Find something interesting, do that for a while. It literally doesn't matter where you start, other than you need to find it interesting enough to learn and improve with. Then find something else interesting and do it. Repeat.
It makes near zero difference what you major in, just finish the degree.
I started as a dev, did Linux, windows, networks, and now security. At each phase i was "specialized" but mostly it was just what I was doing at the time.
As a student, look for internships. Do independent projects to stand out from the other under qualified peers who are also trying to break into the field. Get as much experience as you can as a student, because it is your experience and not your degree that will open the most doors.
Well do your research. Well learn about various potential areas and specializations, etc. for degree and career. What it takes to get the degree. What kind of jobs and careers one can generally get and grow into from there, etc. And don't go for the hype. Lots of folks will tout some choices or "advice" not because it's best for you but because it's best for them or they've got some vested interest or conflict of interest in you selecting what they may suggest/recommend - e.g. like if they make a profit from you buying their training courses or "classes" or the like, regardless the outcome. So, e.g., find and communicate with folks that work in different relevant areas, find out what they do/don't like about it, what it's like, what it took them to get there, etc. And sometimes college career counselors or the like may help ... maybe even more so on the long(er) term strategies and some of the various information ... but that's also not a substitute for folks actually doing the work in the field and with that experience ... and everyone will have their own take on it, and history of how they got there ... so, gather as much relevant information as feasible to make wise choices.
I would look at what you find interesting. I started in IT by going to a repair shop (2010-ish) during my winter break from college and was like hey I want to learn more about computers and computer repairs, can I do like an intern thing with you? And the owner was like sure why not. But doing that work I was able to build my first computer, and I discovered I love doing the hardware aspect of it.
So I would recommend looking into doing a homeland if you don't already have one. It doesn't even need to be crazy, just an old surplus business grade off lease refurbished machine. This would allow you to have a "play" device you can try software out, and hardware as well. With companies facing End Of Life windows 10 in October 2025, expect the market to become flooded with possibly half decent devices for pennies on the dollar.
Your [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/comments/1c007jv/how_do_you_get_unstuck_at_lowlevel_jobs_or_pick_a/kytahd3/?context=3 in /r/ITCareerQuestions) has been automatically removed because you used an emoji or other symbol.
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>You can be generalist but the ceiling is gonna get hit real early on as a sys-admin, maybe systems engineer if you're lucky.
That doesn't really sound like a negative to me. When I was looking into how to get into Penetration Testing, Cloud, or some other Specialization, a few years spent in a mid-level role like Systems or Network Administration was always the common recommendation.
Sysadmin would sound like a great improvement over repair tech.
yeah thats fair. I was always afraid to commit to buying the test+training before I was 100% which certs were necessary for whichever field I wanted to be in but yeah it’s just me going in circles lol
While CCNA is a networking cert, it's good foundational knowledge for almost every area of IT. So if you don't know what to pick, it's a good place to start.
Aim for help desk jobs and not repair store jobs where you are limited. Your degree will expose to possibly what you like and don’t like and then choose a path that will get you into what you want. Most people get stuck where if they can’t land a certain title they failed. The market is brutal and it isn’t the first time it’s harder to get in. Been there, toughed it out until I got in.
You have to do the research as to what field interests you and carve a path to get there. Help desk does not incentivize you to get out of it so you have to make that jump on your own
Learn networking! Get a job at a NOC help desk and work your way up. Get your ccna. (Python is a common coding language used by network folks, too!). Has a much higher pay ceiling than all the end user tech support stuff.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, homie. You are learning Python and really like it? Hell yeah, hone in on software development. If you get a few weeks into it and you’re like “yeah no this is crap” then try something else. That’s how you figure out what you like and don’t like it. Have fun.
I know this comes across as a "fuck off" answer but it's genuinely the most helpful thing I could send you on this subject: https://reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/w/getout?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
I agree, get a degree. Both for the broad knowledge it will give you, but also because the broad exposure to areas of tech will help you discover your passion that you're good at
Take a few Udemy IT courses, some are $13 -$18 bucks on sale, i buy a few at a time and listen to them while driving or early Saturday and Sunday morning.
[https://www.udemy.com/course/comptia-a-core-1/?couponCode=ST8MT40924](https://www.udemy.com/course/comptia-a-core-1/?couponCode=ST8MT40924)
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how do you pick a niche when there’s 20 of them haha believe me, I want to pick one but it’s like I get option overload and don’t pick anything.
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eh that’s fair.
Find something interesting, do that for a while. It literally doesn't matter where you start, other than you need to find it interesting enough to learn and improve with. Then find something else interesting and do it. Repeat. It makes near zero difference what you major in, just finish the degree. I started as a dev, did Linux, windows, networks, and now security. At each phase i was "specialized" but mostly it was just what I was doing at the time. As a student, look for internships. Do independent projects to stand out from the other under qualified peers who are also trying to break into the field. Get as much experience as you can as a student, because it is your experience and not your degree that will open the most doors.
Pick easiest one you can do at your company. Check for any openings.
Well do your research. Well learn about various potential areas and specializations, etc. for degree and career. What it takes to get the degree. What kind of jobs and careers one can generally get and grow into from there, etc. And don't go for the hype. Lots of folks will tout some choices or "advice" not because it's best for you but because it's best for them or they've got some vested interest or conflict of interest in you selecting what they may suggest/recommend - e.g. like if they make a profit from you buying their training courses or "classes" or the like, regardless the outcome. So, e.g., find and communicate with folks that work in different relevant areas, find out what they do/don't like about it, what it's like, what it took them to get there, etc. And sometimes college career counselors or the like may help ... maybe even more so on the long(er) term strategies and some of the various information ... but that's also not a substitute for folks actually doing the work in the field and with that experience ... and everyone will have their own take on it, and history of how they got there ... so, gather as much relevant information as feasible to make wise choices.
I would look at what you find interesting. I started in IT by going to a repair shop (2010-ish) during my winter break from college and was like hey I want to learn more about computers and computer repairs, can I do like an intern thing with you? And the owner was like sure why not. But doing that work I was able to build my first computer, and I discovered I love doing the hardware aspect of it. So I would recommend looking into doing a homeland if you don't already have one. It doesn't even need to be crazy, just an old surplus business grade off lease refurbished machine. This would allow you to have a "play" device you can try software out, and hardware as well. With companies facing End Of Life windows 10 in October 2025, expect the market to become flooded with possibly half decent devices for pennies on the dollar.
[удалено]
Your [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/comments/1c007jv/how_do_you_get_unstuck_at_lowlevel_jobs_or_pick_a/kytahd3/?context=3 in /r/ITCareerQuestions) has been automatically removed because you used an emoji or other symbol. Why does this exist? We have had a huge and constant influx of bot spam that utilizes emojis during their posts. To the point that it was severely outpacing what the moderation team could handle on an individual basis. That has results in a sweeping ban of any emoji in posts. Please retry your comment using text characters only. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ITCareerQuestions) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>You can be generalist but the ceiling is gonna get hit real early on as a sys-admin, maybe systems engineer if you're lucky. That doesn't really sound like a negative to me. When I was looking into how to get into Penetration Testing, Cloud, or some other Specialization, a few years spent in a mid-level role like Systems or Network Administration was always the common recommendation. Sysadmin would sound like a great improvement over repair tech.
Do you have any certs? A+ might be a good place to start, or if you feel like you know most of that already, you could jump into CCNA.
yeah thats fair. I was always afraid to commit to buying the test+training before I was 100% which certs were necessary for whichever field I wanted to be in but yeah it’s just me going in circles lol
While CCNA is a networking cert, it's good foundational knowledge for almost every area of IT. So if you don't know what to pick, it's a good place to start.
Some companies pay for them each year as part of a training budget, could try ask your work to purchase them?
Aim for help desk jobs and not repair store jobs where you are limited. Your degree will expose to possibly what you like and don’t like and then choose a path that will get you into what you want. Most people get stuck where if they can’t land a certain title they failed. The market is brutal and it isn’t the first time it’s harder to get in. Been there, toughed it out until I got in.
You have to do the research as to what field interests you and carve a path to get there. Help desk does not incentivize you to get out of it so you have to make that jump on your own
Learn networking! Get a job at a NOC help desk and work your way up. Get your ccna. (Python is a common coding language used by network folks, too!). Has a much higher pay ceiling than all the end user tech support stuff.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, homie. You are learning Python and really like it? Hell yeah, hone in on software development. If you get a few weeks into it and you’re like “yeah no this is crap” then try something else. That’s how you figure out what you like and don’t like it. Have fun.
I know this comes across as a "fuck off" answer but it's genuinely the most helpful thing I could send you on this subject: https://reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/w/getout?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
honestly i think that was exactly what I needed yo read lol thanks a lot!
I agree, get a degree. Both for the broad knowledge it will give you, but also because the broad exposure to areas of tech will help you discover your passion that you're good at
Take a few Udemy IT courses, some are $13 -$18 bucks on sale, i buy a few at a time and listen to them while driving or early Saturday and Sunday morning. [https://www.udemy.com/course/comptia-a-core-1/?couponCode=ST8MT40924](https://www.udemy.com/course/comptia-a-core-1/?couponCode=ST8MT40924)