Starting a career in IT is one of the more realistic paths into high-paying work that does not strictly require a four-year degree, but it is also one of the easiest careers to approach in the wrong order, chasing certifications or job titles before understanding which parts of the field are actually growing.
The confusion is understandable. Technology moves fast, job titles overlap, and the advice online ranges from “just learn to code” to “get every certification you can find,” none of which accounts for the fact that some IT specialties are shrinking while others are expanding rapidly.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer and information technology occupations as a group earned a median annual wage of $109,470 in May 2025, more than double the median for all occupations, with about 280,000 openings projected each year through 2035. That number hides enormous variation beneath it, and understanding that variation is the real key to starting a career in IT successfully.
This guide covers the five essential steps to actually breaking into IT, including which entry points are worth your time, which credentials matter, and which parts of the field to avoid building your first few years around.
The Short Answer
Starting a career in IT works best when you pick a specific, growing subfield instead of a generic “IT job,” get one credible entry-level credential quickly rather than collecting certifications indefinitely, build visible proof of your skills before you apply anywhere, and target your first application push at roles and companies that are actually hiring for that specific subfield. Skipping straight to applying for generic “IT support” roles, without this groundwork, is the most common reason people stall out before landing their first position.
Why Not All of IT Is Growing the Same Way
This is the part most beginner advice skips entirely, and it matters more than almost anything else when starting a career in IT. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that computer support specialist roles, the classic “entry-level help desk” job most people assume is the obvious starting point, are actually projected to decline 3 percent from 2025 to 2035, with computer user support specialists specifically down 3 percent while network support specialists are roughly flat at plus 1 percent.
That does not mean help desk work is worthless as a starting point. It still produces about 48,700 job openings a year, almost entirely from people leaving the field rather than new growth, and it remains one of the more accessible ways to get a first foot in the door with a median wage of $62,890 a year. The honest picture is simply that it is a stepping stone, not a long-term destination.
Compare that to information security analysts, where the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 21 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, described as much faster than average, adding roughly 40,600 new positions over the decade at a median wage of $129,180 a year. Software developers show a similar pattern, projected to grow 10 percent over the same period, much faster than average, with 1,717,800 people already employed in the role at a median wage of $135,980 a year.
The pattern is consistent: the subfields requiring the most specialized skill are growing the fastest and paying the most, while the most generic entry point is actually shrinking. This is exactly why the first step below matters so much.
Cloud infrastructure and DevOps-adjacent roles follow the same pattern as cybersecurity and software development. Employers are steadily shifting workloads to cloud platforms, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics groups much of this demand under broader computer occupations projected to grow faster than average through 2035, which is part of why the overall field adds roughly 280,000 openings a year even as specific legacy support roles shrink.
The 5 Essential Steps to Starting a Career in IT
1. Pick a specific subfield instead of “IT” in general
Treating “IT” as a single career target is the single biggest strategic mistake beginners make. Cybersecurity, software development, cloud infrastructure, data, and traditional support each have different skill requirements, different hiring markets, and, as the numbers above show, very different growth trajectories.
Picking a lane early, even an imperfect one you might adjust later, lets you build a coherent skill set and a resume that tells a clear story, rather than a scattered list of unrelated tools and certifications that makes hiring managers uncertain what role you are actually qualified for.
2. Get one credible entry-level credential quickly
Starting a career in IT does not require a four-year degree for many entry-level and even mid-level roles, but it typically does require some proof of baseline competence. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some information security analysts and computer support specialists enter the field with a high school diploma plus relevant industry certifications rather than a bachelor’s degree.
The mistake most beginners make here is collecting certifications indefinitely instead of getting one solid, recognized credential in their chosen subfield and then moving directly into building real, demonstrable experience. A single relevant certification, paired with a genuine project, outperforms a stack of unrelated certificates with nothing built on top of them.
Widely recognized starting points include CompTIA A+ for general support and hardware fundamentals, CompTIA Security+ or the Google Cybersecurity Certificate for a security-focused start, and a cloud provider’s own entry-level certification, such as the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, for anyone targeting cloud infrastructure. Pick the one that matches the subfield you chose in step one rather than the one that seems most popular online.
3. Build visible proof of your skills before you apply
Hiring managers in technology fields consistently trust demonstrated work over a resume line claiming a skill. A documented home lab, a small deployed application, a security research writeup, or a public repository of real projects gives a hiring manager something concrete to evaluate, which matters enormously when you do not yet have professional IT experience to point to.
This step is what separates candidates who start getting interviews from candidates who send out dozens of applications and hear nothing back. A portfolio does not need to be sophisticated. It needs to be real, explainable in an interview, and directly relevant to the specific subfield you chose in step one.
What counts as proof varies by subfield. Someone targeting cybersecurity might document a home lab where they detected and analyzed simulated attacks, or write up a capture-the-flag exercise in plain language. Someone targeting software development might deploy a small working application with its source code public and explained. Someone targeting cloud infrastructure might document a personal project built on a free-tier cloud account, including the mistakes made along the way. The specific project matters far less than being able to walk through it confidently in an interview.
4. Target your job search at growing subfields, not shrinking ones
Once you have a credential and visible proof of skill, where you point your job search matters as much as how you search. Applying broadly to any listing with “IT” in the title, without regard to whether that specific role sits in a growing or shrinking part of the field, wastes time on postings for roles that are being consolidated or automated away.
Cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and software development are currently among the fastest-growing subfields based on Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, and targeting your applications there, even for a junior or associate-level title, tends to produce a stronger response rate than applying broadly across the entire “IT” category.
Many roles in these faster-growing subfields are also more likely to offer remote or hybrid arrangements than traditional on-site help desk positions, which widens the realistic pool of employers you can apply to well beyond your immediate commuting area. Factoring that into your search from the start, rather than limiting yourself to local listings, meaningfully increases the number of relevant openings available to you at any given time.
5. Treat your first role as a stepping stone, not a final destination
Almost nobody starting a career in IT lands directly in a senior cybersecurity or software engineering role. The realistic path usually runs through an adjacent entry point, sometimes a help desk role despite its declining growth, sometimes a junior analyst or support engineer position, that provides real professional experience and internal visibility to move laterally into the growing subfield you actually want.
Treating that first role as a deliberate stepping stone, rather than settling into it indefinitely, is what separates people who succeed at starting a career in IT from people who get comfortable and stay in a shrinking niche for years longer than they intended.
What Separates People Who Actually Break Into IT From People Who Stall Out
The pattern among people who successfully start a career in IT is consistent: they pick a specific subfield early, get one real credential instead of collecting certificates indefinitely, build something they can actually show a hiring manager, and aim their applications at the parts of the field that are demonstrably growing rather than the most generic listings available.
People who stall out tend to do the opposite. They chase every certification that gets recommended online, apply to generic postings without regard to subfield growth, and never build anything concrete enough to discuss in an interview. None of the five steps above require a four-year degree or years of unpaid effort, but they do require actually following the sequence rather than skipping straight to submitting applications.
If you are still narrowing down whether IT is the right direction at all, how to find your ideal career is worth reviewing before committing months to a specific subfield, and continuing education for your career covers how to evaluate credentials and training programs more broadly.
Common Mistakes When Starting a Career in IT
A handful of avoidable mistakes account for most of the stalled attempts at starting a career in IT.
- Chasing every certification on a “best IT certifications” list instead of picking one credential tied to a specific subfield and building real experience on top of it, which leaves a resume full of acronyms and no clear specialty.
- Applying exclusively to generic help desk and support listings without acknowledging that the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that specific category to shrink, which means competing for a smaller pool of openings instead of targeting subfields that are actually expanding.
- Treating a bootcamp certificate or a single certification as equivalent to real professional experience rather than as a stepping stone toward building a demonstrable project, which tends to disappoint hiring managers evaluating what you can actually do.
- Staying in a first IT role indefinitely out of comfort rather than treating it as a deliberate two-to-three year stepping stone toward a growing specialty, which is one of the more common reasons people find themselves stuck in a shrinking niche years later than planned.
Any one of these mistakes alone is recoverable, but they tend to compound. A scattered resume plus a shrinking target subfield plus no visible portfolio adds up to months of unanswered applications, even for a genuinely capable candidate.
Frequently Asked Questions About Starting a Career in IT
Do you need a college degree to start a career in IT?
Not necessarily. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that some computer support specialists and information security analysts enter the field with a high school diploma plus relevant industry certifications, though many mid-level and senior roles, along with the highest-paying subfields, still typically expect a bachelor’s degree over time.
What is the best first job when starting a career in IT?
There is no single best first job, but an entry-level role in a subfield you intend to grow within, such as a junior support role feeding into cybersecurity or a junior developer role feeding into software engineering, tends to work better than a generic support position with no connection to your longer-term target.
How long does it realistically take to start a career in IT from scratch?
Timelines vary widely, but a realistic range for someone starting from no technical background is roughly six months to build one credential and a small portfolio, followed by another six months to two years in an entry-level role before qualifying for the more specialized, higher-paying positions the field is actually known for.
Is a coding bootcamp worth it for starting a career in IT?
A bootcamp can compress the learning curve for software development or data-focused roles, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics data above still applies: a bootcamp certificate functions as a credential, not as professional experience. Pairing it with a real deployed project and a targeted job search in a growing subfield matters more than which specific bootcamp you choose.
The Bottom Line
Starting a career in IT is genuinely achievable without a four-year degree, but only if you approach it strategically rather than generically. Pick a specific, growing subfield, get one credible credential instead of an indefinite list of certifications, and build something real you can show a hiring manager.
Aim your job search at the parts of the field the Bureau of Labor Statistics actually shows expanding, rather than the most generic listings available. The people who follow that sequence tend to break in within a year or two. The people who skip it tend to still be applying to the same generic listings years later.
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