How to break into the IT field?

Hi all, I thought I would solicit some advice from the plethora of tech pros who post on this forum. I was recently laid-off from my company, and thought that this might be an excellent opportunity to make a career switch. I have 16 years of experience in a customer service oriented field, in which my main expertise was materials/parts procurrment along with employee/department management. I also served as the company's "computer guy", diagnosing and troubleshooting pc, printer, and software issues along with user setup and maintenance, and some simple network and TCP/IP issues.

Of all my responsibilities, I had the most fun handling the technical challenges. I just seem to be drawn to anything hands-on and structured in nature. So my question is, how does someone without any formal experience or training with a BS in Finance (not computers) break into this field? I believe a great start would be with a Help Desk or Desktop Support position, but do I need certifications first?

I would appreciate any and all comment and suggestions. Thanks!

Polar

 

I agree with Flynn's thoughts

Personally I started in Telco 11+ years ago in an entry level position (making peanuts)...along the way I ended up getting several Certs, moved into implementation, engineering, and now into sales/contract management.

Of all the postions... I loved Sales Engineering - live trouble shooting and design is the best job I had (excluding the pay).

Now with 6+ certs I sell & manage federal telco contracts and crunch 100K+ CLINs and the $$$ is on target w/ what Flynn indicated.

Best best - get in touch with IT recruiting firms (APEX etc) and track a path on your proposed IT career.

 

http://hostedjobs.openhire.com/epos...&levelid1=19084&CFID=9636104&CFTOKEN=70074323

CARFAX is hiring IT folks- see if any of these listings appeal to you! Shoot me your resume- reneeventrice@carfax.com and I will submit it to HR for you.

 

How bad is the commute to the offices?

 

if you are talking about CARFAX, it's really not bad. I drop my son at school at 7:45am, and I am in the parking lot by 8:15am, most days. It's at the corner of 28 and 29, close to a Trader Joes and Lifetime Fitness. Getting OUT of Ashburn- from Hillside Elementary to 28- takes the awhile, about 15-18 minutes to go 6 miles! the ride down 28 is cake. T

The ride back (between 5:30 and 6:30pm)is normally about the same, but lately there's been a hold up between McClearen and the Greenway entrance on 28 that's added about 10 minutes to my evening ride.

Thank goodness for Sirius satellite radio!! (Bababooie bababooie.)

 

Thanks a lot to all who replied. I have been told by several other people that good communications skills, a desire to learn, and the right attitude often trump technical experience when trying to enter the IT field. Your responses have helped to reinforce that.

I am fortunate to be at a place in my life that money is not the most important component in the equation, and taking an entry level position to gain practical experience toward future advancement is a very real possibility right now. I am more interested in achieving an improved quality of life and personal/ professional balance (i.e. more training time on the bike, uh, I mean with my wife... ). My previous job entailed regular 50-60 hour work weeks with VERY HIGH STRESS for not a lot of money in a crappy industry, so the bottom line is I'm ready to have some fun and enjoy going to work again!

Thanks again folks.

Polar

 

First, let me preface this by saying, you will no doubt do excellently in whatever you choose to tackle. And second, I know the example below is not for an entry-level position.

That being said, one of my best friends recently went to a job interview at which he spent an engaging and very positive 5 hours with the techs and managers, for an IT-related field in which he has years of experience, and lots of knowledge, a drive to learn more, great personality, etc.

They did NOT hire him, because the other candidate had a few more years' experience. He was told if they could hire 2 people, he would have been next.

Sometimes, experience really does matter, so if you're up against experienced applicants, keep in mind you'll have to pull out all stops to win that job. Don't mean to be a wet blanket, just a dose of reality.

My friend did indeed get hired by the next company he interviewed with, and he now works for the company that owns/runs Openband's backbone. I told him if anything else happens to our internets, I'm coming after him personally! I'm sure he's really scared.

Also, connections like redon1's offer are invaluable when getting into this kind of work... it's how I got into healthcare IT, and probably how many others did it too. Networking and who you know is often just as important or moreso as what you know.

Best of luck! Don't forget, research the companies you interview at, and be ready to answer the hard questions, like how many quarters would it take to stack up to the height of the Empire State Building.

(I'm not kidding, a friend of mine had to field that one once....)

 

Techno,

Thanks for the kind words! Positive feedback such as this only helps to bolster my resolve and enthusiasm.

And I know what you mean about hanging in there. It seems to me that perserverance is a characteristic that is absolutely necessary when job hunting. It's funny how the right things seem to happen at the right time -- even being laid off.


Polar