic understanding of networking, and the different types of networking schemes, etc.

i think that someone who has limited knowledge and who wants to enter the i.t. field, should get themselves a few pc's, a mac, a printer, and start messing around with them. give yourself assignments and play around with the equipment. oh, and read up on email programs such as entourage or outlook. dealing with email issues is probably the biggest pain in the ass for me.

oh, and let's not forget people skills! you can make your life a lot easier for yourself if you're able to explain problems to the layman-user when shit hits the fan.

oh, and i forgot to mention that some i.t. jobs are very specific. in these jobs, you'll typically be trained because you'll be working on software specific to the company. i was referring more to i.t. jobs where you're expected to contribute right away.

 

this is true, and it's honestly one of the reasons why i'm thinking of moving out of this field.

you're always dealing with people who aren't happy. they're not contacting you unless something is wrong. though there are people who understand the difficulty of being in i.t. and it's nice when they're appreciative.

 

IT is a broad term and it depends on what you want to do.

Program? Answer phones and troubleshoot? On-site repair? Design?

Some of these require little to no experience, others you will need certificates or a degree.

If computers aren't your thing and you have limited knowledge, you'll probably need some experience or schooling to get your foot in the door. If you already have knowledge, you can probably just get a job answering phones and work up from there without any kind of certs or degree. That's what I did and just worked my way up from there.

 

If you have no experience, you'll likely start in a call center, answering phones and following a script while just escalating service requests to more experienced technicians. People will be complete assholes to you. If you're lucky, you'll get the training necessary to move up in your department. But it's a long way from doing that to having the skills to be a consultant. And keep in mind, the IT world is a weird place. There are still many people in the industry who got into computers when they weren't so ubiquitous. These people are pretty peculiar. They're not often the kinds of people who watch MMA, have girlfriends or wives who are above a 3 at best, or know how to have any kind of fun aside from tinkering with Visual Basic scripts. Being that you are posting on Sherdog, you probably don't share a lot of common interests with them. So you will be treated like an outsider. And I've mentioned this before in another thread, so I'll say it here: If you have any kind of formal education (not vocational), do not start working in IT. It makes you more of an outsider to them. And your superiors will always give other people first crack at training and promotional opportunities. There is a stigma, in the IT world, attached to having a formal education. And it's not a good one.

 

IT is a thankless job as others have mentioned.
Senior execs love the benefits that a good IT infrastructure provides to their companies, but hate to pay for it and will look at their IT dept first when they're looking to slash costs.

If you must enter the field, be prepared to deal with seriously incompetent senior mgmt and execs, especially in the IT dept. Dealing with users is a breeze compared to dealing with those people.

 

Wow alot of mixed opinions about it. Everyone saying negative things about IT, I basically feel the same exact way about my current field which is why I need a change. The few people I know working IT are generally happy with the job but I guess its like any other thing in life. Some like it some don't

 

I'm not unhappy. I love it here - I'm my own boss. of course, I have to respect the CEO & he can be a dick at times but that's normal. I come & go as I please, wear whatever I want & work how I want.

I have great rapport with the rest of the office & I don't dread dealing with them. also, I love getting my hands on new gadgets to play with & test