Gareth Sparkes moved into IT Technician

I was around a year into my entry-level IT job search when I came across a post on Reddit. Since my efforts alone didn’t seem to get me very far, I decided this would be a good investment. The training and course material provided for a lot of entry-level certs I was looking to purchase anyway, plus the job placement and further training and certs were the deciding factor for me.

To be honest, for me, there is not much to enjoy when it comes to studying. So I did not enjoy any part of the studying whatsoever. However, I did really enjoy the fact that I had access to Live Labs. I saw this as a huge bonus. Guided labs were provided in tandem with the course material, which definitely helped solidify the course material. I was also quite useless using them at the beginning, and the support team was very kind to cater to my complete and utter incompetence. Having full access to virtual machines across a variety of environments was amazing for my own interest and discovery as well. It allowed me to become A LOT more confident in what service I could actually provide. The Live Labs also helped me land my current role, as I was asked a few questions that relied on the practical implementation of some networking concepts, which I got from the guided virtual labs.

My current role is difficult; there are a lot of things I need to figure out, and a plethora of things I feel way too behind on, and sometimes it really feels like I have no clue what’s going on. That being said, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I am in an entry-level role and am being exposed to so many different aspects of the IT world. Right now, I am a sponge, soaking in as much as possible at all times. There is a great feeling of self-worth when you come to work, have no clue what to do when given an assignment, spend time researching and testing, and come up with a working solution at the end of the day. This role is allowing growth, and I am very grateful for it.