The IT industry has been a lucrative career for the past decade. Starting a career in IT is an exciting journey filled with opportunities to learn and grow. However, there are certain things I wish I had known before diving headfirst into my first IT job. Whether you're a recent graduate or transitioning into a tech career, here are some insights that could help you navigate your way through the early stages of your IT career:
Soft Skills Matter as Much as Technical Skills
When I was starting out, I focused heavily on learning the fundamental technical skills like Networking, Troubleshooting and such. While technical skills are crucial, I underestimated the importance of soft skills such as communication, decision making, and collaboration. I lacked communication skills like constructing business emails and communicating with non-technical colleagues , which plays a huge role in an IT Professional’s responsibilities.
Developing these skills early on can make a significant difference in your career progression.
2. Building Homelab is Essential - and Doable!
A homelab provides a hands-on experience that allows you to simulate real-world IT scenarios. It’s a cost effective way to learn configuration, experiment with virtualization and practice the theoretical knowledge you gained from courses and certifications.
I wish I had known earlier that there are so many free resources to get started building homelabs like VMWare for virtualization, Windows Server ISO (free trial) and Packet Tracer. You can do a lot of projects that can showcase your skills using these platforms and you can learn how to set up and configure them from scratch. This is an excellent way to brush up your fundamental knowledge and also improve your troubleshooting skills when you make mistakes.
3. Documentation Is Your Best Friend
In IT, documentation is not just best practice—it's a lifesaver. I quickly realized the importance of documenting procedures when I worked on a critical system issue that is time-sensitive. I encountered the issue before but I can’t remember the steps and hostnames on top of my head so I had to figure it all out and it was really stressful. If I had documented all of the steps, it would only take a few minutes to resolve the issue.
Documentation is often overlooked but essential in IT. Not only does it save you time when an urgent issue comes up, but it also serves as a valuable resource to your team and future reference.
What do you wish you had known before starting your IT career? What are your experiences with homelabs, and what advice would you give to newcomers in IT? Share your thoughts and join the conversation below!
You are 100% right. We cannot remember everything and people move jobs. Too often I encounter sceneraios for a which there was no documentation or knowledge of. Keeping your cool and troubleshooting skills are essentail in our roll, as is knowing when to esculate!
Great! Thank you for this. Hello, everyone! I'm so happy to be part of the East Charmer community. I love watching your videos on YouTube