I’ve had plenty of friends ask me how to get into the field of I.T. without any background knowledge or professional experience. Switching to and/or trying out a different career path is very daunting and I can wholeheartedly understand the confusion and anxiety that comes with that. Not so long ago, I had been
TL;DR Get your CompTIA A+ Certification and start working for a Managed Service Provider. (Keep reading for a more detailed step-by-step and resources)
Step-By-Step Guide
Why the CompTIA A+ Certification?
There are tons of other certifications out there from Coursera or Google, but this is THE certification for entry level IT. Although there is lots of great content in the other certifications, employers will not take anything other than the CompTIA A+ seriously, especially if this is going to be your first job in the IT field. If you would like to take those other courses or other certifications, that’s great, but do that after you’ve gotten your first job and more experience.
Step 1: Study for the CompTIA A+ Certification
There are a bunch of resources for A+ exam preparation, but here are the ones that helped me out or I’ve heard helped me out.
YouTube – Free
Professor Messer has so many videos that any subject you might be stuck on, he’s probably already covered. On top of that, he hosts frequent live streamed study session where people will join and ask him question. An amazing and established channel with tons of videos and other learners to learn from.
Udemy – $40ish (as of 7/25/24)
CompTIA – Free
Step 2: Purchase Test Vouchers
Now that you’re ready and confident in what you’ve studied, it’s time to purchase vouchers
Official CompTIA Store/Academic Store – link here
If you are a student, absolutely go to the CompTIA Academic Store to get your vouchers! It’s half price and the best deal. They will have you verify your student status though, so prepare a student transcript and student email for them.
For non-students, you can purchase
GetCertified4Less.com – link here
For non-students, the cheapest (and most Reddit approved) place to get a license is getcertified4less.com.
If you buy a voucher that expires sooner, it’ll be much cheaper! Obviously the caveat is you’ll need to be ready to schedule your test before that day, but as long as you buy it when you know you’re ready, you’ll be fine
Step 3: Schedule the Exams and Pass
There are tons of test centers all around the country, and if there isn’t any near you, Pearson offers online testing/proctoring. Both have their pros and cons and here are a few.
In-Person
In person tests have always been a better place to focus, especially if you’re living with others or just have a very distracting home environment. When taking my ISC2 CC exam, I found the in-person test went by a bit faster while also being a nice and isolated environment away from home.
Online:
Being away from home may not be the most comfortable for you and it might backfire. The testing center being in-person is also cause for concern since (no matter how far it is) you’ll still need to leave your house and drive out. Online testing is more convenient, has more available time-slots, and allows you to study every single second before the test starts. I took both my CompTIA A+ exams online and enjoyed the experience.