Thanks breh
I don't mind putting in the work at all, it's understandable
What's the outlook with programming? Truthfully, I
really want to go into that, but the cert route feels a lot more pragmatic. To clarify, I say that because I have ideas in mind I'd like to create, and sure-- I might program them perfectly but who's to say people would be interested in them? You know? I know it's the newbie in me but I can't help but see programming as the place for entrepreneurs.
It depends on you(do you want to build apps, do QA, front-end work, behind the scenes work with databases?). Regardless of your goal, with programming, employers look for projects and experience more than a particular set of academic or cert credentials. I've been in the field of IT for a little over a decade and every programmer I've worked with didn't even go to college or have any certs, but they had a strong understanding of their primary languages and could command a heftier salary/contract. Understanding code is just essential if you want to grow as an IT professional and in order to wade through folks who try pull a fast one or really recognize talent. Just think of yourself as Mozart, you have an idea of what you want from your orchestra, but you hire some outside help since you can't play/perform all of the parts needed to make it come alive. Zuckerbeg, Gates, Jobs, etc. had ideas and innovations, but please believe they had an entire army of coders w/ funding make their ideas come to pass.
I was always interested in programming, started out with QBasic, Visual Basic, C++ while in High School, then learned Java, PHP, HTML, MySQL, etc. all while in college. Then I got an internship editing code and doing QA for websites, and that was to be expected because I was just gaining some experience. Ultimately, I wasn't exactly happy doing programming at the professional level due to the managerial pressure and lack of engagement with other customers.My friends that graduated with their CS degree were able to work their way up to high-level salaries, but 70-75+ hours work weeks were the norm. So when another spot opened up, I moved to help desk, then networking, then server support, consultant/contractor and now I am at System Admin.
I could go on, but for me, I just have my degree in Computer Science and that has changed my life all for the positive, but it isn't for the faint of heart as it demands just as much discipline and resolve to finish as another other STEM degree. Whatever schooling you do, nothing in any book or online course can really prepare you for the disasters and fires that you will have to put out while being involved with IT. Figure out what you want to do and then look at the job postings with the requirements and work on chopping down that list.
and had to borrow $150 from my mother for the OS part. me being fired from a low paying ass job lit a fire of motivation.
. You really have to think of it as an investment. Even though its an entry level certification, it'll help land an entry level job( Help Desk or Desktop support ). Once you land your first IT job. It's all up to you from there 
