Entering the IT field, need advice plz

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steves85

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Hi, im reasonably new to the forums here but did use them alot when building my own pc. I am from Australia if that makes any difference to your suggestions. Im 25 and goin to uni would be a challenge financially as i live with my partner and we rent.

Basically i want to work in the IT field, and my aim is to run my own business. What i want to do is make pc's for people, repair/upgrade pc's, fix virus's for people, setup internet/home networks, and generally help people with computer problems. I believe this could be called a "systems engineer" ???

Okay so my experience is as follows:
- Completed IT systems in High school (8 years ago)
- Built my own pc from scratch with help from the net of course
- Setup my own home wireless network router
- Upgraded mine and friends pc parts from time to time
- Have fixed/removed viruses on my computer
- Basically run the IT maintenance at current job

Now i know this is only scratching the surface of what IT guys can do but i would just like some input as to what study or qualifications (if any) would i need to run my own business as mentioned up top. An IT guy here told me university degrees are very broad, jack of all trades kind of thing. He recommended looking at microsoft certificates, but which one would be best for me?
Any replies welcome, thanks
 
If you are only looking to be basically a field tech you will want CompTia A+ and Network+ for sure. As far as Microsoft certs, being that from your post you are going to be predominately going after the residential market, they might be more or less meaningless to you unless you go for the Microsoft Certified IT Professional:Consumer Support.

As far as running your own business, take some courses at your local college--perhaps some marketing, accounting, etc.

Keep in mind as far as your skillset goes, you are right that you have only begun to scratch the surface
 
Well certainly checking around the forums will be of big help. As the Virus area we have below the Windows area is a great place to start to try and understand what it takes to remove some of the real nasty infections. Being able to use tools like ComboFix, Malwarebytes Antimalware are going to be everyday tasks if you want to help people remove infections. Might want to also check around the Windows area. As you will get asked a lot of questions on how to do certain things within Windows that you may not already know.

For sure you will want to get some more builds under your belt. As building 1 machine is a good start, but it is not where you need to be if you want to do it for others. As there are so many things that can happen. From just having a bad part to having issues getting the POST to work and beyond.

While i know this isnt directed at exactly what your looking for, it is a good as place to start as any. As this information is the stuff you will come across daily doing what your looking to do.

While Uni degrees are broad as they cover only certain aspects of each thing. Some parts might go a bit more indepth it still isnt going to be enough to tackle the things you need to know on a daily basis.

Aside from that having some Microsoft Certs isnt a bad idea. But since you are looking to cover a large range of areas, there isnt a set degree that covers it all. Having a Windows specific Cert is a good idea. I dont think they have the XP ones available anymore but certainly the Vista or more so Win7 ones are good to at least try for. As they will cover things that are needed for troubleshooting things within Windows. While you may remove an infection you will need to know how to fix some aspects of Windows that may have been corrupted due to the infection. Such as replacing some Windows Files and so on.

you can check out the Microsoft eLearning site for much information on which Certs they offer on various subjects. things like Windows, Office and so on might play big parts in your company as you may get asked some specific questions on what the different versions offer, what the difference are between each version and so on.

There is going to be a lot to learn on such a broad range of things you wish to do. Being someone in retail that deals with alot of PC questions daily it pays to know more information then not to know it when your asked that odd question from a customer that is looking for something very specific. I dont know exactly what services you plan to offer or how you plan on going about it, but still knowing more isnt going to hurt.
 
And since you are going to be consumer centric I would learn OSX as well. You might want to learn the basics of printers as well. Its really not a big deal nowadays since most printers are relatively cheap thus making them almost disposable
 
Learning about Printers is a good idea. I know that my place we get asked all the times about the different models and what each model offers. Not to mention being able to answer questions on if they have WiFi built in, Card Readers, can print photos and info like that is always good to know. As that is a common concern by people.

Being able to know if there are drivers out there for the Os being used is also useful. You dont have to know them all, but knowing if there are drivers available online for windows 7 for a printer that doesnt specify that it support Win7 is also good.
 
Thanks so much for the replies. I must add im not a total newb, i would consider my general cpu skills very advanced and i learn quick from my mistakes. I am actually studying a diploma of accounting atm and also have cert 3 in business. I have learnt alot from my work about how "NOT" to run a business. I have used malware bytes, superanti spyware and ccleaner before. You certainly painted a picture when you mentioned "residential" as my market, what extra stuff would be needed to target residential and small business? I picture myself working from home or shop front, and also being available for call out to people.

Alternatively, if i wanted to go corporate and earn a salary from a big shot company i understand they will look for degree qualified, plus about 3+ years experience. Is it possible to obtain these jobs with only certs and not a degree?

Currently i am leaning towards starting with the A+ cert. This way i can keep my current accounting job and study the A+ thereby keeping my income. After the A+ I think i would target a job at a retail computer shop to get some experience up. Im used to working with customers face to face, but they do say hands on stuff is GOLD. After the A+ i thought the MCSE cert might be valuable, but would you value this over the network+?

Sorry to ramble on, like i said just realising my passion for computers and not sure which direction would be best?
 
Hi, im reasonably new to the forums here but did use them alot when building my own pc. I am from Australia if that makes any difference to your suggestions. Im 25 and goin to uni would be a challenge financially as i live with my partner and we rent.

Basically i want to work in the IT field, and my aim is to run my own business. What i want to do is make pc's for people, repair/upgrade pc's, fix virus's for people, setup internet/home networks, and generally help people with computer problems. I believe this could be called a "systems engineer" ???

Okay so my experience is as follows:
- Completed IT systems in High school (8 years ago)
- Built my own pc from scratch with help from the net of course
- Setup my own home wireless network router
- Upgraded mine and friends pc parts from time to time
- Have fixed/removed viruses on my computer
- Basically run the IT maintenance at current job

Now i know this is only scratching the surface of what IT guys can do but i would just like some input as to what study or qualifications (if any) would i need to run my own business as mentioned up top. An IT guy here told me university degrees are very broad, jack of all trades kind of thing. He recommended looking at microsoft certificates, but which one would be best for me?
Any replies welcome, thanks

Mate, I know how you feel. I'm in the exact same position. I'm Getting alot better on the hardware side of things as my experience builds (only natural). But I've got one more year left in College, Doing an IT practitioners course, aswell as Comptia A+ and Network + Which i start next year. I'd love to work in a shop Or have my own business doing basically what you want to do aswell as offering remote support, I'm completely useless when it comes to networking And not so great when it comes to printers and viruses. I'm learning alot from these forums though. My advice is to you; When you come up with a problem, think patiently and logically. A problem is only as complex as you want to make it. I'm going to get work experience whilst doing education, this will give me experience aswell as having fixed loads of computers before. I wish you all the best.
 
If you have your own car, you might want to start looking at some of the outsourcing or employment agencies. That is how i got my current job. Your work condition might be rubbish as they will stick you on Per Event rates, and you are going to be lucky to have a contract longer than 3 months at first. But in the end, it does look good on a resume that you state that you were working for companies like Unisys, NGR, Dell, Lenovo.

The other thing is this is that these outsourcing companies might allow you to run your own business. The people that I am currently outsourced too does have the option where I can work as an employee or as a subcontracted company. My advice would be to start off as a employee for the first 12 months or so, then see an accountant to see if you might be better off as company instead.
I spoke with my accountant on this matter and he informed me that unless I am earning more that $60 000, I am better off sticking as an employee. Because as subcontracted company, although I might have the Tax Perks, I do have to provide my own insurance, look after my own superannuation and Tax.


Plus the other thing is that it allows get certifications. This might only be things like Dell Desktop Fundamentals 2010.
 
I do all of the stuff listed in the 1st post with no degree or certificates, but I live in a small town so almost everyone knows me. Ultimately people just want there computers to work and that can be done without any formal education. However, if you want to succeed in a Corporate or Business type of environment some certifications will go a long way. But there still not mandatory, my last job (for someone other than myself) was the In-House Architect for a large Homebuilder (500+ houses a year) and all I have is a High School Diploma. Random things happen in a random world, impress the right person and anything can happen :thumbsup:
 
okay so ive spoken to an IT career guy at seek learning, which is an australian/nz based online learning company. he was very informative and asked where i wanted to head. after i told him i want to run my own repair/network business he asked what i thought my weaknesses were and said that most repair guys need to head into some small business type markets as well to survive in smaller towns. servers/networks and different o/s are where i dont have much experience. he offered me a package which contains a+, network+, mcdt, itil v3, ccent and ccna. he said the units are not long in duration and that they can be comfortably completed in about 6 months by taking my time and not rushing. he advised that these certs would nearly guarentee an entry level desktop support position which would be good for experience, before moving onto starting a business. now all these courses alone cost $9000+, but the package is only $3300.

what do you guys think? personally im excited about it and think it will cover alot and put me on my way to starting business. i havent accepted yet as im still looking at my finances.
 
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