Disclaimer: This site is to inspire and motivate, but, I will be doing so by sharing my journey and what worked for me. Please keep in mind that two journeys will never be the same.

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Now that we have gotten that out of the way...I was always told to study fields surrounding technology and was strongly urged to do so by my parents while in undergrad. And honestly, that may be my biggest regret...getting into tech in my mid 20s versus starting out freshman year in college.

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Fast forward to a few years ago. I always worked in the government sector but the path that I was on (legal) wasn't of my interest, my days were repetitive and I don't think it would've been super lucrative because I hated undergrad so I knew I would never have a goal set to become an attorney or anything else that would get me to my goal salary.

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At that time, I went back to the drawing board and revisited my options in tech.

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AGAIN, my story so this is in no way to knock anyone else's journey.

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Okay, so hated my job. Begin to research different certifications and areas in tech. TBH I was looking for the quickest, easiest and most lucrative way to make the switch to tech. Around this time I had learned Linux OS which is a very useful skill, very lucrative...but annoyed me to tears because its very tedious (although its my plan to get back into it this year lol). So again back to the drawing board. Compared CompTIA certs which was also alot for me to grasp of sitting an exam with 90 questions and simulations. Totally possible but again...easy way out!

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After a few more weeks I finally stumbled across what would be my savior...ITIL!

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ITIL was perfect for me. It wasn't a super technical or overbearing exam to study for. ITIL focuses on best practices, delivering value and end-to-end service management. Pretty common sense-ish. The examination for ITIL was also pretty short compared to other vendors. A 40-question, multiple-choice exam. No simulations and the passing mark was 26/40. This was doable! In addition to being less strenous, ITIL has appeared on the Forbes Top-Paying Certifications list several times.

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Quick? ITIL bootcamp normally is about 2-days but I self studied

Easy? Not necessarily easy but it wasnt a ton of material to cover and exam is only 40 questions

Lucrative? Yes! Ranked #10 on Forbes' 15 Top-Paying Certifications for 2020. Salary estimate $129,402 (another disclaimer, this will vary obviously.)

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Completed ITIL, I passed and was certified for life (another cool thing, this certification doesn't require renewals). My primary resource for studying ITILv3 was www.PassionITGroup.com and their affiliate site for training https://www.itpro.tv/.  I took advantage of their discounted examination voucher ($255 for exam voucher and $285 for exam voucher with course/instruction) and their 30-day ITProTV access to get the job done! Within 3 months of having this cert, I was stuck between 3 job offers all which doubled my previous salary. I decided to go with the job with the most flexible work schedule as they offered 60% remote accommodations...only in the office twice a week. Sensational!

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ITIL was the only cert I had for a while as it was the only requirement my job really wanted so I fell into a bit of a comfort zone of enjoying my new salary, learning the platform I admin and just soaking up being a #blackwomanintech.

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Fast forward to fall of 2019. By now, I was in tech for almost 2 years. Love my job, love my supervisor, love my coworkers/team...life was really good. I kept starting and stopping certifications because...comfort zone.

 

I begin to share my goals in tech. What I planned on accomplishing. I started to become more motivated...following more women in tech, more men in tech, more technology vendors and I realized there is more work to do!I used to take pride in being the only female on my team and only 1 of 3 black women within my entire company, however, this is where the problem lies. 

 

For every 5 existing technologists I followed, there would be 20 other people looking for advice and resources about how they could enter the world of IT. And if you're here seeking assistance, I hope this site is just what you're looking for!

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