Member Avatar for Buggy_

Hey, Bayside local here. Decided to register to see what the hubbub is about. Been to Danipad before, it's a great place.

Currently pushing through my CS Associates degree but recently I had some issues and unfortunately had to drop a few classes. Trying to not let it get to me.

Always wanted to break into the industry but unfortunately every "entry level" position I've searched for asks for 3-5 years of experience, a computer science/ engineering bachelor's degree, and 10 years of experience with software released 2 years ago - even for a basic Desktop Support/Help Desk position... Gotta weed em out somehow right?

On my own time I've been doing freelance IT work for friends, family, and even customers I met through my previous job. All kinds of jobs from data recovery, website management, establishing social media presence to turning on a "broken" monitor.

Im pretty good with social media - managed to gather 40k-50k fans in a little over a year on an unrelated side project that brings in income which is a pretty good start too.

Right now I'm fiddling with Virtualization and Linux OS's to expand my skill set. After that, I'm probably going to go for a few more certifications while juggling my C++ classes next semester. After that, who knows. Cyber security seems neat.

Hopefully I can learn from you guys to help push me along in my future career. Anyone got any tips for landing that first job? So far everything I apply or try to apply for gives me a catch 22. Need experience to get the job, need a job to get experience.

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Member Avatar for Dani

Hey Buggy! Nice to virtually meet you. Do we know each other in person?

From what I'm hearing, you're interests mostly lie with networking, cybersecurity, and systems admin type stuff. That's defintely a great field, but I think that you're going to get farther with RHCE, etc. certifications than you will with an associates in computer science.

As far as social media goes, that's great! Once you figure out the field you want to be in, you can definitely use a social presence to promote yourself in the job market. Use your social media presence to start a blog, or even post to Twitter/FB with security tips and stuff. Over time, you can build a name for yourself as an expert in your field, just by blogging as you learn.

It seems like programming might just not be your cup of tea. You don't seem too interested in it.

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