IT: Where to start?

baydendora · 2018-02-16T13:53:24.000Z

Hello, I am fairly new to the IT field coming from CS and was wondering what some good starting projects are to establish myself.

dancrane · 2018-02-16T13:56:00.000Z

What are you interested in or trying to do? There are a million different things that can be suggested from standing up a virtual network with GNS3 or running a Windows test lab, you could get a couple of hosts and work on vSAN replication and storage, etc…

michaelmtallman · 2018-02-16T14:10:40.000Z

Trying to respond to your question is like throwing jello at the wall and seeing what sticks. It’s a vast field to jump into without little to no indication of which way you want to go. Do you want to do cybersecurity, database work, sysadmin, Windows, Linux, Mac, desktop support, networking, et al? One, some, all the above? You see where I am going with this. I would look at doing some searching on the forums and you will find so many different opinions as to how to get started. Because, you know, opinions are like a*******, everyone has them and a lot of times they’re, well, lets say not the best

If you have an inkling as to what appeals to you, jump into any one of the groups - look at the questions and responses, see the vast knowledge base that you have right here in Spiceworks and then come back and ask the question again, at least this way you can be a little more granular and we can better answer you.

michaelmtallman · 2018-02-16T14:12:02.000Z

And welcome to the jungle This probably should be in a different forum, however, as this one issues related to Spiceworks itself.

kerriedouglas · 2018-02-16T14:32:41.000Z

A little additional information from you would help to answer your question better. What is your current role? How long have you been in it? What training have they provided you and what are the things that interest you?

jimmy-t · 2018-02-16T14:35:37.000Z

Knowing what the end-goal or where you want to go will help a lot on how best to start. If you’re interested in general IT (such as support, desktops and networking), look into building a home lab. Find whatever used computers you can and start setting them up and getting them talking to each other. You can also learn Linux by installing on an old computer or a USB drive and booting a computer off of that.

baydendora · 2018-02-16T14:44:24.000Z

I have very little training with networking, local and wan. So something basic would be preferred. In addition to that low level security projects(working with firewalls or defensive hacking) would be interesting. Again I am very new to these things and am unfamiliar with terminology, so other reference resources would also be appreciated. Additionally something low-risk would be beneficial

fmorrison42 · 2018-02-16T15:39:14.000Z

As the other responders have already mentioned, it’s difficult to give you much advice or direction until you know which area you are interested in. If you are that unsure, I suggest going to a site like Pluralsight or some other MOOC IT training that has many different options. You can take a few classes on a few different things that seem interesting on the surface to see if it’s a path you want to pursue. If not, then move on to the next one.

From there, you can begin to formulate a path and curriculum of learning that will help you get to the point in which you wish to be.

Good Luck and Semper Discens!