IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[aixenv]

I aint gonna lie, i'm just in it for the check. I'm pretty smart, so I know I could easily do it so what's the best route to get started? I need to be making 100k in the next few years. School me!

I hope this is somewhat of a joke, if you aren't into it because you have drive and a passion for IT, you will never be successful unless you get damn lucky

I hire people all the time and the first thing i look for is an aptitude to learn, good verbal and written communication skills and the ability to do well in a situation others might flounder in

this type of industry is sink or swim, some have it , some dont, ive hired some people i thought would be super stars and turned into duds

but the two core qualities that stand out are : hardworker and passion

without those you won't last, you'll burn out and you'll never be able to cope with the 3am networking outages that prevent you from having a good nights sleep and then be up at 9am for a conference call with one of your million dollar clients.

 

[aixenv]

The only IT jobs that are semi-stable are state or Federal IT jobs. But most don't pay squat but you won't have the constant threat of layoffs or outsourcing.

This is not true at all. If you have skills you will and can stay employed. I have a developer friend @ yahoo, he's survived probably 20-30 down sizings because he's just that damn good.

The way to stay relevant is to always be up on the latest technology, diversify yourself, never put all your eggs in 1 basket, and if you have an enjoyment for it, and are a smart cat with a good memory, go into networking.

Without networking everything together no one would have a job in IT. it is the most rewarding professionally but also the hardest.

When there is no one to turn to when shyt hits the fan and you're the last line of defense you have to know what you're doing or you will sink fast.

 

[aixenv]

Niccas ain't trying to share that knowledge though... I notice that about IT heads, niccas be caking without working overly hard but don't like answering questions about it. IT nicca at my job got the Porsche Panamera styling on niccas.

there are those kind of people in every profession, i enjoy teaching and mentoring people, take it as a challenge to take them from a tier 1 guy making 45k a year into a star

 

[aixenv]

I've heard security as well. What route would I have to go in order to work cyber security ?

dont even think about security until you know

1) linux /unix
2) networking (cisco, etc)

security can be like development though, it can get boring/tedious

I do security audits from time to time, and i much prefer networking than explaining to someone why they are failing a PCI audit

 

[aixenv]

Your best bet is finding an good company to work for above all else. An company with an great tuition reimbursement program is all you'll need.

Stay away from contracting jobs especially Federal IT contracting.

get your foot in the door at ground level at a company with lots of talented folks willing to share/mentor/teach, soak up all that knowledge and those years and years of experience, get a few certs, and within 3-4 years, go branch out on your own at a junior admin then senior admin level, and reap the financial benefits

 

[aixenv]

Get your bachelors in IT.

Certifications are okay, but your resume will be shuffled under those with degrees and more work experience. You're cock-blocking yourself.

Honestly the industry prefers real world experience over a degree

Give me a CCNA/CCIP/CCIE over a dude with a degree anyday

hell give me a a guy with 2-3yrs of real world experience in the proper lane with good references over someone just graduating school

school is good for one thing, it shows you're mature and can stick with something to the end, and much respect to everyone who gets a degree, but dont go thinking that's the gold card pass you need to a great job, sometimes sure, but i know plenty of ppl with degrees doing jobs that have nothing whatsoever to do with their degree, or even on a pay grade level associated to a degree of their caliber

i left college early, got a jump on ppl in my generation and had 2-3 yrs of real world IT experience and have felt that always gave me a leg up on the competition

id rather understand how to fix something when N happens than to just know how N works

that's my 2c

 

[aixenv]

This, find some entry level help desk job and go from there.

also one other thing, just a bit of advice or a hint at how things work

being that i hire people all the time (when we're hiring) im going to just be straight up honest

I never even really look at the resumes, why? people lie all the time, a resume is worthless to be honest - We sent out a questionnaire which is built to gauge responses to a variety of questions, there's a few questions there that are instant-no thanks , but based on the answers is what makes me want to call someone, and then the questions just open the door, the way to get a good job is to be an excellent interviewee and that takes practice, interviewing is a skill like anything else ; my advice to anyone just starting out, go interview all over the place, get practice not being nervous, see what type of questions they answer, learn / develop good responses for the harder questions , and hone that craft

I can talk to someone for about 10-15 mins and know if they are full of sh$t or not, technical interviews are the key, knock those out of the park and you will find all kinds of companies begging to hire you

 

[aixenv]

If I wanted to get into IT but suck at math what should I do/route to take?

you dont need to be good at math to do IT

well it depends on the actual field

i would say dont look at trying to be a developer, that's a lot of math/logic

if you have a good memory and can pick things up, and have a good common sense/logic and can troubleshoot things, that's a good start

i started as tech support tier 1, help desk, waaaaaaayy back in the day, and ill tell you this, you learn basic troubleshooting logic by working help desk , at least you did back then, now it's very scripted and there's not as much room to exercise your mind

 

[aixenv]

MIS, usually leads to the Database Admin route. SQL/Java type stuff. It's simple, and you get paid fat.

DBAs get paid good, but the job is mind numbingly boring

 

[aixenv]

studying for my network+

dont want to be negative, and anytime you get a cert that's great, but network + is almost like having an a + it's an old and not even valued cert

I would not waste your time with CompTIA (that's my 2c, take it for what its worth, i have that cert but that was eons ago when it mattered, now not so much)

if you have a desire to do networking start with

ICND1

https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccent/icnd1?view=overview

 

[aixenv]

Exactly b

Anyway, who has their CCNA? That's the one I'm about to start gunning for in a few months...

I have my CCENT, CCNA, CCIP and CCIE

start with ICND1 exam like i mentioned to another poster

what questions do you have about the ccna?

 

[aixenv]

A+ Certified at the moment. Working on my Network+ this year.

see my advice to another poster about network +

 

[aixenv]

Uhhh, not saying Network+ is the greatest cert out here, but how are you going to protect a network and you don't have basic TCP/IP knowledge?


One thing the Network+ is good @ is informing you abou the OSI Model and port #s. A security pro should know all of the popular ports under 1024 and tell you what happens at each layer of the OSI model by heart.

Everybody wants to jump into security without having the foundation level knowledge , because they hear about the $$$$$. Smh, no wonder so many networks are getting owned by script kiddies..

you're half right, but the point you're not getting is, why waste money on a garbage cert? instead just read / learn w/o wasting your time on a cert which isnt worth the paper it's printed on

if someone bragged about a a+ or network+ to me in an interview i'd chuckle inside, this isnt the year 2000

but i do totally agree you need help desk / webhosting tier 1 support basics , understandings of the basics

you have to crawl, before you walk before you jog, before you run

 

[aixenv]

tofu hit it right on the head, nobody is going to give you access to the server room unless you have 2-3 years of support experience as well as the required certs. I've spoken with numerous recruiters in the IT industry and they have all told me the same thing, so the sooner you start the better brehs.

not true

 

[aixenv]

I getting started to breh, I know A+ will be my first step. But where do I start. Could somebody suggest a book they got or sites they went to. Some other tips maybe?

do not waste your time on A+ or network+

learn the material, but dont waste 1 penny on those worthless certs, seriously

start up a lab at your house (if you have the money, if not work on having the money)

figure out this question first:

What do i want to do?

1) want to be a datacenter/support tier 1 guy?

2) want to work with windows?

3) want to work with linux?

4) want to work in networking (deal with routers/switches/etc) ?

5) want to work in development? (code perl/ java/ cpp / etc) ?

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answer that question, then I'll try and help you guys out, you can PM me too ill do what i can to help put you on the right path, always good to see people out there trying to apply themselves and better themselves for the right reasons