How do you get the IT experience without an IT job?
- Matthew Dixon
- Aug 16, 2024
- 4 min read
As this is my first blog post, I wanted to share a newsletter article I wrote in 2022.
I hope you enjoy it.
Matthew Dixon
Network Engineer in the Network Repair Bureau @ Verizon | Problem Solver with IT Expertise
July 28, 2022
I did a poll 3 days ago regarding your weakness in IT.
The turnout was AMAZING and very informative.
Here's what we found: Out of 338 votes, 57% percent of IT professionals struggle with getting IT-related experience.
Getting a job in IT with certs and no experience?
How do you get the IT experience without an IT job?
So, the popular belief in the IT community is that the Google IT Support Professional Certificate is not worth it and does not count as experience. This goes for any other type of IT certificate courses on Udemy, Coursera, and even Alison.
I strongly disagree. Whether the hiring manager or company decides to accept that as experience, is 100% on that company. I do believe that if more recruiters and IT hiring managers would take some time and go over these course information and details, they would have a better synopsis and appreciation for IT certificate programs.
Question: Does a Google IT Support Certificate hold the same weight as a CompTIA A+ or CCNA?
No, of course not.
Does it count towards experience?
Yes, it does.
As they say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". It all depends on the company and how well you perform in your interview. So the question is, how do you get the 1-2 year experience companies are asking for?
According to Indeed.com, there are a few ways you can add experience to your resume. One of those ways is to simply get certified with an Industry standard certificate- CompTIA, Cisco, Mircosoft, ServiceNow, etc. These certs will also count towards your experience. As you saw earlier, the Google IT Support Professional certificate takes at least 6 months to complete averaging 10 hours a week. The amount of time you invest in studying, completing labs, and testing your craft counts for something. You should be proud of your time invested. Truthfully, some hiring managers will see that as a plus(meaning I need someone passionate, teachable, and hungry like this on my team) or a negative(meaning that they might find you as a bad fit since you are always learning and growing, "You are too hungry.." or "if I hired them they will just leave in 6 months"). It could go either way.
Establishing as well as keeping your LinkedIn page up to date is very important, also learning how to network is a skill we all need to polish up on. Everybody needs somebody sometimes. Don't be afraid to network, comment, and engage in conversations as your future employer could be watching. Be selective in who you connect with. Don't just connect with anybody who sends you a request. Think about who they are, what they are doing, what field are they in, and what type of conversations you can have with them. LinkedIn is not a social media application where you have to be friends. We are professionals and we are looking for connections to grow our brand, learn, find mentors, and just chart our professional careers. Don't take it personally. Join different groups and ENGAGE in conversations. Start conversations. Don't forget Discord Channels such as Professor Messer, CompTIA, etc. There are others out there who are doing what you are trying to do.
Lastly, attend workshops such as Spiceworks.com which has a ton of workshops per year that you can and probably should attend. Microsoft, Cisco, and IBM have workshops. Palo Alto has an event per year and the list goes on. Drop in and listen in, most definitely you will learn something new. Something you may be able to bring to your IT director/manager/CISO attention to bring value to your team/department. Always learn.
There are a few notables I want to mention here. These guys have awesome platforms on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I've experienced tremendous growth this year just by listening and watching their videos. Du'An Lightfoot(LabEveryday)-This guy knows his networking and he does GREAT interviews will tell you like it is and he is always encouraging and keeping it real; Kevin Apolinario(KevTech)-Kevin has helped me with his help-desk videos-learning O365, setting up your home lab, learning Active Directory-Kevin is always helping people; David Bombal- David's Cisco knowledge is out of this world- The interviews that he does on his YouTube channel is informative and keeps you up-to-date on the different trends in the IT community; Jeremy Mcdowell(Jeremy's IT Lab)-Jeremy has elite knowledge in networking and Cisco Packet Tracer labs-his packet tracer videos has helped me grow my networking skills; Professor Messer(CompTIA Study Groups)- Best teacher online today! I enjoy his study groups each month and his after-study group sessions take calls and he keeps you up-to-date with CompTIA certificates
All in all, If you need experience, go out there and get it. Network, Get Certified, and Attend workshops, seminars, and watch videos.
Here are a few links to get you started
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