Congrats to the OP, there's no feeling quite like getting a job you really want.
My first I.T. job with a well-known anti-virus company has got me a 16k starting wage... closer to 17.5k with bonuses. I have no official I.T. experience, just years of using computers on a regular basis. Now my boss is sending me and a mate off for some Cisco training, and we should be getting an MCP out of them soon (minor qualification, but who cares, i'll try and get an MCSA out of them).
The I.T. industry is on the up now after the past recession, in fact I personally reckon I.T. is an industry that is guaranteed to stay consistently busy with technology booming as it is.
Yes, it's easy as hell to walk into a support job, hence the term "monkey", but that first job is merely a stepping stone onto greater things. As long as you do your homework, get yourself some qualifications, and keep aiming to better your knowledge and make yourself more marketable then you can't fail.
Almost any field of regular work has boring and mundane aspects, Media, PR, Admin roles etc are no different in that respect. Obviously some aspoects of I.T. are boring... but anyone who says ALL I.T. is boring either has zero knowledge of the industry or simply isn't "into" computers.
Technology is a very cool thing and it is making the world go round, people who understand it and keep abreast of these changes are the ones who are going to be rising to the top of the company ladder, those who sit there at their computers needing their hands held at the slightest thing not only cost a business up to 5x more than an I.T. trained employee, but their future is going to be very limited.
A good knowledge of I.T. even if you're not going to stay in the field forever, can really help with making money if you find ways to apply it.
Just my opinions.
Good luck mate.