IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[aixenv]

the Indians are kinda fukking the game up at the moment. the higher-skilled positions in IT are now full of them and they have no problem taking less pay than an American would for the same work.

they're on top of their shyt too, so competition for computer/software work is strong right now.

that being said, you can still can make a decent buck in the field. E-commerce and supply chain technical work is booming in the south. most times you can get an entry level position in one of those areas with just a few years of help desk experience, and compensation at most of those companies isn't bad at all.

not to be racist or anything but i laughed at you saying the "higher skilled positions in IT" are now full of indians working abroad, no my friend that's the tier 1 vendor tech support morons , yes it's cheaper to outsource, but not pls dont confuse cheap with good, they are _not_ good; no one good is going to work for that cheap overseas indian tech support labor, period point blank, they simply have scripts to read, a database of known issues, and you sit there most of the time trying to figure out wtf they said in the first place, i rarely ever happen upon a foreigner in vendor support that is worth a sh$t

 

[aixenv]

I disagree on A+ being a useless certification in the beginning, when you're just starting out having the A+ cert gives you some credibility when you're interviewing for a helpdesk position where most people start in IT. Because most of the people in this thread I've seen posting are asking questions regarding on how to break into the field.

However as you work your way up to Network Admin, Server Admin, etc...then yes it becomes worthless, and that's where the Network+/Security certs take over.

Because there's nobody that will hire you straight into a Network admin type role w/o any experience, and most people that move into that position started at the helpdesk/Desktop Support position, in my experience there's no skipping positions in the IT field, you gotta start at the bottom and work your way up. Of course if you do go to college for MIS/CS or join the military then I agree, skip the A+ cert. But if you aren't going that route and looking to start from scratch the A+ can go a long way in negotiating pay for those entry level help desk jobs.

Just my .02 brehs.

with all due respect , a+/network +/security+ are a joke in the industry, if you have someone tell you otherwise, they are just being nice or not being real with you, im trying to help you guys not waste your time

frankly you dont need any certs or any degree

go into a technical interview and knock the socks off the interviewer with your high level understanding of iBGP, how to setup BGP multipathing, the intricacies of a variety of other topics and you will find them jizzing over you possibly joining their company

this is one career where if you know sh$t you're golden, period

be able to interview and know your sh%t thats all that matters in the end

real world experience is great, but if i have you in an interview and you cant answer my basic questions, what good is your real world experience? it isnt worth a damn

(being blunt/ brutally honest, probably because its 4am.. heh)

 

[aixenv]

Java and C# are your best bets and once you learn one you, you know about 70% - 80% of the other.


Also throw in vbscript if you will be doing automated testing with HP QTP/QC. Mobile automated testing is also picking up, we use DeviceAnywhere @ work( even though it sucks!!! )

highly disagree with your path of development advice, but to each their own

it depends on what kind of development work you want to do

not really looking to argue, just dont agree, but it's very subjective too, depends on what you want, but i'll say this

while java has some good features the negatives outweigh the positives

1) generic implementations
2) floating point arithmetic
3) its slow as crap
4) hackable/insecure
5) needs an interpreter, try making a self contained application
6) bugs in libraries (swing for example)
7) bugs in JVM
8) immuteable types suck

.etc etc.. i could go on and on

while I know it, i consider it my least used development tool

 

[aixenv]

Been in the IT game for a couple of years but I just cant get that break lol. Graduated with an IS degree in 2010 and been stuck at the helpdesk since then smh I mean I'm eating well for my position but there's really no moving up at this company as my co-workers have been here for 5-10 years

Thing about IT is that you'll only eat as much as you're willing to sacrifice and learn. Also, the people in this field arent trying to teach you sh*t or advance your career so learn as much as possible when you get on the job and sometimes u gotta smack some kuffis and get results

Back to studying for this network+

you are in the wrong company my friend, i never hire people that dont teach/share , you are working with people who are too insecure and feel the need to keep themselves relevant, you should move on, find a company that will help you grow and teach you, the one thing you said i agree wholeheartedly about is you will only get as much out of this career as you're willing to sacrifice for it

 

[Data-Hawk]

highly disagree with your path of development advice, but to each their own

it depends on what kind of development work you want to do

not really looking to argue, just dont agree, but it's very subjective too, depends on what you want, but i'll say this

while java has some good features the negatives outweigh the positives

1) generic implementations
2) floating point arithmetic
3) its slow as crap
4) hackable/insecure
5) needs an interpreter, try making a self contained application
6) bugs in libraries (swing for example)
7) bugs in JVM
8) immuteable types suck

.etc etc.. i could go on and on

while I know it, i consider it my least used development tool

Naw, i actually agree with you. I dont like JAVA esp the development tools. I stick with C# and found it funny how java is playing catch up now.

 

[aixenv]

Naw, i actually agree with you. I dont like JAVA esp the development tools. I stick with C# and found it funny how java is playing catch up now.

our windows team is transitioning vbscript based code to C#, if you're in microsoft land its the thing to know, dev wise

i think im jaded a bit with java because of java servlets like tomcat/jsp

 

[FastEddie215]

with all due respect , a+/network +/security+ are a joke in the industry, if you have someone tell you otherwise, they are just being nice or not being real with you, im trying to help you guys not waste your time

frankly you dont need any certs or any degree

go into a technical interview and knock the socks off the interviewer with your high level understanding of iBGP, how to setup BGP multipathing, the intricacies of a variety of other topics and you will find them jizzing over you possibly joining their company

this is one career where if you know sh$t you're golden, period

be able to interview and know your sh%t thats all that matters in the end

real world experience is great, but if i have you in an interview and you cant answer my basic questions, what good is your real world experience? it isnt worth a damn

(being blunt/ brutally honest, probably because its 4am.. heh)

im studying for the A+ now, so you are saying that I do not need to have it to be hired? Wouldnt having that increase my chances for at least landing an interview?

 

[aixenv]

im studying for the A+ now, so you are saying that I do not need to have it to be hired? Wouldnt having that increase my chances for at least landing an interview?

im being real here, take that for whatever its worth

learn the skills, please dont confuse what im saying, im basically tell you guys learn the skills these tests are based around and save your money, and go knock some guys socks off with a kick ass interview

resumes are ignored because ppl lie
interviews are where you make it and break it

it also has a lot to do with personality, like take our company, we're all very chill , goof around, have fun its very family atmosphere, so we're very cautious about getting any anal stuck up a$$holes , had a few slip through, so have to be on point to weed them out

what matters is what you know, not what a piece of paper says

I've talked to MCSEs who are complete idiots, a cert doesn't mean anything except you could memorize the content enough and are good with tests, take the microsoft tests, there's a certain mindset for those tests, people goto boot camps. get their mcse and come back and haven't gained much of anything and forget anything worth remembering shortly thereafter seen that a lot of times back in the day

if you've got loads of money and feel a piece of paper from CompTIA validates you, then knock yourself out, if you're doing your best to make ends meat, im saying save your money and spend it elsewhere/more wisely

Another thing we like to see is a good intro letter with the resume, while i might not even look at the resume, i read the intro letters everytime

and this is a new feeling mind you, the A+ had its time in the sun a very long time ago, there are better places to spend your time

1) windows land - MCSA / MCSE
2) linux land - RHCT, RHCE, LPIC ( CompTia linux+ holds a bit more weight than the other CompTias, fyi)
3) networking land - cisco certs -> CCENT , CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, CCDE

Go get all those cisco certs, roll up in the interview in a tshirt and flip flops, have the brains/skills of a God, and everyone will just overlook your eccentric behavior and lock you in a server room or put you in a bubble

ALso, it is sometime also who you know, like any industry there's some of that, for example i have a few friends that didn't know jack sh#t about computers, but were young early 20s friends of mine, and i wanted to give them a break in life, so i got them hooked up with an opportunity, i can open the door, but they have to run with it (which thankfully they did),

 

[acri1]

im being real here, take that for whatever its worth

learn the skills, please dont confuse what im saying, im basically tell you guys learn the skills these tests are based around and save your money, and go knock some guys socks off with a kick ass interview

resumes are ignored because ppl lie
interviews are where you make it and break it

it also has a lot to do with personality, like take our company, we're all very chill , goof around, have fun its very family atmosphere, so we're very cautious about getting any anal stuck up a$$holes , had a few slip through, so have to be on point to weed them out

what matters is what you know, not what a piece of paper says

I've talked to MCSEs who are complete idiots, a cert doesn't mean anything except you could memorize the content enough and are good with tests, take the microsoft tests, there's a certain mindset for those tests, people goto boot camps. get their mcse and come back and haven't gained much of anything and forget anything worth remembering shortly thereafter seen that a lot of times back in the day

if you've got loads of money and feel a piece of paper from CompTIA validates you, then knock yourself out, if you're doing your best to make ends meat, im saying save your money and spend it elsewhere/more wisely

Another thing we like to see is a good intro letter with the resume, while i might not even look at the resume, i read the intro letters everytime

and this is a new feeling mind you, the A+ had its time in the sun a very long time ago, there are better places to spend your time

1) windows land - MCSA / MCSE
2) linux land - RHCT, RHCE, LPIC ( CompTia linux+ holds a bit more weight than the other CompTias, fyi)
3) networking land - cisco certs -> CCENT , CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, CCDE

Go get all those cisco certs, roll up in the interview in a tshirt and flip flops, have the brains/skills of a God, and everyone will just overlook your eccentric behavior and lock you in a server room or put you in a bubble

ALso, it is sometime also who you know, like any industry there's some of that, for example i have a few friends that didn't know jack sh#t about computers, but were young early 20s friends of mine, and i wanted to give them a break in life, so i got them hooked up with an opportunity, i can open the door, but they have to run with it (which thankfully they did),

Here's the thing though, a lot of the time you won't even get an interview without A+, Net+, etc. Even if the certs are lame it the only way to not get your resume tossed. Not everybody knows somebody that can get them a hook up. Your company might be different, but at a lot of companies HR people read the resumes and will toss it out if you don't have an A+, especially for helpdesk/desktop-type jobs.

If you have higher level certs than that but no experience, you still don't have too much chance of being hired. You kind of have to start from the bottom unless you get a hookup, which, like I said, isn't an option for everybody.

 

[No Homo]

I have my CCENT, CCNA, CCIP and CCIE


what questions do you have about the ccna?

That means youre a cisco guy correct?

I know i want to get into the wireless field. Now im studying for ccent then ccna then ccna wireless..good path or no? What are some jobs i shuold be looking to get into etc if you have any idea?

 

[Data-Hawk]

I like this topic but the thing I don't understand is this:

How did I go to school for a 4 year degree and pay for Certification exams.
And the first thing people say in here is to find an entry-level help desk job that pays a max of $15 in the US? And grind for how many years before I can move up or risk getting laid off?

I want to know how to hustle these stupid recruiters into giving me the same gigs that these clueless foreigners get!

I know for a fact that these Asians and Arabs in IT work on the buddy system and coach each other on how to handle different aspects of software and applications. THEY ARE NOT EXPERTS any more than I am.

People say network network, but most people I know cant even relate to advanced IT subjects like I can, and most people are not trying to help me advance if I did get hired.

People nowadays don't respect a person who stay quiet and get quiet money in IT. They only rock with people who are loud and popular. What can I put on my application to defeat the online Taleo applications screeners?

I appreciate all the info, BUT I NEED TO FIND some concrete strategy, I'm trying to come up the honest way instead of faking my way through.

A+, CCNA, Windows Server, some rookie level Java experience, and I always deal with Linux, and Mac Lion OS, I know mobile applications as far as jailbreaking every smartphone I have ever had. I have been experimenting with Oracle, VMware, and different security protocols.

I am not a one man start-up company. I think we need to start our own IT ponzi scheme to promote all our skill levels, fake references, job titles and the whole deal. I am the type to help people without expecting something in advance, but I really do need that type of boost to jump start my own hustle.

most of the asians n indian are going into programming. The helpdesk rule doesnt apply to programmers. Starting at the bottom for programmers means ur a junior programmer etc. 99% of the people i work with now dont know a damn thing about computers. They just know how to program, im the only one that started @ the help desk.

 

[Data-Hawk]

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

Thank you.lol. Ive been trying to say this. You dont just jump into security. You really have to know ur stuff beforehand. The money is nice, but you have to have a love/passion for it. I started when i was 15 and remeber spending an entire week trying to get •red hat 5.2• installed and connect to the net with my win modem. . Too many ppl now here u can make such n such n try too jump into the field. Not talking about anybody in here.

 

[acri1]

most of the asians n indian are going into programming. The helpdesk rule doesnt apply to programmers. Starting at the bottom for programmers means ur a junior programmer etc. 99% of the people i work with now dont know a damn thing about computers. They just know how to program, im the only one that started @ the help desk.

True story.

I work help desk and it's amazing how these Java programmers and whatnot don't know the first thing about maintaining their computers. Dudes can write complicated ass programs all day but can't figure out how to get their email to work.

 

[Data-Hawk]

True story.

I work help desk and it's amazing how these Java programmers and whatnot don't know the first thing about maintaining their computers. Dudes can write complicated ass programs all day but can't figure out how to get their email to work.

Lol. Back in my help desk days. All of us hated getting calls frm programmers they were the worse. They didnt want to listen n thought they knew more than you. Just this morning a co-worker ask me how to install a program!!!

 

[Data-Hawk]

Also for the ppl looking for experience check out volunteer work or non profits. They arent as big on certs n exp. for example a local library was looking for ppl to help w/ their ubuntu based network. The pay was probably. Crap but u gain experiance.
One other thing, check out local linux groups in ur area, great way to network and people frm. Compaines come there to give presentations, a guy frm the nsa was at one of mine not too long ago. Ppl there are more than willing to share knowledge, The linux crowd pride themselves on it. ive met so many ppl frm popular open source projects this way.