IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[calixprynce]

my plan was to get CCENT and CCNA and bounce to Dallas or Austin for jobs... but the way my expenses are set up, my rent is only like 20% of my take home income . If i move to any of those cities, it doubles... but my income aint gonna double . Rn im at $14 @ 45hrs a week

so i guess im stuck in this small ass town with my "systems admin/network tech/helpdesk/nikka do it all" job. Thinking about just stacking some certs, put in 2 more years here, then updating my resume to 5 years exp as Head of IT or some shyt .

 

[Artenche]

my plan was to get CCENT and CCNA and bounce to Dallas or Austin for jobs... but the way my expenses are set up, my rent is only like 20% of my take home income . If i move to any of those cities, it doubles... but my income aint gonna double . Rn im at $14 @ 45hrs a week

so i guess im stuck in this small ass town with my "systems admin/network tech/helpdesk/nikka do it all" job. Thinking about just stacking some certs, put in 2 more years here, then updating my resume to 5 years exp as Head of IT or some shyt .

Yeah bro, embellesh the fukk out of that resume if they are working you like that and getting you to do all types of shyt under a job title.

I know I did lol.

 

[calixprynce]

Yeah bro, embellesh the fukk out of that resume if they are working you like that and getting you to do all types of shyt under a job title.

I know I did lol.

maaan these mfs got me fukking with Sonicwalls , ordering shyt, vpns, Crystal Reports, printers, the whole 9 . We getting a new SonicWall and they want me to hook everything back up like it aint shyt. They better hope its easy to migrate configs between Sonicwall models. I have 0 certs and am about 1000% more experienced than everybody here, the owner of the company might be the most computer illiterate. I'd love the job if it was in a better city. Im not even complaining about pay because its weekly and I manage expenses well . but waco is fuccin borrrrriiiiinnnng

 

[Steel]

my plan was to get CCENT and CCNA and bounce to Dallas or Austin for jobs... but the way my expenses are set up, my rent is only like 20% of my take home income . If i move to any of those cities, it doubles... but my income aint gonna double . Rn im at $14 @ 45hrs a week

so i guess im stuck in this small ass town with my "systems admin/network tech/helpdesk/nikka do it all" job. Thinking about just stacking some certs, put in 2 more years here, then updating my resume to 5 years exp as Head of IT or some shyt .

No risk no reward. If i were you i would throw my resume out there and see what bites. Finesse your resume a lil and prepare to fly out for interviews asap.

 

[Mirin4rmfar]

This data privacy book is boring as hell Feels like I am reading common sense shyt.

 

[calixprynce]

No risk no reward. If i were you i would throw my resume out there and see what bites. Finesse your resume a lil and prepare to fly out for interviews asap.

I got my resume on Indeed and most of the ones I apply to just for bait, the pay is only like 3-4 more $ an hour. Do you think that justifies a 1.5 hr commute ? What about relocating? I guess I gotta cop them certs first to get the nice bites. I think I get callbacks due to my experience and vocational schooling. I should have ccent before September and ccna before february

 

[Artenche]

I got my resume on Indeed and most of the ones I apply to just for bait, the pay is only like 3-4 more $ an hour. Do you think that justifies a 1.5 hr commute ? What about relocating? I guess I gotta cop them certs first to get the nice bites. I think I get callbacks due to my experience and vocational schooling. I should have ccent before September and ccna before february

I see you're looking more into hands-on networking stuff? Afterwards I'd recommend the Sec+, it's easy. You could honestly get that with a month of hard studying as well.

 

[GollyImGully]

What is the best path to take for someone looking to get into enterprise networking? Is a CCNA the way to go? Do you need a degree/schooling to qualify for these roles?

What sort of money is there to be made?

you trying to join the lifestyle my wave brother?

To be honest if you dont have IT experience getting a network engineer role as your first gig will be damn near impossible. From my experience, it's not something you can just jump into from 0 experience. I always tell people a Network Engineer is pretty much the backbone of a company. Would you give someone that role fresh off the block? Probably not

A CCNA with no experience will prob still have you at helpdesk if your lucky you can get into NOC (Network operations center) both are entry level spots. While there get a CCNP and start looking for jr network engineer or network engineer roles. Apply to both eventually someone will give you a shot. :wow02:

I pretty much went from a helpdesk type role ===> NOC ===> Network Engineer

Money is excellent but then again it all depends on where you live and the market. Being in NY is a blessing for salary but the cost of living here is just . The work is actually really easy once you get comfortable in your role. But then again if your too comfortable you probably should start looking to leave

 

[GollyImGully]

This data privacy book is boring as hell Feels like I am reading common sense shyt.

which book?

 

[calixprynce]

I see you're looking more into hands-on networking stuff? Afterwards I'd recommend the Sec+, it's easy. You could honestly get that with a month of hard studying as well.

Actually I skipped A+ to get the more valuable networking certs cuz I was on A+ level in HS. They can tell by my resume that I have A+ level knowledge. I really wanted to tackle CCENT/CCNA, then Security or MCSA certs. Idk really if I wanna be networking or kinda like systems admin . I’m just tryna get some $ lol . But I’m definitely leaning towards Sec+ next now that you’ve let me know it isn’t that hard... what certs do you have? And what’s your record of job titles? Just trying to get an idea on the path you took

 

[calixprynce]

you trying to join the lifestyle my wave brother?

To be honest if you dont have IT experience getting a network engineer role as your first gig will be damn near impossible. From my experience, it's not something you can just jump into from 0 experience. I always tell people a Network Engineer is pretty much the backbone of a company. Would you give someone that role fresh off the block? Probably not

A CCNA with no experience will prob still have you at helpdesk if your lucky you can get into NOC (Network operations center) both are entry level spots. While there get a CCNP and start looking for jr network engineer or network engineer roles. Apply to both eventually someone will give you a shot. :wow02:

I pretty much went from a helpdesk type role ===> NOC ===> Network Engineer

Money is excellent but then again it all depends on where you live and the market. Being in NY is a blessing for salary but the cost of living here is just . The work is actually really easy once you get comfortable in your role. But then again if your too comfortable you probably should start looking to leave

So CCNP= network engineer? Bet. How long did you spend at help desk and NOC? I was actually thinking about going for NOC after I get those certs... but if it’s entry level , I’m not tryna be with 1st year IT nikkas, to keep it G. I’ve been working IT since like 2011. I might still check it out though for the actual experience of it, not even for the resume

 

[Houston911]

you trying to join the lifestyle my wave brother?

To be honest if you dont have IT experience getting a network engineer role as your first gig will be damn near impossible. From my experience, it's not something you can just jump into from 0 experience. I always tell people a Network Engineer is pretty much the backbone of a company. Would you give someone that role fresh off the block? Probably not

A CCNA with no experience will prob still have you at helpdesk if your lucky you can get into NOC (Network operations center) both are entry level spots. While there get a CCNP and start looking for jr network engineer or network engineer roles. Apply to both eventually someone will give you a shot. :wow02:

I pretty much went from a helpdesk type role ===> NOC ===> Network Engineer

Money is excellent but then again it all depends on where you live and the market. Being in NY is a blessing for salary but the cost of living here is just . The work is actually really easy once you get comfortable in your role. But then again if your too comfortable you probably should start looking to leave

Nah my brotha, I took another 6 figure nicca route lol

I’m asking for someone

 

[calixprynce]

Nah my brotha, I took another 6 figure nicca route lol

I’m asking for someone

What certs u got and how long u been in It, breh?

 

[Houston911]

What certs u got and how long u been in It, breh?

No certs I’m not in IT

 

[GollyImGully]

So CCNP= network engineer? Bet. How long did you spend at help desk and NOC? I was actually thinking about going for NOC after I get those certs... but if it’s entry level , I’m not tryna be with 1st year IT nikkas, to keep it G. I’ve been working IT since like 2011. I might still check it out though for the actual experience of it, not even for the resume

For me CCNP meant that. Like I said you can probably get it with CCNA too but it really all depends on your area and the need. What I learned is this shyt is very competitive you have to stand out some how. Plus we black so shyt is another layer of bullshyt. But if you know your shyt and put in the work its pretty hard to get denied.

I was at my helpdesk like role for 2 years. Got the CCNA in my last few months there. That got me into the NOC. Spent 9 months there, got my CCNP and got the Network Engineer role after that.

Every NOC is different to be honest. The NOC I was at let me get my hands on everything. The rotating shifts was garbage but the experience was great.

Are you working in IT now? If you have the experience from 2011 you should have no problem finessing a resume and getting a network engineer spot. Assuming you know your shyt