IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[YungKuroKami]

If your already good with computers why waste time and money on the A+ certification. I would take the Security+ or CCNA since employers value those more than the Network+ certification.

I'm decent with computers but I don't know a lot of the technical terms n shyt. Like, I can get shyt done but I wouldn't be able to explain how I did it n shyt lol I'm better with computers than your average person but I'm don't think I know everything that I could know with A+ ya know?

 

[Ice_MF_Mike]

Trying to see what path to take to get in it

Build up your base knowledge in networking and an OS. then move to the security basics like sec+, ccna security. See my post a page or two back. security is a big field. so you need to get your cert game up, get some security experience then build and move from there. You can get security experience in a role like desktop support many times. Once you got some experience then look at the CISSP and other higher level certs. But more importantly look at the jobs you want to get to and see what they are asking for and get that. Degrees are huge in IT Security btw.

 

[RubioTheCruel]

Trying to see what path to take to get in it

Take a job as desktop support/jr.sys admin role. Learn how all the pieces fit together; how can you secure something you don't fully understand? Once you have a good overall knowledge of things then you can specialize.

 

[Ice_MF_Mike]

The thing about Security is there really arent entry level roles. You need to have a good amount of networking knowledge and OS knowledge to understand how they work together. THen once you have that you can begin to get in roles that are more security focused. But IT security is a huge field.

 

[Ice_MF_Mike]

For those trying to get into IT security below is an idea of the many different areas. All of which have different paths.

Its a security certification. Its in very high demand. And more importantly, it gives you a very broad knowledge of the infosec realm. From there you have a better idea which direction to proceed as its a HUGE field. Below are the domains for this certification:

The CISSP® domains are drawn from various information security topics within the (ISC)²®CBK®. The CISSP CBK consists of the following 10 domains:

• Access Control – A collection of mechanisms that work together to create securityarchitecture to protect the assets of the information system
  • Concepts/Methodologies/Techniques
  • Effectiveness
  • Attacks
• Telecommunications and Network Security – Discusses network structures, transmission methods, transport formats and security measures used to provideavailability, integrity, and confidentiality
  • Network Architecture and Design
  • Communication Channels
  • Network Components
  • Network Attacks
• Information Security Governance and Risk Management – The identification of anorganization’s information assets and the development, documentation andimplementation of policies, standards, procedures, and guidelines
  • Security Governance and Policy
  • Information Classification/Ownership
  • Contractual Agreements and Procurement Processes
  • Risk Management Concepts
  • Personnel Security
  • Security Education, Training and Awareness
  • Certification and Accreditation
• Software Development Security – Refers to the controls that are included within systems and applications software and the steps used in their development
  • Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
  • Application Environment and Security Controls
  • Effectiveness of Application Security
• Cryptography – The principles, means and methods of disguising information toensure its integrity, confidentiality, and authenticity
  • Encryption Concepts
  • Digital Signatures
  • Cryptanalytic Attacks
  • Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
  • Information Hiding Alternatives
• Security Architecture and Design – Contains the concepts, principles, structuresand standards used to design, implement, monitor, and secure, operating systems, equipment, networks, applications, and those controls used to enforce various levels ofconfidentiality, integrity, and availability
  • Fundamental Concepts of Security Models
  • Capabilities of Information Systems (e.g. memory protection, virtualization)
  • Countermeasure Principles
  • Vulnerabilities and Threats (e.g. cloud computing, aggregation, data flow control)
• Operations Security – Used to identify the controls over hardware, media and theoperators with access privileges to any of these resources
  • Resource Protection
  • Incident Response
  • Attack Prevention and Response
  • Patch and Vulnerability Management
• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning – Addresses thepreservation of the business in the face of major disruptions to normal businessoperations
  • Business Impact Analysis
  • Recovery Strategy
  • Disaster Recovery Process
  • Provide Training
• Legal, Regulations, Investigations and Compliance – Addresses computer crime laws and regulations, the investigative measures and techniques that can be used todetermine if a crime has been committed, and methods to gather evidence
  • Legal issues
  • Investigations
  • Forensic procedures
  • Compliance Requirements/Procedures
• Physical (Environmental) Security – Addresses the threats, vulnerabilities, andcountermeasures that can be utilized to physically protect an enterprise’s resourcesand sensitive information
  • Site/Facility Design Considerations
  • Perimeter Security
  • Internal Security
  • Facilities Security

 

[Scott Larock]

I'm studying the ccent, I need to get a router for hands on experience, I have a laptop, don't have my own place right now. Can I just hook up a router to my laptop and practice? what router to get? the 2960? help me out brehs, I'm studying 2 hours a night

 

[RubioTheCruel]

I'm studying the ccent, I need to get a router for hands on experience, I have a laptop, don't have my own place right now. Can I just hook up a router to my laptop and practice? what router to get? the 2960? help me out brehs, I'm studying 2 hours a night

Use GNS3(or Cisco VIRL).

That'll get you through the CCNA

 

[Scott Larock]

Use GNS3(or Cisco VIRL).

That'll get you through the CCNA

I'm cop the academic version for 80 bucks when I get paid, this good enough or I need the full suite for 200?

 

[krexzen]

I'm cop the academic version for 80 bucks when I get paid, this good enough or I need the full suite for 200?

for $80 you can probably get two or three 1721 routers and two 2950 switches off Ebay. Both devices were supported for the last version of the CCNA. Unless the exam's changed a lot they should still be good enough for the current version.

Honestly, if you don't want to spend a dime then learn all that you can about setting up GNS3. GNS3 is more than good enough to practice router configuration, but GNS3 does not offer switch support. I actually think I heard somewhere that there may be a work around to get switches on GNS3 as well. Just type "GNS3" in the youtube search bar and you should be good to go as far learning how to set it up. Also, the following link will serve you well.

http://gns3vault.com/labs/

 

[RubioTheCruel]

I'm cop the academic version for 80 bucks when I get paid, this good enough or I need the full suite for 200?

Don't even bother.

http://gns3vault.com/ccna-rs/icnd1-assesment-lab/

Open up GNS3(you'll have to get some Cisco iOS images to load into it, do your own homework to find that), set up a few routers. Do all of those tasks.

 

[acri1]

When I rub shoulders and network with CEOs and HR heads, people blame a lack of developer/computer science talent on an entire generation of would be engineers who went into IT. Must have been talkin about you brehs

I started out as a CS major and ended up going into IT instead

Blame the universities for deciding that Computer Science majors have to take all the way up to Calc 4 for no reason. If not for all that math I just might have stuck with it.

 

[YungKuroKami]

I'm decent with computers but I don't know a lot of the technical terms n shyt. Like, I can get shyt done but I wouldn't be able to explain how I did it n shyt lol I'm better with computers than your average person but I'm don't think I know everything that I could know with A+ ya know?

Also, I want to look for a job to get into where I can start gaining relevant experience while I study for the exams. What kind of position would be best to search for with the current experience I have?

 

[ADK]

@Mook, I decided to smarten up and go the Community College route. Just thinking over what certifications I could partake in, one that has always interested me is Web Design/Development (Would my graphic design skills be beneficial for that also?).

I need to look into some more but that's the 1 that stands out the most

 

[kevm3]

@Mook, I decided to smarten up and go the Community College route. Just thinking over what certifications I could partake in, one that has always interested me is Web Design/Development (Would my graphic design skills be beneficial for that also?).

I need to look into some more but that's the 1 that stands out the most

You don't need certs for web design/development. You need to learn HTML, Javascript and CSS for front-end development and put up a project. There are several languages for back-end development such as Javascript(node.js), Java, Ruby(on Rails), PHP, etc. Start with HTML/CSS and move on to Javascript.

 

[SirReginald]

I'm so confused on what I will do after I require this A+ Cert. How can I find information on entry level jobs in L.A., Oakland, or Seattle? Because I want to move from Virginia to the West Coast. Also, how much is salary/ salary per year for entry level?