So I'm 25 and really want to be an Information Technologist but I have this problem where the past 5 years of my work experience has been in customer sales and service. While I am good at customer sales I hate it. I dislike having to talk to, and convince people to buy crap they don’t need (though if I bank off of it someway I don’t mind as much). At my last job before it closed down I was an electronic manager and sole computer repair technician (though the computer technician was never really made my official job title; I was referred to instead by co-workers as the computer guy).
Basically the extent of my IT knowledge consisted of fixing the office computers when they stopped working (usually simple problems), refurbishing the odd desktop or laptop that came into the store (reinstalling the OS or the odd hardware replacement), and troubleshooting computers owned by friends or family (most of the times viruses and malware). I had been doing this for the past three years and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I liked taking computers apart and figuring out what may be wrong with them, and putting them back together and helping people. I’ve often imagined running my own computer repair business or concept internet cafe.
The basic problem I have is that I lack the proper certification to ever be considered a successful candidate for large or even small IT Company. I don’t even have my A+ which is usually scoffed at anyways. I currently work at Laptop Depot as a sales guy and I’m interested in eventually working my way into the IT department seeing how I help the resident tech troubleshoot and repair the odd laptop and tower already.
Does anyone have any experience getting into a career in IT without ever having their proper certifications? If I am interested should I seriously consider just going to an educational institute that will teach me Information Technology or are there opportunities to learn it on your own? Just curious what any experienced IT guys could tell me about this as a job path. Criticism, horror stories, advice, relatable experiences are all cautiously welcome.
