Breaking into IT support without a degree is completely doable if you build proof that replaces traditional credentials. The CourseCareers Information Technology (IT) Course, an online course covering IT fundamentals, systems, and technical support to prepare students for entry-level IT careers, gives you a structured 90-day path from zero to job-ready. This roadmap skips the theory and focuses on what hiring managers actually test for: troubleshooting skills, system knowledge, and documented proof you can resolve tickets independently. If you're ready to stop second-guessing yourself and start building evidence that gets you past resume screens, this plan shows you exactly what to complete each month to land your first offer.
Focus on closing your knowledge gaps fast while creating one proof artifact that shows you can troubleshoot real issues. The CourseCareers Information Technology (IT) Course structures this phase around hands-on labs and simulated tickets, so you're resolving incidents and documenting your process exactly like help desk technicians do on the job. Employers hiring for IT support care less about where you learned and more about whether you can follow ITIL fundamentals, navigate a ticketing system, and solve common operating system problems without supervision. By day 30, you need core competencies locked in and one portfolio artifact that proves you can troubleshoot under pressure.
Focus on three skill clusters that appear in most entry-level job descriptions: operating systems (Windows and Linux basics), ticketing workflows (how to categorize and document incidents), and networking fundamentals (IP addressing, DNS, DHCP). The fastest path is structured labs where you're actually configuring systems and resolving simulated tickets, not just reading theory. The CourseCareers IT Course frontloads these exact scenarios, so you're practicing password resets and network diagnostics from day one. If you're self-studying, spin up a free Windows Server trial and Ubuntu VM, then complete 10 common tasks—create user accounts, reset permissions, troubleshoot network connections—and document each step as if logging a ticket. Speed comes from repetition: aim for one hands-on lab daily for 30 days. Track progress in a spreadsheet (date, task, time spent, blockers) so you identify which topics need more reps. By month's end, you should walk someone through basic troubleshooting without Googling every step.
Create a troubleshooting simulation portfolio: a documented walkthrough of 3–5 realistic help desk tickets you resolved in your home lab, complete with screenshots, your process, and outcomes. Set up a free ticketing system like osTicket, create mock requests ("User can't access shared drive," "Printer won't connect"), and resolve them as real incidents. Capture screenshots at each stage: initial ticket, diagnostic steps, the fix, and confirmation. Compile this into a clean PDF with a title like "5 help desk tickets I resolved: a troubleshooting portfolio." Upload it to GitHub or link it in your LinkedIn About section. This single artifact does more for credibility than any "self-taught enthusiast" headline—it shows you've already done the job, even if no one's paid you yet. Hiring managers spend six seconds scanning resumes; a link to real work in your profile's top third stops the scroll.
Shift from learning privately to proving your skills publicly and making yourself visible to people who hire IT support professionals. You need two things: additional portfolio projects that demonstrate breadth and initial networking traction so your name appears in feeds and inboxes of hiring managers. The CourseCareers IT Course integrates portfolio milestones directly into curriculum with instructor feedback from people who've hired for these roles. If you're DIY, create work that's easy to share and impossible to fake: documented projects with clear before/after states, GitHub repositories with READMEs explaining your process, and LinkedIn posts showing problem-solving in action. By day 60, you should have two polished portfolio pieces and 10+ conversations with people currently working in IT support or adjacent roles.
Build a home lab environment and a public knowledge base article—these cover the skills employers test in technical interviews and prove you can document solutions. For the home lab, set up a virtualized network using VirtualBox: create a Windows Server VM, Windows 10 client VM, and Ubuntu Linux VM, then configure Active Directory, join the client to the domain, and troubleshoot a common issue like DNS resolution. Document the entire setup in a GitHub README with screenshots, commands you ran, and problems you encountered. This proves you can work with operating systems, understand networking, and troubleshoot multi-system environments—all daily help desk skills. For the knowledge base article, pick a common IT support issue and write a step-by-step resolution guide as if creating internal documentation. Use clear structure: problem, symptoms, root cause, solution steps, verification, prevention. Post this on Medium or your GitHub Pages site with tags like #ITSupport. Employers value candidates who document solutions clearly because it reduces repeat tickets and speeds onboarding.
LinkedIn is your primary platform—not for spamming recruiters, but for building visibility with IT professionals who can refer you, answer questions, and validate skills. Connect with 50 people in IT support or systems administration roles; filter by second-degree connections and include a short note: "Hi [Name], I'm transitioning into IT support and noticed we're both connected to [Mutual]. I'd love to follow your work." Once connected, engage authentically: comment on posts with specific insights, share your portfolio projects with brief narratives, and ask thoughtful questions in IT-focused groups. The goal is becoming a recognizable name before you apply to jobs. Separately, send 15 informational interview requests—find people via LinkedIn or company pages. Use this template: "Hi [Name], I'm working toward my first IT support role. Would you be open to a 15-minute call where I could ask about your path and what skills matter most?" About 20–30% will say yes; that's 3–5 conversations where you can ask about interview processes and whether they know of openings. These calls often turn into referrals—people like helping motivated newcomers who've done homework.
Apply at scale, drill interview scenarios, and refine your pitch until offers start landing. Your portfolio and LinkedIn presence should be strong enough to pass resume screens—now the bottleneck is volume (applying to enough roles) and preparation (performing well in interviews). The CourseCareers IT Course includes interview prep and job placement coaching, so you're following a system that's already placed hundreds into IT support roles. If you're self-guided, treat job searching like a part-time job: block 2–3 hours daily for applications, follow-ups, and interview practice. Track every activity in a pipeline spreadsheet so you identify what's working. By day 90, you should have 60–80 applications submitted, 10–15 phone screens completed, and 3–5 final interviews scheduled. If you're not hitting these numbers, the issue is usually volume or interview performance—both fixable with process tweaks.
Set a weekly target of 20 applications using a standardized workflow. Source roles from Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs, and company career pages directly. Filter for "entry-level" or "junior" in titles and focus on roles listing "no degree required" or emphasizing skills over credentials. Save 25–30 postings each Monday in a spreadsheet with columns for company, role, application date, and job link. For each application, customize your resume's skills and summary sections to mirror top five keywords from the job description. Use a master cover letter template with three paragraphs: why you're excited about the role, a portfolio highlight matching their needs, and a clear call to action. Apply in batches: Monday–Tuesday for sourcing, Wednesday–Friday for follow-ups (send a LinkedIn message to the hiring manager two days after applying). Track response rates weekly; if you're below 10% response after 40 applications, revisit your resume's top third—that's where filters make the first cut.
Drill scenario-based troubleshooting questions and behavioral STAR stories—these formats account for most IT support interviews. For technical scenarios, practice questions like "A user can't connect to the internet—walk me through your troubleshooting steps." Use a structured framework: clarify the issue with follow-up questions, check basics (cables, Wi-Fi status), isolate the problem (test with another device), apply the fix (renew DHCP lease, clear DNS cache), verify resolution and document. Practice verbalizing this out loud—use a voice recorder or schedule mock interviews with peers from communities like r/ITCareerQuestions. For behavioral questions, prepare 3–4 STAR stories (situation, task, action, result) demonstrating customer service, problem-solving under pressure, and learning from mistakes. Write these in bullet points, then practice delivering them in 90 seconds or less. Finally, prepare 2–3 smart questions for interview end: "What does your escalation process look like for tickets Tier 1 can't resolve?" Aim to complete five full mock interviews before your first real one.
Yes—if you build proof that substitutes for traditional work history. Hiring managers for entry-level IT support care about one thing: can you troubleshoot common issues without hand-holding? They don't care whether you learned in a corporate help desk or bedroom home lab, as long as you demonstrate it in interviews and show documented evidence you've done the work. The CourseCareers Information Technology (IT) Course solves this by structuring proof-building into curriculum itself: you're completing projects mirroring help desk workflows, getting portfolio feedback from instructors, and accessing job search guidance from industry experts working in the field. The challenge isn't that employers refuse to hire people without experience—it's that most candidates without experience also lack proof, so resumes look identical to every other applicant who hasn't built anything.
Three types of evidence carry most weight: portfolio projects, certifications or structured training, and referrals from people in the field. Portfolio projects (home labs, documented troubleshooting walkthroughs, knowledge base articles) prove you can execute actual job tasks—resolving tickets, configuring systems, documenting solutions—even if no employer has paid you yet. A GitHub repository with multi-VM Active Directory setup is more convincing than two years of unrelated retail experience because it shows you've navigated exact tools and workflows IT support teams use daily. Referrals bypass the experience filter entirely—when someone at a company vouches for you, hiring managers skip "Do they have two years' experience?" and jump to "Can this person do the job?" The common thread is specificity: vague claims like "strong troubleshooting skills" don't work, but "resolved five simulated tickets involving Active Directory and network issues—here's documentation" does.
The course integrates proof-building directly into the learning path so you're not finishing curriculum wondering what to put on your resume. Every module includes hands-on labs producing portfolio artifacts: you're troubleshooting simulated tickets, configuring systems, and documenting your process in real time—the same deliverables entry-level IT support professionals create on the job. These projects match exact scenarios employers test in technical interviews, so when a hiring manager asks "Walk me through troubleshooting a DNS issue," you're not improvising—you're referencing a lab you've completed and documented. The course includes resume reviews and interview prep sessions led by instructors who've hired for IT roles, so you get feedback on whether your portfolio actually signals "hireable" or just looks like busywork. On top of all that, the job search guidance included in the course helps you find employers who are open to candidates without traditional experience, so you can land your first entry-level job sooner than those trying to DIY their way into the field.
How long does it realistically take to land an IT support job without experience?
With a structured approach like the CourseCareers Information Technology (IT) Course, most students start landing phone screens within 1-6 months of consistent effort. Going the DIY route? The average job search takes 3–6 months, but self-taught candidates without guidance often stretch to 6–9 months or longer because you're figuring out which projects actually matter, which applications are worth your time, and how to pitch yourself—all through expensive trial and error. CourseCareers compresses that timeline by giving you the exact portfolio pieces employers test for, plus job search guidance so you're not cold-applying into the void. The pattern that works: 20+ targeted applications weekly with proof that matches what hiring managers want, combined with solid interview performance. Skip the consistency, skip the portfolio work, or skip networking, and you're looking at that 6+ month grind instead.
Can you get hired without certifications like CompTIA A+?
Yes—portfolio projects and documented troubleshooting often outweigh certifications for entry-level roles, especially at smaller companies and managed service providers that care more about ticket resolution speed than credentials. That said, certifications help with ATS filters and provide standardized signals making HR comfortable moving you forward. If choosing between three months studying for A+ or three months building a home lab and applying, build the portfolio first—you can add certifications after you're employed.
What's the typical application-to-interview ratio for entry-level IT support roles?
Expect a 10–15% response rate if your resume is targeted (keywords match job descriptions, portfolio links are prominent) and you're applying where your skill level aligns with requirements. Most resumes get screened out in six seconds, so if your proof isn't immediately visible, you're getting filtered. If you're below 10% after 40 applications, audit your resume's top third. If you're above 15%, you're either perfectly matched or getting referrals—double down on what's working.
How many portfolio projects do you need before starting applications?
Two minimum—one showing hands-on technical skills (home lab, troubleshooting simulation) and one showing communication ability (knowledge base article, GitHub README). More projects help in saturated markets, but after three, your time is better spent applying and networking than building a fourth piece. Quality beats quantity: one well-documented home lab with clear screenshots beats five half-finished projects with no narrative.
The gap between wanting an IT support job and having an offer isn't closed by waiting for the perfect moment or accumulating more credentials—it's closed by building proof you can already do the work and getting that proof in front of people who hire. This 90-day roadmap gives you the exact sequence: foundational skills and one portfolio piece in month one, additional projects and networking in month two, and high-volume applications with interview prep in month three. If you want a structured path with built-in accountability, portfolio feedback, and job placement support, explore the CourseCareers Information Technology (IT) Course—it's designed to get you from zero to job-ready faster by frontloading the proof artifacts employers actually care about. If you're going DIY, commit to the checklist, track progress weekly, and iterate ruthlessly when something isn't working. Either way, the next 90 days determine whether you're still wondering if you're qualified or negotiating your first IT support offer.