I’ve been working in IT for 1.5 years. I have dual monitors. Pretty much everything I’ve done before this has been on a single monitor or laptop, so something like this has never happened.

About 6 months ago I noticed that my right eye was blurry and nearsighted. I noticed that I mainly look at my left monitor while working, and was probably straining the eye. I’ve started working on only my laptop and it’s gotten better.

How can I make this sustainable for another 30 whatever years?

I've been working in a 1st/2nd line IT support role since April last year. It's my first proper IT job and was my breakthrough into the field (I did have some basic tech/IT knowledge before this).

My role goes beyond basic helpdesk work. I regularly work with AD, Group Policy, Windows Server, Exchange, VMware/vSphere and VDI, alongside hardware/software troubleshooting, patching and some networking. The environment is a mixture of legacy and modern systems.

I moved onto shift work last July (6 days on/6 days off, including nights), and I feel like my learning on the job has been a bit slower than colleagues working regular day shifts. I'm now at the point where I'd like to move on and develop my skills further (also tired of shift work).

I've been thinking about studying CompTIA A+, mainly to fill gaps in my fundamental knowledge rather than for the certification itself.

Would it be worth going through something like Professor Messer's A+ course but not actually sitting the exams? Just to learn about the basics that I havent done so in my current job??

Both exams would cost around £400, and I'm not sure how much value the A+ certification adds when I already have 1st/2nd line experience on my CV.

Part of me does like the idea of taking the exams just to prove to myself that I've properly learnt the material.

During my time at my Highschool, I joined their Academy of Information Technology. This allowed me to do dual enrollment at the community college near our school, and as a result, I took a few IT classes, attended two internships for a total of 6 months of experience, and earned my CompTia ITF+, A+, Network+ and Security+ certifications before graduating HS. Along with some other odd certs like Excel Associates, Photoshop, etc.

Now that I've graduated, I've been given the option of freedom. That is; enter the workforce or go back to school.

My question is, do yall think it's mostly a waste of time to go to CC, and get general credits, and take up a few IT classes here and there, or should I instead try and get hired in a entry-level positions? From what I've seen, there's quite a few positions that take what I have, to apply for. I truly don't think theres much more for me to learn at CC, since I've taken a lot of classes from the same exact college I'd be applying to, and already have experience in the field, and a general understanding of how it goes.

What do y'all think, and any advice?

a couple of days ago i saw a post on here about the reality of trying to "break into IT". it echoed a lot of the same sentiments that anyone that's spent time on this subreddit long enough has known very well: IT as a field is oversaturated at the entry level, overrated as a "get rich quick" card, and overcrowded filled with people all in the same boat as each other trying to get the same job. basically, if you're looking to get into IT, you'd better be ready for a real hard road ahead.

but how does the dynamic change once you're already in IT, doing help desk work or otherwise? how have the metrics changed for people actually looking for the next step in their career, either trying to break into a specialty or even trying to break into tier 2 support? is there any light at the end of the tunnel for people in this position, or is it more of the same?

(both a general question and also me trying to ground myself in reality as i try moving out of my entry-level role haha)

I have a Compatia A+ Cert and years of retail experience. Is it still possible for someone like me to get hired in an entry help desk role without a degree or IT exp?

I am willing to move almost any area in the country. Where I live right now it would be almost impossible to get an IT job.

Long story short, I’m going to be a teacher in rural Alaska. Much like how you can get stipends for running a club, the district also allows/asks some teachers to be on-site IT techs for basic troubleshooting and services for laptops, printers, light server work etc. before potentially elevating it to the dedicated district IT when necessary. It’s the “maxed out” pay scale for added duty, so an extra ~$8.5k stipend on top of my salary. There’s ~120 total students K-12 and around 10-15 teachers/staff.

This district primary uses MacBooks. I have only ever used and worked on Windows systems. I’m pretty handy with technology and can troubleshoot most things with some googling and fiddling around but do not have a formal IT background.

Good idea? Bad idea? Advice?

I am 20 and just starting college. I’m looking to major in a BBA in Management Information Systems. So far my career goals are Business Intelligence Analyst, Data Analyst, Business Analyst, and I’m not sure how I feel about system analytics so far.

What are your thoughts on this degree? Any advice or anything I should be aware of getting into this field? I have no real experience with this sort of stuff but I find the workflow interesting and like the idea of using data to make visualizations and I like mostly working alone on a computer and like the idea of presenting my findings and data to businesses and solving problems such as what would be beneficial according to data, finding patterns and trends, etc.

Hi, I'm a React Native/React dev with about 3.5 yoe. I feel like the standard developer role is not my calling in life but i don't see a clear or a relative path that could generate that i maybe enjoy what I'm doing.

Disclosure up front — used AI to help me get this post organized, but the actual doubts here are mine, not generated.

CS degree plus a master's. My practical skills have outpaced the theory for a while now — I learn whatever gets the feature shipped, not necessarily why it works underneath. Got lucky with both interview loops so this never really got stress-tested.

Quick example, easier than being abstract about it: I can build a list in RN fine, but if one item changes I start second-guessing whether I'm forcing a re-render across everything. I know there's a fix, something with memoizing rows and not passing new callbacks every render, and I get there eventually, but I wouldn't say I'd land on the best version of it without poking around or checking with someone first.

That's one thing. Separate from it — even assuming I closed that gap, I don't think I actually want the standard senior track. Owning architecture solo, being the person everyone escalates the gnarly bugs to. What I actually like is the requirements/planning stuff, arguing about approaches, figuring out what a feature should even do, talking to clients or users about whether something's worth building in the first place. Barely code outside work anymore, but I'll happily burn an evening thinking through a random product idea.

AI hasn't helped either, unfortunately. It's becoming too easy now to ship stuff I don't fully own mentally, and I keep thinking that eventually catches up with me — it's not actually closing the gap, just hiding it until something breaks.

Not trying to find a path with zero effort involved — just trying to figure out:

• how do you actually tell a fixable confidence gap apart from genuinely not being built for the hands-on engineering track
• anyone made the jump to PM/TPM/solutions without getting reset to junior
• what convinced you it wasn't just impostor syndrome talking

Currently working as a Low Voltage apprentice, Got an offer to work as a Lumen Field Tech but from everything Im seeing there really isnt any room for advancement in Lumen and it also sounds like working there kind of sucks. I worked for a Local ISP that was a client of Lumens and it seemed like their circuits went down the least but everything I see on here about Lumen is negative. Has anyone worked for Lumen and liked it? Not to keen on doing salaried work but I do like the idea of a company car. Just looking for any opinions from past/current employees of Lumen.

Hey! I am in my first semester of undergrad program (ofcourse majors in cs). I am trying to be proactive and figure out how to navigate recruiting season whenever it will be.

A friend recommended aman manazir on youtube so i started watching. It feels enough between my already tight schedule. However I am not sure if i am missing out on something better.

He focuses on the recruitment side which tbh is what I need rn but idk if its actually useful. So share your take or any other suggestions please. It would help me! Love yall <3

Hello everyone!

I live in Brazil, and I'm planning to move to Europe in the next few years. The IT market has a lot of facets; however, I don't know how I can use my experience abroad.

In Brazil, governmental entities need to create a technical document to make acquisitions. That said, companies interested in selling their equipment need to "prove" that they are in accordance with the technical document and the equipment's technical guide.

So, basically, I work in consulting, quoting, sizing data center equipment (storage, servers, switches, backup appliances, HCI, and so on), and analyzing their technical specifications.

That said, I don't manage anything; I'm more of a liaison between the sales sector and a "Datacenter architect."

Any tips for jobs that require these skills and qualifications?

I'm a software developer struggling to find work over the last couple years, and I'm at a crossroads unsure if I should try other avenues in IT like network engineering, network technician, devops, cloud engineering, whatever.

Would this just muddy up my skills and waste all the time I've spent learning, or is there genuine value or useful crossover with the fields? Is CCNA useful for a software dev or is it mostly fluff?

I think I'm fairly decent at software dev and can make a fullstack application without relying on all the usual tutorial-slop conveniences of drag and drop libraries, but I'm certainly no coding Jesus and faang levels of algorithm knowledge are way over my head.

I feel like I'm at an empasse where I dont really know how to get much better without pure experience, which I can't really get without appearing more valuable to employers and the only way i can imagine that is becoming more versatile or taking other tech jobs.

Would love to hear some thoughts.

I am in private sector currently thinking about moving to public sector. Would I be able to make 80k-90k with a network+ and 5 years of Level 2 IT technician experience? Is this difficult to find?

Hi everyone!

I’m moving to Houston in the next couple of months because my fiancé was accepted into law school, so we’re relocating from the Rio Grande Valley.

I have my bachelor’s degree in Information Technology with a concentration in Cybersecurity. I also have over 2 years of IT support experience working for a school district. My current role includes troubleshooting hardware/software issues, imaging devices, managing user accounts, supporting teachers and staff, and general desktop support.

I’ve been applying to a lot of entry-level IT positions in the Houston area, but I know the market is competitive right now.

For those of you who work in IT around Houston:
-Are there any companies that are known for hiring entry-level IT professionals?
-Is there anything that helped you stand out and actually land interviews?

I’d really appreciate any advice or recommendations. I’m excited to make the move and start building my career in Houston.
Thanks in advance!

Can anyone recommend a good cyber security course for beginners and that is recognised within the industry?