Well, if you want to get into tech, you need to interview for positions where there’s a lot of tech companies.
Tech companies tend to be where there’s lots of people. Toronto and Vancouver would be the first place I’d check (always where I went in Canada for work for more than one-off projects), but of course, if you’re applying for remote work some US bound options:
- Raleigh, NC
- Chicago, IL
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Houston, TX
- Dallas, TX
Also get some programming on your resume. Be just competent enough that you can pass a basic written test. This will help you get interviews for positions that don’t even involve programming. If you’re a Windows guy, Powershell and C#. If you’re a *Nix guy, Java and Python.
Helpdesk gets you in the door, and once you pay your dues, who knows where you can end up? I had a degree in CompSci, but mostly helpdesk experience when I got out of school. After 4 years in a support position at a software company, I became a consultant, and now at another company a Dev. I’ve seen lots of other people move up to escalation engineer positions, management, development, QA, etc. ETA: Sales. Ick!
Now. That’ll get you interviews. What you need to get hired is a show of initiative as well as competence. What I personally recommend for an inexperienced techie is to start projects. Come up with some idea that requires building something, and then start building it. Don’t obsess overly much about finishing every project, focus on picking projects that let you learn something useful, and be able to talk about what you learned from it. But definitely pick something that holds your interest.
Lastly, be open to moving, if you can swing it. It’s scary, but the experience will itself pay you dividends in life experience.
