Changing Careers to IT

[Riggidig]

Good day. I'm hoping someone on here might help to offer some insight. I've been doing graphic design/desktop publishing for the past 13 years. While people tell me I'm good, I personally think I'm only above average. What's worse though is I've never REALLY been into this field, as my parents suggested I should go study it in the first place. Anyway, apart from design, I have also helped people with their PCs/laptops/tablets/smartphones (setting up software and e-mail/social media accounts, connecting devices, upgrades, etc.) in my spare time over the years, as well as done minor networking/PC stuff in the work place (all basically self taught/learned through Google/other people in the IT field). I have found that I am rather fond of doing this, more so than graphic design. So, basically I would like any input regarding moving into this field (whether it's a good idea or not, if it's too over-saturated, if graphic design is a better field or if there's another, related field I can move into from where I currently am), and how to do do so (if doing a course would be the only way to get qualified in this field). Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Kay150]

In a similar situation, I would love to hear people's responses.
I am in the fibre business but I would like to go more into IT.... particularly networks. Over the last 5 years or so, I've built up a small client base that I do all sorts of IT work for but also self taught

 

[R3aL1Ty]

Well to be honest guys

Do you have an idea as to what branch of IT?
The fields are huge and extremely in depth !

Networking for instance has several branches of its own.

Do some research as to where in IT you would like to go and also remember , if you are getting involved in IT , you will be studying for the rest of your life more or less as technology is always changing, so to stay ahead of the game keeping up with technologies would be needed.

The one piece of advice i can give though, IT is huge , you will probably never be able to learn everything but can become semi-skilled as a jack of all trades, but what you really want to do is choose a specific field of interest and go on to specialize in what you want to do.

 

[Riggidig]

Well to be honest guys

Do you have an idea as to what branch of IT?
The fields are huge and extremely in depth !

Networking for instance has several branches of its own.

Do some research as to where in IT you would like to go and also remember , if you are getting involved in IT , you will be studying for the rest of your life more or less as technology is always changing, so to stay ahead of the game keeping up with technologies would be needed.

The one piece of advice i can give though, IT is huge , you will probably never be able to learn everything but can become semi-skilled as a jack of all trades, but what you really want to do is choose a specific field of interest and go on to specialize in what you want to do.

Thanks for the reply. I have spoken with someone in IT, and based upon what I like about it he recommended IT support. Friends/clients are always running to me first with their technical issues, even though I am not that qualified. I just really like to do it, as I enjoy technology and helping them, as I grow in the process as well by learning.

 

[Sp1dr]

I made the same decision about two years ago.

Short story: Always loved pc's and tech. But life shit hit at the end of high school, had to work to support my family (First as a mechanic, hated that, then a clinical technician, various waitering jobs etc) shit got worse a few years later, family scattered and I had to work to put my brother through matric. I managed to get a fairly stable job at a gas company, but obviously my life was not my own, I was in pure survival mode. Finally, brother grew up and moved out, I got married and promoted a few times and eventually landed up at the company I'm with now.

So I've been with this company almost 3 years now. But 2 years ago, being married, I began to think about the future for a change. Like, what if I could actually take control and pursue my dreams? So I took stock of what I loved, and did a few CS and Linux courses on edX and other platforms like codecademy, freecodecamp etc. Later I enrolled in a 4 year online CS degree through a uni in the states, I pretty much can't study through Unisa so I had to find an alternative. (Working full time, study till 2am some nights)

Currently, I'm just about finished my first year of study and beginning to wonder when the right time might be to actually start putting myself out there for a junior dev position or similar as I don't need a full degree to do that.
I also keep putting off doing a Linux+ or N+ cert, But I think as soon as my finances stabilize a bit, I'm going to do it.

So a bit of advice, If you are thinking about switching careers, now is the best time (start) to do it. In a year, you may have completed a few certs and look back and really be grateful that you put yourself first for a change.

I can't tell you how grateful I am that I got the ball rolling 2 years back, nothing has come of it yet, though I have become the resident IT guy at work, I know that pretty soon I will have the skills and confidence to make the switch.
There have been a few opportunities already, but I'm in this uncanny valley where I earn more than a junior dev, but want a junior dev job just to get my foot in the door.

 

[megustav]

Why not combine your graphic designing skills and IT. Maybe something like front end development (be it web apps, phone apps or whatever), generating pretty reports in qlikview, doing UI/UX development etc? IT support will only get you that far.

 

[Riggidig]

Why not combine your graphic designing skills and IT. Maybe something like front end development (be it web apps, phone apps or whatever), generating pretty reports in qlikview, doing UI/UX development etc? IT support will only get you that far.

Could work, but I'm not really sure where to begin. Honestly money is REALLY tight at the moment. Actually looking for something part time so I can actually start putting money away if I need to do a course.

 

[Riggidig]

I made the same decision about two years ago.

Short story: Always loved pc's and tech. But life shit hit at the end of high school, had to work to support my family (First as a mechanic, hated that, then a clinical technician, various waitering jobs etc) shit got worse a few years later, family scattered and I had to work to put my brother through matric. I managed to get a fairly stable job at a gas company, but obviously my life was not my own, I was in pure survival mode. Finally, brother grew up and moved out, I got married and promoted a few times and eventually landed up at the company I'm with now.

So I've been with this company almost 3 years now. But 2 years ago, being married, I began to think about the future for a change. Like, what if I could actually take control and pursue my dreams? So I took stock of what I loved, and did a few CS and Linux courses on edX and other platforms like codecademy, freecodecamp etc. Later I enrolled in a 4 year online CS degree through a uni in the states, I pretty much can't study through Unisa so I had to find an alternative. (Working full time, study till 2am some nights)

Currently, I'm just about finished my first year of study and beginning to wonder when the right time might be to actually start putting myself out there for a junior dev position or similar as I don't need a full degree to do that.
I also keep putting off doing a Linux+ or N+ cert, But I think as soon as my finances stabilize a bit, I'm going to do it.

So a bit of advice, If you are thinking about switching careers, now is the best time (start) to do it. In a year, you may have completed a few certs and look back and really be grateful that you put yourself first for a change.

I can't tell you how grateful I am that I got the ball rolling 2 years back, nothing has come of it yet, though I have become the resident IT guy at work, I know that pretty soon I will have the skills and confidence to make the switch.
There have been a few opportunities already, but I'm in this uncanny valley where I earn more than a junior dev, but want a junior dev job just to get my foot in the door.

That is really inspiring. Thanks for sharing and all the best man.

 

[Galaxy]

Don't get stuck in tech support hell, you will know what I mean after you install printer drivers all day, everyday etc.

 

[RyanvF]

[MENTION=27747]Riggidig[/MENTION] , I would suggest doing the basics courses A+ and N+ because they are fairly easy if you have a good understanding of pc's. It will just open your mind to everything that goes on with the hardware and might be able to point you in the direction you want to go. Then there are far more courses to do once you know. And they can all be done part time.

 

[eyesuc]

Why not combine your graphic designing skills and IT. Maybe something like front end development (be it web apps, phone apps or whatever), generating pretty reports in qlikview, doing UI/UX development etc? IT support will only get you that far.

If I had the choice and skills, I would have tried this, but I don't know your circumstances so I don't know if it is feasible.

What I can say though, I'm a developer myself but I'm terrible with design and making things look pretty. I always need help from a designer, but designers do not always know much about dev work. I would give my front teeth to be able to work with somebody that can do both.

Where to begin? Spin up a few websites and make it look nice Design some logos, layouts, etc. Getting into web dev is easy, while mastering it can be tough, but there is lots of work out there for devs. You should never be without work and the pay is decent too.

Do you have a design portfolio? How much would you charge to do a logo or some minor design work for web?

 

[Sourceportal]

[MENTION=27747]Riggidig[/MENTION] ok heres the thing. I am in IT and have been for over 11 years now. And I love it. So what I am about to say I'm not trying to break down the field or anything. You want to do user support. All well. But first think to yourself whether you are a person that loves people and working with frustrating people? you always get that. If you are not a peoples person you will not make it in this job. Users/clients tend to get frustrated and irritated because they dont understand themselves and then shout at you. 95%of the time all errors and problems you get will be a Pebkac error (problem exists between keyboard and chair) and then you have to train the user.... almost like a sensei. be patient and understand them more then the computer.

then as for the IT work itself. are you a person that wants to shut off at night and not work on computers or do you work anymore? then this field is not for you. You have to stay current with everything thus you will have to take it on yourself to make sure you know all the ins and outs of everything as much as possible. Studying will be a ongoing thing everyday. and google is your friend.

Lastly where the real fun begins for me is server support. I'm not talking about a guy that has a pc at home sharing some files to his wife 4 sons and 3 daughters and calls it a server. I am talking about a proper full domain controller with AD and hosted exchange integrated with the Active Directory type of servers. the support and maintenance behind that is real fun. but can also be intimidating. as long as you always have your own test environment to make sure you dont first break the actual thing and teach yourself your all good. Drop me a pm if you want to and i will send my number to "collaborate" some time and i can give you a more in depth overview of what to expect in the field.

But alas. once you are there and have the experience. you will love it. IT is not for someone that likes playing games. a gamer isn't and IT expert because he knows how to set an IP. (don't misunderstand. I'm a gamer myself). IT is a field that really requires you to have a love for it. My suggestion is maybe find someone that can truly give you an insight to the actual thing and see first, then decide whether it is for you.

I have interviewed, hired and lost countless young padawans that were gamers in school and thought they are going into IT. once there they realize they made a mistake.

AND DONT EVER BELIEVE JUST BECAUSE YOU STUDIED FOR IT THAT YOU ARE AN EXPERT AND SUDDENLY KNOW EVERYTHING. WHAT YOU LEARN IN BOOKS CANNOT POSSIBLY PREPARE YOU FOR THE REAL THING.

Hope this somewhat helps you. And if you still decide to make the move over. Welcome to the dark side of the computer.

 

[Devils_Reject]

It for fun is much different than IT for work. Example format a pc for a friend can take a day or two. Formatting a server for a company that is down is i huge ass difference.

Plugging in a 3m fly lead at a LAN for a friend or home pc to router and actually lying down a 70m CAT6 cable over roofs and in ceilings is not the same thing.

Having some format fun with a friend and showing him how good you are and actually having a client breathing down your neck is different.

Been doing this for 5 years now as a career, and boy if i could turn back time i would tell all my friends who wanted my help to FUCK OFF!

 

[Kay150]

[MENTION=27747]Riggidig[/MENTION] ok heres the thing. I am in IT and have been for over 11 years now. And I love it. So what I am about to say I'm not trying to break down the field or anything. You want to do user support. All well. But first think to yourself whether you are a person that loves people and working with frustrating people? you always get that. If you are not a peoples person you will not make it in this job. Users/clients tend to get frustrated and irritated because they dont understand themselves and then shout at you. 95%of the time all errors and problems you get will be a Pebkac error (problem exists between keyboard and chair) and then you have to train the user.... almost like a sensei. be patient and understand them more then the computer.

then as for the IT work itself. are you a person that wants to shut off at night and not work on computers or do you work anymore? then this field is not for you. You have to stay current with everything thus you will have to take it on yourself to make sure you know all the ins and outs of everything as much as possible. Studying will be a ongoing thing everyday. and google is your friend.

Lastly where the real fun begins for me is server support. I'm not talking about a guy that has a pc at home sharing some files to his wife 4 sons and 3 daughters and calls it a server. I am talking about a proper full domain controller with AD and hosted exchange integrated with the Active Directory type of servers. the support and maintenance behind that is real fun. but can also be intimidating. as long as you always have your own test environment to make sure you dont first break the actual thing and teach yourself your all good. Drop me a pm if you want to and i will send my number to "collaborate" some time and i can give you a more in depth overview of what to expect in the field.

But alas. once you are there and have the experience. you will love it. IT is not for someone that likes playing games. a gamer isn't and IT expert because he knows how to set an IP. (don't misunderstand. I'm a gamer myself). IT is a field that really requires you to have a love for it. My suggestion is maybe find someone that can truly give you an insight to the actual thing and see first, then decide whether it is for you.

I have interviewed, hired and lost countless young padawans that were gamers in school and thought they are going into IT. once there they realize they made a mistake.

AND DONT EVER BELIEVE JUST BECAUSE YOU STUDIED FOR IT THAT YOU ARE AN EXPERT AND SUDDENLY KNOW EVERYTHING. WHAT YOU LEARN IN BOOKS CANNOT POSSIBLY PREPARE YOU FOR THE REAL THING.

Hope this somewhat helps you. And if you still decide to make the move over. Welcome to the dark side of the computer.

Now this is the kind of stuff I want to get into.
Did web design/dev for some time but this is what I really enjoy....
An IT degree/diploma with UNISA would be a good start, would you say?

 

[Sourceportal]

Well yes of course it would. papers are always good. But I was maybe 6 years already into IT and already IT manager at an attorneys firm before I decided to get papers behind my name (honestly it was only at that time i had the money for it) but i worked of experience only and was way ahead of most of the senior guys with all the certs. but best way is get a job in a outsource IT support company. Experience you get there will be amazing. [MENTION=27637]Kay150[/MENTION]

 

[cheza121]

Well yes of course it would. papers are always good. But I was maybe 6 years already into IT and already IT manager at an attorneys firm before I decided to get papers behind my name (honestly it was only at that time i had the money for it) but i worked of experience only and was way ahead of most of the senior guys with all the certs. but best way is get a job in a outsource IT support company. Experience you get there will be amazing. [MENTION=27637]Kay150[/MENTION]

i have been working as a developer for only like 4 and a half years, i can say that the only thing i really took from college was the logic of the code, it just put me into the correct mindset of coding

 

[aiccc]

Well graphic design has a hard limit on salary (if you work for some one)

IT support and then IT management has a much higher salary and growth path. IT support is all about customer support and interaction. If you do not like dealing with stressed out strangers, this could be an issue.

Also mostly you have to spend your own money to upgrade your skills. A degree is almost mandatory in SA for the higher paying jobs.

 

[Sourceportal]

[MENTION=34705]cheza121[/MENTION] good point you are making. Yes the studying and books just puts you into the right mindset. never thought about it that way. thanks

 

[igg]

Front office tech support, is in my opinion, drudge work that gets really fatiguing. You do the same thing every day, and you'll never really get paid that well because the work doesn't require that much skill. I'm not really a people's person, so my view is likely a bit biased here.

Back office support is wide and varied with salaries covering a huge range. It includes things such as physical hardware, the architecture, network and infrastructure services deployed on said hardware to provide a functional platform. Then you have application services on top of this which ultimately provide a user experience. So many layers, it's important to decide which layer you want to work in. Back office by its nature will often require overtime: working nights, weekends, etc., primarily because your typical business user doesn't like service interruptions during office hours. Also, if the company operates 24/7 (true for a large number of companies these days), there will be an element of standby. Be prepared to receive a call at 3am to fix some random issue. That said, if you do your job right, these calls should be few and far between. But, there's still the human element, things break due to someone doing something they weren't supposed to.

Then of course you have all the other types of IT jobs, developers/programmers/engineers/insertbuzzword (an absolutely massive subset of IT in its own right), architects, content creators, designers, BI/MI/data scientists, managers, managers of managers, project managers, team managers, etc.. Did I mention managers, yea, these guys can earn quite a bundle while often not really producing anything of worth. My favourite jobs/clients are ones with relatively flat hierarchies where managers are few and far between and basically just coordinate the interactions between teams, or apply a stick when and where needed.

If you want a semi-niche IT job, consider looking into ERP admin. These things are cludgy behemoths that require a lot of attention, but can pay really well due to skills scarcity.

Also, let's not forget cloud services and the support required there. ZA is a bit behind the curve with regards to cloud deployments and uptake, mostly due to our geographic location (the latency can be a showstopper for certain types of services), but we're rapidly heading that direction. Do not get caught out by skilling into a diminishing segment, or keeping the blinkers on and narrowing your focus. You need to constantly be learning. Server rooms are shrinking as things get outsourced or moved into the cloud, accordingly the demand for these skills will shift. All my clients already have deployments or are investigating migrating services into Azure, AWS, etc.. Sign up for a MS Dev essentials account, it's free and gives you access to a legion of dev tools as well as Azure credits. You'll be able to build VMs, services, platforms, etc., and maybe get some exposure to the sheer breadth of IT. IoT (internet of things) is another huge topic that fits into IT, and includes mundane things such as switching on your kettle from your car, or getting your fridge to order food/create a shopping list.

Lastly, I'm 12 years into my IT career and have only just started getting my certifications. They're not really needed if you know the work, but my company now requires employees to be certified to maintain MS partner status. Fortunately I've been doing this stuff long enough that I haven't even really needed study, 4 exams down 7 to go.

 

[_RDF]

In my opinion IT has advanced enough that you really need to specialize now if you want a fulfilling career. 10 - 20 years ago you could make a decent living reparing pc's and setting up printers. The problem with this is that the "millennials" have become smarter with the basics(considering it is taught at school) that they don't need as much front office support. Another problem is that it has become one of the better paying career paths, such that a lot people who would be doing some type of office admin job have rather decided to do IT.

Some examples of specialization: Network Engineer, Datacentre Administrator, Software Developer, Dev Ops, Sql Administrator. These are all specializations that will demand a lot of you but also be very rewarding.

 

[Riggidig]

Oh man. SO much information. Will go through them all this weekend and get back to you guys.

 

[Sp1dr]

i have been working as a developer for only like 4 and a half years, i can say that the only thing i really took from college was the logic of the code, it just put me into the correct mindset of coding

Oh thank goodness, I'm not going crazy. As stated earlier, I'm studying part time, and decided for some reason to do 2 subjects this semester. I thought databases would be easy, you know, it's just a bit of SQL. NO, it's a ton of theory, relational algebra & calculus, set theory, normal forms & decomposition etc, i'm dying. (Actually just took a break from that to browse carb.)

 

[igg]

Oh thank goodness, I'm not going crazy. As stated earlier, I'm studying part time, and decided for some reason to do 2 subjects this semester. I thought databases would be easy, you know, it's just a bit of SQL. NO, it's a ton of theory, relational algebra & calculus, set theory, normal forms & decomposition etc, i'm dying. (Actually just took a break from that to browse carb.)

Condolences. As a full time DBA who's done a not so insignificant quantity of development and design I can tell you that that information is mostly irrelevant in the common working environment of today. Knowing normalisation and DB design can be very useful though.

That said, if you want to take your career to the next level, you'll be spending a lot of time doing research and reading tech papers. This is all technical though.

 

[Riggidig]

[MENTION=27747]Riggidig[/MENTION] , I would suggest doing the basics courses A+ and N+ because they are fairly easy if you have a good understanding of pc's. It will just open your mind to everything that goes on with the hardware and might be able to point you in the direction you want to go. Then there are far more courses to do once you know. And they can all be done part time.

What do these courses involve? Can they be done online? If so, how much do they cost?

 

[Riggidig]

If I had the choice and skills, I would have tried this, but I don't know your circumstances so I don't know if it is feasible.

What I can say though, I'm a developer myself but I'm terrible with design and making things look pretty. I always need help from a designer, but designers do not always know much about dev work. I would give my front teeth to be able to work with somebody that can do both.

Where to begin? Spin up a few websites and make it look nice Design some logos, layouts, etc. Getting into web dev is easy, while mastering it can be tough, but there is lots of work out there for devs. You should never be without work and the pay is decent too.

Do you have a design portfolio? How much would you charge to do a logo or some minor design work for web?

I was actually approached by a coder once to help with design. She's basically a Wordpress guru but has no idea of design. Would have wanted me to help with the design of the sites, and she would have done the coding. Didn't work out unfortunately.

 

[Sola Scriptura]

What do these courses involve? Can they be done online? If so, how much do they cost?

You can do them online but you have to write your exams at a examination center.

 

[cheza121]

Oh thank goodness, I'm not going crazy. As stated earlier, I'm studying part time, and decided for some reason to do 2 subjects this semester. I thought databases would be easy, you know, it's just a bit of SQL. NO, it's a ton of theory, relational algebra & calculus, set theory, normal forms & decomposition etc, i'm dying. (Actually just took a break from that to browse carb.)

lol oh wow. I do not know why they bother with all that stuff, they should atleast focus with more practical things because when you start working you going to know all this stuff that you wont even use, then the more basic things you will be like uhhhh wtf lol

 

[HBkid]

I was actually approached by a coder once to help with design. She's basically a Wordpress guru but has no idea of design. Would have wanted me to help with the design of the sites, and she would have done the coding. Didn't work out unfortunately.

Why didn't it work out?

 

[Riggidig]

Why didn't it work out?

We had a falling out.

 

[Riggidig]

You can do them online but you have to write your exams at a examination center.

I'm assuming this would cost a bit.