IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[ViShawn]

Some NVIDIA GenAI courses. Best of all they're free!

 

[semicko82]

I mentioned this in the WGU thread in The Locker Room, but IMO the most valuable certification out there for entry level is CompTia Security especially if you have a clearance or can be sponsored for a clearance

 

[xXMASHERXx]

I mentioned this in the WGU thread in The Locker Room, but IMO the most valuable certification out there for entry level is CompTia Security especially if you have a clearance or can be sponsored for a clearance

I can only speak as someone who does cybersecurity in healthcare, the Security+ might get you interview but it wouldn't get you hired even for an entry level position(you'll find people who have more than that and can't get a job). I would say participating in CTFs, having a understanding of basic security concepts, critical thinking skills, and a desire/passion to learn. Having a Security+ tells me you can pass a test. I need to know that you can learn, understand, and apply the concepts that you were being tested on. Hope that makes sense.

 

[semicko82]

I can only speak as someone who does cybersecurity in healthcare, the Security+ might get you interview but it wouldn't get you hired even for an entry level position(you'll find people who have more than that and can't get a job). I would say participating in CTFs, having a understanding of basic security concepts, critical thinking skills, and a desire/passion to learn. Having a Security+ tells me you can pass a test. I need to know that you can learn, understand, and apply the concepts that you were being tested on. Hope that makes sense.

I definitely get it, but how are you supposed to prove yourself if you don't get a chance at an entry level position.

 

[xXMASHERXx]

I definitely get it, but how are you supposed to prove yourself if you don't get a chance at an entry level position.

I mentioned a few way but a home lab is a great way to show you have a desire to learn and are self motivated. Even if you can't set up a home lab, there are various platforms you can use to learn how to use various security tools and concepts like Threat and Vulnerability Management, Risk Management, Cryptography, Phishing, Incident Response, etc. You have to think of it like this. Everyone wants to gets into Cybersecurity and everyone is sold the same lie that getting X certification will guarantee you an opportunity. The reality is that no certification will guarantee you anything. You need to be able to show how you will be an asset to the company you are applying to. Show them how you can take the knowledge you learned from passing the Security+ and apply it to protecting an environment. Even if it is a virtual environment that no one cares about. That is how you prove yourself.

 

[semicko82]

I mentioned a few way but a home lab is a great way to show you have a desire to learn and are self motivated. Even if you can't set up a home lab, there are various platforms you can use to learn how to use various security tools and concepts like Threat and Vulnerability Management, Risk Management, Cryptography, Phishing, Incident Response, etc. You have to think of it like this. Everyone wants to gets into Cybersecurity and everyone is sold the same lie that getting X certification will guarantee you an opportunity. The reality is that no certification will guarantee you anything. You need to be able to show how you will be an asset to the company you are applying to. Show them how you can take the knowledge you learned from passing the Security+ and apply it to protecting an environment. Even if it is a virtual environment that no one cares about. That is how you prove yourself.

I feel that, but I'm just talking about entry level. I know cyber security is not an entry level position.

I also agree with you that people are going around saying getting this type of certification will help you get x type of job.

I've learned through my journey of getting these certifications that experience trumps all especially in the private sector

 

[seraphx]

I mentioned a few way but a home lab is a great way to show you have a desire to learn and are self motivated. Even if you can't set up a home lab, there are various platforms you can use to learn how to use various security tools and concepts like Threat and Vulnerability Management, Risk Management, Cryptography, Phishing, Incident Response, etc. You have to think of it like this. Everyone wants to gets into Cybersecurity and everyone is sold the same lie that getting X certification will guarantee you an opportunity. The reality is that no certification will guarantee you anything. You need to be able to show how you will be an asset to the company you are applying to. Show them how you can take the knowledge you learned from passing the Security+ and apply it to protecting an environment. Even if it is a virtual environment that no one cares about. That is how you prove yourself.

You in here speaking the truth. My place just hired someone with 0 experience and a masters in cyber security. I'm like that's nice but does he actually know anything or how to use any of our systems?

 

[xXMASHERXx]

You in here speaking the truth. My place just hired someone with 0 experience and a masters in cyber security. I'm like that's nice but does he actually know anything or how to use any of our systems?

And then when the network goes down during the day because he pushed an update to the firewall they'll understand there are some things you can't learn from a college course.

 

[semicko82]

And then when the network goes down during the day because he pushed an update to the firewall they'll understand there are some things you can't learn from a college course.

That goes back to what I was saying how are you supposed to know stuff like that if you don't get the experience at a job. The home labs are cool, but you need real work experience to know what to do when shyt gets real

 

[Rayzah]

Just passed the AZ 500. Now where is my 150k plus job?

 

[Rayzah]

I definitely get it, but how are you supposed to prove yourself if you don't get a chance at an entry level position.

I mentioned a few way but a home lab is a great way to show you have a desire to learn and are self motivated. Even if you can't set up a home lab, there are various platforms you can use to learn how to use various security tools and concepts like Threat and Vulnerability Management, Risk Management, Cryptography, Phishing, Incident Response, etc. You have to think of it like this. Everyone wants to gets into Cybersecurity and everyone is sold the same lie that getting X certification will guarantee you an opportunity. The reality is that no certification will guarantee you anything. You need to be able to show how you will be an asset to the company you are applying to. Show them how you can take the knowledge you learned from passing the Security+ and apply it to protecting an environment. Even if it is a virtual environment that no one cares about. That is how you prove yourself.

The thing with homelabs is you hav to know how to talk about that experience in an interview. You have to be able to tell people you know how to do a certain thing without going into too much detail of how you learned it. They are more concerned with what you know vs how you learned it per se.

 

[semicko82]

The thing with homelabs is you hav to know how to talk about that experience in an interview. You have to be able to tell people you know how to do a certain thing without going into too much detail of how you learned it. They are more concerned with what you know vs how you learned it per se.

I'm not even trying to get into cyber security at the moment, but I'll watch the video

 

[xXMASHERXx]

That goes back to what I was saying how are you supposed to know stuff like that if you don't get the experience at a job. The home labs are cool, but you need real work experience to know what to do when shyt gets real

There are virtual environments where you can setup up these devices and purposely take them down to understand what steps are needed to recover. I'm in the process of working on a DR plan for our environment. Once the plan is completed, I am going to have to test it to make sure it works. I'm not going to test it in our production environment, that would be what we call a resume generating event. I'm going go into my home lab, set up a test environment and run through the plan. I'll do that a few times, purposely mistakes so I can have an idea on what to do if something goes wrong. In the scenario I mentioned with a firewall, there is a tool called GNS3 (haven't used it in years) that you could use to gain experience working with network devices. You telling me you set up a network and created multiple subnets to isolate devices using GNS3 or a similar tool tells me more about you than passing a certification.

 

[Rayzah]

There are virtual environments where you can setup up these devices and purposely take them down to understand what steps are needed to recover. I'm in the process of working on a DR plan for our environment. Once the plan is completed, I am going to have to test it to make sure it works. I'm not going to test it in our production environment, that would be what we call a resume generating event. I'm going go into my home lab, set up a test environment and run through the plan. I'll do that a few times, purposely mistakes so I can have an idea on what to do if something goes wrong. In the scenario I mentioned with a firewall, there is a tool called GNS3 (haven't used it in years) that you could use to gain experience working with network devices. You telling me you set up a network and created multiple subnets to isolate devices using GNS3 or a similar tool tells me more about you than passing a certification.

That’s dope. I need to create a home lab to run azure now that I have the cert. one of the main things that helped me get passed the exam as using Acloud gurus labs while going through the chapters.

 

[yourgod]

Quick update on my end, market is trash, can’t even get a help desk interview. My networking game getting a lil better tho, made a few connections that might be able to get me a position somewhere. Also connected with a friend of a friend that will let me shadow him. Anyone else out there struggling to find something that’s entry level? Lemme get back to these labs tryhackme.