Member Avatar for rbk25

not sure if this belongs here but i figured you guys and girls are as good to ask as any. i have recently changed my major to information technology (technical concentration) because i absolutely love troubleshooting other peoples computers. i spend hours upon hours trying to solve virus, internet connection, and other common problems that people have and i love every second of it. my only problem is that after taking my first semester of IT classes, all that we do is learn programing. a student could get straight As in all their IT classes and still not even know what spyware is. websites with tech support, google and myself have taught me everything that i know, not my university. i guess i want to know if there are other options for my career vs just programming. did i declare the wrong major? do i even need to finish college to make the sort of profession i mentioned above. i know there is money in this profession and i would really appreciate some suggestions

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Good point from : college curricula often blur together, and the label on the major does not lock someone into a single role. For , who prefers hands-on troubleshooting rather than pure programming, several practical career tracks fit that interest — desktop/helpdesk, field technician, managed‑services engineer, systems administrator, network technician, and entry security/incident‑response roles. Programming remains useful: scripting and small automation tasks make candidates stand out for higher‑level support and operations jobs.

A short, actionable roadmap that works even if coursework is heavy on programming:

  • Shift electives toward networking, operating systems, hardware, and security where possible; ask the department about a technical/support concentration or certificates.
  • Build a home lab with virtualization (VirtualBox/VMware) and a router/firewall VM (pfSense) to practice common scenarios: domain joins, DNS issues, packet filtering, malware removal steps, and network troubleshooting. Log problems and fixes as “tickets” to quantify experience.
  • Get one or two entry certs to validate basic skills (hardware/support and networking are common starting points) and then a focused cert for the chosen path. Vendor and vendor‑neutral certs are both valuable; official certification pages are maintained at sites such as CompTIA and Microsoft Learn certifications.
  • Combine part‑time helpdesk, campus IT work, or volunteering with course projects. Real ticket experience and demonstrable outcomes often matter more for entry roles than a single class.

Degree vs no degree: a degree remains an advantage for many employers and for moving into senior roles, but it is not strictly required for entry support positions if hands‑on experience and certifications are strong. Document troubleshooting work, quantify impact (tickets closed, uptime improvements, response time), and keep learning toward networking, systems, or security to match the preferred career trajectory.

Member Avatar for samaru

Your IT classes sound more like my computer science classes. IT schools have programs that teach technical support/networking, which seems to be what you want. If all you're doing is programming, then you seem to be enrolled in a computer science program or a programming track of IT. What do I think you should do? Well, this topic has been beaten to death by many, including myself, so I'll refer you to some other threads where you'll see what others think:

http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/showthread.php?t=591
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/showthread.php?t=2068

If you have any other questions after going through all those posts, just feel free to ask. :)

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