IT Career In defense of the CompTIA A+ and Net+ certs (and my other advice to those starting out) |
- In defense of the CompTIA A+ and Net+ certs (and my other advice to those starting out)
- IT situational scenarios?
- Technology "professionals" are the most ineffective communicators
- Is anyone aware of a IT alternative to https://mentorcruise.com?
- Is a social media presence ever relevant during a job search?
- How do I get out of user support?
- Devops - the end of traditional IT support or something we just got to learn?
- Where to start in IT?
- Verbal offer & background check driving me ��
- Advice on Changing to a I.T Career.
- Is it realistic to start a career in IT without learning about networking?
- [Australia] Google IT Professional Certificate uses
- Should I continue in CyberSec Major if I don’t like Networking?
- Help/Advice/Thoughts Etc.
- What are some recommendations to get into the Cyber Security field?
- Is the RHCSA best complemented with a CCNA or home projects with more “devops-y” stuff?
- Best way to research which exact IT industries you want to be in and why they’re popular/not popular, their pros and their cons, their skill level, and who they’re best suited for?
- Do you remember your first job?
- I was just offered a full-time Network Engineer I position starting at $48,500. Is this a good start?
- What are some known certs besides the CompTIAs?
- 30 years old, degree in music, never really had a "real" job and now looking to get into some combination of IT/AV. Is my plan viable for me?
- CS degree, lost passion for programming, switching to IT
- Is linux academy worth it?
| In defense of the CompTIA A+ and Net+ certs (and my other advice to those starting out) Posted: 02 Dec 2020 07:46 PM PST Hey all. Just wanted to voice my opinion on some things to hopefully help out those starting out in IT (in the desktop support/networking realm). One, I just want to say that certs are great. They just are. They will supplement your eventual on-the-job experience and there's no reason not to get them. The A+ helped me land my IT support tech position with a global commercial real estate company. And my Net+ helped me land an interview with Amazon for an IT Support Engineer role (though I did not get it) then eventually helped me land my new job with one of the country's largest data center MSPs as a Jr. Network admin.. CCNA does of course carry more weight than the Net+ but is way tougher to get, making the Net+ a great cert to have while you work toward a CCNA. Use it as a stepping stone and a resume filler. I also want to just say that the word "helpdesk" gets thrown around a lot and even many IT veterans toss it around, not realizing just how broad a term it is. My first job was Tier 1 tech support at an inbound call center for a large ISP. My 2nd job was as an IT support tech (desktop support) for a commercial real estate company. My 3rd IT job is, as stated prior, a Jr. Network admin/Incident response analyst. It's important to understand that technically, these are ALL helpdesk. Every single one has me answering tickets, though the volume of tickets, the complexity of them, and the medium by which I respond has varied wildly between all 3. So just understand that there are helpdesk jobs out there that are stressful and rough (inbound call center for an ISP for instance) and helpdesk jobs that are far less stressful in comparison (desktop support roles where you take and make occasional calls and are not in a nightmarish call center being hounded about unrealistic metrics and call volumes). The pay varies wildly too. Helpdesk jobs can pay anywhere from 35k (don't accept a penny less than that no matter where you are in your career) all the way up to 60k or more. Even some veteran IT folks out there tend to generalize what that word "helpdesk" means, usually in a pretentious manner to try to put others down. Just some thoughts I've had that I felt like getting out there. Can't wait to see where this next year of my career takes me. I hope to have my CCNA bagged soon as well. Good luck to those starting out. It can be a rollercoaster ride, but it's a great field to get into and it can pay off if you stick with it. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Dec 2020 07:47 AM PST Hi, I wondered if anyone had any IT scenario questions that you would be asked in the interview process? I am new to IT, and I freeze with those types of questions. I am looking for some experience with them. I am not really that picky on the topic, so just it's entry-level or common issues. I know this is really vague and that is part of my problem too. I am still trying to figure out which route I want to go with this. [link] [comments]  |
| Technology "professionals" are the most ineffective communicators Posted: 03 Dec 2020 06:08 AM PST Rant. Since I've changed careers I've come to the realization that IT professionals seriously lack effective communication skills. It's terrible. I need a Rosetta stone to decipher tickets and documentation at nearly every organization I've ever worked at. Here's my list of things that I've experienced at multiple companies now that just grind my geers so to speak. Lack of actionable updates in tickets. Management does not give clear and decisive direction. If you want things done a certain or specific way you need to lay that out to people and tell them exactly what you want instead of just expecting people to be inside your head knowing what you are thinking. More information isn't better information. If you have expectations of someone you need to make those expectations apparent. Rant over. [link] [comments]  |
| Is anyone aware of a IT alternative to https://mentorcruise.com? Posted: 03 Dec 2020 05:59 AM PST I've looked at https://mentorcruise.com but the focus is primarily on software engineering. I'm wondering if anyone knows an alternative that focus on IT? Particularly systems administration (active directory, group policy, pdq, sccm, etc.). [link] [comments]  |
| Is a social media presence ever relevant during a job search? Posted: 03 Dec 2020 09:27 AM PST I've been grinding away at school and studying for certs, and I'm thinking over the next couple of months I'm going to go ahead and start applying to entry level jobs, updating the resume as I go. I wanted to wait until I was a little more firm on the paper qualifications, but we need a real income on my end soon and I'm starting to get pretty antsy about getting the ball rolling. I figure I'll make my LinkedIn (never needed it before, but I figure better to have it even if some potential employers don't check it out). I have a Facebook that needs minimal cleaning up, there's nothing bad or crazy on there just some goofy teenage cringe pictures I'll get rid of, some distant relatives who believe in reptilians ruling the world I'll probably unfriend. I also theoretically have an Instagram and a Twitter. Thing is, I only go on Facebook twice a year to see who got married, and if anyone died, and I swore off pretty much all other forms of social media years ago (except for the occasional Reddit binge that lasts a couple weeks, but that's different). I'd like to purge myself finally of all that stuff, just delete the accounts, but I've heard that not having an online presence can be almost as off-putting to some employers as having a toxic online presence. [link] [comments]  |
| How do I get out of user support? Posted: 03 Dec 2020 07:53 AM PST Hi guys. I've been in help desk/ end user support for 3 years now. I'm sick of it and want to move onto something else but have no idea how. I have applied for Junior sys admin jobs, junior infrastructure jobs & Jnr Network Engineer jobs, but rarely hear anything back. I have a cert in Comp A+ and a few other certs with lesser known bodies. Apart from the ones listed above, I'm also interested in Cyber Security - what do I do? How do I get out of help desk? Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Devops - the end of traditional IT support or something we just got to learn? Posted: 03 Dec 2020 01:43 AM PST So long story short, I'm keen to know everyone's views on devops. I've been supporting on prem infrastructure for years now. Started at helpdesk, moved to 2nd line and kind of sitting there at the moment whilst I'm trying to figure out my next move. Current company is cloud consultancy so a lot of there work is deployments. Obviously the intention for me is to learn ARM and terraform but I find the coding difficult and have been trying to stay away from it. Anyone got any advice on it? I get the whole devops aspect and infra as code, it's ability to quickly build infrastructure etc but I almost find companies are wanting people who are skilled at both which is frustrating. Appreciate IT evolves as technology evolves but yeah just a bit frustrated with it. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Dec 2020 07:16 AM PST Hello! I am going through a career change. I want to get a jumpstart by obtaining A+ (Which I'm in the process) and Network+ before I go back to school to get a degree I really want to be proud of. I'm not currently proud of what I have right now. So I currently attend WGU and saw that if I have certifications beforehand I can accelerate the progress to get another Bachelor in Cybersecurity. So I'm actually excited and nervous at the same time. It's been a while since I messed with my resume as I been working for the same company for 10 years. I ask for guidance and advice on how do I proceed when I obtain A+ and Network+. I keep hearing that obtaining those two Certifications doesn't mean I really start from the bottom to start my new career. Is this true? Or what is the challenge for me at the moment? Thank you for your response in advance. [link] [comments]  |
| Verbal offer & background check driving me �� Posted: 03 Dec 2020 06:50 AM PST The CEO said to expect it by yesterday or two days ago. Am I being ghosted? How soon do follow up? The CEO said I'd start in January and be closely working with him, so does that mean I'm not to expect the letter until much later? I have two unpaid independent projects on my resume where they can't be verified. I put both under ongoing project experiences. I don't feel comfortable putting them on my background check because then I'll be suggesting I was involved with the engagements continuous for over a year when in reality I did not. One was a place I volunteer at. Because I wasn't involved with them for over 6 months, they can't provide references (per contract). The other was bug bounty I was involved in with some programs. From my experience with background check, they literally call the numbers I gave them (like back in 2018). Not sure if things have changed, but my friends is willing to vouch for me since we both volunteered together and her contact info isn't under NDA. Can I just leave those two off the background check and mention it IF they ask? Or should I bring it up prior to the background check? [link] [comments]  |
| Advice on Changing to a I.T Career. Posted: 03 Dec 2020 02:41 AM PST Hello All, I'm currently working a pretty easy factory job. I make 75k a year. It's pretty mindless. I really don't mind it at all. Lately though I feel like I can do more. I'm currently researching some certification such as the CompTIA, AWS and Azure. My question is can I make that type of money again in a few years or would it take me awhile to get there? What certification would I need to get into networking and the cloud? I'm pretty confident I can pass the A+ without much studying. Computers have always been my hobby but I never actually pursued it as a career choice. I'm 28 and feel like I'm to late to change. You're input would be nice. Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Is it realistic to start a career in IT without learning about networking? Posted: 03 Dec 2020 12:13 AM PST I'm interested in pretty much everything tech related but find networking concepts boring, difficult to understand and remember. Also I'm not particularly talented with or interested in coding and the nitty gritty of being an electrician/computer engineer. [link] [comments]  |
| [Australia] Google IT Professional Certificate uses Posted: 03 Dec 2020 02:45 AM PST I'm in Australia, like everyone else, looking to moving into IT. Has anyone done the Google course with no prerequisite or relevant degree (https://grow.google/programs/it-support/#?modal_active=none) and still netted a job here? Been looking at what courses to take, such as TAFE, but taking this Google course seems like a quick progression path. Just wanted to know if there were any success stories around here, mainly in Australia. Still good to hear from people around the world as well though! [link] [comments]  |
| Should I continue in CyberSec Major if I don’t like Networking? Posted: 03 Dec 2020 02:21 AM PST So I'm currently working full time, and going to college for CyberSec, first semester was okay with Python, Linux, and Web Dev basics but when it came to Networking, I just couldn't get my mind into it at all. I was hoping to do CyberSec for the purpose of working in OSINT or as a pentest/ethical hacker, but wasn't sure if networking is going to be a big thing for that as well? Just want some advice before the next semester so i can change my major to programming if I need too. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2020 10:34 PM PST TLDR: Hospitality professional. Took Tier 1 Support Desk job to get into IT. Wants to gain certifications and move up to get back to previous income levels. What stepping stones should I look for? 33 year old. I've been in hospitality for about 12 years now and work(ed) as a General Manager of hotels/Resorts for the past 4-5 years. Enjoyed my job, enjoyed the industry as I was younger but have been a bit burned out with the constant on call, always available, around on holidays lifestyle. Some college but no degree, love technology and have self taught myself a lot of troubleshooting, repairing, systems type work. Always enjoyed learning how to jailbreak an iphone or even easier rooting an android. I've recently decided that I wanted to have a career change and I continuously came back to IT. So I've made the jump and took an entry level tier 1 help desk position. While this is a big lifestyle change for me and my family I'm lucky to have Support to drop in pay like I have. I wanted to start from the bottom, gain practical working knowledge of the industry and go from there while gaining certifications through work and on my own time at home. They required a test in order to get the job and I scored well enough to be offered the position same day and was told I was one of the higher scores since they began that form of testing. My question being that I haven't finished my degree and honestly don't want to go back to school and having very little idea on what I want to focus on or hope to attain as goals in the short term and then the long term. There seems to be disagreements on which entry level certs are most important from things I've read and then of course there are hundreds of avenues you can take. I see a lot of cloud engineer stuff being in demand, where I'm at currently a lot systems analyst and network analyst positions. What should my realistic stepping stones look like in this situation? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| What are some recommendations to get into the Cyber Security field? Posted: 02 Dec 2020 07:21 PM PST Im 23 I currently only have a high school diploma, no prior work experience. Im highly interested in getting into this field but I don't know what routes I should be taking. What are some options/routes I can take if school is not for me? [link] [comments]  |
| Is the RHCSA best complemented with a CCNA or home projects with more “devops-y” stuff? Posted: 02 Dec 2020 05:01 PM PST Hey there, I'm still pretty early in my career (just about 2 years doing technical support at an MSP, with little room to advance at my current company). I ended up passing the RHCSA a few months ago, just out of my own interest in Linux and the desire to learn more about it. I've been looking at different jobs available in an effort to make myself a stronger candidate for sysadmin roles. I'm pretty ok in Python and bash scripting but haven't had the opportunity to actually use it beyond personal projects. Would love some input from those a bit further along in the industry as to what skills you think have a higher "return on investment" when it comes to moving to a mid-level position using Linux regularly. I know the networking knowledge from the CCNA is always valuable no matter what role you're in, but I know with more and more companies using infra as code, SRE/"devops" roles are getting bigger. But I assume that's more of a mid-career jump? Basically just asking, if you were me and you had a couple hours everyday to invest in something that would get you closer to whatever constitutes a sysadmin nowadays, what would you focus on? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2020 11:23 PM PST I want to hit all the fields and be a very versatile asset in the tech community. However, you have to start somewhere and it makes sense to want to see what's best for now, what's best for coming up, and what's best to work towards for max achievement, so I'm wondering how you guys suggest to best go about finding good synopsis's about each and every tech industry and making a game plan for what order I'm going to apply to these types of jobs/learn these types of skills in. Not just IT I wanna do either, like I said I wanna do ALL the tech. Really, all the STEM except knock off engineering as a whole (with the exception of I'd love to work with rockets) and knock off math as a JOB but I'll learn beyond calc solo 🤙 [link] [comments]  |
| Do you remember your first job? Posted: 02 Dec 2020 07:32 PM PST What do you wish you'd known when you started your first 'real' job? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2020 02:32 PM PST Job offer includes PTO, all health insurance benefits, holidays, regular work schedule (with on-call occasionally). I want to know if this is a good salary start? I'm currently a Network Engineer Intern making about 17/hr not full-time. Please give me some advice on what I can do to negotiate or if this is a good start to my career in Network Engineering. Thanks. P.S. I live in Des Moines, Iowa. [link] [comments]  |
| What are some known certs besides the CompTIAs? Posted: 02 Dec 2020 10:29 PM PST As the title asks, I'm curious to find out whatever certs I can be getting besides the CompTIAs [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2020 06:20 PM PST So as I laid out in the title, I graduated with a degree music, specifically guitar performance, 6 years ago. I never really had clear direction on what I wanted to do career-wise, but knew I loved music and knew my parents really wanted me to go to college, so that's what I majored in. Low and behold, a music degree on its own doesn't exactly open doors, haha. Luckily I was always good with academics, particularly in writing and math courses, so after school I was hired as a part time tutor with my local community college and have been working there ever since. I supplement that with giving guitar lessons and money from performances, online sales, etc. I scrape by but it's not a comfortable living. Along the way I also picked up an accounting certificate thinking I could do bookkeeping as my "day job," however after interning at a small CPA office I found it incredibly monotonous and boring. I've feel like I'm at a dead end, but recently I've given thought into tech support, particularly AV, but also IT. As a musician I love all things audio, so that's where my interest in AV stems from, but I feel it wouldn't hurt to also look into IT and getting some sort of training/certification there. Here's what I'm thinking so far: I know the IT department at the college I work at is perpetually under-staffed. I want to have a conversation with my supervisor to let him know I'm interested in learning about IT specifically for the college in hopes of one day moving departments and from part time to full time. It seems like the easiest way to land a job since I already know the people there. As far as getting the training, I'm not sure where to start. I've read good things about CompTIA with their A+ certification. I also wonder if getting a certificate in IT from a local college is also worth pursuing. Either way, I want to pursue something that leads to a solid credential I can put on my resume and something that has structure, because I'll never get through if my ADD ass is the only one holding me accountable. Finally, before I go barking up the wrong tree I want to be sure IT/AV support is what I think it is. I like working with my hands and doing something different everyday. I loathe sitting behind a desk in front of a computer all day, which is why I never pursued computer science and no longer want to work in bookkeeping. Just from what I observe where I work, there are people in the IT department who go to all buildings on campus, help install, repair, troubleshoot, and replace AV equipment, reset passwords, fix issues with the learning management systems, fix hardware/software issues with computers all around campus. That's what I want to do, and I'm hoping for $40,000 salary starting out. Is this doable? Do I have the right idea? At the end of the day music is still going to be my #1 passion and I will keep doing it in some capacity, but I also want to make a solid, honest living. This, I think, can get me there. TL;DR: Musician with little experience in anything else interested in AV/IT support. Where should I look into training? What is the day to day job like? [link] [comments]  |
| CS degree, lost passion for programming, switching to IT Posted: 02 Dec 2020 03:50 PM PST Hi guys, would like some advice about my switch to IT. I graduated in 2018 and after graduating, got a internship (iOS programming) that lasted for 3 months. Realized that this wasn't for me anymore. Felt very lost and been working at a restaurant just to survive. I decided this was enough and found this sub. I've been researching and so I wanted to ask, what should I do from here? Where should I start? I looked at the FAQ and some other posts but wanted to hear some suggestions from the community. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 02 Dec 2020 03:40 PM PST I had a subscription to linux academy but it expired a little less than a year ago. Ive been think of resubscribing because of their black friday sale but I heard the quality went downhill and some courses were removed when the company was bought out. Is it still worth the price to buy an annual membership? [link] [comments]  |
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