u/Exciting-Cress666

Hi Adelaide, I don't know is this the right place to post (I'm new to reddit), but I’d really appreciate some honest advice.

I’m an international student from UoA graduating this September with an IT degree, and I’m trying to start my career realistically.

My current plan is to look for Help Desk / IT Support roles during the day, while continuing to study software engineering/programming at night so I can move into more technical roles later.

My questions are:

1. What skills should I focus on before applying for my first Help Desk / IT Support role? For example: Active Directory, Microsoft 365, networking basics, hardware troubleshooting, ticketing systems, customer service, scripting, etc.

2. How can I gain relevant experience before landing the first role? Would homelabs, certifications, volunteer IT work, personal projects, or MSP experience actually help?

3. What should I realistically expect in an entry-level Help Desk / IT Support role? Is it mostly password resets and basic user support, or can it help build useful technical skills?

4. If my long-term goal is software engineering, security, or cloud, what should I avoid so I don’t get stuck in support for too long?

Hi everyone! I'm a student from University of Adelaide currently doing a uni assignment on cyber security awareness campaigns and I’m looking at JCU’s Cyber Compass campaign. Since I'm not a JCU student, accessing the internal materials is nearly impossible for me

Has anyone seen or completed any Cyber Compass materials, like O-Week sessions, LearnJCU modules, emails, posters, or online resources?

I’d love to hear your honest thoughts: Was it useful, clear, and relevant to students? Anything you think could be improved?

This is just for assignment/research purposes only. Please do not share anything private or confidential.

Thanks heaps!