Making a Career Change - Lawyer to IT - Seeking Advice

[marlowe221]

Hey Racketboy friends,

I am a lawyer in my early 30s and I really want to make a career change.

I have been practicing law for 8 years and I have decided that it is not for me. I have been looking at what else I might like to do and a career somewhere in IT is high on my list.

I don't have a tech-related degree (undgrad is in Sociology) but I do have at least a little experience. My firm has 10 employees and since my boss refuses to hire an IT person, or even bring in a contractor/consultant, I do all the IT work for the firm (3+ years now). So I do all the desktop support (lots of that), malware removal, cloud services, a VERY basic LAN/server, etc. It's all very haphazard since the boss hates spending money on technology but it has made me get creative!

That said, I am totally self taught and have lots of gaps to fill. I am currently self-studying for the A+ certification. A friend of mine in IT recommended I also get the Network+ cert for background/foundation purposes as well. After that, I'm not sure what other qualifications to get - I was thinking MSCA and/or CCNA but really don't know yet. I am also looking into setting up a basic home lab to fart around with things and break things.

I am not in a position to go back to school (too much student loan debt already). I am not in a hurry - I am hopeful that I can leave the law behind in 1-1.5 years.

If any of you guys/gals are in IT or knowledgeable about the field, what else would you all recommend that I do to prepare myself to look for IT jobs 1 year from now? Any general advice?

Any thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated. It's kind of scary to think about leaving a profession I thought I wanted to do since I was 13 and I want to make sure that this is even possible...

Thanks

[fastbilly1]

I can tell you what I was told to do: Get the three big comptia certs - A+, Network+, Security+, that will get your foot in the door with a entry IT job. Once you get that, you can get your CCNA and go into network engineering.

I am in data integration and fiber sales, and have on and off been trying to jump for the last year, but in my last phone interview they said since my comptia's are expired, they were looking for someone younger they can pay less with the active certs. So Professor Messler and I are working through my A+ recert.

[marlowe221]

Thanks!

So you don't think my utter lack of a tech degree will hurt me too badly if I can do some of these other things?

From what I have read so far, I think the A+ cert shouldn't be too tough - it appears to cover a lot of the stuff I have already learned over the years, though studying for it has already filled in a few gaps for me.

One problem is that I am not sure what my ultimate goal is here. I am sure that at SOME point my lack of relevant formal education will limit me - or at least keep me out of some fields of IT. Systems Administration seems kind of attractive but I realize that is kind of a catch-all term and can mean a lot of things in the real world.

So far, I have enjoyed doing desktop/workstation level support and troubleshooting, trying to keep our aging server limping along, and patching up our macgyver'd network (on a $0 budget!). In general, I like fixing things (hardware & software) so I will probably be looking at career paths in that direction.

On the other hand, I do have plenty of what you IT guys call "soft skills" and what we lawyers call "absolutely fucking necessary" skills - I'm a good writer, I have no fear of public speaking, and I know how to take complex ideas and break them down for people with zero knowledge of the subject in an understandable way.

Sorry to ramble - I am at the beginning of this process and it is kind of overwhelming.

[Jagosaurus]

Do you want to be truly boots on the ground support only? Or would you enjoy being in the industry at a more of a macro level?

I switched from Healthcare business & project management to Telecom and IT client relations & project management about a year & a half ago. Very happy with the move.

I had relevant experience as I worked for a university IT Dept while in college & had managed multiple projects in my previous job (including IT roll outs).

I love the IT field but didn't necessarily want to be a network engineer or technician. There are jobs needing knowledgeable people involved in the entire sales and installation process. The key is to get in with an established integration company or IT firm with low turnover.

I work with roughly 700 base customers. My book of business is 80% base customers upgrading & 20% completely new clients. I'm involved in generating interest, system architecture design, project bidding/estimation, & project management alongside an engineer when implementation begins. I get to see all aspects of the jobs we take on.

Just know, there's more out there than being a tech or knocking on doors to sell.

[marlowe221]

Do you want to be truly boots on the ground support only? Or would you enjoy being in the industry at a more of a macro level?

I switched from Healthcare business & project management to Telecom and IT client relations & project management about a year & a half ago. Very happy with the move.

I had relevant experience as I worked for a university IT Dept while in college & had managed multiple projects in my previous job (including IT roll outs).

I love the IT field but didn't necessarily want to be a network engineer or technician. There are jobs needing knowledgeable people involved in the entire sales and installation process. The key is to get in with an established integration company or IT firm with low turnover.

I work with roughly 700 base customers. My book of business is 80% base customers upgrading & 20% completely new clients. I'm involved in generating interest, system architecture design, project bidding/estimation, & project management alongside an engineer when implementation begins. I get to see all aspects of the jobs we take on.

Just know, there's more out there than being a tech or knocking on doors to sell.

Well, I don't really know. I am still learning what's out there.

Right now, hands on with the machines/software seems very attractive - but I'm not exactly sure how that translates to a job in the real world - particularly for someone with a social sciences and law degree and a few certifications (soon!) but not much real world experience...

Even though I am not planning on making a move right away, I am already working on re-writing my resume to emphasis what little experience I do have managing things around the law office. I am planning on setting up a home lab (eventually) that might help bridge some of that gap as well.

But what other sub-fields of IT should I be looking into? I didn't even know that your job existed until just now!

[fastbilly1]

Id say get your A+ first. Through that process, you will see there is a very large world there. Case in point, if I had skill in programing I would be a pen tester. Which is a critical job in any security setup, but I am guessing you are not familiar with the term.

[marlowe221]

Id say get your A+ first. Through that process, you will see there is a very large world there. Case in point, if I had skill in programing I would be a pen tester. Which is a critical job in any security setup, but I am guessing you are not familiar with the term.

Nope!

If I had to guess I would say that it has something to do with the ability to access a workstation/network via a script or program stored on a thumb drive and protecting the workstation/network from that sort of thing???

I'm no where close, am I?

[fastbilly1]

Id say get your A+ first. Through that process, you will see there is a very large world there. Case in point, if I had skill in programing I would be a pen tester. Which is a critical job in any security setup, but I am guessing you are not familiar with the term.

Nope!

If I had to guess I would say that it has something to do with the ability to access a workstation/network via a script or program stored on a thumb drive and protecting the workstation/network from that sort of thing???

I'm no where close, am I?

Penetration Testers, or Pen Testers, are hired to test security systems for flaws and gain access to information via any method possible. Typically this involves things more subtle than a simple brute force software attack and can be as complicated as social engineering. This can take place either in a virtual environment or in real life and is kinda like a deskjob version of being James Bond.

I can suggest some reading on the subject if you would like, but it will not help you get a job - I hate to say trust me, being a stranger on the internet, but trust me, it wont help.

[marlowe221]

Id say get your A+ first. Through that process, you will see there is a very large world there. Case in point, if I had skill in programing I would be a pen tester. Which is a critical job in any security setup, but I am guessing you are not familiar with the term.

Nope!

If I had to guess I would say that it has something to do with the ability to access a workstation/network via a script or program stored on a thumb drive and protecting the workstation/network from that sort of thing???

I'm no where close, am I?

Penetration Testers, or Pen Testers, are hired to test security systems for flaws and gain access to information via any method possible. Typically this involves things more subtle than a simple brute force software attack and can be as complicated as social engineering. This can take place either in a virtual environment or in real life and is kinda like a deskjob version of being James Bond.

I can suggest some reading on the subject if you would like, but it will not help you get a job - I hate to say trust me, being a stranger on the internet, but trust me, it wont help.

Hehe that's OK. I am not too worried about that at this point. Right now, I am focusing on filling in the gaps that all my self teaching over the years has left behind. So I'm rounding out my desktop knowledge, learning a lot about networking, and trying to figure out how I'm going to teach myself Active Directory.

I figure I will start looking around for jobs after I get a few certifications under my belt, get my home lab up and running, and complete a few IT-related projects at my current job. That way I will have at least a few credentials and slightly more than zero practical experience.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I wish you the absolute best marlowe221, and I am excited to read about your transtion away from the legal profession. (And...if you ever want to get back into the law, your IT experience will make you one hell of a privacy and information security lawyer, which is a white-hot practice area right now.)