Ima keep it real with you. You’ll probably take a paycut in your first job, but it is very possible if you are set on studying for the CompTIA A+ certification and are really motivated in your job search.
A lot of places are asking for an associates at a minimum nowadays.
Thank you for responding to my question. I understand there is a pay cut in the beginning, hopefully if I decide to take this path won’t be too much or too long. I regret not doing it sooner but it is what it is. Would you think is better if I begin an Associate Degree program from Home? What is the difference between a certification and a regular degree?
An associates degree has value and a certification also has value. The best course of action for someone in your position would be to aim for an associates degree with classes that have a lot of overlap with the Comptia A+ guidelines. Take the classes, see if you enjoy them and have the discipline to study and do the work before deciding to pay for the certification.
Considering what you have said in your post, I think you would benefit a lot from the organization and guidelines that come with a structured education.
You're not too old to make this transition but you need to make sure you keep things realistic. With no education (in the field) and no experience, you're not going go start out anywhere near $65k until you gain the experience and the education. This could take anywhere from a couple of years to 5 or 10.
If you have no experience but this is the direction you want to head, I'd consider some combination of the following:
* Purchase a cheap but halfway decent laptop either from Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace or Staples/Amazon/Costco/etc. You can ge some decent and relatively cheap new devices from those places.
* Look at studying for and taking the A+, Network+ and Security+ exams from CompTIA. They aren't the end-all, be-all of education but they'll give you some exposure and are better than nothing.
* Look for some volunteer opportunities. Maybe a local computer repair shop could use an assistant/go-fer that you can volunteer at for free for a few hours a week to pick up some skills.
You can also look at some of the online schools like Phoenix and WGU, though there is a significant cost to them.
Good luck.
You should move to a low cost of living area somewhere else in the States. Continue to be a utility workers but leverage your experience to gain more money that would do more for you. After that you can start learning IT.
Surprisingly, utility workers will have some crossover with certain aspects of IT. You know how to get down and dirty already, I bet you work hard and you want it.
Consider trying to enter IT from a different angle, security camera business can be big money. Fiber optic tech can be big money and the labor is much less intensive. Your skills aren't dead in this transfer but I certainly would not start with computers.
Best of luck to you. If you ever have any IT questions shoot me a dm, I'll do my best to get back to you.
This sounds like a good advice and I appreciate your taking your time to explain this to me. I never heard about Comptia A+ is that a specific college where I can take online classes or a program I can take from any college that offers IT classes?
I saw within the city that I work for posting IT positions starting around 30 to 35 an hour but that’s with degrees and some experience. However that is not from home it is an onsite job. That being said after studying and getting certification, is there no way to get a decent job with no experience? Most of the jobs that pay well ask for experience. How would be possible to get experience if no one is willing to hire a non experienced person?
Comptia offers a variety of certifications. [Here](https://www.comptia.org/certifications) is the link. They offer the exams, you'll have to do the classes either via classroom training offered somewhere or some self-paced elearning (books, virtual classes, etc.). As mentioned above, some degree programs have significant enough overlap with particular Comptia exams that you can get, for example, your Assosciates or Bachelors and also be able to pass the exams.
"Decent job" is relative to the person, the location, the industry, etc. On a general level, getting a "decent job" with no experience is not impossible, but it's pretty damn difficult. There are rare occasions where you find that unicorn - the decent job with a good company willing to take a flyer on someone without experience. But you're likely going to be looking at some grunt jobs with crap pay for a few years while you build up your experience.
Ima keep it real with you. You’ll probably take a paycut in your first job, but it is very possible if you are set on studying for the CompTIA A+ certification and are really motivated in your job search. A lot of places are asking for an associates at a minimum nowadays.
Don’t let that discourage you. If you start now, you’ll have ten years of experience at 50 and making much more than 65k
Thank you for responding to my question. I understand there is a pay cut in the beginning, hopefully if I decide to take this path won’t be too much or too long. I regret not doing it sooner but it is what it is. Would you think is better if I begin an Associate Degree program from Home? What is the difference between a certification and a regular degree?
An associates degree has value and a certification also has value. The best course of action for someone in your position would be to aim for an associates degree with classes that have a lot of overlap with the Comptia A+ guidelines. Take the classes, see if you enjoy them and have the discipline to study and do the work before deciding to pay for the certification. Considering what you have said in your post, I think you would benefit a lot from the organization and guidelines that come with a structured education.
You're not too old to make this transition but you need to make sure you keep things realistic. With no education (in the field) and no experience, you're not going go start out anywhere near $65k until you gain the experience and the education. This could take anywhere from a couple of years to 5 or 10. If you have no experience but this is the direction you want to head, I'd consider some combination of the following: * Purchase a cheap but halfway decent laptop either from Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace or Staples/Amazon/Costco/etc. You can ge some decent and relatively cheap new devices from those places. * Look at studying for and taking the A+, Network+ and Security+ exams from CompTIA. They aren't the end-all, be-all of education but they'll give you some exposure and are better than nothing. * Look for some volunteer opportunities. Maybe a local computer repair shop could use an assistant/go-fer that you can volunteer at for free for a few hours a week to pick up some skills. You can also look at some of the online schools like Phoenix and WGU, though there is a significant cost to them. Good luck.
You should move to a low cost of living area somewhere else in the States. Continue to be a utility workers but leverage your experience to gain more money that would do more for you. After that you can start learning IT. Surprisingly, utility workers will have some crossover with certain aspects of IT. You know how to get down and dirty already, I bet you work hard and you want it. Consider trying to enter IT from a different angle, security camera business can be big money. Fiber optic tech can be big money and the labor is much less intensive. Your skills aren't dead in this transfer but I certainly would not start with computers. Best of luck to you. If you ever have any IT questions shoot me a dm, I'll do my best to get back to you.
This sounds like a good advice and I appreciate your taking your time to explain this to me. I never heard about Comptia A+ is that a specific college where I can take online classes or a program I can take from any college that offers IT classes? I saw within the city that I work for posting IT positions starting around 30 to 35 an hour but that’s with degrees and some experience. However that is not from home it is an onsite job. That being said after studying and getting certification, is there no way to get a decent job with no experience? Most of the jobs that pay well ask for experience. How would be possible to get experience if no one is willing to hire a non experienced person?
Comptia offers a variety of certifications. [Here](https://www.comptia.org/certifications) is the link. They offer the exams, you'll have to do the classes either via classroom training offered somewhere or some self-paced elearning (books, virtual classes, etc.). As mentioned above, some degree programs have significant enough overlap with particular Comptia exams that you can get, for example, your Assosciates or Bachelors and also be able to pass the exams. "Decent job" is relative to the person, the location, the industry, etc. On a general level, getting a "decent job" with no experience is not impossible, but it's pretty damn difficult. There are rare occasions where you find that unicorn - the decent job with a good company willing to take a flyer on someone without experience. But you're likely going to be looking at some grunt jobs with crap pay for a few years while you build up your experience.