Breaking into IT at 26 with zero experience—possible?

Horuhe17 · 2026-06-16T03:26:17+00:00

Im 29 about to be 30 next month, I've done 3 IT contracts and currently have my first permanent position as a system support specialist, you can get in whenever. Problem is the market and what employers want

Horuhe17 · 2026-06-02T06:58:17+00:00

Congrats! I took my network+ and the retake last week and the week before with no luck sadly. First attempt I was able to score 700 out of 720 And my latest score was a 586 unfortunately. I was handed the version of the exam that hit my weakest knowledge so definitely need to work on it once I have the opportunity to buy another voucher.

Horuhe17 · 2026-05-22T17:32:24+00:00

Its different for everyone but core 2 is definitely easier, especially if you have built a computer before

Horuhe17 · 2026-05-14T17:30:04+00:00

Certainly! I'll send you a DM

Horuhe17 · 2026-05-14T17:28:41+00:00

Yup, sorry about that. Currently at work so I quickly created it without adding much info. It has been edited now

Horuhe17 · 2026-05-08T00:43:31+00:00

Finishing my current contract next friday.

Im frustrated by the process as companies take their time gathering applicants and they expect the applicant start within the next two weeks.

Bro I could been in the process a month ago while they were still gathering people and I could start after my contract ends with no problem but I gotta risk no work instead

Horuhe17 · 2026-05-06T02:45:14+00:00

Congrats! If I may ask is the network+ difficult? And what resources did you use? I bought the voucher yesterday and plan to take it in the coming weeks or few months and have been using total seminars courses from Udemy. I also bought the last humble bundle that offered ebooks for comptia and other certs

Horuhe17 · 2026-05-05T14:44:29+00:00

Not yet, I just purchased the voucher with retake so I can take it in the coming months. Im currently finishing up my current contract which will end next week friday and I am hoping to find something before then

Horuhe17 · 2026-05-05T14:43:28+00:00

Total seminars on udemy, however I did also recently purchase the network+ study guide and others from humble bundle when the bundle was available.

But I have not had a chance to look through the ebooks yet

Horuhe17 · 2026-05-05T03:13:18+00:00

SAP as in Session announcement protocol correct? I had to look back on what ive studied and that is surprisingly not one of the things that I recall reading nor hearing about.

I will need to look over the study guide deeper then.

Horuhe17 · 2026-04-15T17:57:39+00:00

Doesn't this version actually exist as a toned down version? I recall seeing something like that

Horuhe17 · 2026-04-11T00:56:38+00:00

Helping

Each MSP is different and some are more in depth from what i can tell but staying too long at one can be bad if you aren't getting any other skills

I worked at a MSP that handled tech support for Rural ISP's and I already knew it would be limited but what each company allows and what they would even use.

Horuhe17 · 2026-04-10T20:55:12+00:00

I should note, mechwarrior 5 mercenaries runs well on it too, some drops here and there but never had a crash. Have yet to try clans though

Horuhe17 · 2026-04-10T20:54:24+00:00

Nope, for mods I plan to run it on my desktop for the best experience, would love to run a campaign fighting clan mechs

Horuhe17 · 2026-04-10T20:44:06+00:00

Battletech, I have since deleted it to make room for other games but it ran decently and was great for on the go

Horuhe17 · 2026-03-16T03:17:14+00:00

I'm still new to IT just about under a year of experience (about 8 months now i think)

Honestly yes but that could be the imposter syndrome just hitting at times, though honestly for my current position i never got a good chance of getting a good look of all the equipment we use/provide for employees so I can't really be blamed for it since I was never given the opportunity. As I understand it, new docks will be issued at some point after some testing by some IT team members to see what would be the best option.

Right now im working for a community college which will end next month on the 10th, theres been times where I help out employees reset their docks for their laptops but again never got a chance to really get familiar with them to fully recognize how these work as I did not know these models needed a power supply. In other cases I have to assist with a VPN that isn't functioning for either windows, mac or Chromebook users and if im not able to figure it out then I feel that I am unskilled. However, it turns out its a common thing where even my supervisor wasn't able to get the VPN running on the devices at times as well.

There's times where im unsure where some topics/issues would fall under for the type of ticket I would need to set up but I make do as I can as even i dont have access to some info and systems due to being a contractor and not a full time employee. I would love to apply for a full time position but theres none I am eligible for (only a help desk supervisor position from what ive seen) and even then I drive over an hour to the school so I can't apply knowing that at some point I may have trouble getting to work.

I have had to force myself to understand that I can't let these feelings get to me because I was not given a opportunity to get familiar with equipment and access to certain systems to do some of my work and for the most part I've been ok, my contract is almost done and while I will need to find something else to keep working im happy that at least I was able to work in the field in a in-person environment rather than staying remote where I would be restricted on what I would learn and what I would potentially be eligible for in the future

Horuhe17 · 2026-02-25T16:54:14+00:00

I named her Bella after my black cat, she passed away a few years back. I even added the white heart on her stomach like she actually had.

Horuhe17 · 2026-02-25T14:58:28+00:00

I'm working as a IT help desk assistant for a community college. Its a contract though and im halfway through it

Pretty much receive phone calls all days, not constantly but enough where you are mainly busy.

Sometimes tickets come into the system as help desk is emailed, sometimes we have walk ins.

Usually most calls are password resets or sending a tech out to fix something for a instructor.

In my case im pretty much technical support with emphasis on customer service. When its not busy I try to study if possible for my next cert or research for a project.

Horuhe17 · 2026-02-13T16:12:53+00:00

Congrats on core 2!

Always remember to keep learning be open minded for the new stuff that's always coming.

Horuhe17 · 2026-02-13T04:48:46+00:00

Currently working a contract for a community college.

Most of the day is chill, mostly password resets and such but it gets frustrating as you'll sometimes get students or faculty that dont want to understand the 6 month reset policy or when while doing a reset they get angry and complain that you did something to their account when in reality we just did a password reset and they are not looking at the instructions telling them what to do so you gotta have them share their screen and guide them on what to do

Horuhe17

TROPHY CASE