From Manufacturing (Maintenance) to ITAnyone has some tips on getting into the field of IT? I have been in maintenance or mechanic (fixing manufacturing equipment) over 15 years in the manufacturing sector. Currently I' m attending school to obtain a degree in IT and will be finishing my degree in about four months. I would like to have any advice on how I would transition from manufacturing to IT, since I do not have experience other than school in IT. Most people who are completing a certificate of degree in computers have no real experience in the field. What you should do is check out your career center at school and unemployment office for leads on companies that are hiring or are interested in hiring entry level computer technology graduates. You could also check with your company as they have to use computers. Also keep checking the newspapers, the internet boards and drive around your town someday and make note of the different companies that you feel would be interesting to work in. Look into their websites for their careers section or send them letters of inquiry concerning your interest. I have the same issues. I have been doing manufacturing maintence for the last 10 years. I have a certificate in Electronics to go along with my mechanical skills. While at my last job, I spent alot of time talking to the on site Network Support staff. I have also been taking IT classes for about 4 years ( having to work around my schedule ). Once the Network folks got to know me, and saw my interest, they allowed me to help with some of the IT duties ( which helped them since I usually worked the off shifts and they didn't ). I got involved doing client backups, and some break fix as well. I was given local admin rights to all of the production / shop / office PC's. I then became involved in making sure that we had spare PC's built and images for our mission critical production machines. The Network Support folks also gave me the ability to access the image server, created the network disks, and allowed me access to their office to get the spare PC's for the machines they were responsible to maintain. Best advice is to get to know your IT staff. Talk to them about what you are studying and what you want to learn. If you are lucky, they will allow to help and learn some on the job training stuff. I have this problem now though. I left my job to pursue the IT field, and I am not meeting with alot of success atm. I have been looking hard for the last month, and have not gotten alot of activity from my resume. I do have some practical Break-Fix experience from my previous job. I also hold an A+, Net +, MCP ( XP ), and MCDST certitication. I have also passed my 70-270 cert, and currently studying to take my last 2 tests to get MCSA. I do not have a college degree atm. Any additional advice that might help me target a job ? Should I stick to looking for Support / Break-Fix jobs, apply to GeekSquad or firedog. Any thoughts ?
I always look into the Sundays newspaper for IT positions. I probably need to wait until I finish my degree, but would love to start the career sooner. Most of the positions ask for experience. However, I will take your advice and see if there is any entry level positions I can apply for.
You seem to have a good start. At least you have some certifications and did some IT work. I think I will talk to the IT staff and get to know them as you recommended. I personally believe having a degree in anything help your career. Even though you have certifications, having a degree will validate your efforts. But you have some IT background already, so for you it will be easier to find an IT job than myself. Maybe try a specialized recruiting agency in IT. I'm going to do that, where I live there is a recruiting agency called "Robert Half Technology" I will give them a try and see what happens. | |
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Career Tips
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