anyone here in the IT field?

[iluv2xlr8]

I've been thinking about trying to break into the IT field lately,but I have ZERO experience. Wondering if anyone had any suggestions as far as beginner certifications and ways for a beginner to break into this field. I have an interest in either security or network engineering. Any help would be grateful.:smile:

 

[B_Hickboy]

What a coincidence! I'm a programmer and I've always wanted to break into the brain surgery field!

 

[uniquename]

My only advice would be to pick ONE field and stick with it

some industry recognised certs come from

Comptia
Micosoft
Cisco
LPI
Redhat
Juniper

in fact scratch that go search a jobsite for the job you'd like to do and find the Pre-requisites for that role then google them

 

[Incocknito]

Well hardware wise the CompTIA A+ Certifications (which includes an A+ Network) are the "entry level" ones.

Then most people go the Microsoft route which is MCDST > MCP > MCSA > MCSE (or something similar)

For networking though and non-Microsoft oriented qualifications a lot of people choose Cisco. I think their Networking exams are more detailed and possibly respected than CompTIA's but that's just from what I've heard, not based on any real facts.

Also, once you get the A+ Certifications and by doing some reading around you can start your own business / work freelance. Which works pretty well for me.

One other thing to note is that most jobs in IT want at least the MCP certification. If you don't have that then you're looking at a very low salary of between 12-15k max (British Pounds).

With the MCP you're lucky to reach 20k.

 

[68306]

I spend too much time in front of time in front of a computer... if that counts.


Some advice I could pass on is... don't work towards a job you'll hate. Some people have doctorates in their fields and despise what they're doing.

Not sure what an acquaintance passed up (he's doing something more interesting now), but apparently it was worth 100k+ at starting rates.

 

[Rikter8]

+1

Comp TIA Essentials first. Then get into either networking or programming. I'm doing the CompTIA A+ cert right now. Got my book from Amazon, with a training CD and practice tests.
Cisco is very good.
I did the MCP track. It cost $3000 and it gets outdated every time a new platform comes out.
Programming is where the money is.

Well hardware wise the CompTIA A+ Certifications (which includes an A+ Network) are the "entry level" ones.

Then most people go the Microsoft route which is MCDST > MCP > MCSA > MCSE (or something similar)

For networking though and non-Microsoft oriented qualifications a lot of people choose Cisco. I think their Networking exams are more detailed and possibly respected than CompTIA's but that's just from what I've heard, not based on any real facts.

Also, once you get the A+ Certifications and by doing some reading around you can start your own business / work freelance. Which works pretty well for me.

One other thing to note is that most jobs in IT want at least the MCP certification. If you don't have that then you're looking at a very low salary of between 12-15k max (British Pounds).

With the MCP you're lucky to reach 20k.

 

[SpeedoMike]

the credentials get you in the door. Expertise and great performance on the job are what it takes from there on.

(formerly Employment Manager in high tech industry)

 

[Cant_Stop]

I'm in the IT business and didn't know much of anything before the job. A friend got me an interview at a pretty big company and a couple of books on networking, hardware and stuff in a week and lied my ass on the interview. I now have an A+, Network+, Linux+, RHCE, and MSCE certs. It was really hard at first, but if you work on it, it isn't that hard to pick up.

 

[iluv2xlr8]

Thanks alot for the replies guys:smile: