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The best time to start you’re journey into the IT world was yesterday, regardless of where you’re starting from. Getting a head start while still in High School however is a power move that can accelerate your path to success.
Where to start?
First and foremost, immerse yourself. That means finding your favorite IT related YouTubers, online forums, taking classes at your school if available, tinkering with tech you may have available. The name of the game is to truly jump in wherever you can!
For example - if you’re bored at home a tremendous place to start is looking up IT projects for beginners. This could range from building your own PC from scratch, or even setting up a cool project on a Raspberry Pi. Before you know it you’ll have completed a completely hands on IT project that you could throw right into your resume that hopefully you’ve given some thought to making.
Brag Sheet
For anything that you do whether it’s in free time, a project at school, a volunteering effort, if it involves Information Technology, make sure you’re keeping a tally of this somewhere. This will be a great way to keep track of the progress and projects as you accomplish them and potentially can land on your resume when you start applying for that first internship, part time gig or even in an application for an IT focused degree / program.
Experience
Look for part time gigs in your area. Anything tech related will look phenomenal as you start to develop more and more into the IT world. For example, GeekSquad is a really good start as you’ll likely get some great hands on experience with troubleshooting.
For example I actually worked at a library when in high school. My job was strictly to help people that were using printers / or the computers that the public was available to use. Honestly I learned a ton at the time simply from having to troubleshoot issues that popped up and the best part was, it was legit experience I could put on my beginner resume. As a high schooler I already had some hands on experience, although part time, as an IT Help Desk part time member at the Local Library, and hey I got paid too!
Education
There are plethora of ways to increase your knowledge. With the way tech grown there is a great chance there are classes offered at your high school, take them. Even if it’s not directly IT, like for example computer science may be available, take these! Programming is a nifty skill to have in IT!
As for beyond courses readily available to you in high school, look online. There are tons and tons of courses you can take for free or at low cost that will cover the basics of Information Technology, some even offering live labs. For starters I’d definitely take a look for example at courses that talk about the CompTIA A+ exam. This covers everything from hardware / software that is foundational to IT. That doesn’t mean you have to go ahead and actually take these exam, but it should get you in the right direction.
Future Education
Education beyond high school is not 100% necessary, but I strongly reccomend going this path. Speak with your guidance counselor and do your own research at potential educational programs that could make you even more lined up for success when joining the work force. Many institutions like colleges, county colleges, local tech schools are phenomenal for giving you legitimate education to add to your professional profile. Another factor is that typically these institutions have very solid career services that aid with helping you find internships during your time there.
Conclusion
Make sure at the end of the day you are having fun with it. Remember, you are still in high school. Do not overdo this and burn yourself out but instead try to skip the video game session now and then to watch a 30 min YouTube clip! It goes a long way!
Don’t forget to contact us for our IT and Cyber Security career mentoring programs as well for extra guidance from our team of professionals in the industry!
Good luck and have fun!
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