Getting started in IT

jacobelzey9453 · 2014-10-10T13:02:13.000Z

Hi All,

Looking to help my friend start his career in IT. He has little experience, but can navigate computers and build websites. So not totally unlearned. College is not really an option or an internship at this point.

Any books or resources that would help come up to speed is what I am mainly looking for. Video training is fine as well. Just trying to help him build a good base understanding of windows server and networking.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

@Microsoft

phantomtulaba · 2014-10-10T13:03:29.000Z

Microsoft Virtual Academy is a great learning resource.

eremiko · 2014-10-10T13:07:42.000Z

Spiceworks … lol

@Spiceworks

georgejurcan · 2014-10-10T13:10:17.000Z

If he has little experience in IT, two things will get him going. Doing IT at home and self-studying. Videos are great but without application mean very little. What good does it do you to know how a car is driven when you could drive one.

Another great resource, and a minor investment at that is Plural Sight. They are fairly cheap for what you get. At which point the more time you sink in learning from them, the higher the return is on the investment in the subscription - good bang for buck.

I’d also recommend your friend get a certification to get him started. If possible I’d skip A+ and attain the network+. If Net+ is too tough, A+ may be a good choice. Build a home lab!

xplummerx · 2014-10-10T13:10:51.000Z

+1 for Microsoft Virtual Academy

Also, if he’s willing to spend a little money, check out CBT Nuggets and Pluralsight.

will224 · 2014-10-10T13:12:20.000Z

For a beginner Professor Messer’s free A+ and Network+ training videos are probably the best way to start. Getting a good handle on all of that material will fill in whatever gaps he may have in his basic skillset and set him up for entry-level certifications.

Professor Messer IT Certification Training Courses

Home - Professor Messer IT Certification Training - CompTIA A+, Network+,...

Professor Messer's CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ training videos, notes, study groups, and IT certification study materials.

Est. reading time: 2 minutes

And for Windows specific training (as suggested above) Microsoft Virtual Academy is a great place to start.

learn.microsoft.com

Training

Master core concepts at your speed and on your schedule. Whether you've got 15 minutes or an hour, you can develop practical skills through interactive modules and paths. You can also register to learn from an instructor. Learn and grow your way.

jacobelzey9453 · 2014-10-10T13:15:20.000Z

You guys are awesome, I’ve use CBT Nuggets and Virtualization Academy before. Going to check out PluralSight and Professor Messer!

Any additional recommendations or votes for these products are very welcome!

xplummerx · 2014-10-10T13:19:21.000Z

Also, you should check out this post from yesterday on IT Experience or IT Education . Be sure to click the link to the Recovery Zone article by @scottalanmiller that is mentioned in the original post.

will224 · 2014-10-10T13:20:48.000Z

Personally, I use and recommend Pluralsight. However, in his specific case I would hold off on paying for anything until he has a good grasp on the fundamentals. As good as Pluralsight and CBT Nugget’s training videos are, I would say they are more than likely an unnecessary expense at his current level of experience.

codyherb · 2014-10-10T13:26:53.000Z

Here’s some eBooks he can read to get into Microsoft products:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mssmallbiz/archive/2014/07/07/largest-collection-of-free-microsoft-ebooks-ev… .

Here’s a link to helpful tech related stuff around the net:

GeGeek - I don't reinvent the wheel, I just link to it.

GeGeek

Site is down for maintenance, we're upgrading EVERYTHING! Site will be down until end of February 2024.

And here is something for him to look at once he gets his feet wet to help him decide where to go. (No idea how relevant it still is, but some spicer posted it and i kept it because it looked helpful).

http://certroadmap.comptia.org/Content/IT-Certification-Roadmap.pdf

Cheers!

zeeb44 · 2014-10-10T13:27:28.000Z

+1 for CBT nuggets. I have been using that site a lot lately. YouTube also has awesome channels. But experience is a big thing. Having a home lab will be helpful in testing and training.

craigkline0106 · 2014-10-10T13:47:21.000Z

Try Professor Messer to prep for certs like A+. Tons of debt for college isn’t always practical but $200 for the exams usually isn’t so bad. My school required A+ to graduate and 90% of us used his videos to get through the cert (in addition to the classes in school).

www.professormesser.com

He’s also on youtube.

sean-cbt-nuggets · 2014-10-10T14:09:59.000Z

Jacob,

Your friend can check out our Server 2012 and Network+ training courses with this 7 day free trial, along with all of our training courses offered in our library. We also have hundreds of tutorial videos on our YouTube channel available! Let us know if your friend has any questions and wish them luck for us.

thetj · 2014-10-11T00:15:26.000Z

I see a lot of CBT Nuggets comments on here…a bit pricy if you aren’t in the field and may not see the value, but they have some really good stuff…If he has any way to get in touch with someone in the field, just to use as a mentor, there’s a +1.

If he gets an internship somewhere there’s a +10.

Bud-G · 2014-10-11T01:26:11.000Z

If your friend is looking for Linux, there’s some stuff out there too. Professor Messor has a couple of the Linux+ stuff.

birdlaw · 2014-10-13T11:39:28.000Z

He might want to look into A+ certification materials. If you’re starting out, you should build a foundation with the basics.

lora-pluralsight · 2014-10-13T17:42:10.000Z

What a good friend you are!

Pluralsight is an affordable self-study training solution for your buddy to consider. We have over 3,500 courses and a 10- day free trial, which is perfect to use to dabble into Windows Server and Network+ courses. Have him test us out and let us know if he has any questions!

garymccune · 2014-10-15T13:25:07.000Z

Lots of great resources listed here.

Education is a great goal but he really should find time to volunteer somewhere- even if it’s 4 hours a week.
Start with Volunteer work and add education as he goes.

His resume will critically need experience of ANY sort once he’s ready to find a job. Start now or be sorry in a year when he goes to find a job and has to start Volunteering then.

Best of luck to him!

megan-for-peak-performers · 2014-10-16T15:47:42.000Z

Definitely agree that some real-life experience will be key! As garymccune mentioned, a volunteer gig could be really useful. Not only will this be good for your friend to get some “hands on” experience but he’ll also have something to put on his resume. And of course, get your friend to sign up for Spiceworks too Good luck to him as he starts his journey in IT!

blakebowmer · 2014-10-20T14:12:32.000Z

He can find many books on Amazon that are fairly cheap and some even come with resource CD’s filled with virtual labs. Virtual labs still don’t replace actual hands on training. Youtube is a huge source of information for anything IT; the Internet is also your friend in these situations. Good luck in your training!