IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[I AM WE ARE]

I downloaded 2 study apps for the test. Im halfway thru the udemy course and so far only one thing had been covered

 

[Light]

Anyone get the Azure 103/104 cert? If so, what resources did you use to study?

 

[EnzoG]

Masterpiece post.

Reading this at almost 2 in the morning has me motivated as hell

 

[Regine Hunter]

Brehs,

This thread is full of years worth of valuable and relevant information. You need to read through this whole-entire-thread front to back. This is EXACTLY what I did when I started in IT and its the reason I have a great career now.

From 2017 til now I have read through this entire thread 30 times. With each revisit, I found something new that I might have missed or ignored previously but speaks to me now that I'm at a certain career level.

I've been dropping gem after gem because I want you niccas to flourish and I want to keep this thread going strong, But don't expect me or anybody else to spoon-feed you every step of the way. You have to take the initiative, research and find out shyt for yourselves.

This thread has all the info you need to to get started. The A+, Sec+, Net+ and CCNA, MCSA and CISSP has been covered 100's of times in painstakingly detailed fashion. Examples of the amount of money you can make has been discovered thousands of times by real people working in the field, telling you how to get there. You just have to read this thread front to back. it's all you need.

When I started, I didn't know shyt. Didnt know how to get started, didn't know what this or that cert was for. I was attending some certification bootcamp while unemployed and my wife was the breadwinner. She was stressed, I was stressed, my pride was shot, and at times I wanted to just give up and go back to working warehouse jobs because it was tough getting a job in IT. Interview after interview led to nothing. One shady recruiter after another misleading me and selling me bullshyt knowing they didn't have any jobs lined up.

It started with this thread. Cats like B.Dizzle, Havoc, and others was dropping all this inspiring and informative shyt page after page. I became hooked. This thread was my entertainment, my vision board, and my bible. I read this shyt obsessively over and over again to the point I already knew what to do before I landed my first job.

Got my 1st job in IT after getting my A+ and following the advice in this thread starting at $18/hourly. 7 months later I got another jobs paying $28 an hour. Gotta pay raise 7 months after that making $34.00 an hour. From the time I got my 1st job, My life started to turn around like a muthafukker. Debt was being eliminated rapidly; Bills just evaporating, Having all this disposable income. Between me an my wife we bring home 8 G's or more a month now. Been able to work from home during this COVID bullshyt and I cant remember the last time we were even hurting for money. Sometimes we forget that we even got paid because we still got money sitting in the account from previous pay periods.


Even with all the success and blessing coming my way, I still read through this thread when I'm not home labbing, cert prepping or just living life. This shyt is a constant grind and you need to always be learning and and taking the initiative to invest in yourself, Having a mentor is good, but fukk that. Don't sit around waiting for muthafukkers to teach you how to do anything or pay for your certs. I don't care how much the certs cost or how much time you have to invest into learning and growing, This is the nature of the game and you need to get numb to it. Put your emotions and ego to the side and attack this game with relentless determination. Failure is to be expected but it aint shyt in the long run. Keep pushing and ignore the setbacks.

Dont matter how hard something is. If you want it, you will find a way to justify the energy you put into it. The key to becoming good at anything is repetition+time. Dont matter if you suck at it or cant fathom how you could ever do something you think is impossible. You have to be stubborn to the voice of your own inner resistance/self-doubt and just keep trying and one day shyt will just click and then it snowballs into competence, into expertise and finally into mastery.

You think Programming languages is impossible, You think Linux is spaceship magic wizardry that only the elite minds of the world can understand or that cloud is some spooky shyt that you will never be able to learn. It's all bullshyt. Keep pushing and time will do the rest of the work. In this game you will find your self around muthafukkas who are smarter and more experienced than you but fukk it let it be your motivation. You dont have to be the smartest to make top dollar, just be on top of your shyt with a some modicum of people skills and you will flourish. You'll be able to blow past all these gurus and nerds who have expertise, but none of the hustle or drive to play in the big leagues. You will reach a point where you think you're not good enough but once again, it's all bullshyt. You are, even if your job doesn't acknowledge. Just get your weight up and bounce for a better one if need be.

All in all. you have to be willing to bet on your self and take initiative. I been through the shyt, people in this thread have been through the shyt, and you're gonna go through it as well.
Keep in mind that you're in control of your destiny in this IT game and when you hit a rough patch or start to doubt yourself, push though it because it aint nothing but some ole bullshyt to learn from and get better.

The world is your oyster my G's but you gotta believe it.
Stay solid and the success will come 100-fold. I promise you this.

Done.

Thank you for sharing. This is needed.

 

[FistofJustice]

Currently studying for the Network + and started studying for the AWS solution architect associate cert as well. I'm really enjoying studying for AWS and playing around in S3. I'm starting to explore new options. Originally I was strictly looking for a network/sys admin job but now I'm looking at cloud jobs. My plan after passing one of the certs is to learn Linux (I have the Linux Pro in my Testout subscription).

My question is what kind of experience do you need to get a cloud job? Would it be wise to get the Google Professional Cloud Architect cert? I

 

[Deflatedhoopdreams]

Currently studying for the Network + and started studying for the AWS solution architect associate cert as well. I'm really enjoying studying for AWS and playing around in S3. I'm starting to explore new options. Originally I was strictly looking for a network/sys admin job but now I'm looking at cloud jobs. My plan after passing one of the certs is to learn Linux (I have the Linux Pro in my Testout subscription).

My question is what kind of experience do you need to get a cloud job? Would it be wise to get the Google Professional Cloud Architect cert? I

From a dude who just passed the Network+ exam

What I used to study:


Jason Dion Network+ course/Practice exams on Udemy



I highly recommend just taking the practice exams that Dion offers though, as some questions are practically verbatim on the exam. Also reviewing the answers after, even if you got them right to help reaffirm why they were right.


Personally I think reviewing the practice exams helped me more than just watching the videos. Because there were some concepts I didn't get at all, but when he explained why it was that answer rather than another one, I was better able to associate the idea to the answer? Does that make sense?


Can't emphasize enough how big Subnetting and VLANs were, and routing is pretty big too. If you got grips on those, you should be g2g! Good luck! If you have more questions, feel free to dm me


Yeah, I would certainly say that Dion is really all you need for the Net+; so long as you understand VLANs, Subnetting, and Routing; you're good to go for the most part. His practice exams were almost verbatim to the exam.



Trunking (802.1q) - Tagging and untagging ports - Port mirroring - Switching loops/spanning tree


Yeah, at the beginning I jotted down my subnetting memorization tactic just so I had it for reference. I'll post it below in case it might help, though it was a bit awkward to type it out.


- Subnetting tactic


I pretty much just jot down eight zeros for the last octet of an IP and then write down what the values are for hosts and total subnets above/below it. If it's like /26, I count 3 zeros in, split it there and then on the left size you got your vlans, on the right your hosts.


Helped out too


As for what I should have written, probably routing protocols and the 802.11x standards. I kept forgetting which ones were 2.4 vs 5, which supported both, but I was also taking it on a lunch break and on impulse, so I was stressing.

 

[Redguard]

From a dude who just passed the Network+ exam

What I used to study:


Jason Dion Network+ course/Practice exams on Udemy



I highly recommend just taking the practice exams that Dion offers though, as some questions are practically verbatim on the exam. Also reviewing the answers after, even if you got them right to help reaffirm why they were right.


Personally I think reviewing the practice exams helped me more than just watching the videos. Because there were some concepts I didn't get at all, but when he explained why it was that answer rather than another one, I was better able to associate the idea to the answer? Does that make sense?


Can't emphasize enough how big Subnetting and VLANs were, and routing is pretty big too. If you got grips on those, you should be g2g! Good luck! If you have more questions, feel free to dm me


Yeah, I would certainly say that Dion is really all you need for the Net+; so long as you understand VLANs, Subnetting, and Routing; you're good to go for the most part. His practice exams were almost verbatim to the exam.



Trunking (802.1q) - Tagging and untagging ports - Port mirroring - Switching loops/spanning tree


Yeah, at the beginning I jotted down my subnetting memorization tactic just so I had it for reference. I'll post it below in case it might help, though it was a bit awkward to type it out.


- Subnetting tactic


I pretty much just jot down eight zeros for the last octet of an IP and then write down what the values are for hosts and total subnets above/below it. If it's like /26, I count 3 zeros in, split it there and then on the left size you got your vlans, on the right your hosts.


Helped out too


As for what I should have written, probably routing protocols and the 802.11x standards. I kept forgetting which ones were 2.4 vs 5, which supported both, but I was also taking it on a lunch break and on impulse, so I was stressing.

Did you take the test online? If so how was it?

 

[EnzoG]

From a dude who just passed the Network+ exam

What I used to study:


Jason Dion Network+ course/Practice exams on Udemy



I highly recommend just taking the practice exams that Dion offers though, as some questions are practically verbatim on the exam. Also reviewing the answers after, even if you got them right to help reaffirm why they were right.


Personally I think reviewing the practice exams helped me more than just watching the videos. Because there were some concepts I didn't get at all, but when he explained why it was that answer rather than another one, I was better able to associate the idea to the answer? Does that make sense?


Can't emphasize enough how big Subnetting and VLANs were, and routing is pretty big too. If you got grips on those, you should be g2g! Good luck! If you have more questions, feel free to dm me


Yeah, I would certainly say that Dion is really all you need for the Net+; so long as you understand VLANs, Subnetting, and Routing; you're good to go for the most part. His practice exams were almost verbatim to the exam.



Trunking (802.1q) - Tagging and untagging ports - Port mirroring - Switching loops/spanning tree


Yeah, at the beginning I jotted down my subnetting memorization tactic just so I had it for reference. I'll post it below in case it might help, though it was a bit awkward to type it out.


- Subnetting tactic


I pretty much just jot down eight zeros for the last octet of an IP and then write down what the values are for hosts and total subnets above/below it. If it's like /26, I count 3 zeros in, split it there and then on the left size you got your vlans, on the right your hosts.


Helped out too


As for what I should have written, probably routing protocols and the 802.11x standards. I kept forgetting which ones were 2.4 vs 5, which supported both, but I was also taking it on a lunch break and on impulse, so I was stressing.

This right here makes me doubt myself so I definitely will have check out that video. Thanks for posting this.

 

[princeofhaiti]

How much labbing are you doing?

You gotta know how to subnet in your head, what the show commands are telling you and VLANs/trunking/STP, ACLs, ADs and basic configs of OSPF/RIP/EIGRP.

That is the heart of the CCNA. I'd say study the whole curriculum at once then break the tests up into INCD1 and 2.

sounds a lot like the net+

 

[GollyImGully]

sounds a lot like the net+

This is exactly why i say skip the net+ and go ccna

 

[Regine Hunter]

about to start writing out ports and protocols like lines on the chalkboard at detention

 

[I AM WE ARE]

Should I buy an old/ shell computer to practice for my network cert or just install virtual box that way it doesn't effect my current system?

 

[I AM WE ARE]

I've downloaded the flash cards, study guides, exam practice tests, and started watching YouTube videos to prep for this test. Im still doing the udemy course as well. Im determined to get my cert before my birthday( August 18)

 

[JT-Money]

Should I buy an old/ shell computer to practice for my network cert or just install virtual box that way it doesn't effect my current system?

Are you talking about Cisco Networking certs?

 

[I AM WE ARE]

Are you talking about Cisco Networking certs?

Comptia security 501 cert