IT career: How to start?

[lkiller123]

Right now I'm a Sophomore in high school and planning for a career in the IT field after college.

I am aiming for something like an IT manager in a large company

Summer vacation is coming, and I am trying to take full advantage of the spare time offered. Because my high school is very competitive, I am trying to step out from the crowd by taking a first step into the IT field. I hope that doing so will guarantee me a higher chance to be admitted into a reputable college.

So here are my questions:

• How to start? What should I do?
• Currently I am eyeing on obtaining a few very basic certifications (COMPTIA A+ or Cisco CCENT). Are those good for me? If so, are they hard to study for within a summer? Are there any online courses for the certificates?
• What other kinds of certifications should I get?
• Internships?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Serra]

Step 1: Get an education

Step 2: Take actions based on post-secondary education path selected in step 1

Step 3: Get an entry-level job in accordance with education and actions in steps 1 & 2

etc.


Let's talk post-secondary before we talk jumping right in to a career if possible. It's not always possible, but it is ideal. Post-secondary could be anywhere between 2-7 years of your life depending on what you take, where you take it, and how far you go. Get that part figured out and then you can start to plan for what to do after it.

[lkiller123]

Step 1: Get an education

Step 2: Take actions based on post-secondary education path selected in step 1

Step 3: Get an entry-level job in accordance with education and actions in steps 1 & 2

etc.


Let's talk post-secondary before we talk jumping right in to a career if possible. It's not always possible, but it is ideal. Post-secondary could be anywhere between 2-7 years of your life depending on what you take, where you take it, and how far you go. Get that part figured out and then you can start to plan for what to do after it.

Heh, I think I asked my Q in a wrong way.

Right now I am planning on what to do in college, as well as how to get into it. Honestly getting to a strong college nowadays is getting difficult, and I am trying to stand out from the crowd by taking a first step into the IT field.

So in a nutshell, I will certainly be getting into a college, and I am definitely aiming somewhere high. I am already doing well in school, but I am in a very competitive school. I just want to know what I will have to do that will separate me from the crowd.

Thank you!!

[SexyMF]

Work experience.

Being book-smart doesn't cut it for IT. You need hands on experience.

So find somebody to work for and offer yourself for work experience (i.e. not paid)

[Scubar]

You could do the Comptia A+ and Network+ in a few days of reading as they are very basic but they aren't worth when it comes to getting a job. The CCENT wont do you any good because employers would only take you on if you have atleast a couple years prior experience.

Best bet is to just hunt around and find an employer who is willing to take you on and give you the chance to learn as you work.

[Serra]

At this stage I would say:

IF you are planning on getting a 4+ year education, do not worry about certifications or any of that stuff now. Certifications expire and besides that if you get one now it may not cover a topic that is relevant by the time that you are done. Worry about that more in say the last year of school or so, but even then don't worry too much. Doing very well in post-secondary is better for gaining entry work than doing average and having a certification or two. People will understand that you do not have work experience coming out of school, so they will care more about who can apply themselves more. Plus, by focusing on academics you can earn scholarships and internships, which go far in the short and long run of things.

IF you are planning on a 2-year education that is another story. Then certs start to become relevant, though the exact certs would depend on what you were going to school for (course name) and, if you have an idea, what area of technology you want to start in / move to. I see you are aiming at a management position, but there are a few ways to get there... eg. one option would be to just take courses in management and take that route, but once you split off to working up from within IT you can really start in any one of the 5-6 major areas (each with anywhere between 4-20+ subareas...). But we can talk that through a bit more if that's the path you want to aim for.

I guess if you can clarify that it would be of some help. If it's option A then that cuts off a lot of discussion I think, option B opens up a lot more.

[PaganII]

If you're top of class or show exceptional curiosity and talent then people will be looking for you. Or you may just get a hand written phone # on the back of a bar napkin.
Marry someone with connections.
Show the board that the GM is a moron (without hinting they are too). Have to keep your mouth shut and eat a lot of crap till the correct moment though.

[lkiller123]

Thanks for the response guys.
Yeah I will be going for 4-year for sure.

So it seems like I would have to focus for school for the summer!

[Serra]

Yep, I'd say if that's your situation then you should either hit the books if possible or, if money is tight for you, work as much as is humanly possible so that you're not burdened with worrying about finances in the upcoming year. Getting an early jump out of the gate is great if possible, but I don't want to make assumptions and you've got to focus on long-term success... most students who drop out will do so in the first year (depending on the course/location/demographic, this could be up to 90%.. as in the case for white women in computer science or math in many institutions), many because they either don't have the time or inclination to study.

One goal you should set yourself between now and then though is to seriously sit down and look for lists of scholarships you can apply for. It's really quite surprising how many there are out there, but to find a lot of them you need to do homework. Your post-secondary will undoubtedly have a few large lists that you can ask for, and you should go through every single one and apply for as many as you can. Scholarships are great for two reasons:
1. Free money for doing well
2. With many scholarships you will find out that you eventually make a connection with a business person who has an interest in student success. Those people are your best options for internships and entry jobs (eg. "yeah, I just graduated, and since you paid for half my education I thought I'd like to start here") and often have connections of their own they can help you with.

I didn't figure out the scholarship thing properly until my last 1-2 years of school. Despite being a white male whose family met very few of the criteria-based scholarship models I was actually able to make a lot of money (well, in a relative sense, for a poor/starving college student) just through good grades and applying for every scholarship I could. If you have any amount of minority/disability/odd circumstance and are willing to work for grades, it's likely you can pay for most if not all of your school this way... though I'd never count it as 'money in the bank' until it actually IS money in the bank.

[lkiller123]

Thanks a bunch man. After a bit of searching, I found out that my school currently has an entire list of scholarships just sitting there, untouched.

Also when you said that I should get the books, what are the books you recommend to start with for networking?

[Serra]

Thanks a bunch man. After a bit of searching, I found out that my school currently has an entire list of scholarships just sitting there, untouched.

Also when you said that I should get the books, what are the books you recommend to start with for networking?

No, no... I said "hit the books"... you know, like if you have time/inclination it doesn't hurt to take a bit of a look at the material you're going to cover in university before you get there... get you over the shock to your system that all the new material will be.

I don't know about your school, but at a Canadian university I went to they had a student service that sold used textbooks and old tests.

I can't say I've ever met someone who went that far, but if you've got free time to study for certs I figure you might have free time to start making your first year a bit easier.

[pb300]

I'm a few years into what you're planning and currently work as a quality analyst. I finished my bachelors in information systems technology last December from the University of Central Florida. I'm looking to move from QA into a more IT related area and move up asap. Below are my experiences/opinions, ymmv.

What I did (or should have done):
1. Spend the summers working and studying. More money now = less working later. If you have a job at a company that does tuition reimbursement, stay with them.
2. Senior year load up on AP/dual enrollment classes. This helps to get the first 2 years of school out of the way. First 2 years = high school all over with better electives.
3. Pick computer science as your major. This is what companies want, period.
4. Take as many electives as you can at community colleges. The classes are small, the work is hands on, the instructors will work with you. Another bonus of community college is the instructors often teach as a second job, i.e. they actually work in their field. Most University professors haven't set foot in a business in years and are there to use the schools equipment and take credit for the grad students work.
5. Do internships, this is the reason for step 1. Internships give you experience and fill up your resume.

What you don't see until you begin working:
1. You need the degree to get a job, but companies don't care that you have it. They're only interested in experience and what is on your resume.
2. Be a people person and talk to everyone because you can talk your way into anything. This came directly from my manager who told me "your job is about perception, not hard work." The talkers become managers, the workers stay workers.
3. DO NOT WORK IN QA!
4. If you are a white male then, well....good luck.

[noroger]

4. If you are a white male then, well....good luck.

I don't get it, could you explain?

[zanzabar]

I don't get it, could you explain?

the jobs are hard to come by with many companies not hiring since the veteran IT people dont want to be replaced by cheaper ones and many newer companies use managed service contracts alot now. so the only way u can get past the mess of people that are not ancient in the industry is to know some1 who will hire u personally or get a bump to the short list with affirmative action. so basicaly if u are a female minority u will get an interview almsot every time but a white male its a toss up if they go through a head hunter or have an application process and not just resumes (and for promotions to IT management then u stand no chance as a white male)


and with what pb300 said on the community collage, every1 i know who has gotten a good IT job has gotten it through recommendations from the community collage nite class teachers, those classes are golden since the teachers work in consulting most of the time and then the people in the classes are taking them to learn new systems and software so u meet alot of people who are were u want to be and its a great spot for networking.

the other kinda good but sometimes not so good spot to find work is through craigslist, u can easily find contract work to run wires, help install new networks and do things like new OS installs for contractors, it dose suck/pay and its normally only good for a weekend but ive seen people get picked up as partners (like an apprentice) for the people who do contract work out here with new installs and updates for servers and bulk workstation installs.