[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.
