What education should I acquire if I want to work in an office setting as an IT/Computer Repair Technician?
So far I am working towards my office administration certificate as well as my computer technician certificate. From there I was wondering what my next step should be, I was considering getting an accelerated college degree once I was out of trade school but I know there's online certificates as well so I was sort of just weighing my options and would like a second opinion.
4 answers
Tyler’s Answer
If you are just getting started in the IT space, in terms of physical computer repair the best way to learn is simple by getting hands on with equipment.
But when it comes to the actual workings of the computer, 2 very common entry level certifications are the CompTIA A+ and the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA). Both of these build foundational knowledge and troubleshooting abilities needed to be successful in a IT / Repair Technician or SysAdmin career.
Matt’s Answer
I do agree with what Tyler posted above. Get your CompTIA A+ and the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) certifications.
However, I will also add this.
If you are smart enough to achieve those certifications, you are also smart enough to pursue your college degree and should absolutely do so.
Everyone I have met in this industry after nearly 30 years with those certs and background are all extremely bright people.
Don't get me wrong, holding certifications means that you are among a subset certified specialists out there at the Technician level which improves your chances of getting a job. However, competition for those positions is fierce and the abundance/supply of personnel without certifications is so large that it depresses pay in that work segment.
Finding staff with certifications AND advanced degrees in Network Operations and Security is much harder to come by. As a consequence, pay tends to be commensurate with the demand and is generally much higher. It can, and does reach 6 figures once you have 5-10 years under your belt. You will also get an opportunity to work on much more challenging cloud and cloud security solutions at that level.
Best of Luck,
M@
Matt recommends the following next steps: