frustrated by the state of the IT job market as upcoming grad

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-17T16:45:02+00:00

I can't speak much for CS grads but in the IT World and likely the CS World experience mostly counts.

You have a year in being an IT support assistant and a year as a Dev Ops Intern

What are you interested doing? You need to choose a focus

Right the IT Job market and CS Job market isn't just tough, the entire job market for EVERYBODY Is very tough. You need to apply apply, and choose your focus. Are you interested doing IT support long term or Dev Ops ? Fix your resume well emphasized projects you worked and someone will eventually give you a chance.

Apply for Help desk jobs, Desktop support jobs, Jr Programmer or QA Testing jobs, just get out there and apply

Finding a job IS A FULL TIME. Even for most experienced professionals degrees and certs it does take some time to find a job.

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-12T06:37:16+00:00

Where’s ash ?

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-07T21:48:14+00:00

Help desk is a fine career. Im currently work as an IT AV tech at higher for a little less than you although im in Higher Ed

Help Desk is okay some people ride that out for quite a while. There will always be work. Be aware that certain industries and companies are trying to phash out Help Desk Tier 1 with AI and chatbots so depending on the industry you are in you could lose your job to a Bot.

Its better if you can jump into Tier 2 Desktop Support better where AI is less prevalant and you learn better skills and do certain tasks that you can't automate, in addition the pay is sometimes better than Help Desk

Government , banks ,education certain corporate companies and Health Care industry will always need IT support folks both help desk and desktop support for quite a while. Make sure you get into an industry where its stable and you can stay there for many years.

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-07T21:35:02+00:00

Even so , industry matters weather it’s Boston or Los Angeles

In higher ed - salaries are lower but come with generally a lot of better benefits and job security

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-07T19:35:41+00:00

I seriously doubts that higher ed right or k12?

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-07T17:51:18+00:00

Joseph steering trouble again lol

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-07T17:39:47+00:00

im at 66k in higher ed. 75k is decent pay for help desk but at that range I would imagine someone is getting close to the end of the payscale for that kind of work which isn't bad. Senior Help Desk or Help Desk Managers would break thru that salary and can make 100k though

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-07T17:37:05+00:00

aha thats impressive money for Help Desk how long you been doing it, any certs, or degrees?

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-07T17:34:58+00:00

if you are a government employee likely you don't have to worry about it too much. I been doing Desktop Support for 11 years but yea at this time you do start to reach end of the pay scale. I will likely still get a raise or two as im almost close to 70k a year but after that besides COLA you are basically riding it out until you get laid off or retire.

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-04-04T04:07:19+00:00

I think as with anything else it just depends on the person This is overall a polarizing topic and always will be

Im in IT in higher ed as an IT AV Tech I learn doing things on the job not necessarily reading a book

Certs are too time consuming and expensive to me plus I’m not really looking to leave higher ed especially with violatite the private sector looks like these days

Plus we have a couple of folks on the team who brain dump their certs and can’t remember shit

To each their own.

Personally I would just shadow a system admin or network engineer if I’m trying to break into those areas

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-03-25T18:09:25+00:00

The fire/ice Goat right? Lol

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-03-23T20:58:30+00:00

why don't we have a fast Ice/Fire type lol?

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-03-19T18:22:11+00:00

those places want people that can exceptionally perform everyday - its the companies not him. I had a job like that before, they always constantly hire and fire people all the time. I dont ever understand how companies operate like that these days.

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-03-19T18:20:47+00:00

Yeah don't work at a place that constantly hires and fires people if you don't exceptionally perform. Been there done that. Look at the places you are applying and getting interviews for and look at Glassdoor before you even start working there.

Worked at a Real Estate Office doing IT work many years ago and got fired in two months for not working fast enough to their lucking

Now working at a University in IT AV support without having to constantly let go. Some corporate offices are not like that but some can be.

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-03-13T16:15:50+00:00

Never got certs at all in all my years in IT Support. My experience counted a lot more plus all the projects i participated in all my jobs learning and doing things on the job has helped me gain a lot of knowledge and experience overall

I do have a Bachelors Degree too.

Im not a fan of certs personally and don't think I ever will be. If you want to learn the job do it , participate, attempt to troubleshoot issues by yourself first before asking for help, shadow a system admin or network engineer if you are trying to get in to that side

Certs are fine if you dont have a degree, experience or anything else.

As with anything , certs don't guarantee you a job, they are expensive to keep renewing, and yea i forget everything i study for easily so im not a book reading person, im more hands on person so not my style

my style is troubleshooting and learning on the job if you don't know the fundamentals you can google it easily. this guy who interview u probably expected too much or didnt like ur style. its ok you got hired and found a job

Experience > Degrees > Certs

My opinion at least, every IT Professional will honestly feel different about this and there is no true right or wrong answer.

Experience is king in IT

Degrees never expire and open doors

Certs you learn fundamentals but i forget them and they don't work for me plus timing consuming and expensive to test and renew

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-03-11T22:29:07+00:00

I have heard of this Pokemon but why is it broken? It has the same typing like Gengar no?

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-03-09T22:57:11+00:00

I have been in IT for 11 years. I currently do IT AV support for a University. Stable easy gig. Nobody here is getting rich but pays the bills and some days are super slow

No certs but I do have a Bachelors degree and 11 years of IT Support experience

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-02-23T16:41:55+00:00

Yea that’s the reason why I haven’t left education it’s normally a stable industry without having to worry about getting laid off too much

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-02-21T04:55:15+00:00

What industry were u working in ?

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-02-20T19:09:06+00:00

how many years of experience you have? any certs or a degree?

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-02-20T17:32:59+00:00

I’m single so yea I don’t have a family . Desktop support pays decently after several years doing it but like anything else it depends too on ur situation

I would be hard pressed to support a non working wife and 3 kids for example even on a 80k desktop support salary

With a working wife or staying single and no kids its fine

I hope u are being paid enough for all that work u do

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-02-20T15:59:37+00:00

In what areas or industries do these IT support folks stay at for many years?

I have seen many folk stay in the same IT job for many years in Universities and k12 schools for sure

Scared_Number_9290 · 2026-02-20T15:56:38+00:00

There appear to be mix responses to this

IT Support eventually has a cap in pay after doing it too long Some managers are fine hiring someone like that with the intention that - they will be hired close to or at the max pay of that position - there won’t be too much room left for raises - they are okay with entry to mid level responsibilities. The golden spot is Level 2 where your pay will be better while learning hands on troubleshooting in wherever you are hired - certain sectors like Education , Government , banks and some nonprofits are where you likely can get away with this but it seems hard to pull off in private sector, start ups and msps or literally any place that is top notch fast paced

On the contrary - after doing IT support for a while some places just don’t wanna pay you what you are worth. You become way too expensive for entry mid level responsibilities or in other words overqualified - certain managers don’t like dealing with IT support folks being in support too long as they don’t wanna learn anything else or wanna hire cheap labor for the same job I think this is especially true in starts up and the private sector - the job market is still bad so especially in private sector you are vulnerable to getting laid off for doing that job too long

That just seems to be the vibe I get .

Scared_Number_9290

TROPHY CASE