How I Landed My First Job In IT

This isn't another "How to get a job in IT" story. This is simply my story of how I was able to get into IT in 2026. No college or formal education, just hard work and figuring it out.

Out of high school I went straight to work. Within a week of graduation I was working for a landscaping company and the next 7 years of my life would be bouncing between different blue collar jobs. I always felt I was capable of more but never knew where to even begin.

After some deliberation I decided to go back to college part time after work. I knew this would take a very long time but I figured slow progress was better than nothing. So finally I started with just 2 classes and my college journey began.

One day I was having a conversation with a friend saying I thought I would like to graduate in computer science or something of the sort. IT fields had always interested me but I never knew how to get into it.

He told me he didn't think it was something I had to go to college for and that he knew people who had gotten into it without a degree. He told me about different programs he had heard of and the different methods he. had seen others use to land their first job.

Looking into different programs or "boot camps" I came to the conclusion there was just no way my family and I could afford for me to miss work while also paying the high cost of these full time programs. So I decided each night after everyone went to sleep I would just give it all the time I had.

The most successful person I knew in the IT field did cybersecurity for a very large company. So I decided that was the route I would go. I began to research and saw that google offered a certificate called the "Google Cybersecurity Certificate" so that's where I started.

Many people made it very clear this was not enough to land a job, but its pitch as zero understanding needed to start made me feel it was a good place to get my feet wet. So over six months or so I would work on it a little each night while listening to podcast and watching Youtube videos whenever I had a free moment.

Once I felt I knew enough to at least engage in conversation I began asking anyone I could what specific things I could work on to have the skills necessary to land my first role. I asked my parents, friends, and anyone I could if they knew anyone willing to talk to me or help me in any way possible.

While doing all of this I continued to learn all I could, I bought raspberry pi's, switches, monitors, and old laptops. I tried making a "home lab" like I had heard all the Youtubers talk about. I learned about servers, hosting, and logs.

I went from being nervous about telling anyone I was wanting to make a change to telling anyone I could about the move I was hoping to make. I made any connection I could. I asked questions to anybody willing to answer them. I also began to figure out what was most likely to get my foot in the door.

One morning I had someone I knew very well send me a job application and told me he thought I should apply for this job in particular. I wasn't sure that I was even ready, I had planned on finishing another certificate before even beginning to look for jobs. But he felt It would be a good fit with good people that he knew well.

So I did apply for it. I was lucky enough to land multiple interviews and through those interviews get to know the team well. They were honest, saying there were some gaps between the skills and experience they were hoping for and where I was.

But, because of the conversations they felt I was such a good addition to the team as a person they were willing to help me grow in the skill areas I was behind in. They even had money specifically for allowing me to continue to educate myeslf and grow in my role.

I always heard the phrase "It's not what you know but who you know" and I have found this to be very true in my journey. If you don't have a formal education all you can do is connect with as many people as possible and hope for an opportunity.

I stayed out of the huge pools of people on these hiring websites and trusted that through my connections an opportunity would come. So in this journey don't just focus on skills, but on those who can give you the helping hand you need.

If I can break into IT in 2026 with no formal education so can you. Learn new things every day, make connections with anyone you can, and try to always stay ready because you never know when you're time will come.