Reading Time: 11 minutes
Information Technology (I.T.) Overview
From a career entry and learning perspective
Opening Statements
This is going to be written from a non-all-inclusive perspective but a high level of thoughts for someone looking to enter the field.
I’m going to start with talking about the I.T. field in general followed by potential job/career options/paths and then some general recommendations for getting started and learning resources. This is being put together for a kid that I met at his parent’s food “truck” (tent) and we ended up chatting for a bit and I promised her I would do that because they are home schooling and not as well versed in the field and options.
Keep in mind I’m not an expert in anything other than being clumsy and stubbing my toe or hitting my head, shoulders, and knees on things but this is written at a high level for him to get an idea and pick his path.
High Level I.T.
To start out at a high level I.T. is loosely interchangeable with the term technology (tech) on its own. We have our traditional thoughts of servers, networks, firewalls, PCs/Desktops but we also have our general “tech” such as things like cameras and drones and smart home products. Think smart lightbulbs, garage door openers, alarm systems. These all come into a realm of I.T. in some way. While bow and arrow and catapults are technology in our world today we mean something that is powered (battery or cables) which some are Information Technology components and some are. A digital camera like the ones photographers at a wedding use is technology but not necessarily information technology. We more so think of I.T. as computer networks, servers, workstations, cell phones, tablets, VoIP phones and the like that can either access each other, servers, storage locations, the internet, application/software/Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Programing etc. Those are items everyone will consider I.T. It’s kind of a while west.
Consider also that the smart home is also part of I.T. Those ring doorbells, Blink Cameras, business security sensors and IP camera systems, drones, tv’s, smart thermostats, smart appliances like refrigerators, research equipment, go down your list in your head. Someone maintains all of that technology which creates a whirlwind of different roles/jobs/careers in I.T. you can go down. Most everything connects to an app on your phone via the internet or your local IP network nowadays.
Various Career Options
I’m laying out some of the common career titles you will hear when talking about I.T. This will not be comprehensive nor can it be as new things are always happening and new rolls and titles come up but these are what I believe to be the most common to hear.
- Tech Support/Help Desk -These are the people you call when you as a user are having problems or troubles with the network or devices or applications. They may help directly or do what we call escalation where we send it to higher expertise individuals to troubleshoot the issue and fix it if they can. This may also be called a TAC (Technical Assistance Center) and larger companies with varying levels of TAC support)
- Field Support/Deskside Support -These are the people that show up on site when physical repairs are needed. Example is when your internet isn’t working and the Help Desk/TAC can’t resolve it and it needs eyes on site.
- Infrastructure and Systems Management -This is the role that maintains the computer network, servers, cloud connectivity, firewalls, wireless access, primary devices, etc. Common roles in this include the following:
- Systems Administrator – Manage servers, Desktops, Printers, Operating Systems. This may be siloed to “Server Admins, Client Device Admins, Storage Admins, Database Admins, etc.” – These titles are generic and every company uses them differently
- Network Engineer – Design and maintain computer network systems this may be LAN, WAN, Security Devices, Wireless Networks all encompassed or some larger company may have these ideas Siloed into individual teams for each focus area.
- Cloud Engineer/Administrator – Manages/Configures/Designs/Maintains cloud resources such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft O365, etc.
- Software Development – This is the team that maintains writing/building/designing system software. Some common titles are as follows:
- Software Developer/Engineer – Writes code for apps or systems
- Front-End Developer – Focus on User Interfaces (UI) and User Experience (UX)Back-End Developer – Work on server and database integration
- DevOps Engineer – Combine software development and I.T. operations
- Data & Analytics – Focuses on Data Collection, storage and analysis example roles and titles:
- Data Analyst – Interpret data to identify trends and insights
- Data Scientist – Build models using stats, machine learning, and programming
- Database Administrator (DBA) – Manage and Optimize databases (DBs) for performance/security
- Cybersecurity – These roles focus on protection of systems, networks, data, etc. from cyber threats
- Security Analyst – Monitor for security breaches and respond to incidents
- Penetration Tester (PenTesters, Ethical Hacker) – Test systems for vulnerabilities
- Information Security (InfoSec) Manager – Develop and enforce security policies/strategies
- Project & Product Management – Oversee I.T. projects and products from concept to delivery
- IT Project Manager – Coordinate I.T. initiatives, schedules, teams
- Product Manager – Define product features and roadmaps
- Business Analyst – Bridge gap between business needs and tech solutions
- The New Era – Things are always changing in tech/I.T. This is creating new roles/titles/ideas that require individuals to continue moving technology forward
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) Engineer – Work with the new technologies to help aid in the AI and Automation works forces. (Automation can be considered part of software development roles)Blockchain Developer – Build decentralized applications
- Internet of Things (IoT) Specialist – Develops solutions involving connected devices. This could be as mentioned above, smart refrigerators, thermostats, blink cameras, garage door openers, keypad deadbolts for home doors, the list goes on and on.
- Physical Security – In today’s world of everything connected to the internet or via IP connectivity. This has a lot of parallel with the Internet of Things but I’ll break it down into two different concepts.
- Home Physical Security Specialist – Installs security systems at homes. Often internet connected systems such as Ring doorbells, Blink and Arlo cameras, Door and Windows sensors, and smart locks that all send alerts to the home owner usually via text messages and cell phone notifications. Some home owners may go beyond this and do a private system as I’ll outlay below.
- Business and Higher End Physical Security – This is the same as just the Home Physical Security but more often uses a private system that’s enclosed to the business such as NVR camera systems that record to a local storage device that may or may not be visible through apps but none the less are recorded locally. This also includes new innovations that are constantly evolving such as locks that notice an anomaly on the store front and automatically call police etc.
- Collaboration/Voice – This encompasses things such as video conferencing systems, instant message and chat applications, Voice over I.P. (VoIP) systems. These may be included under Network Engineer and Systems Administrator roles or as a stand-alone role.
Summary of High Level I.T. & Common Career Options
As you can see I.T. is a whirlwind. As you begin down your path you’ll either end up in a focused role or a jack of all trades type of roll. That really is all depending on how the business you are looking to work for/applying to structure their I.T. departments. Often (not always) the smaller companies end up with you being a jack of all trades where the larger enterprises and business you end up in a focus area. I want to reiterate that those “Job titles” I bulleted are very loose in the industry. What one company might call a Network Engineer may include security tasks, server administration tasks, voice engineering, and cybersecurity and automation. Another company may use the same title and it strictly means the routing and switching infrastructure. The next might call it a Network Administrator and encompass all of the above roles. Keep that in mind when applying. As an overall piece of advice, I believe picking a primary focus is key but also knowing a bit about everything helps a lot and I’ll get into that at the end.
Foundations
No matter what path you take in this wild west of I.T. foundations are key. This starts with the very basics in my opinion.
Most individuals trying to enter are recent school graduates trying to pick a major for college(university). Yet I’ve also been talking to an individual closer to my dad’s age that wants to get into it.
Again, this is written for an individual homeschooled so it’s worded as more informational for both him and his parents to let me see what is all out there. Yes, I’m going to trim out all these public statements for the blog post in the document I send them.
Most are familiar with the internet, smartphones, laptops, what programming/software development is, and of course you can’t listen to any tv or radio/streams without hearing AI (Artificial Intelligence) every day. However, a foundation still matters. Knowing how a computer works, how servers and databases work, and how all of that gets to the internet or even across a private local network. That’s all key to at least obtain a high-level understanding of what goes on and how it happens. Even if you want to choose a database administrator path knowing that it’s on servers with components, operating systems, protocols and network fundamentals needed to reach it, etc. is helpful to the end.
The same goes for a programmer. Code is code, yes, you need to learn whichever coding language you need. Knowing you are writing code and how it runs on clients/servers/network infrastructure delivery is helpful.
In my opinion a great foundation is to start with basics across the realms. I’m going to mention a few Certifications, AKA “Certs” (do you have to obtain them, no, but I will say they help you get looked at. Also, no I am not advertising these are just suggestions from my experiences).
CompTIA A+ (vendor neutral): Great for learning the basics of the inner workings of a computer overall (flows to any electronic device to a point as well)
CompTIA Network+ (vendor neutral): Wonderful overview of basic Computer Network terminology and how they function as well as introducing you to standards and cabling.
CompTIA Linux+ (vendor neutral): While Microsoft Windows Servers are still prominent in key areas, a lot of products run on top of Linux now. So, whether you go down a database administrator path, a software engineer/programming path, or even a network engineer path. Knowing at least the basics of how Linux works is great.
Windows Desktop/Server OS Cert(s) Not a bad idea for either. You are going to run into them no doubt.
Pick a programming language to learn the basics. Such as python/ansible etc. There are tons but studying one sets you up to learning others as needed. Again, this is all about foundations.
These are all great as a starting point. These are solid foundations as these will start to get you into the door working various roles which I’ll explain some example career paths later but these foundations will begin to get you in some doors and help with learning down the road. (At the end of this document I’ll list some of my favorite learning resources but remember it isn’t a catch all of everything out there).
My purpose for listing these now follows suit with the career path idea which I’ll dive deeper into however, most often you start as a help desk or desk side support engineer and these are commonly looked for on applications for someone entering the industry. In terms of the Windows certifications Server OS’s could be delayed until you get rolling in the I.T. field.
After Foundations, Now What?!
As I mentioned above in this whole document the point is to get you information to make choices about entering I.T. and get a foot in the door. Foundations are key to getting in the door. However, I left something out to an extent but not exactly and for a reason.
Now there are a few things to consider and think about. I’ll outlay my primary thoughts. It’s entirely possible to pick a silo as a focus area first. Most likely though in my experience you end up starting out as help desk or desk side support.
- First, do you have an idea of where you want to steer? Be it programming, or physical infrastructure? Client side? Server Side? Security? Network Infrastructure (could include security and wireless as well)? All of those as mentioned earlier you can focus on down the road.
- Second, what type of business do you want to work at and the role you want. As I mentioned, some companies I.T. are jack of all trades, some are siloed and focused.
- Third, no matter if you pick trying to focus on a siloed concept, or a jack of all trades concept, keep in mind that a siloed network team still needs to understand what a server team is trying to do on the network.
Career Paths
I.T. career paths are funny. Often you start out as mentioned in a Help Desk or Deskside Support role. Start learning new things and then ask to shadow and be mentored on things. The thing with I.T. is it’s always changing. Just look at common technology. Tomorrow there is a new iPhone. Next week a new internet connected door bell. Sometimes you can get straight into a junior mentored role with training. Sometimes you just need to slowly prove yourself and climb the ladder. There is no set way. You can get paid internships, followed by a paid junior role, then keep learning and climb to a senior role. Titles are all over the place in the I.T. industry so I say don’t get caught up on them. Keep in mind you can also audio/visual such as sound engineering, graphic design, visual display systems as I.T. as well as most of that in the modern age is done with various digital technologies and software.
Learning and Education
This is a 1000 edge sword. You have free training whether it be blogs/vlogs/written and video training from vendors such as Microsoft and Cisco for example.
You also have paid training that goes more in depth. Some are cheaper than others. Some are vendor crafted, some are third party and mileage may vary but quick searches you’ll find the reputable ones.
Official certification guides and documentation are great resources. Again, paid and unpaid depending on what you are looking for.
Again, this is kind of a hybrid blog post and scrubbing later for the intended recipient (will add my recommended resources for their copy) but most of us in the I.T. the industry knows about the resources available.
Likely when you graduate high school and pick I.T. as a major (college/university), you are going to pick a discipline and focus down that path. It’s worth noting though that I.T. (technology in general) is a never-ending learning curve. I highly recommend you get involved in community, forums, whatever today’s social media is for the tech companies, mailing lists (pro tip, set up an additional e-mail for all those subscriptions) so you can keep up with the daily who bought who, who created what, etc.
One thing to keep in mind
Resources for Learning
I’ll list some resources for learning. Some are free, some paid. I’ll put that next to each one focusing on the foundations. Any other that spark your interest let me know and I’ll dig into it for you through my community of industry professionals.
Footnotes
Training and resume: Certifications such as CCNA are often looked for on job descriptions. While it is Cisco specific, it also covers a lot of the general networking terminology and operations as per the standards of the industry. The same goes for any of the vendors depending on the role.
If you look towards Service Providers such as Spectrum/ATT&T/Verizon type of roles they have CO (Central Office) roles, Lineman roles, and Customer home installation roles.
There is another role in the networking field called NOC Engineer (Network Operations Center). They work at Data centers and Colocation Data centers (COLO’s). Typically, they support power and wiring connectivity among other tasks. In a COLO they serve power and connectivity options in isolated cages for multiple companies (think of it like a storage unit facility or apartment complex). The customer is responsible for their own equipment but the facility is responsible for the maintenance and ability to connect to various WAN/ISP providers. Those acronyms you will learn through courses.
If you choose to pursue the certifications (again I’ll mention HR and Hiring managers like seeing those certifications) let me know. I’ll get a plan together for you. Some are lifetime, some require you to renew every so many years.
One thing to note is the I.T. Industry is in constant movement. There is always something new to learn about and constant shifts and company acquisitions evolving products and concepts. Be prepared to always be learning.
If you pick an area or areas feel free to reach out. If I can be of more help I will get more detailed information about that topic and if I can’t I can reach out to fellow industry colleagues to get you going.
