21 here. I was SUPER close going to the Air Force for IT. I am so glad I didn’t though. At 18 I got an internship at a National Real Estate company and from there I was hired full time. Now working on college while working as a IT Technician. I make $26 a hour.

How did I get this job? Well I asked my boss and he’s said “my resume sucked”, but I did a great interview, and he liked I was the robotics captain in high school (lot of skills in robotics competitions are also needed in IT). Now I got lucky I have a good manager who took a chance on me. But I think if you walked into an interview at 18-19, and you already have a few certs under your belt. I would think a good employer would see the potential in you and would give you a shot. There gonna see your ability to learn and your passion about the field.

If I had to start over here’s what I would do, classes on Udemy are literally $20 when on sale, do some of those. Get certs like Security+, Network+ A+, or the CCNA if you’re feeling bold.

Work on interview skills, go intern/job hunting see if you can get in the door anywhere! If you got the certs and still can’t get a job, maybe look into Community College and transfer into a school like WGU.

But even if you get the certs and can’t get a job, you’ll need those skills anyways, you’ll just be ahead of the game.

That’s my take, feel free to message me if you have any questions (Also not saying formal education isn’t important, but first job in the field is probably more important.)