I’m actually very new to the IT world, only three years, but at the ripe old age of 27, it was the perfect time to make a career move and jump into a field that is the perfect fit for me.
Coming from the retail industry (used to manage a Walgreens), I got into IT b/c I was fired from my last retail job, at a paint store. The state helped fund a quarter of my tuition to Chubb Institute and after going to school full-time for a year, I got a job working as the IT Administrator at a small manufacturing company.
My boss realized I could handle the workload and gave me tons of autonomy in my position, and I found IT worked well with my technical mind and skill set, thinking outside the box and evaluating details of troubleshooting problems that came across my desk. What I found that I also liked was that the company I work for highly valued my ability to evaluate processes within the business and implement technologies that improved workflows and made users lives easier. I’m currently going part-time to Drexel to finish my B.S. and don’t want to leave my current place.
I hated retail (and hate is too weak a word – more like despised down to the bone) work and finally found something that made me love to get up in the morning and make the drive to my job. I read a Tech Republic article this morning about one person who made a switch to an IT career and regretted the decision, so I figured I’d write this to counter that. Personally speaking, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing for a living.