In reply to Wendell Odom.

My biggest pitfall is the time-wasters, whether it is wasting time online or finding menial tasks that allow me to avoid getting to the meat of the real job. I am changing careers and starting a new IT career, which includes the intro classes, such as Linux. I am also taking a course in VMWare, which I enjoy far more than Linux (perhaps because of the particular Linux class I'm in??). What I have found helpful is to shut the time-wasters like Facebook and e-mail off - don't even look at them. Do the work that needs done and get it over with.
Another point: I was at an IT job fair a few days ago and the intro speaker suggested finding a mentor that you can touch base with throughout your career, so I am putting some serious thought into that. I believe most people don't ask for mentors because they don't want to bother or take time away from another person. That happens to be my main concern. There seem to be several professional groups in my area. It may be worth asking if they already have mentors or even suggesting that maybe they could offer their expertise and guidance to students and those people in entry-level IT positions.