CANITPRO | Microsoft Learn<\/a><\/p>","upvoteCount":1,"datePublished":"2013-05-01T02:14:36.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/10","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"jperkins","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/jperkins"}},"suggestedAnswer":[{"@type":"Answer","text":"Hi, I recently made a career change into the IT world and I’m still learning the basics in some areas. I’ve been fixing computers for friends and family for the past year. I’m now running a small business from home. Since I’m more hands on with hardware my questions may seem basic. With that said, please help me figure out the following:<\/p>\n
I’ve applied to some online companies in an effort to start earning more of a stable income. Today, I received an email for a phone interview that’ll take place in a couple of days<\/p>\n
Since this is the first IT position I’ve applied for in a long time. I was wondering if anyone would help me with a general crash course on some basic knowledge in understanding the wired and wireless home networks using multiple network technologies such as cable modems, routers, printers, etc. (DNS, DHCP, WAN, LAN, TCP/IP, Port Forwarding).<\/p>\n
Please respond if you’re willing to help.Thanks!<\/p>","upvoteCount":6,"datePublished":"2013-04-27T00:39:39.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/1","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"nadiaoliva8935","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/nadiaoliva8935"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
What is the job description and which position are you applying for ?<\/p>\n
If you are applying for general troubleshooting skills . I Would suggest you to go through how to resolve IP conflits and how to resolve printer issues .<\/p>\n
kindly elaborate the position you are applying for ?<\/p>","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2013-04-27T08:15:34.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/2","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"rafidragon2927","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/rafidragon2927"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
I’ll send you a pm.<\/p>","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2013-04-27T11:12:48.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/3","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"nadiaoliva8935","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/nadiaoliva8935"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Any chance on posting a sanitized version so that others can help?<\/p>","upvoteCount":3,"datePublished":"2013-04-27T11:36:42.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/4","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"bizdps","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/bizdps"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
+1 to BizDPS’s comment – there are a lot of us out here, we’d be glad to assist.<\/p>\n
I’d like to add a second comment, however. You say your interview is in 2 days – that’s really not enough time to gain deep enough technical knowledge to display at an interview. If you end up being interviewed by someone with a technical background, rather than say an HR person, It would be easy for them to determine that you’ve “crammed” for the interview, and if anything this could reflect poorly. I honestly think your focus should be on presenting your current skill set and your eagerness to learn. I would be far more inclined to hire a person who says “I’m not very familiar with ” but who has demonstrated initiative in their current/previous jobs, as opposed to someone who has clearly memorized a bunch of terms from the job posting.<\/p>\n
There are lots of interviewing tips and tricks, but it’s much easier to make suggestions based on the type of position you’ve applied for.<\/p>","upvoteCount":5,"datePublished":"2013-04-27T12:07:50.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/5","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"gabrielle.l","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/gabrielle.l"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
as you are looking for an entry level placement, I would hope that you are aware of the basics of :-<\/p>\n
PC operation - boot order etc, with basic trouble shooting skills for fail to lift off stuff,<\/p>\n
Basic knowledge of networking, I don’t mean you have a thesis in OSPF v RIP2 but just that you are able to ping, and make sense of the reply, that IPCONFIG is a friend, and seeing 169.254.x.x in there will tip you off that DHCP is down - APIPA is always good to know, and how to set up manually the IP settings for a specific subnet should it be required, with a sprinkle of subnet mask details and reasonable binary ANDING skills<\/p>\n
how to add a printer to a network, and to be aware of print servers, and setting reservations by MAC address, plus Printer troubleshooting too, even down to being able to swap out empty toner cartridges<\/p>\n
for entry level, the above will help, and additional skills will be learnt once you are in there<\/p>\n
but always be aware that you will never know it all, and even when you have done a particular job 100 times, it can still bite you in the ass if you blink, it’s how you respond to fails / errors that will make you a better tech<\/p>\n
but luck to you on the interview<\/p>","upvoteCount":2,"datePublished":"2013-04-27T15:48:08.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/6","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"markross0326","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/markross0326"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Omg! I got the job!!! My only problem now is that I have to be running Windows 7 and my new PC came with Win 8 preinstalled. Does anyone have any insight on how I can downgrade without it costing me hundreds?<\/p>","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2013-04-29T14:53:18.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/7","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"nadiaoliva8935","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/nadiaoliva8935"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Congratulations!<\/p>\n
For your recent question, I’d recommend that you post a new question rather than appending it to this one; you’ll get better visibility and will be a lot more likely to receive helpful responses, since the subject will accurately reflect your question and people with knowledge in the area are more likely to read the post.<\/p>","upvoteCount":3,"datePublished":"2013-04-29T15:12:51.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/8","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"gabrielle.l","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/gabrielle.l"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Thank you.<\/p>","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2013-04-29T15:21:10.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/9","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"nadiaoliva8935","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/nadiaoliva8935"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
congrats. Dont worry now you will learn yourself practically and soon you will become professional in IT<\/p>","upvoteCount":1,"datePublished":"2013-05-01T05:59:52.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/11","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"rafidragon2927","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/rafidragon2927"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Thanks a bunch! Everything’s working out great!<\/p>","upvoteCount":1,"datePublished":"2013-05-31T13:50:29.000Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/career-change-help/209447/12","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"nadiaoliva8935","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/nadiaoliva8935"}}]}}
Hi, I recently made a career change into the IT world and I’m still learning the basics in some areas. I’ve been fixing computers for friends and family for the past year. I’m now running a small business from home. Since I’m more hands on with hardware my questions may seem basic. With that said, please help me figure out the following:
I’ve applied to some online companies in an effort to start earning more of a stable income. Today, I received an email for a phone interview that’ll take place in a couple of days
Since this is the first IT position I’ve applied for in a long time. I was wondering if anyone would help me with a general crash course on some basic knowledge in understanding the wired and wireless home networks using multiple network technologies such as cable modems, routers, printers, etc. (DNS, DHCP, WAN, LAN, TCP/IP, Port Forwarding).
Please respond if you’re willing to help.Thanks!
6 Spice ups
What is the job description and which position are you applying for ?
If you are applying for general troubleshooting skills . I Would suggest you to go through how to resolve IP conflits and how to resolve printer issues .
kindly elaborate the position you are applying for ?
bizdps
(BizDPS)
April 27, 2013, 11:36am
4
Any chance on posting a sanitized version so that others can help?
3 Spice ups
+1 to BizDPS’s comment – there are a lot of us out here, we’d be glad to assist.
I’d like to add a second comment, however. You say your interview is in 2 days – that’s really not enough time to gain deep enough technical knowledge to display at an interview. If you end up being interviewed by someone with a technical background, rather than say an HR person, It would be easy for them to determine that you’ve “crammed” for the interview, and if anything this could reflect poorly. I honestly think your focus should be on presenting your current skill set and your eagerness to learn. I would be far more inclined to hire a person who says “I’m not very familiar with ” but who has demonstrated initiative in their current/previous jobs, as opposed to someone who has clearly memorized a bunch of terms from the job posting.
There are lots of interviewing tips and tricks, but it’s much easier to make suggestions based on the type of position you’ve applied for.
5 Spice ups
as you are looking for an entry level placement, I would hope that you are aware of the basics of :-
PC operation - boot order etc, with basic trouble shooting skills for fail to lift off stuff,
Basic knowledge of networking, I don’t mean you have a thesis in OSPF v RIP2 but just that you are able to ping, and make sense of the reply, that IPCONFIG is a friend, and seeing 169.254.x.x in there will tip you off that DHCP is down - APIPA is always good to know, and how to set up manually the IP settings for a specific subnet should it be required, with a sprinkle of subnet mask details and reasonable binary ANDING skills
how to add a printer to a network, and to be aware of print servers, and setting reservations by MAC address, plus Printer troubleshooting too, even down to being able to swap out empty toner cartridges
for entry level, the above will help, and additional skills will be learnt once you are in there
but always be aware that you will never know it all, and even when you have done a particular job 100 times, it can still bite you in the ass if you blink, it’s how you respond to fails / errors that will make you a better tech
but luck to you on the interview
2 Spice ups
Omg! I got the job!!! My only problem now is that I have to be running Windows 7 and my new PC came with Win 8 preinstalled. Does anyone have any insight on how I can downgrade without it costing me hundreds?
Congratulations!
For your recent question, I’d recommend that you post a new question rather than appending it to this one; you’ll get better visibility and will be a lot more likely to receive helpful responses, since the subject will accurately reflect your question and people with knowledge in the area are more likely to read the post.
3 Spice ups
jperkins
(Joel Perkins)
May 1, 2013, 2:14am
10
There’s a technology built into Windows 8 called Hyper-V. It allows you to run another operating system on top of (that’s called virtualizing) the one that’s actually running your computer. As long as you have a decent amount of RAM, you should be able to run them side by side no problem. It’s just an add-on from Microsoft you download here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36188 .
Getting Started: CANITPRO | Microsoft Learn
1 Spice up
congrats. Dont worry now you will learn yourself practically and soon you will become professional in IT
1 Spice up
Thanks a bunch! Everything’s working out great!
1 Spice up