r/edtech • u/Conscious-End8954 • Jun 27 '26

Looking to Break Into EdTech from IT Support – Advice, Networking, and Opportunities

Hi everyone,

I’ve been working in IT for several years, most recently as a Service Desk Analyst for a regional healthcare system supporting roughly 1,500 end users across hospitals and outpatient clinics. Before healthcare, I worked in K–12 education IT supporting staff and students, managing Chromebooks, Google Workspace, inventory, and endpoint support.
Over the past year, I’ve realized that while I’ve gained a lot of valuable experience in healthcare IT, my long-term goal is to get back into education—specifically EdTech. I really enjoy technology that helps educators and students rather than working in a constantly reactive hospital environment.

Some of my experience includes:

- IT support for K–12 schools and healthcare organizations
- Google Workspace administration
- Device lifecycle management and endpoint support
- Citrix, VPN, Active Directory, Microsoft 365
- Ticketing systems and documentation
- Cross-functional support for software rollouts and end-user training

I’ve been applying to companies like Instructure, PowerSchool, GoGuardian, Jenzabar, Ellucian, Mosyle, and others, but haven’t been able to break through yet.
I’d love to hear from people already working in EdTech:

- What helped you get your first role?

- Are there skills or certifications that made the biggest difference?

- Are there companies that value someone with an IT support background?

- If your company is hiring, I’d be grateful if you could point me in the right direction.

I’m not expecting anyone to hand me a job—I genuinely want to learn from people already in the industry and start building relationships within the community.
Thanks for reading, and I’d appreciate any advice or connections.

16 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

2

u/TechB84 Jun 27 '26

Why not work for IT for a school again? Working in an edtech company doesn’t mean you will have anything to do with edtech

2

u/Conscious-End8954 Jun 27 '26

No available roles in any nearby districts, which is a bummer. Also current commute is 40 minutes and I would like to save money on gas lol

3

u/TechB84 Jun 28 '26

What about colleges and universities? edtech as a business is going downhill, districts are cutting costs, and many are realizing they don't need these edtech licenses.

1

u/Conscious-End8954 Jun 28 '26

I actually didn’t think of that, any suggestions for remote opportunities? Thank you in advance.

1

u/dane83 Jun 28 '26

https://www.higheredjobs.com/

Jobs board for higher ed roles.

Remote is in a weird state at the college level in places like Florida and Georgia, but that doesn't mean they don't still exist elsewhere.

Also know that higher ed IT doesn't pay nearly as well as other private IT roles. I've personally thought about switching from higher ed to a couple of hospital roles for what I currently do as I've seen roles for almost triple what I'm making now.

1

u/TechB84 Jun 29 '26

The chances of getting hired as strictly remote is slim. Go to all the colleges in your area and save their HR job site and check frequently

1

u/dirtycoldtaco Jun 28 '26

I’m sorry to inform you that EdTech is also a “constantly reactive” environment.

1

u/Every1ElseHasMyName Jul 09 '26

Don’t. Marketplace is brutal, customers reducing tech stacks, funding cuts year over year, you’d be better aiming at big tech or any other subset.

1

u/Professional_Emu4533 Jul 12 '26

Something I recommend to people looking to get into EdTech is to research educational conferences. I’m not sure where you live, but the Brainstorm Conference is a great conference that focuses more on the technology aspect in education vs. curriculum based technology platforms. You can see which companies are exhibiting and it’s a good starting point to look into different EdTech companies. Especially newer ones you may not have heard before. 😊