> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.becomingit.net/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Start Here: What Becoming IT Is - URL: https://www.becomingit.net/articles/start-here-what-becoming-it-is/ - Published: 2026-09-28T19:48:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-28T20:04:41.000Z - Author: Randall Shane Everhart ## Who this is for Becoming IT is for people looking to get into IT with no experience. Entry-level IT is closer to customer service than most people realize. Soft skills from retail, food service, and any customer service job are vital to any service desk. - **Retail** (Best Buy, Walmart, Target) - **Call Center** (Teleperformance, Concentrix, Alorica) - **Food Service** (McDonald's, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A) The soft skills you learn in those positions are 100% transferable to the service desk, and that's the sweet spot. > *"Entry-level IT is closer to customer service than most people realize."* ## The lies I believed 1. That the teenage years I spent learning, tinkering, and building PCs didn't account for anything in an enterprise-level IT department. 2. That learning Visual Basic wouldn't eventually help me understand the dynamics of scripting in PowerShell. 3. That working in IT would absolutely ruin my enjoyment of a hobby that I've spent so long engaging with. 4. Those lies I'd tell myself only kept me from pursuing the career I wanted much sooner. The truth is, and this is especially true about lower-tier IT jobs, that they're not as technical as you'd think. Building, upgrading, and supporting your gaming PC can teach you skills you'll actually use in desktop support. Any programming skills you learn can help you understand PowerShell on a deeper level. Spending time on a computer for work is not the same as decompressing at the end of the day with your own computer projects. You may be telling yourself some of these same lies, or maybe even a few more. 💡 Lower-tier IT jobs aren't as technical as you'd think. ## My two-minute story Since I was 14 years old, I was heavily invested in tinkering with computers, both hardware and software. I kept it at a hobby level for many years with no thoughts that I'd be capable of working in the field. After joining the US Army at 21, I still kept computers a hobby, although my MOS (job) had me working with computers. It wasn't until 2011, when I went to Korea, that I started working with computers professionally. A group of us were asked who likes working with computers. I promptly raised my hand and became the Information Management Officer for my unit. I've worked in IT in various manners ever since. After leaving the military, I worked two short contract jobs before finally landing my first job on a help desk. It was trial by fire and I was only told "Here is the knowledge base and if you can't help them, escalate to tier 2". This is where I realized that I already knew more than I thought. I've always been an empathetic extrovert, so talking to people was second nature. I worked in service desks roles before finally moving up to system administration, and then database administration. > *"Here is the knowledge base and if you can't help them, escalate to tier 2."* ## What "getting into IT" actually means Honestly, any help desk or service desk is the equivalent of a call center with a little more technical know-how. As a tier 1 analyst, you'll: - Reset passwords across a variety of applications. - Map and troubleshoot network drives. - Restart applications and computers for it to all of a sudden work again (Have you tried turning it off/on again?). Each environment you work in will be different, but those are always going to be your most consistent calls/tickets. As you work somewhere and become more familiar with their environment, you'll find yourself capable of handling more issues. Sometimes, the biggest difference between a tier 1 analyst and an end user is the analyst knows how to Google more efficiently. > *"Sometimes the biggest difference between a tier 1 analyst and an end user is the analyst knows how to Google more efficiently."* ## What this blog will do for you Here's what Becoming IT will help you with: - **Show you how** your previous customer-service skills actually apply to the help desk. - **Teach you how** to navigate IT staffing agencies and make sure you only accept contracts that work for you. - **Explain IT certifications**, and that you probably don't need any to land your first role. - **Build the technical skills** you'll need before your first role, including a small homelab you should break on purpose so you learn to fix it. ## Your first step Here's something you can do today. Grab a piece of paper or open a blank doc and list every job you've ever had. Then take the last two or three, the ones that would fit on a one-page resume, and write two things under each: 1. How you dealt with people. Angry customers, confused callers, coworkers who didn't get along. What did you actually do? 2. Anything technical you touched. A register system, a machine that needed a fix, scheduling software, the printer everyone else was afraid of. That list is the raw material for your resume. It's also proof of something most beginners don't believe yet: you already have IT skills. You just haven't been calling them that. So what jobs have you worked, and what did they teach you about people? ## Sign up for Becoming IT Practical IT guidance for people getting started Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.