IT job without degree

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Due to mental health issues I'm probably going to drop my degree. I'm interested in science and computers, and since the science route made me depressed and suicidal, I'm now considering the IT route.

Is it possible to get a reasonably paid job (i.e. enough to live on and afford to buy things related to special interest - i.e. computer games, etc) in IT without a degree. Say with Comptia/Microsoft certificates?

Yep. Depends which route you wanted to take as there's many IT fields, programming, servers, fixing desktops, data networking, storage, virtualisation technology, email systems, security etc.

Fixing PCs is one good way to start and doesn't cost anything really to learn except time and energy. You would no doubt know plenty of people who need 'things' doing on their PC and that is good practise.
I work in the data networking field and VOIP. I started fixing PCs way back so have a strong background in all infrastructure areas.

I'd say go for it. Good line of work for an Aspie on the whole I think.
If you are interested in data networking (pay is good and jobs always available) start with Cisco, there is plenty of material online and books available as they have a full on certification program. One way to do this at reletively low cost doing night classes is to enrole on a 'Cisco learning academy'. http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/index.html
Probably you need a foundation in IT basics first, I think thats what CompTIA does? I just learnt on the job back in the day.

Once you have tech skills, then theres the issue of getting and retianing a job, that a whole different kettle of fish but again it's a question of knowing and learning how to do that, like other skills, and there's many different strategies.

Thank you for the signature, you really cheered me up today.

wblastyn I would recommend the Microsoft certification route over a degree. A degree looks good but doesn't guarantee to an employer that you can perform a certain function, the certification does. Degrees are less useful. After I did my IT degree I wish I had done the certification. I'm currently looking into doing just data input because I am slower than some people and just want something easy on the brain. I think most jobs will help you afford a decent standard of living. Ok you won't have a big house but computer games are no big deal. My brother only gets £900 a months and has a stack of them.

Basically, you are starting a business to be run out of your home or car for the cost of business cards plus a few incidentals. Two notes:
1) if you specialize in some area, it potentially makes for a good social interchange in which the client is trying to talk you into attempting something else. And you can come back, 'I will take a look at it but I want you to understand that I'm not making any promises.' And the client is okay with this.
2) a business typically costs more and takes longer to gear up than people initially estimate. Especially that time element for a business like this.

With those caveats, sure, have at it!

wblastyn, college sucks in a number of regards. Trying to turbocharge the human brain, when learning is what we do best anyway. A lot of busywork in the courses. Memorizing, when gee, I'd rather just learn. And science classes often have this faux foundationalism which I then try to do for real. In fact, I was in that trap for years and years, and I later decided, hey, that's only one thread in the tapestry. A lot to be said for arc-ing across a la Thomas Kuhn's 'Structure of Scientific Revolutions.' And there are many ways to arc across a topic, and I am learning details in the process, just at my own pace and details of my own choosing.

And then, amazingly, appalling, most of my fellow students weren't really into intellectual discussions. The fraternities and sororities are the worse. yeah, kind of hate saying that, it is a generalization, but really, a largely correct generalization. And plus, when I was in the dorm at a large state university in the early 1980s, there was an undercurrent of bullying almost as if it were a recourse to junior high.

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Okay, a couple of things l know about depression. It can start off situational and become biochem. The key is to find a doctor, who could well be a family practitioner or internist, with the patience to keep tinkering with the medication. Everyone's biochem is a little different. A medication which might work very nicely for one person might hardly work at all for another. The point is to just keep trying. You can even combine diet changes (again, great for some people, not for others) and cognitive behavior therapy (realistically optimistic).

Note: NOT A DOCTOR, but an alright fellow

Yep my wife did exactly that (she's a geek too) after having our first child for some work to do part time she started a little PC repair business out of our home, before we knew it we had PCs filling the hallway and would both be working into the night working on peoples PCs. We had to stop in the end it was out of control!
But just shows the demand, small businesses are by far the better stream of work we found.

How long might it take or how much does it cost to get a Microsoft cert?

Bill Gates doesn't have a degree and doesn't care about them.

My son in law mucked about learning this or that and then decided to start an IT degree when he was 24.
He put up with it for two years but then dropped out because he thought the teachers were idiots.

He went up to a famous worldwide programming company and asked them for a job. They tested him and gave him one, sending him off to India and the USA for further training.

He worked there for two years then moved to an Internet company that paid him more money.

Then he moved to a major Australian University as a team leader software developer getting paid around $120,000 a year.

The truth is that in every industry there is always room at the top but you have to be very, very smart.

How long did it take you to get this level of customers, and what kind of lucky breaks did you get as far as promoting the business?

Now, lucky breaks do happen, they just don't happen on any kind of schedule!

And, by the way, Congratulations!

Out of curiosity nostromo.. did you and your wife have to prove your education or certification to the gov. to set up your pc repair business?

My husband has an insane number of Certs, including a bunch of MS. There's also others... cisco(??). I'm not the computer geek so I don't know and barely care. He also has over 15 years professional experience in IT, including owning a successful ISP in the 90's that was run out of business when Compuserv finally came to town. His experience and Certs together qualify him for plenty; however, he'd be more valuable with a BS or especially with a graduate degree.

You'll want the education. After that, try to pick up at least 1 cert per year. Get working as quickly as possible so you have practical professional experience and actually know what you're doing.

Good luck!

I have a degree in Information Systems Analysis and Design. Much of what I learned in college was, more or less, useless. They make you take things like Calculus, which only remotely has anything to do with computer science and rarely is it ever needed. Much of what is taught in the computer courses, too, is often rarely employed. I found out that after getting an Associates, you're taking mostly theory courses, such as how to design virtual machines with relational expressions and other nonsense. I am extremely horrible at logic and proofing stuff, and I simply had to change my degree mid-term to IS analysis and design. It was then better, a bit more interesting, and then you begin to take on a number of courses that have to do with marketing. This isn't exactly bad, if you want to freelance and start a business. I enjoyed the design aspect of it, even more so than my years with programming. Remember: things change very quickly.

One temporary agency told me that a lack of "volunteer work" was a downside. So, I guess that means, in order to get a decent job, you're expected to gain experience by volunteering and not getting paid? Most of the entry level jobs are likely low-paying, as well.

Secondly, many of the places I have applied to require a degree and a certificate. Even the place where I currently work on a seasonal basis as a digital photographer requires a certificate and degree for their very small IT department. I'm not sure of places that will just hire with a certificate.

Also, I have heard from others in the field that the workload is sometimes very intense. Many expect you to be on call, and working overtime is said to be very common. High demands and deadlines are quite common, as well as the ability to multitask different assignments.

I think freelancing is the way to go, but I'm not certain as to the pay rate. I work seasonally, so it's only a minor issue for me. My interest has changed a bit over the years, moving towards digital video and photography, and, more recently, 3D modeling and animation. What I will be doing in the future? I can't say. But I guess it all depends on where your interests lie. But I do feel overall that high-level jobs are very demanding and can be exhausting. Freelance work is less demanding, I would assume.

But you better believe everyone at MS has degrees and certifications up to their ears.

My husband does the boot camps, where he's gone for a week and crams for the certifications. There's all day instruction and a series of exams. It costs us a few thousand each time, but he comes home with more pieces of paper that are worth credibility in his field.

Well it was funny, my wife was all "what if I don't get any customers" waa waa waa and all stressed, and I just told her there's more PCs out there with problems than you could shake a stick at and it won't be a problem.
So we just did some letter drops around the neighborhood, and also we know lots of people and of course everyone (pretty much) has a PC and they all need something doing. It just took off because if you do a good job they tell other people and off it goes by word of mouth. There is a BIG demand out there, and people like dealing with someone they can trust, it's the age old thing. Took about six months to get to a level where she was having to manage the workload.
I'd have to say the technical component is only a part of the work, there's the book-keeping side, there's time management, most of all managing customers and their expectations. there's plenty of pit-falls and challenges too, but then there is in most things.
One of the worst conundrums for us was that the people least able to pay had the slowest PCs and therefore took the longest to fix. Often we ended up massively under-charging to fix some of those pig things. Sometimes we persisted just to 'get the bastard' i.e. the challenge of it.
Thats why small business is better, in most cases they have better PCs and are in a better position to pay.

No not at all. Thats all unregulated.