Member Avatar for khambiye

There are so many people mostly here in africa whereby you dont get career advice so that you know what you want to do in your life.Iam one of them and I really want to go to IT and I love working with computers.I want to enroll myself in doing IT but I dont kno which field to go to.Are there any specific points I should consider?
Please advice as this will not only help me but am sure others too.Thanks!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by markdean

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Thread starter asked how to choose an IT path. Replies from and rightly point toward getting technical and doing hands‑on work. To turn interest into a clear plan, use a short, practical decision framework that balances personal strengths, daily work preferences, and local job demand.

A simple way to narrow choices: list the tasks that feel fun (solving logic problems, designing screens, analysing numbers, securing systems, helping people), note strengths (math, writing, patience, visual sense), and capture constraints (time, budget, access to hardware/internet). Cross-reference that list with local job ads to see which roles appear most often (software, data, security, UX, operations, support). Select two candidate roles for short experiments rather than committing immediately.

Suggested short experiments (4–8 weeks total): complete one small, demonstrable piece of work for each role and document it. Examples: a tiny command‑line script that automates a real task; a short data exploration using a public CSV and a few charts; a clickable UI mockup for a simple app; a short write‑up of a simulated security incident and mitigation steps. For every experiment keep a one‑page summary: goal, steps, outcome, time spent. That portfolio item is worth more than a long list of courses.

Practical next steps and cautions:

  • First week: collect 5 local job adverts and extract repeating skills.
  • Month 1–3: finish 2 micro‑projects and publish the summaries in a single folder.
  • Month 3+: aim for a small paid gig or volunteer task to convert practice into real experience.
    Avoid chasing every language or “guaranteed placement” scheme; employers value demonstrable problem solving, clear documentation, and reliability more than certificates alone.

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Member Avatar for AWDracer

Well as far as I know, if you want to be an IT person, you have to be quite familiar with computer language, namely, C++. In addition, it is recommended that you know how to all the hardware parts, and know which one goes into which. Since I'm not really into this field, I can't really give you all the information, but I hope those things would at least give you an idea where you stand. *shrugs*

Thanks.

Member Avatar for markdean

No C++ knowledge needed, that's for sure-unless you are trying to become a programmer that works in C++, then you just might need to know it :-).

A good starting point is to get a used Intel based system and start working with it. Get a hardware book or an A+ study guide. Install a few OSes on it. Add hardware, remove hardware. Work with the OS, go through all the installation scenarios. Try to break the OS by deleting core system files and see the effect. Do some data recovery scenarios on a non-booting system. Get a second system and start networking the two together. Set up a client/server system using a free database like MySQL or an eval copy of SQL Server. Learn server OSes like Windows 2003 Server, Linux, and Solaris x86. Set up a web server and learn how to create web pages.

I don't know if this is valid in Africa, but after you've been playing around with it for a while, start taking certification tests. Try to get a job, even a short term contract job. Start putting the word out that you fix PCs. Look to small business who don't have on site IT staff and offer your services. Find out if they have a web presence and if not, offer to set one up for them and maintain it.

In short, have fun!

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