In this series of posts I will weigh the pros and cons of the three basic means of preparing yourself for a career in tech: certification, formal education, and experience.  For each category I’ll give separate advice for those seeking a corporate career versus those seeking to start their own computer business.  Drawing from my own experiences, as well as my observations of other successful people, I hope to give a realistic look in to what it takes to break into tech.

Often those who are planning on beginning a career in IT, either finishing school or changing careers, will wonder if paying money to get certified is worth it.  The reason this question is asked over and over again is that there is no one right answer.  One person can point at their own experience as an independent technician and say that all it took for them to be successful was proper experience, while another might say the only way they were able to compete in the job market was with a certification or two under their belt.  There are a myriad of experiences and no two are alike.

Earning an IT certification is the most focused and least time consuming of the three categories I’ll be covering. There are numerous industry standard certification’s out there ranging from the basic PC comprehension shown by passing CompTIA’s A+ to elite advanced certifications like Cisco’s new Certified Architect program.  Whatever your specialty, there’s a certification you can earn to prove your understanding of it.  Lets take a look at how certification can help you in a corporate career versus a consulting career.

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Throughout my years in the IT industry I’ve held many positions and titles. Some are fairly accurate descriptions of what I was doing, and some were decidedly very un-acurate.  Now as I start my own business, I’m stuck with the task of giving myself a title.  As it turns out, it’s a little harder than I had anticipated.

Growing Up Geek

When I first fell in love with computers, I was in elementary school.  My parents got a big hunky IBM clone (I don’t remember the brand) complete with two fancy 5 1/4 inch floppy drives.  I loved to play around and find ways to break or confuse the programs.  This started a long love affair with breaking and fixing computers.  At that point, and all through school, I was a true computer geek.  I used computers for the sheer novelty of it.

Flash forward to my time serving in the US Army.   I wanted to flex my computing prowess and volunteered for various computer-centric tasks like creating databases and such.  I then got the opportunity to help network a new office from the ground up.  After that, I was officially appointed the unit’s assistant IMO (Information Management Officer), and was tasked with helping people in the unit with various computer issues.

I loved that job, and found I really had a knack for troubleshooting.  So, after I got out of the army, I took a job as an intern at the Help Desk of a pharmaceutical company.  Within 4 years time I was hired on full time, promoted to a Level 2 Analyst, and promoted again to my current position in the computer industry, Enterprise Systems Analyst.

Every time I was presented with a new position and name (Geek, Assistant IMO, Helpdesk Intern, Helpdesk Analyst, Systems Analyst) I was basically doing the same thing, fixing computer problems.

What’s in a Name?

When I had the idea to start my own computer business, it never occurred to me that I would need to define my job title. In fact, it wasn’t until I started writing this blog that I realized I needed to figure out what to call myself.   So I came up with a list of names that I’m considering using to refer to my position as an independent computer guy, along with how I feel about each one:

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In July, I published an article called Top 5 Reasons Why I’m Starting A Computer Support Business. Being the kind of person that likes to see things from all angles, I decided to take the opposite view and look at some reasons why starting a computer business may not be such a good idea for me. This exercise was difficult, since obviously I DO want to start a business, but I feel it’s good to weigh the pros and cons of any major decision in life.  Starting a business is not going to be all roses and cupcakes, so this list may be a good slap in the face to anyone, including me, who thinks they’ll be able to breeze through a life as a computer consultant.  Here’s my list of the top 5 reasons why I probably shouldn’t start a computer business:
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There’s a blog that I subscribed to called Life Reboot.  It chronicles the “thoughts and experiences of Shaun Boyd”, a young man who decided to quit his job in IT and restart his life in pursuit of his dream to become a writer.  He’s had mixed success and is now looking for a job again, but his posts are insightful and well written and one of his posts from 2006 really stuck a chord with me. (more…)

I’ve stumbled upon a lot of articles recently about computer techs using their powers for evil.  Here are some of my favorites: (more…)