Hey everyone! I've been working as an admin for about 2-3 years now, and I'm really interested in making the jump to SysAdmin. I have some background in IT and Cybersecurity from university, but I didn't finish my studies because I found the experience pretty lacking. Currently, I work at a small company in Western Australia where our IT support comes from an external team. My employer is willing to pay for my IT studies, but I'm wondering if I should focus on gaining experience instead of just getting a degree. Also, do I need to relocate to Melbourne or Sydney to find an IT traineeship for hands-on experience, even though I know living costs are high there? Any suggestions or possible volunteer opportunities in Perth to gain some experience would be greatly appreciated!
1 Answer
If your employer is covering your studies, definitely take advantage of that! But be aware that to gain real-world experience, you might need to find a new role, even if it's starting in a help desk position. It's interesting that your uni experience wasn't very engaging; do you have any skills in modern security operations or coding? That would be helpful too!
Thanks for the tips! I'm planning to continue my studies with my company early next year. Looking back, I might have started uni too early and the curriculum was mostly just documentation. The junior help desk roles here all seem to require prior IT experience, which I don’t have yet. I do know some basics in C/C++, Python, and a bit of JavaScript. I’ll look into security operations and DevOps as well.