Anyone work in the IT business?

[MRPOOPS]

I am looking for a career change, I have a sales/marketing background, college degree, and looking for get into the IT field.

Anyone have any suggestions on what area is going to grow?

 

[hellah10]

are you trying to get away from sales and marketing all together and go into being a System/Network Administrator?

This is a tough field to just jump into - you will have to learn ALOT really quick. Most of us who have been working in IT have been doing this since we were little kids... I started messing with this stuff at age 9.

first thing you will need to learn is a basic windows or linux network enviroment... from there, you can dive into the big dogs.. like security - databases - or networking

i started from the bottom up, now im doing VoIP

 

[MRPOOPS]

are you trying to get away from sales and marketing all together and go into being a System/Network Administrator?

This is a tough field to just jump into - you will have to learn ALOT really quick. Most of us who have been working in IT have been doing this since we were little kids... I started messing with this stuff at age 9.

first thing you will need to learn is a basic windows or linux network enviroment... from there, you can dive into the big dogs.. like security - databases - or networking

i started from the bottom up, now im doing VoIP

Well starting from the bottom is no problem for me.

thats life,

 

[hellah10]

whats your experience in computers?

if i gave you all the parts to a computer... would you be able to put it together and load it with an operating system?

 

[MRPOOPS]

whats your experience in computers?

if i gave you all the parts to a computer... would you be able to put it together and load it with an operating system?

No i couldnt but that would be very easy for me to learn.


im 33 yrs old,

when i was younger i was always playing sports, not sitting on a computer like kids today.

 

[hellah10]

adults seem to be on computers more then kids from what ive been seeing

you will need to start with your A+ certification that is givin by CompTIA.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A+_Certification

once you complete that, you can then dive into the Microsoft tests and get your MCSE. Once you get those done, then you can go out and find a job... your first job will more then likely be a helpdesk position. Stay there for a year, learn as much as possible and get right into Cisco, which is where the money is in my opinion

now, you could go a completely different route and start programming. There are alot of languages to learn like Java, XML, .NET, etc,,

 

[MRPOOPS]

adults seem to be on computers more then kids from what ive been seeing

you will need to start with your A+ certification that is givin by CompTIA.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A+_Certification

once you complete that, you can then dive into the Microsoft tests and get your MCSE. Once you get those done, then you can go out and find a job... your first job will more then likely be a helpdesk position. Stay there for a year, learn as much as possible and get right into Cisco, which is where the money is in my opinion

now, you could go a completely different route and start programming. There are alot of languages to learn like Java, XML, .NET, etc,,

Thank you for your help.

Sounds like a good plan of attack.

 

[TTinCO]

If you want to swap parts for HP, the A+ is great. If you want to run a network, the MCSE is what you're looking for.

The IT field isn't what it was 7-10 years ago, and there are a LOT of guy with experience looking for damn near anything.

 

[hellah10]

no doubt TT...MCSE's are a dime a dozen now

 

[TTinCO]

CCNA's are even worse out here....but any waterhead can be taught how to pass one test in a semester of CC

 

[hellah10]

my cousin is taking his CCVP test on Wednesday... I wont be ready for that test for at least another year. seems like you gotta keep taking these damn tests until you retire... i hate studying

 

[TTinCO]

I've had 2 jobs since I got my MCSE....pushing 10 years at the 2nd.

I'm all done studying-to old for that shit.

 

[quantumleap]

my cousin is taking his CCVP test on Wednesday... I wont be ready for that test for at least another year. seems like you gotta keep taking these damn tests until you retire... i hate studying

Voice should be hot for quite a while now. Seems like a lot of companies are switching from analog to digital.

 

[quantumleap]

I've had 2 jobs since I got my MCSE....pushing 10 years at the 2nd.

I'm all done studying-to old for that shit.

I hear ya TT. I had a couple months without an assignment and my manager wanted me to pass my Exchange 2003 exam. I just couldn't concentrate long enough to study. Especially since the new stuff is coming out this year.

 

[docmercer]

A+? You really want to start at that level? Geezus, why not just start doing tech support and be stuck at 40k or less forever?

If you have sales and marketting as a background, look at getting your foot in the door at teleco billing solutions provider. Take a few courses and see if you can get in even as a tester and learn the product A good sales person in the convergent billing world can make monster - and I mean MONSTER $$.

 

[hellah10]

apparently you missed the message where he says "I am looking for a career change"

cisco had a cert for this, CSE, but they dropped it

the man cant put a PC together, where do you expect to start him?

 

[Data]

apparently you missed the message where he says "I am looking for a career change"

cisco had a cert for this, CSE, but they dropped it

the man cant put a PC together, where do you expect to start him?

Apparently you missed the word "career". The geeker you get the less chances you have for a successfull career in IT. I know quite a few people who hold mid-to-high IT positions and none of them could put a computer together either. Sad but true. A winning personality and an aptitude for bull shitting is all one needs to go high in his IT career. Getting certs is pointless, except CCIE, but he is not going to get it anyway.

 

[hellah10]

i never have nor will hire anybody with no IT experience. Every company that Ive worked for which include two fortune 500 companies would never give the light of day for a guy that has zero experience.

but to each his own...

Certs are pointless, but most companies require them so that they may get "microsoft gold certified partner" or "cisco certified" ... although in my professional opinion, cisco certs are useful...microsoft certs are garbage, as well as comptia

if he wants to make money quick - learn SQL, Java, and XML... those are in the biggest demand atm. he wont even have to put a PC together

 

[hellah10]

actually poops.. if you wanna stick in sales, id sell medical equipment if i were you. every guy ive met has made 6 figures in their first year

i couldnt sell fire to the devil if my life depended on it... but thats what i would do