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Ds has decided he wants to do IT Support....


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I am surprised that your local college wouldn't offer anything in that field at all. I looked it up quickly for our local college and they list several different paths and tons of courses in the area. This is a very wide and varied field in today's time! In our college catalog IT as a sub-category of computer science. Maybe that is the case in your area as well?

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Ok, I double checked and it looks like he can do it online from the local CC.  So some classes he can probably take there, like the English and if he wants to do the AAS, vs Technical Certificate, there will be some more "elective" type classes that he could start next year as Dual Credit.

 

Thanks!

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Does he mean Software or Hardware or both?  There might be 1 or 2 certifications that are worth getting, but look before you leap!  Some certifications are worthless. Some like those for RedHat Linux are more valuable.  Why? Because RedHat does not just issue a certificate to someone who has passed a written examination. They also give the person a computer, with issues to fix. Many people who get flying colors on the written exams are dead in the water, with a "hands on" issue.  Those people have no clue as to what they are doing and do not get the certification. 

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Ok, so we talkied more & he wants to do hands on, possibly work for a larger business where they need more support. We looked at the job boards for a local university & there are quite a few jobs, a few only needing associates & some needing a bachelors, so that gave him an idea of what was available. Plus there's online schooling opportunities.

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Ok, so we talked more & he wants to do hands on, possibly work for a larger business where they need more support.

Ask him to chat up the geek squad people at Best Buy to see how the actual working conditions is like. Best Buy does have part time and seasonal openings now for geek squad but they put associates degree and A+ certification as preferred.

 

The Microsoft store doesn't repair in-house, they ship my kids faulty laptop to their repair center. So the Microsoft retail store won't be a good place to chat up service center staff.

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Some aspects of IT can't be outsourced. My DH is the IT manager for a local food co-op--think like a regional Whole Foods. They have 4 locations and he just has a couple of people who work for him. But, it's an awesome job, and DH has previously worked for very large companies in Silicon Valley (I still do), and his job satisfaction is quite high with very low stress. That kind of business will never outsource to another country.

 

Topics that are hot rather than run of the mill desktop support: security, data center, data analytics, cloud, networking.

 

https://www.netacad.com

Edited by deerforest
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Yea, we have read Wired a lot over the years. I'd describe it as being aimed at tech enthusiasts rather than IT folks, which makes it a lot more interesting too. DH isn't really into reading about IT stuff unless it's just researching for a problem he has to solve which is all online. But I know in the past we've gotten things like Network World and Information Week and others. I think they wouldn't be nearly as interesting as Wired.

Edited by deerforest
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Yea, we have read Wired a lot over the years. I'd describe it as being aimed at tech enthusiasts rather than IT folks, which makes it a lot more interesting too. DH isn't really into reading about IT stuff unless it's just researching for a problem he has to solve which is all online. But I know in the past we've gotten things like Network World and Information Week and others. I think they wouldn't be nearly as interesting as Wired.

Thanks. I think that's what I will plan on. 😉I think it woukd be right up ds's alley.

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My kids read Wired, Cnet at the library. We can also access magazines through Zinio using our library card.

https://www.zinio.com/www/index.jsp;jsessionid=CA6966671F878B98583580619E0F7C90.prd-main-news5?_requestid=51373#/

 

The nicest collection locally however is at Barnes and Noble. Plenty of tech magazines to peruse. For hardware, I still like reading Tom's Hardware website.

http://www.tomshardware.com

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