5 years in IT no certs just hit $45/hr

[Redguard]

should be able to find a help desk anywhere. where do you live? do you have any dependents? (wife? kids?)

I'm single right now and I don't have any kids. I did get an entry level IT job in my area. The commute is usually 45 minutes. Now I'm trying to develop new skills and get more certifications.

 

[beenz]

yea this was consulting. to get to that level of compensation generally your job needs to be directly generating revenue. if you're only doing support of a single enterprise environment then there will be a cap eventually

08-09 > 6 months in the NOC for a big bank
09-10 > 1.5 yrs contracting at a govt agency as a jr network support engineer
10-11 > 1 yr at a midsize bank as a jr-mid network support engineer
11-12 > 1.5 yrs at a VAR doing general network deployments
13 > 1 yr at a VAR doing network deployments mostly in hospitals all over the country
14-16 > 2 yrs contracting at a govt agency as a sr network engineer
16-present > straight consulting

stick and move. I never got comfortable in a position. I only bounce when I feel like I've learned everything I needed to learn in the position and need more challenge. miy plan now is to have my own thing going a year from now

I was listening to s financial podcast someone in here suggested and they kept saying that in order to make sure they were continually being paid market rate, they had to change jobs every few years. I just started a new job myself in July and I changed jobs in early 2012, late 2013 and again in July 2017 while increasing my salary 60% in the process. This would almost NEVER happen had I continued to work at the same employer. Even if I would have gotten promoted.

 

[#1 pick]

I was listening to s financial podcast someone in here suggested and they kept saying that in order to make sure they were continually being paid market rate, they had to change jobs every few years. I just started a new job myself in July and I changed jobs in early 2012, late 2013 and again in July 2017 while increasing my salary 60% in the process. This would almost NEVER happen had I continued to work at the same employer. Even if I would have gotten promoted.

I agreed. Bring willing to move constantly has given me financial freedom

 

[Hahahaha]

I was listening to s financial podcast someone in here suggested and they kept saying that in order to make sure they were continually being paid market rate, they had to change jobs every few years. I just started a new job myself in July and I changed jobs in early 2012, late 2013 and again in July 2017 while increasing my salary 60% in the process. This would almost NEVER happen had I continued to work at the same employer. Even if I would have gotten promoted.

It's definitely true unless you are really good at what you do and you are at the right company. I upped my salary from 50K to 100K at the same job over 6 years but I know that is beyond rare.

 

[Light]

I'm single right now and I don't have any kids. I did get an entry level IT job in my area. The commute is usually 45 minutes. Now I'm trying to develop new skills and get more certifications.

What book did you use to get the A+ cert?

 

[Redguard]

What book did you use to get the A+ cert?

I used the Mike Meyers A+ book but what really helped me were his videos and Professor Messer videos. I also used a lot of practice tests to see my progress and to see if I was ready to take the test.

 

[JuditeTormentor]

I would say first you want to learn a mix of everything. See what you like the most. You don't have to get a cert.

You can go techie:
Dev (coding) (Jr, mid, sr, architect but you need to be the shyt to get this label, design (adobe illustrator, photoshop), intelligence/creative (this mixes writing with tech knowledge) (levels are: Jr, mid, consultant), you can be an engagement lead but you must know the tech and you must communicate with different stakeholder as well as global, of course you got other forms of IT. You got medical IT, you got InfoSec and that got a shyt load of shyt to know and learn. You can an Sec dev, engr, vulnerability researcher, etc. shyt, IT is huge af. It's kinda hard to break in it. You got skills and many of the pro specialize at shyt. Some on Sharepoint. Some on Adobe experience manager, Sitecore, Drupal, etc. Man, it's deep to be frank. Think about it like law. You can be all types of lawyers. Intl', health, cyber, etc.

Question, you got any insight into career assessments or "best-fit" type quizzes. I wanted to do Network Security en route to becoming a CEH/penetration tester. But I ended up doing a coding bootcamp b/c it started before the CCENT/CCNA camp and coding looked hella fun. So now I'm a software engineer, but I am SUUUUFERING. Really want to do the Network/Security route. Is there a streamlined way to switch up? Or do I have to just start all the way over?

Some background: Got business degree and a MIS bachelor's. I speak multiple languages and easily acquire new ones when I have a reason. Experience in project management, but in Education and Social Work roles. AmeriCorps VISTA alum, as well (that used to mean something once upon a time). I switched careers, so "entry level" seemed like the right place to go. But my skills, in general, position me to lead or take more advanced roles. I find myself leaving things off my resume b/c I was scaring away recruiters and hiring managers.

 

[satam55]

I'm interested in networking but I don't have any experience.

I just got my A+ and now I am studying for the CCENT.

Hopefully I can find an entry level help desk job in my area but I'm afraid I might have to move.

Did you ever get the CCENT?

 

[Redguard]

Did you ever get the CCENT?

I'm still studying for it. I'm aiming to take it in either December or January.

 

[bnm8907]

What are some should I be doing after you get the A+ N+. Trying to find a job where not on phones or help desk. I dont have preference on type of subject but mainly just off the phone where I can be left a lone in a cube and just work the majority of the time. I understand you will have to work hard in all jobs but im looking for more solitary work rather the caller firefighting if possible.

 

[SuaveyBoi115]

I'm in cybersecurity. But the last job offer I got paying about 93K required twice as much work. And in my current role I have very little supervision. So I've gotten used to not being told what to do.

How did u get started in cyber security

 

[JT-Money]

How did u get started in cyber security

I took the Federal contracting route they'll let anyone in cybersecurity.

 

[Scott Larock]

I took the Federal contracting route they'll let anyone in cybersecurity.

I.glt a IDS/IPS monitoring position, entry level but what's the next step up from this?

They're gonna pay for certifications.

 

[b_priest9mm]

I'll keep teaching myself programming/comp sci and go from there.

Talent > Degree

 

[Copy Ninja]

I'll keep teaching myself programming/comp sci and go from there.

Talent > Degree

Knowing how to bullshyt >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



You can always google it afterwards