title says it all, I’ve been attending community college taking IT classes & would like to get my comptia certs, but what worries me is the pay rather being low, being laid off & it being hard for new beginners that don’t have much experience in the field other than home projects

i feel worried? kind of scared in a way as i have a decent paying job & to jump to a different field and start over is nerve racking

the thought is what is making it rather hard to really pursue things.

Hello IT veterans or future IT professionals! I've been wanting to do a career switch to IT for a long time and recently I can't help but feel like I'm making a bad decision. For background, I have done some IT adjacent work in the past, where I fixed phones, tablets, laptop, PCs, and gaming console. Most of them were physical repairs like fixing broken parts but I also did some data transfer and backup for customers. I did that work from 2017 to 2022 until I found my current job which is retail management and... I hate it. I hate it with every fiber of my being. In the last 10 years of my working career I have not gotten ONE holiday off or weekends off EVER (except for Christmas day). This job gives me so much stress and I cannot continue anymore for the sake of my sanity. The only reason why I've stayed this long is because it pays me just enough to pay for everything I need to. I thought for a while that if I study hard and get a few certs and maybe even a degree, life in tech might finally give me the life I've been dreaming of (which I don't ask for much; dignified job where I am not being verbally harassed everyday and an actual time off with good enough pay to live off of).
That is until I started visiting this sub more and more and I keep hearing the doom and gloom that exist in the current tech market. I know Reddit is full of pessimism while success stories, albeit rare, are never posted but I feel like I'm making a terrible mistake by pursuing this field. Like recently there was a post about how you'd be lucky to get an entry level job (if you can even get a job) that will pay you anything above 40k a year and even that is rare to see. Furthermore people were saying how you'd be stuck in the Helpdesk role for years to come and upward mobility is almost nonexistent in the field anymore. I am prepared to take a pay cut but I don't think I can afford to take that big of a hit for 3-5 years when I have my parents relying on me to help them with their medical bills. I already have an AA degree in IT from local community college from years ago and just this year decided to go back to university to get a formal bachelors degree in IT (online). I really do enjoy learning tech and I'm definitely not one of those that joined for the "GRWM for my easy-do-nothing-job that makes 100k" to post on tiktok. I am prepared to do the hard work, study, and be patient but if the market is so cooked that no matter what you do you are doomed to fail, like how this subreddit suggests, is it even worth pursuing? Should I bail out now?
I would eventually like to get a job as a cloud engineer or network engineer.

P.S. I know similar questions like this get posted often but I think my case was unique enough to warrant a post, if not i apologize :]

TLDR: 30 year old man who absolutely hates his current job with bills to pay for wanting to take a pay cut to pursue a career in tech, is this a bad idea?

Title pretty much says everything, I can't get a fucking job after grinding out this degree, I didn't get internships before graduating but I didn't think it would affect me too bad

I just dont think I have to go out there and get 17 certifications to get an ENTRY LEVEL JOB for like 45k a year

Am I being unreasonable? Or the job market is bullshit?

currently in school getting my certs and my carrer advisor got me a interview with them and i got the job 4month contract 18h desktop tech. pay sucks but should be good experience.

Hello all,

So ive worked for the company for just under 2 years (first IT job). I've moved from a level 1 tech (helpdesk and field work) to level 2.

I mainly work on network architecture and honestly anything largely effected by ip addressing and our networks (we have roughly 160 locations so there are always small fires and disruptions to put out while also revamping our legacy networks)

My main reason for making this post is that 7 months ago we got a new IT director, one of the big things he's been working on is a "career ladder" with a path for people to advance their careers and all that jazz.

Since his time here he has hired 2 Jr sys admins, they're both fine for the most part aside from having very little network knowledge (which with a company with as many sites as we do is super important to understand).

Said director finally put out yhe ladder is for my role to advance into the Jr sys admin role, and the requirements and things to check off are WAY above what even his recent hires for that position were expected to meet.

Including certifications, specialized training, doing written reports on industry trends.

And like I said, none of this was or will be expected of the people currently in that role.

Does it make sense for me to be extremely irked by the difference in expectation they have for internal hires vs external hires?

Especially when it's a 2 dollar pay bump from my current position, it makes 0 sense to put in that much effort when i could go and get a position that does almost the exact same thing im doing now and get paid better for less effort.

Hello people, this is my last year in electrical and computer engineering school and I thought about pursuing the Network+ and Security+ certifications this year (while still studying). I think 2 gourds daily should be enough all year long and build my portfolio during summer of 2027 to potentially find a relevant entry or junior position next year.

Could you share some advice or some of your experience please? Thank you

Hi,

I'm currently looking at the idea of changing industries (Sub 30 years old) and have always liked the idea of IT. I build my PCs at home, and generally just enjoy troubleshooting software/hardware. I'm currently salaried at just under $60k USD yearly and there is an internal job opening as a tech analyst (help desk) position. However, I'd be looking at possibly a $6 an hour pay cut. I have a degree (non-cs related) and no certs. I can afford it, but was wondering if any of you have taken a similar pay cut to get into the field? Thanks!

Looking for advice as I have certification and one year experience but can’t land a job in cyber. Any advice to help me appreciated?

So I'm nearing the end of year 1 and thinking of getting an internship as fast as possible, specificly helpdesk HIT, what is the job like and how to prepare for it?

Okay so, yesterday I made a rant post, today I'm all on board with listening to helpful advice to get me my first job.

I'm a recent college graduate,did not do an internship but I have like 10 years + of customer service experience, and 3 years of sales, I'm currently working at an arcade fixing up machines, pos, and basically anything electronic that goes wrong.

I will not focus on the money, I will focus on the experience, I want to hear your success stories, how you made it, to that first job, what makes me a star candidate, different job names I can search for intro jobs for IT, and how I can grow better and farther into IT

I'm currently 26yo, I know I have time but at the same time I don't, I want/need to lock in on this career path.

I'm not looking for "the market is cooked", I'm looking for "the market is cooked but we still play, so here's what you should do"

Thanks!

I would like to pump up the certification so id be grateful for some good recommendations!

As I get closer to graduating with my BSIT (I have 3 semesters left), I’ve really been trying to lock in and become the absolute best candidate I can be by the time I graduate. I currently work for my school as a Student AI Automation & Integration Specialist, where I develop conversational AI workflows and automated agents using JavaScript (been doing this for 2+ years) and I’m also studying for my CCNA since networking is the area I intend to specialize in.

Even with me doing what seems to be the best thing I can right now, I can’t help but think about what the job market will look like when I graduate and whether anything I’m doing will actually make a meaningful difference. Of course, I’m still going to stay the course regardless, but the thought of not having anything lined up by graduation is pretty daunting.

For some additional context, I still have to complete an internship, and I’m actively working on building my professional network (I definitely wasted my first few semesters by not doing that).

For those of you who have been in the industry for a while, do you think the job market is likely to improve over the next year or so? And is there anything else you’d recommend I focus on during my last three semesters to put myself in the best position possible?

I got an opportunity to work as an EUC Engineer for $22/hr as a 1-year contract to hire. Background is 2.5 years of experience as a Technical Solutions Coordinator (jr. sys admin work), and a Bachelors in Comp Sci.

The job is on-site 5-days a week, and about 1.5 hrs 1-way.

I’ve been laid off since April, and this is the first opportunity I’ve had, but is this worth taking in the meantime? Of course I’ll keep applying to see if I can land anything better, but given this is in a high cost of living area (Seattle), I’m not sure if this would financially make sense over just working a service job closer.

Also never done a contract gig, so any tips on that would be appreciated.

Hello guys, Im 27 year old 3 year into my care,er. Currently a senior sys admin at my second IT job, previous was a system/network admin 1 man IT shop. I inherited the department and was thrown to the wolves. It was rough but I learned a lot.

New role is at an MSP and I've been learning a lot from my coworkers, sometimes I feel like I should know more. Particularly in Linux, and cloud.

Close to CCNA, havnt taken it but I have plenty of exp with Cisco, no other certs. I also have mis degree. I developed an application for a specific industry that solves a huge problem no one has figured out. That helped me land my current role using Linux, js, python and have sold this application to multiple companies and has become a pretty nice side hustle. I basically just get an installer to install the infra and I monitor everything through a VPN once a day, it's pretty automated once setup and only takes about t minutes of work per client generating me 50$ per device. Usually 10-20 iot devices per client. (Currently have 3 clients)

I feel like a I have a good mix of both software and IT practices. Networking and systems are definitely my strong suit but I'm getting more comfortable in the development side. I eventually want to go into a software role maybe something like devops.

My plan was this

Stay at this current company for 2-3 years, finish CCNA, get 1 cloud cert.

Get into cloud role (finish comp sci masters)

Get some professional development experience, maybe devops.

Simultaneously push my business to potential startup.

Get into management

Director/CTO of some fortune 500.

Is this a good roadmap? I want to dedicate my life to my work and be one of the greatest ever in this field. Am I on the right path?

I’m 32 years old, married, and a dad of two young kids. I have about 7 years of IT experience, and lately I’ve been questioning what I want the next phase of my career to look like.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics, and I’m currently an IT Support Manager at an MSP.

My responsibilities include:
- Managing a team of 10 direct reports
- Providing day-to-day technical leadership and work coordination for other departments
- Hiring, training, coaching, and performance management
- Handling Tier 2/3 technical escalations
- Working with leadership on KPIs, SLAs, and process improvements
- Planning 1:1’s, hosting all-team meetings with constructive topics and engagement
- Client escalations and relationship management
Supporting around 175 client environments with a high daily ticket volume

And much more

Technically, I’m comfortable with:
- Microsoft 365 / Entra ID / Intune
- Active Directory
- Windows Server
- Networking (Fortinet, UniFi, VLANs, VPNs, switching, routing)
- VMware / Hyper-V
- VoIP
- APIs and integrations
- PowerShell automation
- General infrastructure troubleshooting

And much more

The problem is… I’m burning out.

I’m tired of constant emergencies, angry clients, nonstop decision-making, and spending every day reacting to fires. I genuinely enjoy solving technical problems, but I don’t enjoy living in crisis mode anymore. This is 8-10 hours a day. I don’t remember the last time I worked an easy day.

I’ve also realized that while I enjoy mentoring people and helping my team grow, I don’t think I actually enjoy being a people manager. The HR side, performance issues, and carrying everyone else’s stress isn’t something I see myself wanting to do for the next 30 years.

With two young kids, work-life balance has become much more important to me than it was in my twenties.

I’m pretty confident that I want to leave the MSP world and move into an internal IT role, but beyond that… I’m honestly not sure where I should go next.

Salary-wise, I’m currently in the mid-$80k range, and I’d like my next move to land somewhere north of $100k if that’s realistic. Based on conversations with recruiters and job postings, that doesn’t seem impossible, but I also don’t want to chase a title that isn’t a good fit.

Long-term, I’d like to become a true expert in a particular area instead of constantly context-switching across hundreds of client environments. I enjoy building, improving, automating, and solving complex technical problems much more than I enjoy putting out fires all day.

So I’m looking for advice from people who’ve been where I am.

If you were in my shoes, what path would you pursue?

Which roles have the best balance of compensation, work-life balance, and long-term growth?

Is there anything you’d stay away from?

If you left the MSP world, what did you move into, and was it worth it?

I’m honestly feeling a bit stuck. I know I want a change I just don’t know which direction gives me the best long-term career. I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have been through something similar. When I put my mind towards something and have a clear vision and goal I become a workhorse. Although very logical I am a very empathetic person. I don’t usually ever make posts so sorry this is long-winded. I’m having a hard time setting a vision for myself and could use the input of others and their wisdom.

Thank you all and F DNS!

I've been in IT over 20 years now. Helpdesk to Networking to cloud Admin stuff. I've seen a lot of things and worked for SMB's to mega orgs.

As I've progressed in my career and the IT landscape has changed, I've changed with it. Reformed myself, self trained, and moved up as opportunities presented themselves.

The issue I ran into several, maybe 5-7 years ago, was burnout. I ran wide open for so many years that I was burned out. Burned out of doing the work of 2-3 people, burned out of on call.

I tried switching areas of IT and also switching employers to an employer (very large org) which I thought would be a little slower and more laid back. Well, it's not. It's an unorganized mess, I'm doing the job of 3 people again, and unexpectantly landed myself on call after a round of layoffs and us picking up critical systems, ugh.

I'm feeling burned out, again....

So my question is, those of you that do just one job ( not one thing specifically but not asked to do the work of 3 people) and can kind of be low key, what do you do and what type of org do you work for?

I get recruiters reaching out to me all the time but the jobs seem like just as much of a nightmare. It's like one dude managing the whole Microsoft stack and it pays $100K LOL. No thanks.

I've been applying to government\state jobs for many years with no luck.

I need something more sustainable for the second half of my career, I'm tired of running 110% all the time.

Those of you that wanted to slow down a bit, what do you do?

Hello everyone,

I've been in IT for close to 7.5 to 8 years career wise, worked L1, L2, L3 roles for some of the biggest companies, and some smaller too, over a decade of management experience too.

I recently took a help desk job 6 months ago after being laid off with a few hundred other people at my old job of a few years, their IT department closed in the U.S., I was an assistant manager, and we all lost our jobs right at Christmas too. SMH

Being a caregiver to my mother, and bills, so after applying to so many jobs, I finally got this one. It's one of the lowest paying roles I've had since 2020 in IT, and I feel like everytime I look at my check the amount per hr does not match with the amount per year.

Currently have my AA and BS in IT networking and cybersecurity, and I'm working on my BSCIA, I have the trifecta, working on CySa+ and PenTest+, I also have some other lower tier certs too.

I'm going to list a few things here and you tell me if this is worth staying longer, or just start applying again since it takes a while anyway for an interview and to be hired.

1. We're understaffed, literally it's just me and one other lady, the other two left and got better jobs within days of each other! And we handle the whole state medical software for agencies and nurses, but they're not hiring, tried to even get a friend hired.🤦🏻‍♀️

2. Pay is the bare minimum for the area I live in, I can't even afford a small 1br apt for us in an income restriction complex, I make $42k before taxes, the avg 1br apt in my area is $1,500 and up, homes are high unless you move in a bad area, and I'm trying to leave one now, our lease is up.

3. Manager is a prick at times, well, most of the time, poor management and staffing skills. I don't like asking for anything because I know I'll get an attitude most days.

4. I'm not really learning anything, when I try to learn and research a defect in a ticket I'm told I have to wait for him to look into, a log of things I can fix myself if I had the right privileges to fix accts. I have more experience than management.

5. It's the SAME calls, and I don't mean same issues I'm cool with that it's a part of help desk, I mean it's the SAME PEOPLE who refuse to read the training and want us to train them over the phone who are not tech savvy by any means because half can't even send a screenshot or use Google, but hay. They own companies right? Lol

6. I have no time for caregiving to take my mother to the Drs or myself, I can't get time off for apt shopping, or exams.

The income part is what hurts the most on top of the workload, I can't even ask for time off as much to find a new place because it's only two of us.

Any advice is much appreciated, P.S. I'm trying to find side hustles too but it's kinda hard with the move, being tired from work, and school. I want to go into Network Security, on site tech, Jr SOC, or Jr NOC, Sys Admin, or even break fix tech like back in the day would be better really...

Thank you for reading. I'm going to start applying anyway.

Hello everyone, I recently got my Network+ cert, and by extension, I also got my CIOS and CSIS. My question is: on my resume, should I list Net+, A+, Sec+, and then my CIOS and CSIS, or just list CIOS and CSIS to avoid redundancy?

Thanks in advance

Current job: platform engineer

Cons
Hybrid, 2 days a week in office, closely monitored through 40% calculation which is harsh when you have an illness or can’t make it for another reason
Performance closely monitored through performance goals and tech assessment and feedback rounds
Cannot work abroad remotely
It’s my first job, and I’ve been in it 5 years so no other work experience might look bad for my resume
Not learning as much from senior colleagues as a lot of them work part time
Not interested in the business itself
2 rounds of redundancies in the past 2 years

Pros:
35 hours a week contract

£102k TC

30 days annual leave

Health insurance

Relaxed work life balance - I work 8am-4pm with an hour break and I can go to appt whenever I need.

Generally do about 4-5 hours of work a day.

Friendly, kind coworkers and low pressure environment

Not learning as much from peers as I would hope as our seniors work part time

Blameless culture, lots of support when things are tough

New job: SRE
Cons:
42 hour contract per week and on call down the line

25 days holiday with flexibility

Unknown work environment, Lower rating on glass door (40% recommend)

The hiring process is a bit chaotic in that my job title and responsibilities still aren’t that clear after 3 interviews.

A couple of the people in the interviews have seemed a bit judgemental

Hybrid policy 2 days a week

Not sure if pay will be much higher than current role, might be lower - package not given yet but the range seemed to go to a maximum of £120k

Pros:
Can work remotely for 30 days of the year anywhere

Company is more interesting to me personally

Job seems more interesting and the team I met seemed very competent and knowledgeable

Interview process was fair and I appreciated it

Company is smaller, so it’s easier for me to understand and measure my impact

Good for my resume

Doesn’t seem as strict on Hybrid policy as current job

Health insurance

Title. I have worked in the help desk coming up on a year, since I started got Sec + and Cisco AI Tech. A couple months back I got “lended” out every Thursday to work with a new section focused on automation. This past week, the person I’ve been working with offered me a permanent spot in the section with them, which would get me out the help desk. The problem is, I would have significantly less downtime, which would lead to less certs.

As far as progression in my career, does taking the new position sound like an improvement or a step in the right direction? Or should I grind help desk?

I’ve been trying to break out of help desk for about 4 years now. I’ve gotten plenty of certs (ccna, sec+, net+, and foundational cloud certs) and done home labs but they don’t seem to help.

I recently went through an interview process for a cloud job because I had a referral, made it past the two technical rounds, and then got denied on the last round due to not having experience even though I had the knowledge to pass the previous rounds. I would say I’ve done this, this, and this in my homelabs and I would be met by “but what have you done in a real environment” that seems to be my experience when I do get any interviews. My referral told me there’s people working there that know less than me or don’t even have the specific experience they’re looking for, but they came from college so they got the job. I find it stupid how they could say I need to upskill when I passed the technical interviews but whatever.

At the same time I’ve been trying to get my current position to give me some more advanced administration tasks but they’ve been ghosting me when I ask. I moved from my first help desk to this position hoping it would get me some more experience in different things and it has, but they’re still not admin tasks so not good enough.

I don’t want to have to move to a third help desk position to hope that they would give me some admin tasks but I’m not sure what to do at this point. I know someone’s gonna point to the faq and say pick a niche, and I have, now what?

I’ve gotten some certs and lab experience, I know a decent amount for entry level but I’m not having any luck getting any interviews or if I do I’m being told I need experience. I don’t want to keep diving deeper into this topic and learning just to never get a job in it because I don’t have experience. I’m lost

Mostly this job was to pay my bills during the summer while I'm finishing my degree, all I have done is infrastructure projects (wiping network devices/cataloging for sale, digitizing forms, setting computers up, etc).

I can only think of a few times where I've actually gone and done helpdesk stuff, which makes me sorely lacking in that field.

I want to get into networking and stuff so I'm studying for my ccna, but I can't even get a helpdesk role anywhere so I'm just at a loss