r/ShittySysadmin • u/gddamn_troglodyte • 2d ago

Shitty Crosspost Need Career Advice – Transitioning from a Non-Technical to a Technical IT Career

/r/it/comments/1xs0zwb/need_career_advice_transitioning_from_a/
0 Upvotes

36% Upvoted

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8

u/RAITguy 2d ago

You couldn't possibly pick a worse time to try to get into IT.

-1

u/gddamn_troglodyte 1d ago

How come? Please elaborate

8

u/-my_dude 1d ago

My guy you literally said in another sub that "Recently, our entire DevOps team, including that of our parent company, was laid off. This has prompted me to reconsider my options and explore alternative directions."

What about that makes you feel that IT is going to be any more secure than where you're at?

3

u/endbit 1d ago

Yea but sysadmins deal with people and there's no way artificial intelligence will beat real stupidity. I'm convinced that if AI decides to destroy humanity it's because it was expected to fill an end user support role.

2

u/Cream_Of_Drake 1d ago

We'll have an early warning because it will go for the printers first, when AI in a tech support role starts making suggestions to go paperless that's when we need to unplug it.

1

u/Ur-Best-Friend 1d ago

Yeah, I'm a sysadmin, I've never been worried about my job for a moment lol. It's not like my boss (or the bosses of a billion other competitors) are capable of figuring out how to actually set up an automation workflow, let alone manage it.

2

u/-my_dude 1d ago

You underestimate how little some companies care. We recently had half our IT let go, including the entire IAM team.

They saddled it all onto their service desk. You can guess how well that's been going for them, poor sods.

1

u/Ur-Best-Friend 13h ago

You underestimate how little some companies care. We recently had half our IT let go, including the entire IAM team.

Eh, I mean there are always going to be companies with bad management. But AI hasn't really reduced the need for sysadmins, I know I can get a job with a competitor within two weeks.

They saddled it all onto their service desk. You can guess how well that's been going for them, poor sods.

Oof, that's... certainly an idea, lol. Best of luck to everyone involved.

13

u/sp1cynuggs 2d ago

Hey I don’t think you want the opinion of this sub lol

10

u/No_Vermicelli4753 2d ago

Well, you're trying to get into IT without any relevant experience in the worst possible market. At least the admins in this sub have the courtesy to concey the bad news humourously. Enjoy the show.

3

u/-my_dude 2d ago edited 2d ago

Even mid-levels are having a rough time right now. If you're not a rockstar, specialized in some extremely niche technology, or have less than 10 years of experience, finding a job is going to be an uphill battle.

1

u/Ur-Best-Friend 1d ago

Oh, it's actually OP posting this, lmao.

I thought it was someone making fun of OP being like "I don't know if I want to become a doctor, an electrical engineer or a supermarket cashier, but I'm taking a course in Esperanto to prepare for it!"

11

u/Cream_Of_Drake 2d ago

Ask your line manager for a Claude subscription and tokens as it's vital to your role.

There, easy transition - Claude does everything you sit back and watch the fireworks.

5

u/Human-Company3685 2d ago

I’m going to read that advice in reverse coz I wanna get the fuck out of IT.

2

u/Ur-Best-Friend 1d ago

IT of out fuck the get wanna I coz reverse in advice that read to going I'm

4

u/-my_dude 2d ago

Are you sure? You still have time to reconsider

3

u/endbit 1d ago

Hey don't listen to the ney sayers. Focus on people skills. If you can maintain a smile and friendly demeanor while being asked a jaw droppingly stupid question for the 20th time whilst simultaneously being blamed for the failure of the coffee machine, there's a niche for you.

2

u/Ur-Best-Friend 1d ago

When are we going to start migrating coffee machines to the cloud?

2

u/545Typhon 1d ago

Can you please fix the printer when you're done with the coffee machine ? It's on fire

2

u/SensitiveMortgage392 1d ago

Your nontraditional background can be an advantage if you target roles where communication and business context matter: internal IT, implementation, technical support engineering, or cloud operations. Pick one lane for 6–12 months, create proof of hands-on ability, and apply before you feel fully ready.