I prefer his alter ego, Ango Gablogian 
DERIVATIVE
World of Warcraft started my IT career, from blocking my siblings on the router to understanding how to give myself access to 5ghz vs 2.4ghz… When you lag out you become a tech for various reasons. I say this entire thread is beneficial to anyone! Never knock the hustle
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Good point, you’re right, I took out the more dickish part of my post. Need more coffee I guess.
Don’t limit yourself to one language. You should be able to get on somewhere, but learn c++ as well… Look at php, javascript, html. You’ll have more range if you want to really get into UI/UX.
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Could get some comparable experience working in retail or as a forum mod here. 
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Nice gameplan thanks
I’ve been in software support for 25 years and love it. Sure, it can get exasperating, but I love fixing things.
WHERE you work is key. Find people you like working with and your life will be good.
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As an old man here is some advice (take it with a grain of salt)
- Do the jobs no one else wants. Very easy to get get recognition this way.
- Be kind to everyone you deal with. Many profession (especially IT) have a lot of grumpy folks who can barely hold a conversation
- Learn to be outgoing - I am an introvert by nature and had to learn it. After a long day at work I RELLY need to recharge because it’s so hard on me but again, being different helps you stand out. Guys who just do a job and can’t build a relationship with their customers (internal or external) are a dime a dozen
- A+ and NEt+ got me far. After passing a bunch of certs, I decided to go to college. My job paid for it all if I got an A or B. Leave that option open if you ever want to move above a front line job.
These apply for all jobs but things people usually don’t consider.
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So what I’ll say is this:
I’m a senior software developer. I also have cisco certifications. I’ve also worked in security as a contractor (moreso on antimalware and firewall software)
If your goal is as a network engineer then good luck. You will have to grind alot. Most start as help desk employees and have to work up. At least from my experience. Put in the time to build your knowledge base and really get the certifications. I can also tell you network engineering is incredibly boring
- Do the jobs no one else wants. Very easy to get get recognition this way.
This right here. I have had a lot of my past success with doing what no one wants to do and proving my worth. This applies to more than just IT work, for sure.
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I work 2 different jobs in IT. Both are completely different and give me the same answer to the question: figure out which one you want to do more. Now do that for 60+ hours a week and still have a passion for it if you’re getting less than minimum wage. That’s the the one to pick 
Also engineering 
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I’m sure things vary wildly depending on the subsection of the very wide umbrella that is “IT”, but I’m a mobile app dev with coming up on a decade of experience with no degree or certifications (happened to have been dabbling in programming in high school, which I was able to hone into a marketable skill).
For me more than sucking up to superiors or anything like that, climbing the ladder has been almost entirely a matter of job hopping, with each hop bringing a significant comp increase. Now I’m close to the top end of what a software engineer working at a small-to-midsize company can pull and I don’t need to hop companies unless I want to.
The hardest part was just convincing someone to take a chance on me in the beginning. Thankfully I found a company that was willing to put me on a trial contract, which let me get my foot in the door and it’s been smooth sailing ever since.
I might try to break into something at a lower level at some point though, because those jobs are both at less risk of automation or commodification (nobody is going to be replacing hardware designers or electrical engineers any time soon) and maximum comp (depending on niche) is higher since the hiring pool is smaller and the work more skilled.
Oh, I was expecting that…
Like a lot of folks have mentioned – you may have to job hop to land the position that you ultimately settle in with. Don’t feel bad about leaving a job for a better one. It’s easy to make friends and feel a sense of loyalty to a company – but at the end of the day, money talks. If you can find a position that pays well that you enjoy – that’s the one to keep… until another one you enjoy offers more money
There are going to be lots of places that tell you they don’t have the budget to pay you more. For every one of those, there are ten more with a bigger budget.
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Does such a place really exist? Where is this Unicorn location?
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I can second this. You need to start at the bottom. If you’re good at being a help desk and/or PC technician and show you have an affinity for another part of the IT world; it will 100% get noticed.
If you plan to move into networking, just know that it takes a different type of thinking process than normal to configure and support Cisco infrastructure.
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I did through a significant portion of school. My main qualifications were having a basic understanding of networks, and being able to fit in crawlspaces, ceilings, and under desks.
It was a good company to work for but I think the age of retrofitting old buildings with ethernet networks is mostly past us.
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Came for stories and gripes from the ancient ancestors of IT.
Was not disappointed.
Just taught our organization’s semi annual computer incident response course where the majority of analysts, for the first time in our history, were ladies. Very excited for the future of tech.
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I do not work in IT but I know someone who does.
If you want to get a foot in the door somewhere, school districts are usually always hiring but the pay sucks. It can be a good stepping stone for finding a better position since everyone wants 5 yrs experience for entry level jobs these days.