Hey everyone, I'm currently studying Cyber Security and working part-time as printer tech support at a major printing company. I took this job to gain some experience in the tech field, hoping it would help me as I transition into internships and my future career. However, I'm feeling quite insecure about my knowledge as I prepare to enter the industry. Despite getting good grades, I feel like I'm just memorizing for tests instead of actually retaining the information, which is pretty discouraging. I know sysadmin experience isn't the same as cyber security, but I'm considering switching to a more general tech support role to get a broader experience. I've taken classes for A+ and Net+ certifications, but I'm worried I won't pass the exams. Any tips, support, or advice would be hugely appreciated! I'm in my second year of college and have been doing printer support for about a year and a half now.
1 Answer
I used to manage a printer service team and I've seen technicians transition into help desk roles in IT after getting some printer support experience. Don’t wait until you finish school to start applying for non-printer tech jobs. Use what you know about printers as a positive and mention any relevant networking knowledge in your resume, like SMTP and DNS. Look for roles in places like banks and schools that rely heavily on printers since they often need help with IT support too! Get that first job, then focus on growing from there.
I’m not too sure how applicable my printer skills really are, though. Most of my work involves simple troubleshooting like restarting routers or installing drivers. Should I look for another entry-level help desk job to get more general IT experience instead?