Just got an IT Job. It doesn't pay much but the experience and the potential for growth are more than worth it. If you're trying to get in here's what I've been told, experienced and am figuring out.
What most starting IT jobs is tech support and setup. Which means you'll be installing software and hardware and troubleshooting. Honestly 90% of doing the job is experience and recognizing problems. Even then, every day is a new problem so you have to figure things out. Imagine yourself as a digital Sherlock Holmes you get clues but the might not point in the right direction.
The best way to start getting some experience is to build yourself a test lab (or a virtual network of computers)
Test Lab:
1) Build a computer that can handle virtualization.
a)download VirtualBox from Oracle it's free (this is the program to make virtual networks)
b) Get your old college e-mail or borrow a friends.
c) Dreamspark.com. You can download a number of Microsoft programs using a college e-mail. This is FREE. Mainly (Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 Industry Pro)
d) Figure out how to make all this work. No hints from me. I'm serious, this is basically IT Engineering. You're setting up a network, figure it out. Use Google. Understand why things don't work and then make them work.
e) Later once it's set up figure out how to install a program on your Admin computer and push those installations so they can be used on the other computers. This is a basic thing you need to know how to do. Configure when things can and should be installed.
f) Other things to learn. Group Policies, Security Features, Printer Management, Active Directoy, Exchange, etc. Look at the MCSA 70-687 requirements and bascially become familiar with all of those.
Job Help:
2) Get your Certs/Degree:
A+ helped me get hired. I have a degree in English. Become very familiar with Win 8.1 (Pro and Enterprise) and Server 2008 R2 and 2012 R2. You can get certified in those as well but just remember you can be certified but if you can't describe how any of this works in an interview you'll be exposed REAL quick. My managers turned down a guy who had higher Certs than I did because he just passed the tests but couldn't talk his way through anything.
From what I'm understanding, in most corporate environments, a degree will help you get promoted later in the future, so might as well knock that out when you're younger.
The other part is to get in a with a good job with a good environment. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe it was my standards but I turned down an IT job because the site just seemed unorganized. I know it seems crazy to just turn down an entry level job. My new job called me as I was going through the interview process with the unorganized job and from the first moment I walked in I knew I made the right choice. The added benefit is there are many people around me who are very willing to teach me and help me out. This is key as I will be getting years of experience in a much shorter time and if I stay with the company in the future or move on I will have learned A TON, as opposed to just being a regular desk tech just learning on my own. Obviously, this is very hard to control but if you see it, take it.
I know this is VERY Windows specific but with the clients I am working with, 99% of them use Windows. Linux is higher and rarer. You'll mostly likely deal with that when you start moving up. Microsoft is poised to crush buildings with Win 10 and their Server programs have been running things. So study up on M$.
Again the software I'm listing is FREE. this is the best way to learn. It beats actually buying actual machines because companies now are embracing virtualization because it cuts down on costs for the company and makes things very manageable from a Sys Admin standpoint. I'm new to this whole thing but from my understanding this is what you'll need to know and what you'll be working with.
Persistence and Patience, Brehs.
Good luck.
