Becoming IT professionals: a conceptual framework of community-mediated self-directed IT learning on Reddit

Purpose This study aims to examine how participants in information technology (IT)-focused Reddit communities describe developing competencies outside formal coursework and how community participation supports self-directed learning in informal IT learning. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzed 464 Reddit threads containing 59,471 comments across ten IT-related subreddits. Data were segmented into 15,658 units and analyzed using a hybrid qualitative pipeline combining manual coding with GPT-5-mini-assisted classification. Guided by a synthesized theoretical framework, this study used a three-phase design and produced 382 evidence segments for reporting. Findings Participation in these communities supported motivation, persistence and learning through social support and growth-oriented norms. Learners reported developing technical knowledge, hands-on skills through projects and home labs and attitudes such as resilience, curiosity and self-efficacy alongside an emerging professional identity. Many described nonlinear learning and career trajectories from entry-level roles (e.g. help desk) toward specialized fields such as cybersecurity, networking and cloud. Community interactions scaffolded self-regulated (SRL) strategies including goal setting, project-based practice, reflective journaling, adaptive help-seeking and the use of AI tools for explanation, self-testing and feedback. Research limitations/implications This study contributes a conceptual framework of community-mediated informal IT learning and extends social views of SRL to online community contexts. The analysis is limited to Reddit discourse and participants’ reported experiences and does not measure actual competencies or support causal claims. Practical implications Educators, workforce development programs and platform designers can use these findings to strengthen project-based learning, peer feedback, reflective practice and community-supported learning environments in rapidly evolving technical fields. Social implications Online communities can function as accessible sociotechnical learning infrastructures through which aspiring and current IT professionals obtain guidance, feedback, mentorship and developmental support beyond formal institutions. Originality/value This study offers an empirically grounded conceptual framework showing how community-mediated interaction on Reddit can support informal IT learning, self-regulated learning, competency development and evolving career trajectories.