Skipping the Help Desk & Entry Level I.T. Roles?!

In today's video we discuss skipping the help desk and other entry level I.T. roles. Is this a good idea, bad idea, what are the options here?
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[@143jeg]

Could you skip help desk/entry level? Yes. Could you skip college? Yes. Could you skip certs? Yes. Can you skip all of it? No. You have got to put in the work somewhere to learn the skills, and eventually how much work you have put in is going to show.

[@gamergod3539]

At this point in the IT industry there should many other roles other than "Help-Desk" that qualify as entry-level. There should be entry level positions in every category of IT.

[@DimarcusJackson1]

I strongly agree... Utterly ridiculous. What if your financial responsibilities don't allow you to take an entry-level job at 45-65k? I guess the obvious answer is ... Learn other IT skills, study "become great" from a technical aspect, beef up that resume, and go purposely meet people who can give you that first break with a salary range of 85-110k v/s 45-65k.. Do you agree?

[@riotmakerzify]

I started as a Hardware field technician to Help desk to Systems Technician for a school, and now i got an offer for a Cyber Security Intern for next summer! and i started my career in IT this year!!!

[@SupportTechQ]

Congrats 🎊

[@EdTowel-ww7yh]

This video is a prime example of the current HR problems within the IT industry Many old heads stubbornly believe because they went through help desk everyone else has to go through help desk. This is simply not true. There are several on ramps to a successful career in IT and cybersecurity that don't necessarily require someone to be in a help desk role. Can it help? Yes, but it's not necessarily required. This is an example of the lazy thinking of mid and upper tier IT veterans.

[@leavemealonefoonow]

So many entry level It jobs here are asking for experience, a degree and certs. The job description shows its entry level, or it flat out says this is an entry level role, but the entry requirements. And this seems to be an increasing trend. 3 years experience asking for 2-3 certs and a bachelor's for an entry level job. It gets a bit obnoxious. The amount of jobs I see asking for certs, 2 years experience and paying $15/hr yet the job is resetting passwords and escalating anything more difficult. And the huge disconnect in HR hiring requirements being set without coordinating with their IT team. They just Google random IT qualifications without understanding them and put them up.

[@danb8606]

This is due to clueless HR staff, who put these job ads together online, not understand then actual role. Ignore all that garbage, and just apply anyways, if you don't meet those ridiculous pre-requirements.

[@yvanthepcgamer7993]

The best place to start, yes, for starters. The issue i have with some companies is there dumb policy. Often times even if you have a high level cert, or experience, you still have to go through help desk first and such because of PoLIcy

[@Itcareerquestions]

My apologies for the errors we had in today's upload. The original video was supposed to premiere at 7pm(CST) for some reason it premiered 7 hours too early. I had to delete the old video and reupload. I'm sorry for the notifications in relation to this.

[@fununclenerfs]

Don’t skip the help desk but don’t waste one second extra in an entry-level IT job

[@bseldon001]

Let's be real here. Help desk is for high school kids and college kids. It's the fast food of the IT industry. No one tells a chef you should work at McDonalds first. If you can avoid it do so. Troubleshooting fundamentals are the same no matter what field you're in. I went from an electronic technician to healthcare to IT. Troubleshooting systems uses the same principles no matter the system. If you've gotten any credentials beyond CompTIA A+ skip help desk. If that's all you can get for the moment then do it but if you've got options exercise those options.

[@FullThrottleLifeClothing]

My biggest issue is the pay. I’ve already built a life (and bills) from my current career path but want to switch over to IT. If I go into a help desk position seems like I would have to move back in with my parents. So my hope is to be able to earn a degree while working and skip it

[@Mavman42]

wow soo right, this is what i'm looking to do also unfortunately

[@sheltongibson2341]

Me too

[@rdumiak]

Earning a degree will help. Another option: If you have already built a good reputation with your current employer, see if they're willing to train you for an entry level "non-Help Desk" role. They may be willing to give you basic project management or IT-Business Client support roles. That way you're leveraging your current strengths and knowledge of the company you're currently with.

[@moltebin]

Just move in with your parents for like a half a year to a year

[@shawnarwood]

I understand wanting to skip a help desk role but I don’t think you should all entry level roles. If you get the chance to get a higher level position, go for it if you’re positive you can handle it.

[@Yuspliff]

Here I am struggling to land help desk/it support role ...

[@carsonjamesiv2512]

Kamelot, You Too.😯😨

[@Router994]

Get an internship at a local computer repair shop. Then apply for IT support jobs and study the A+

[@miiiikee_]

My advice would be if you can skip it, then skip it. You might land yourself in the hole of help desk/desktop support roles and never be able to climb out. Not that you won’t learn new things in these roles, but you kind of become tethered to these style of roles for yeeeeears before you can move forward in your career.

[@4eyes2killingyou]

Entry level doesn't typically pay enough which is why people are trying to skip them lmao

[@georgerafa5041]

Obviously

[@ITSecurityLabs]

I could not agree more with you Zach. I learned a lot from helpdesk.

[@CaR1235100]

I work at an ITS helpdesk at my college, will have 3 1/2 years of expierience by the end of school, it looks good right?

[@EdTowel-ww7yh]

Yes, academically, but it won't guarantee you'll get a position higher when you graduate.

[@Victoria-vj3wv]

It will be considered work experience. Great idea and great job!

[@Sharkmarshall]

Is Help Desk the only way into entry level IT? Being new to IT, I would not feel confident trying to fix people's problems over the phone.

[@chadwatkins5334]

Probably the best way. I’m about to finish a 4 year degree in IT at a university and they don’t teach troubleshooting.

[@ZuLKiNG]

CCNA Academy is pushing hard on the associate and higher level stuff. His argument for it is that a person will not be able to survive on the income long enough to build up the experience necessary to make it a worthwhile start. Many people going this route are either in debt or living check to check and find the idea of willingly pursuing a low paycheck contrary to the whole point of going into the IT field. What would your response to that assertion be?

[@lora4624]

great question, im currently in ccna academy and kinda unsure about the future

[@jeremystone9067]

Currently working as an entry level programmer while also doing Tier 1 helpdesk and also project management. I started at both end of the spectrum. It's hell

[@nainsiniceoin1190]

Thank you for posting this video. I really do see the value in starting in a help desk position; however, I am a career changer and just can't afford to take THAT much of a pay cut, although I do understand that I will need to take SOME kind of a pay cut at first. I'll be getting my BS in Cloud Computing with a handful of certs when I graduate, I hope I'll be able to start one level above help desk.

[@Mauiiwaui]

Have you finished getting your degree if so were you able to land at a good place?

[@nainsiniceoin1190]

@@Mauiiwaui Hi Mauricio, I still have a couple years left before I finish, but thank you for asking!

[@jslim49]

A degree with certs trumps . Most Employers REQUIRE a bachelor's or higher . See what happened is when certs came in the picture people started thinking they can skip college . And just get the certs . Now most got lucky and landed a really good job in IT . And it started to spead like wild fire . I my self wouldn't go down that rabbit hole . I'm getting my bachelor's in Information technology with a concentration on network infrastructure. And back that up with certs . It works every single time .

[@paulhornbogen980]

Buddy I am looking forward to any entry level IT job. To use my training. Your right in that business enterprise only comes through experience regardless of where the job is at.

[@TheMrKlassy]

I'd be fine to do an entry role for a year but would need to move on after that... I'll be taking at least a 10% pay cut in a help desk role.

[@h3ll0_2]

I just landed an entry level IT job and I wasn't receiving any responses until I acquired my A+ certification. People really do take you seriously if you have a cert and haven't acquired a degree yet. I'm also studying for my IT degree. But that cert got me through the door. I also just ordered the "RUN CMD" shirt just now. I can't wait to sport it.

[@goldbondmedicatedfoodpowder]

Dude! Love your content thanks for being so helpful

[@papercliprain3222]

The problem with me for doing help desk is not that I don’t want it it’s that local companies are either hiring internally or have outsourced their help desk. The areas biggest employer who employs thousands outsourced all but less than ten IT employees. It’s insane.

[@ItsaBonfire]

I graduated in August with a Bachelors degree in Cyber Security. I also passed my Security+ exam, but I wasn't working in the field yet. I've realized that I should've started a help desk position while still in college. If I would've done that then I wouldn't have to start at the Help Desk now when I've received all my credentials for a higher position. If I could do it over I would definitely suggest starting in Help Desk sooner rather than later so that you have the experience for later jobs.

[@devastation430]

In the same position now. Where are you now? What position are you aiming for?

[@ItsaBonfire]

@@devastation430 I spent a year in helpdesk and landed a noc/soc role at he same company and now been in this position for a year and a half. Currently looking for Security Analyst positions and getting ready to take the CySA+

[@duyspace4204]

Thank you for your answer! I have this question for a long time

[@sammitchell7310]

If you’re in college it’ll be incredibly stupid to not work Helpdesk in your free time

[@kevinzelaya2068]

Thanks for the advice, I should be in the entry level it roles before choosing a more advanced it role. I have business administration degree and I am planning to work on getting the comptia a+ it certification, I want to blend IT with business administration skills.

[@sirdigalot1978]

Learning that basics for all aspects of I.T. Will help you perform your job better later, even if you never do support again. The amount of times we get other IT personell calling up about an issue that is basic either because they didn't learn it or thought it was beneath them is considerable. Also understanding all or many aspects of how hardware, software and infrastructure interact and more importantly how they are interacted with by the end users is priceless.

[@hafcat]

I feel like I've set myself up for failure because I decided to get a degree at 29, and I really love IT and already have my A+ and working on Net+ (part of my degree), but I cannot afford to take an entry level help desk job, I make too much currently to take such a massive cut in pay. I just didn't realize how important it was, and I feel like if I do land some higher level job later, I'll be completely lost.

[@deuce222x]

So what happen? It’s a year later?

[@hafcat]

@@deuce222x I nearly landed a good paying desktop support role last month (comparable to what I make now, about $23 an hour) but unfortunately the company started a hiring freeze right as they started the process to hire me in. Still at my old job, about to finish my cloud computing degree in a few months. That whole situation bummed me out so I haven’t really been looking lol.

[@deuce222x]

@@hafcat I’m scared to have the same experience. I’ve been contemplating pursuing an IT degree because I already have one in healthcare. I’m not gonna accept any offers below 40bucks a hour because it would be a significant decrease otherwise. Unless I can work remotely. I would have to start in a non entry level position to.

[@bulcub]

Entry-level prepares you for DEALING WITH A COMPANY/CORPORATE CULTURE! It helps you develop the necessary people skills to deal with all types of users!! not to mention you get to see how all the IT depts really are! and that the majority subscribe to the Cool Hand Luke Theory! Gentleman what we have here is a FAILURE to communicate!! I cut my chops in the early 90's and went through all the IT world emerging technology from the birth of the internet, remote access etc When sorry to say this when the IT culture was 90% white and no one from India and other foreign countries existed! Now their are foreigners everywhere which has assed out the american worker and that is because of our INFERIOR education system and this country's lack of trying to develop young minds to a corporation's not paying. I remember when a Helpdesk person earned 50k per year and a level 1 desktop person earned 55k and up during the 90's before the dot com crash. And the market was flooded by employers who hired PAPER MCSE's! They soon found out these folks lacked all the skills necessary to run/work in a corporate infrastructure which facilitated the hiring of foreigners who were well equipped and advanced than the average american IT tech. And yes I have seen many people with degrees get better positions with no skills at all which is still prevalent even in today's IT culture

[@frodobe_tbaggin3146]

I know infosec analyst who just got there sec+ with no experience or degree but had clearance. I had clearance but took the entry level (with decent pay) cuz I’m going to school too. And I’m SOOOO glad I took this route because I know they’re most likely shitty analyst and I personally have learned so much.

[@GXD3S]

Very informative. Thank you!

[@praveentiwari2951]

Great channel.Very good content.

[@KasirRham]

I got bills

[@adamrusso3871]

I kind of skipped helpdesk (spent six months there then landed a cybersecurity job. That was a mistake, even with some certs. It is beyond me. I’m now going to look for another helpdesk job.

[@Rsalmond83]

How’s it going now?

[@alexvasquez980]

Would you consider working a job at a PC repair shop as experience for the help desk? It's probably a dumb question but I've been applying for months to help desk positions in my area and I'm studying for my A+ and even mentioned it on my resume and none have gotten back to me, so I was thinking what if I went a bit lower on the latter to a repair shop? Would that qualify as enterprise IT experience? Is that applicable to future jobs?

[@Itcareerquestions]

Any experience you can get becomes relevant. Good luck to you!!

[@Rsalmond83]

I can’t go from $40/hour to $17/hour

[@chadwatkins5334]

Experience is everything. I’m about to finish a 4 year degree in computer networking and it doesn’t mean shit, at least in my opinion. The army made me go to school for job training and it’s just a formality, I actually started to Learn my first day in the job just like anything else in life. I would hate working at help desk but if it helps with skill sets I’m down to do it for a period of time. Fun fact about college, I work at a hotel and this guy that’s finishing his degree in hospitality and tourism and it didn’t teach him shit about the real world and working in a hotel environment. He knows what he’s doing now cause he has experience. I just think a degree is to dam long of a formality to get into IT. If I could go back in time, I would have never of went to college, never.

[@litaf4889]

I’m going to college for it, got my associates going for bachelors. I think it’s beneficial because it’s life. A degree can always help in most higher paying jobs. In a scenario IT stopped being an industry you who has a degree has a big advantage over someone without.

[@chadwatkins5334]

@@litaf4889 I don’t think so, I see more jobs low paying that want a BS degree vs the higher paying trade jobs that don’t want a degree.

[@Router994]

I know a guy that went from being a programmer to working im desktop support.

[@frownless]

Like seriously why?

[@crisvanity]

why :o

[@yvanthepcgamer7993]

@@frownless My guess is, policy lol often time even when you have a high level Cert of whatever, you still have to go through help desk first

[@brycegriffin9271]

idris Maybe he wanted to move into DevOps? Or some kind of IT Engineering role? Having only programming experience wouldn’t be enough to get those jobs, and with no other IT experience than programming it makes sense he would need to move to help desk to get the experience needed to get an upper level IT role. He could probably work a year in help desk then move up to a really well paying job thanks to his programming knowledge.

[@Router994]

No he actually worked as a programmer but he didnt like it. He told me he likes fixing things so he went into a desktop support job. I think hes nuts lol

[@Isaiahkool1671]

Would cable support count? I did that for a year and a half and hated it, would love to get into cyber security but if i have to do over the phone help, i wouldnt make it

[@christina3938]

Is there help desk/ entry level jobs that have night time hours?

[@5dogdig336]

Plenty

[@anoopiq]

I have been working as a systems engineer and finally lead upto Technology head on my last job. Apart from the degree certificate of 4 years that I have, I have no other certifications. Can you please recommend any particular certification or certifications that can improve my career. Being in the middle east , my job was basically coordination with vendors and normal desktop support work even though my designation was appealing at the time. Your suggestion is highly appreciated.

[@marks.8880]

I have that shirt...it is a nice shirt.

[@jserr9682]

Is there entry jobs that are not the help desk

[@annacostiuc2222]

Hello there! I am considering to become UX/UI designer but I don't want to limit myself for 1 thing and study graphic design. Is IT is good degree choice? Thank you

[@darkIceDesigns]

I work as a Helpdesk for like 5 years, studied networking and never get a job related. Im 28 now, still can make it out?

[@Catp00p]

I have the opposite problem. I've been stuck at the helpdesk for 5 years, because no one is leaving my department so there's just no open positions. I have my A+ and I'll finish the Triad shortly after the new year. What should someone in my position be trying to move into after helpdesk?

[@jeff8700]

Start applying to other places. Unless you’re getting significant raises or promotions you should be looking for a new job every 3-5 years

[@Rsalmond83]

3 yrs later, did you make progress beyond help desk?

[@MyTechJourney15]

Broken record....lol, I love that song 😂😭

[@keriomasters3992]

Can you talk about database admin

[@ChrispyDude]

Whoa where’d my comment go?

[@Itcareerquestions]

I had to reupload the video. If you commented on the previous video they're all gone. Sorry

[@spacebartoloud]

Entry level positions are just that entry level, often times it is a far more saturated job competition area, at least with a degree or certification, you know they went through some kind of higher training to hone their skills, sure whether the job isn't inundated with requests or not, and a employer has a choice to go between someone who has experience, has the cert/degree, over someone who just has the cert/degree then they have every reason to go with the one that has the experience. Likewise it is fair to say those entry level positions seeing how inundated with job requests they are likely to get a lot of differing views/someone who may be a better fit in the one category they are actually looking for instead of someone who is both good with people and good with tech. - This isn't to say they shouldn't go with their guts or whatever, it is what it is, entry level can be extremely flooded, and hard to get into for various reasons sadly. :(

[@spacebartoloud]

I am not saying to skip entry level, nor am I saying it is impossible to get into, just that it is hard to get into even entry level roles when there is so much competition/superficial criteria that the jobless have to overcome to get into it.

[@Native722]

IT call center is the worse, do your time typically 2 years than get out.

[@cringegod3909]

Can you become a network administrator as a first job in I.T?

[@MrWOW87]

Network technician yes.

[@MyTechJourney15]

🗣ZACH HILL is the coolest

[@Itcareerquestions]

No you're the coolest!!

[@MyTechJourney15]

I.T. Career Questions legit 1 of my favorite KZbin personalities... Love the content and your presence in the IT community 👍🏽

[@masaki23joe]

They want skip the entry level roles because the pay is low. Some want the 6 figures right off the bat. lol

[@4eyes2killingyou]

Well in fairness, what exactly are you supposed to do with 10-11 dollars an hour? Like more people would peruse the help desk jobs if these organizations increased the pay.

[@brycegriffin9271]

Warren Register Yeah I’m making $11/hr in a help desk role for an internship right now. My boss says he’ll probably hire me on full time post internship, which I’d be happy to do, but I’d like to see closer to $20/hr if I start working full time. I’m probably just gonna take whatever he offers me and immediately start looking elsewhere regardless though.

[@4eyes2killingyou]

@@brycegriffin9271 yeah like I dont think he understands that $10-11 an hour isn't liveable for most people which is why so many people are skipping the entry level even tho you need that foundation. Like telling people to suck it in hopes of it paying off someday is neither possible or acceptable. Not only that but a lot of these jobs aren't full time, dont offer benefits, or even have a path for advancement within the organization, so what are people supposed to do?

[@jackr7028]

I don't want 6 figures right off the bat, but I need a livable wage to pay my mortgage and buy top ramen. Can't pay bills on less then 20K a year.

[@4eyes2killingyou]

@@jackr7028 exactly

[@blissfuljoy6049]

What do you think about Codeacademy? I've been playing around with it but haven't gotten really far with anything yet. They are having a special ($179). I'm not sure how good this or any other site is to help me with learning python. What do you think?

[@rdumiak]

IMHO, learning to code from online systems is really tough (although certainly the most convenient way). Learning almost anything online requires real discipline on your part. I read a statistic that about 70% of the people that sign up to learn something new online never complete the course. The for profit companies like Codecademy are great, but to see if you have what it takes to stick with it, try either Skillcrush’s fee 10 day Coding Bootcamp (learn.skillcrush.com/skillcrush-free-bootcamp/) or freecodecamp.org.

[@bryonmiller7887]

I'm in a tech support job, the tech part isn't hard at all. Navigating the terrible company resources is the worst. Is 90 days long enough? This is hell

[@JJFlores197]

I'd even say dealing with end-users from time time is horrible. I work in school IT tech support. We all have the 'problem' user who seems to need help with every little task. I've had a large number of tech "emergencies" where the only issue turned out to be an unplugged power strip or the teacher didn't know how to push the power button...

[@brownsense1]

I beg to differ. Im skipping the helpdesk

[@jonathannycum5809]

It makes no sense to me if you have certs and a degree to go into a position that doesn’t require either of those things. It’s tough for me to decide a path. I currently make a very good salary in what I do now but I am looking to get into cyber security. I’m not looking to take a 65% pay cut to take a help desk role. I understand I’m probably not going to get right into a six figure salary but I think if I have over 10 certs and a degree I should qualify for a decent salary.