A friend recently asked my advice on getting started in IT and how to learn more about it. Being the super generous, ever wise person that I am, I told him to take a flying leap.. just kidding.
It made me think because I wasn't sure how to advise him about figuring out what area of IT he might find most interesting. With current market conditions, jobs aren't jumping up and grabbing you but IT has remained better than others. It's probably not as easy for beginners although now is a good time to start learning. You can check monster.com, dice.com, or even craigslist.org to find IT job postings to see what is going on in the job market. BUT before you do that, you should have an idea of what IT field you are interested in, and the key terms to use in searching for that shiny, new IT job.
Pick your flavor
There are quite a few different areas within IT, and Ill name a few. Readers, feel free to comment on any I missed or add details you might give to a friend.
Hardware
If you like building and putting things together, this might be a good area for you. It's an engineering discipline, but is often combined with the resposiblities of purchasing and tracking assets.
Networking
This area involves the wiring and connection issues involved in computers talking to each other. It can be for office networks, or meeting communication needs of a high traffic website. It's often rolled up in a hardware position, but both could turn into a high end specialist.
Help Desk / Support
This is usually helping people solve their problems. Could be on the phone or in person, but you really need people skills and patience for this field. A few different paths for this might be internal help desk for a company, help desk for other companies, or contractor who supports local businesses.
Software Testing
If you like to mess around with programs and figure out how to break things, you'll probably do great and have fun in this area.
Software Development
It's what we do. It's mainly divided into two areas: Internet/websites, Installed programs (like Mircrosoft Word ot some other programs.) Problem solving is a must, but so is creativity.
Database Development or Management
The art of managing and manipulating data can be consider it's own special discipline; especially when it comes to dealing with very large or high volumne databases. It's not for everyone, and the only way to figure it out is to try it. Start learning programming and pick projects that use databases; that will introduce you to it. After that, you'd need to read topics specific to database development or management.
Project Management
Organizational skills. After that it's a mix of different things, and sometimes you might be asked to fill other roles (like Help Desk or hardware)
Product Analysis
This is making the business rules for software. People skills, creativity, and some knowledge of software will serve you well.
There's a variety of combinations and things are always changing. With so many different tools, languages, and technologies, I couldn't list nearly enough in a reasonable amount of space. Pick which area you like, then start learning about the specific technologies in that area.
It's important to be a good problem solver, be comfortable learning, and have good communication skills. After that, there's a lot to say for experience and determination.
Add your mix-ins
So how do you get started? Well a degree certainly helps and so do professional certifications, but I'd suggest trying some of these before committing. There are plenty of entry level tutorials online. Use a search engine to find them by searching for "tutorial " and your keyword like "website programming". If you're not already aware, there are many different programming languages so start with a common, object-oriented language if you are thinking of going into development. We use C# and Ruby a lot. Java is another good choice.
Even if you don't find a free course or podcast, you should look for an inexpensive introductory class. You don't want to commit a lot of money until you know what you are getting into. I recommend online sources because it is easier to fit into your schedule.
Once you've got a good idea what you are interested in, talk to friends if you know anyone in the industry. Try local user groups or online groups. AZGroups is a local .Net User group with friendly, helpful people. I use Google Groups quite a bit myself for discussing IT topics, and helping people find answers when I can. (Email me if you want suggestions for groups in the Phoenix area.)
If you are truly committed (and being committed to a mental health institution is a requirement for some IT jobs), then go get the training and basic skills you need. There's no reason to spend a lot either. Look at community colleges or certification programs. Being a good problem solver, learning fast, and communicating well is more important that a degree or certificate. Those just show your commitment and some presumptive, basic level of ability.
Lets roll
The next step is landing that first job. As with any job, networking helps a lot. Try LinkedIn.com, which is a professional social networking site. Go back to those friends and user groups you talked to. Check those jobs sites I listed above, and search for others. There are many more than the ones I listed. Even though I'm a seasoned professional, I've been known to go door-to-door in search of work. (There's a good story there which maybe I'll tell later.) You do what it takes, and it usually works out. Especially if you are passionate about your choice.
Blast off
After you've gotten some experience built up, you'll find it easier to pick where you want to go with it. Let's say you become a website programmer and you love cars. Perhaps you build a website focused on small track car racing and earn money selling ads. You'll love it and it pays the bills. Or maybe you land a programming job with an autoparts retailer, or something else related to your passion. Who knows. What I do know is things work out best when you stick to what you like; and the best ideas are ones you would love yourself. Passion is the key to happiness in any career, and is especially true in IT.
-j