Joanna McDonald

How to set yourself apart in IT

June 9, 2026

what to do and what I'm doing

Get your degree

This isn't realistic for everyone. Not everyone in IT has their bachelor's degree, and it's truly not necessary for everyone. But, in the current job market, anything that can set you apart qualification-wise is almost a necessity. Having a bachelor's degree in a relevant field like IT or Computer Science gets recruiters to look at your resume and brings you towards the top of the stack.

I got my degree in Computer Science, and while not every class I took was relevant to the world of IT, I did take classes like Networks and Security that were very relevant. I'm grateful I took this path because I learned a lot about programming and coding to a depth that an IT degree wouldn't have given me. That doesn't mean that an IT degree isn't a good choice, this was just the right decision for me. I think that if you know you want to go into IT, an IT degree is a great idea.

Now, master's degrees. In the world of IT, they basically mean nothing. The IT world, above all on paper qualifications, cares about EXPERIENCE. Many people that get master's degrees expect that it will bump them up to intermediate level positions after graduation. Realistically, everyone in IT actually has to start at the bottom. This happens a lot with Cybersecurity, which is not close to an entry level field. It requires years of experience and it's rare to find entry level roles. There are always exceptions to this and some people get lucky. But once again, in this job market, it's important to be realistic.

Get your certs

Certifications matter even more than a degree in IT. They show that you have technical knowledge and know how to apply it in ways that a degree doesn't necessarily provide. Even if your degree did teach you the same thing as the certification, the cert proves that you know what to do with that knowledge.

I'd suggest all IT professionals starting off to get their CompTIA trifecta. This includes A+, Network+, and Security+. This gives such a well-rounded base of knowledge in entry level IT and beyond the benefits of having the certifications, they provide a wealth of knowledge for all new IT professionals. Even IT professionals with some level of experience can benefit from these. I have A+ and Network+ and am working on my Security+. What I've learned from my A+ and Network+ certs has been so beneficial to me in knowledge and troubleshooting.

A+ is often overlooked, as the most entry level certification of the three. But, it provided me such a strong foundation for my IT knowledge, and once again, troubleshooting. It introduces concepts you could learn on the job, but it prepares you to have a basis for how to approach these problems before you even encounter them for the first time. This has been invaluable for me.

After getting the trifecta, it's important to get job experience. Some people continue to get more and more certifications without relevant job experience. While more certifications are beneficial, at a certain point advanced certifications without the relevant job experience to back it up lose their meaning. For example, the CCNA, Cisco Certified Network Associate, is a great certification for Networking professionals. However, if you have no IT job experience and such an advanced qualification, it means less to hiring managers. As I said, experience is everything in IT. So while certifications will boost your resume, at some point they can hurt you if you aren't doing the job.

Imagine two candidates: one has the trifecta and 2 years of IT experience, and the other has the trifecta and CCNA but no job experience. While the candidate with the CCNA has more technical qualifications, the candidate with 2 years of experience has a proven track record of applying the knowledge gained by the trifecta. The CCNA candidate has not yet proven that they can succeed in an actual IT role.

I have about 2 years of professional IT experience. I'm now working on my Security+ certification to complete the trifecta, and I'm considering working on my CCNA again after that. I've reached a point of IT experience to where a more advanced cert such as CCNA would actually be beneficial to my career, and help me be promoted to a higher position.

Start at the bottom

In IT, it's well known that everyone has to start at the bottom. This means help desk. Some people with degrees and certifications may feel this is "below" them. In the IT world, you MUST kill that way of thinking. Help desk is a great place to start and will provide a very broad understanding of IT systems, how they interact, and how to manage them. It's also necessary for everyone. You can move up fast! But nine out of ten times, new IT professionals need to start low on the totem pole, despite any certifications or degrees they may have. This may sound discouraging to some, but it truly creates a great foundation.

Getting your foot in the door and establishing yourself as a dependable asset of the company is critical. With the way a lot of jobs in IT work, companies prefer to promote internally. This makes sense if you think about it, the company already knows your work ethic and what you bring to the company, rather than hiring someone whose true skills and reliability are unknown. So starting at the bottom and becoming someone crucial to the company operations is a great way to get started in your IT career.

Try to stay at one company for a bit and get a good amount of experience. IT professionals, in my experience, tend to find a company and stick with them, if the company has good career growth opportunities. Once again, companies like to promote internally, so staying at one company seems to help you build faster than job hopping. Job hopping can be inevitable for some, especially if the company doesn't promote well or if you are laid off. Having a couple years of experience at one company, whether you job hop or not, helps build a foundation of knowledge and trust. Other companies will trust that you can be reliable and stay in one place for a while. In addition, having a few years of experience helps you to start applying to more intermediate roles. I haven't yet reached the point of applying to intermediate roles, but I am hoping that if I remain at my current company for a while, I will be able to build upon my current role.

Enjoy the journey

As I've established, IT is a field of career growth. Almost everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up. In a way, this is a great thing. It means that everyone starts at an even playing field and are introduced to the same concepts at an early career age.

While it can take a while to reach your desired end goal, whatever that may be, it's important to enjoy the journey along the way. If you are constantly dwelling on your current title, you'll never be happy. Enjoy life and work hard at the job you have. If you're working hard, with time, you'll be rewarded. What you do have control over is your attitude, work ethic, certifications, and degrees. Use this knowlege and these assets to grow yourself and make yourself desirable to hiring managers.

Remember that it's not about the destination, but the journey. If you focus only on the destination, you'll never be happy.