Member Avatar for MikkaD

Hi All!

I'm a new user to this site. I came here because I just read an article on Yahoo about how the tech industry is on fire! Hiring freeze, what hiring freeze? So I'm interested!! Always liked computers, but never thought of them as a career. Now I'm thinking. I'm 46 and looking to start over! Why not! How do I get started in a tech career? And do I have to go get a computer science degree?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by mackone

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Practical, stepwise advice for a mid‑career switch into tech.

This thread already contains the right pieces: wants a fresh start, notes formal CS study helps for some roles, and / point out that hands‑on experience and a role‑first plan often matter more than a degree. A useful first principle is to pick a concrete target role (support, sysadmin, network, web dev, QA, DB work) and map the specific day‑to‑day tasks hiring managers expect.

A compact learning sequence works best. Map core skills for the chosen role, learn fundamentals (OS, basic networking, a scripting language, version control, and troubleshooting), then follow with one focused path: structured coursework, community college classes, bootcamp, or targeted vendor-neutral certification depending on time and budget. Build 2–3 short, documented projects (home lab, small web app, automation script, or system setup) and host the work and notes on a public repo or portfolio.

Getting paid experience early matters. Practical options include volunteer IT for nonprofits, temp help‑desk/desktop roles, small business support, short freelance gigs, or contributing to open source. Convert prior work strengths into transferable outcomes (customer support → incident resolution; process work → automation). Resumes and interview answers should highlight specific problems solved, steps taken, and measurable results.

A realistic timeline is weeks to several months of focused study plus hands‑on projects to reach entry readiness. Beware programs that promise instant placement without verifiable data. Combine the experience‑first examples from with ’s role‑mapping and ’s suggestion to use community forums—this balances practical learning, measurable projects, and targeted applications.

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Member Avatar for DimaYasny

CS degree will get you into the higher end systems or programming field. provided you will be able to get experience of course.

something like the CompTIA A+ will give you a started tech knowledge and a certificate, to start working with computers professionally on the tech level

Member Avatar for MikkaD

CS degree will get you into the higher end systems or programming field. provided you will be able to get experience of course.

something like the CompTIA A+ will give you a started tech knowledge and a certificate, to start working with computers professionally on the tech level

Thanks for the info, but was is CompTIA A+ and how do you go about getting it?

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

Thanks for the info, but was is CompTIA A+ and how do you go about getting it?

to properly start in IT you need to learn how to look for things in google

Member Avatar for OlyComputers

Get some basic certifications, maybe take some community college level classes and you'll have a good foundation, but experience counts more than anything. dimayasny is right, You need a CS degree (probably a BS) to get a high end job, but you can get a decent IT job with an associates and good interviewing skills or good experience and some good references (the interviewing skills still help).

I'm an IT consultant and network administrator working with virtually no formal education. I was good with computers, started fixing them as a kid and took a couple related classes while I was getting my (unrelated) associates. I got a job doing data entry and started helping out with the computers around the office. They promoted me to doing networking and back-end management of the CRM software. I started a business on the side doing IT consulting, invested in some well planned advertising, left extra business cards with every customer for referrals and eventually I nailed down some stable business clients.

That's just my example, but it shows you how experience and skill can be a substitute for education. If you don't have time to get the kind of "life experience" I have, or aren't in a situation you could move gradually get a few certifications. They'll make up for experience and formal education on a resume to a degree.

Member Avatar for Vilice

Nowadays ,tech industry is really popular .Just searh for as much information on google as possible .The more you learn ,The better you will do .

Member Avatar for ItCareerCoach

Get some basic certifications, maybe take some community college level classes and you'll have a good foundation, but experience counts more than anything. dimayasny is right, You need a CS degree (probably a BS) to get a high end job, but you can get a decent IT job with an associates and good interviewing skills or good experience and some good references (the interviewing skills still help).

I'm an IT consultant and network administrator working with virtually no formal education. I was good with computers, started fixing them as a kid and took a couple related classes while I was getting my (unrelated) associates. I got a job doing data entry and started helping out with the computers around the office. They promoted me to doing networking and back-end management of the CRM software. I started a business on the side doing IT consulting, invested in some well planned advertising, left extra business cards with every customer for referrals and eventually I nailed down some stable business clients.

That's just my example, but it shows you how experience and skill can be a substitute for education. If you don't have time to get the kind of "life experience" I have, or aren't in a situation you could move gradually get a few certifications. They'll make up for experience and formal education on a resume to a degree.

I agree with OilyComputers that experience and skill can be a substitute for education.

It is actually better to first identify the career you want and then find ot the roles and responsibilities or the actual tasks you will be carrying out on a day to day basis.

After that, you should find a way to learn those skills ... as soon as possible.

Member Avatar for mackone

Also learn to do your research on what technologies you might be interested in by joining online forums that are dedicated to servicing these professionals. From these, you may also get an idea as to whether a career in databases, system administration, network engineering or hard-code programming would be best for you.

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