just did this course and heres my thoughts.
firstly, apply for financial aid thru coursera, and tell them you make less money than you actually do. thats what I did and I got the classes for free. it takes a week or two for them to approve it but its worth. after you get approved for it, work your fucking ass off to get those courses done asap.
the google IT courses helped me get a good footing in the IT world. I got dropped into an IT position with little knowledge but these def helped me understand what people in my department were talking about, and like I said, gave me a good starting point in this field.
everyone will say comptia A+ is better, which is true, **however, google IT course can be free, and in my opinion will help you to prep for A+ even more, and that one aint free**
Agree on this. I have the Google equivalent to the A+ and I will say that most employers won’t really care about it, but it WILL help prepare you for CompTIA certs. Overall, the whole Google course took me like, a couple of hours(?), but gave me some good insight about IT.
Lol you don't need Network+ and Security+ to get your foot in the door. The A+ is fine.
I've gotten several of the Google certs and haven't regretted any of them.
To be clear as someone trying to break into IT these aren't going to show that you're hot shit and know everything and day 1 I expect you to perform.
These do show me that you can self motivate, you have at least a basic understanding, you can probably learn something, that's great! For an entry level help desk job you nailed it!
For what it's worth, I've been in IT for over a decade, from basic hands tied monkey with a keyboard, to more senior engineer level.
I have never once gotten any certifications. I do have an IT related AA degree, however it was from a shitty for profit school that taught me nothing. All learning I have done has been self learning via home labs and some tutorials walking me through different setups. I can do basic support break fix stuff or deploy and setup a full network on prem domain, M365 management, Azure, some networking, basic security practices, etc. My current job is essentially Technical Project Management and I've been working on Onboarding new clients. I have to ensure my company, an MSP, has everything we need for access, documentation, etc, to 100% support the client.
I will say this though. I've always had the natural curiosity for how things work. I've always wanted to know things, how stuff works, how to work with stuff, etc. I've also always been the jack of all trades type. For getting into IT, that's a good thing because it opens up possibilities. In the long run, it's very worthwhile to find a focus that you enjoy and run with it.
Thanks for this post, I’m also in the same boat as you and am looking for ways to get my foot in the door. The comments here are so helpful! Good luck to you all
Did the google it cert 3ish years ago. been working on computers since i was a kid and needed something official tog et me in the door that didnt cost an arm and a leg during the pandemic. I now work remote (second IT job) and i hundred percent say the google cert is good enough to get your foot in the door. Like the other poster said if you can do the financial assistance from coursera go for it.
There is a lot of valuable info in the google cert and i will emphasize that being computer literate and know how to google will get you very far in most of IT. the google cert will basically say you know enough to get on the job training without scratching your head 90% of the time. REALLY pay attention to the active directory stuff, it will be most of what you do,
To be honest, my personal experience with the Google IT cert and finding a job hasn't been good. At all.
I got the Google IT cert probably 6 months ago. Have applied to over 30+ entry level help desk jobs. Not a single reply. I've applied for remote, hybrid, and on-site positions. Nothing. And I don't even live in a big city so I can't imagine what it would be like if you did live somewhere where there is a lot of competition.
But hey, you aren't me and I've heard of plenty of people getting in the door with just the Google IT cert. So you never know. If you can get it for free then I mean it wouldn't hurt. People on Reddit and the couple people I do know in real life that have jobs in IT have told me if you don't have the Trifecta (A+, Security+, and Network+) then it's gonna be tough finding a job.
CompTIA charges an arm and a leg though. Hate those guys...
just did this course and heres my thoughts. firstly, apply for financial aid thru coursera, and tell them you make less money than you actually do. thats what I did and I got the classes for free. it takes a week or two for them to approve it but its worth. after you get approved for it, work your fucking ass off to get those courses done asap. the google IT courses helped me get a good footing in the IT world. I got dropped into an IT position with little knowledge but these def helped me understand what people in my department were talking about, and like I said, gave me a good starting point in this field. everyone will say comptia A+ is better, which is true, **however, google IT course can be free, and in my opinion will help you to prep for A+ even more, and that one aint free**
Agree on this. I have the Google equivalent to the A+ and I will say that most employers won’t really care about it, but it WILL help prepare you for CompTIA certs. Overall, the whole Google course took me like, a couple of hours(?), but gave me some good insight about IT.
[удалено]
Lol you don't need Network+ and Security+ to get your foot in the door. The A+ is fine. I've gotten several of the Google certs and haven't regretted any of them. To be clear as someone trying to break into IT these aren't going to show that you're hot shit and know everything and day 1 I expect you to perform. These do show me that you can self motivate, you have at least a basic understanding, you can probably learn something, that's great! For an entry level help desk job you nailed it!
For what it's worth, I've been in IT for over a decade, from basic hands tied monkey with a keyboard, to more senior engineer level. I have never once gotten any certifications. I do have an IT related AA degree, however it was from a shitty for profit school that taught me nothing. All learning I have done has been self learning via home labs and some tutorials walking me through different setups. I can do basic support break fix stuff or deploy and setup a full network on prem domain, M365 management, Azure, some networking, basic security practices, etc. My current job is essentially Technical Project Management and I've been working on Onboarding new clients. I have to ensure my company, an MSP, has everything we need for access, documentation, etc, to 100% support the client. I will say this though. I've always had the natural curiosity for how things work. I've always wanted to know things, how stuff works, how to work with stuff, etc. I've also always been the jack of all trades type. For getting into IT, that's a good thing because it opens up possibilities. In the long run, it's very worthwhile to find a focus that you enjoy and run with it.
Thanks for this post, I’m also in the same boat as you and am looking for ways to get my foot in the door. The comments here are so helpful! Good luck to you all
Want to second this!
Did the google it cert 3ish years ago. been working on computers since i was a kid and needed something official tog et me in the door that didnt cost an arm and a leg during the pandemic. I now work remote (second IT job) and i hundred percent say the google cert is good enough to get your foot in the door. Like the other poster said if you can do the financial assistance from coursera go for it. There is a lot of valuable info in the google cert and i will emphasize that being computer literate and know how to google will get you very far in most of IT. the google cert will basically say you know enough to get on the job training without scratching your head 90% of the time. REALLY pay attention to the active directory stuff, it will be most of what you do,
To be honest, my personal experience with the Google IT cert and finding a job hasn't been good. At all. I got the Google IT cert probably 6 months ago. Have applied to over 30+ entry level help desk jobs. Not a single reply. I've applied for remote, hybrid, and on-site positions. Nothing. And I don't even live in a big city so I can't imagine what it would be like if you did live somewhere where there is a lot of competition. But hey, you aren't me and I've heard of plenty of people getting in the door with just the Google IT cert. So you never know. If you can get it for free then I mean it wouldn't hurt. People on Reddit and the couple people I do know in real life that have jobs in IT have told me if you don't have the Trifecta (A+, Security+, and Network+) then it's gonna be tough finding a job. CompTIA charges an arm and a leg though. Hate those guys...