Black man goes from 37k to 6 figures 6 certs in two years

[havoc]

Self teaching is hard for some people
Like me for instance I’ma slow learner at school, that’s why I’m always the one asking questions and study more than others... this would not work for me I would need to get a degree

That's an honest statement. It is difficult and required discipline. IT degree programs have courses that will prepare you for the certs exam. Therefore, you are not going to lose out.

 

[Ugo Ogugwa]

Nothing wrong with saying you can't do what breh did. Just remember that most of your peers who you see that are successful did something that others either won't or can't do.

I have no degree and I been making salary/having jobs that required a degree since 2012. If I wasn't wasting time trying to be a pharmacist I could have started getting money earlier.

Some of y'all are just scared. As an OG all I can say is stop being a bytch and "do it".

 

[num123]

You're just getting the success stories. They're not worthless, but they're not necessarily a ticket to economic freedom/independence/whatever either.

The typical cert chaser is stuck in help desk (which may be fine depending on one's ambition). Certs are good if you want a stable $30-45K job.

I tried taking the typical shortcut approach and I got the typical results. Although results vary, the best bet to get into IT is through the long, boring process of getting a degree.

I am not going to invalidate you life experience but the reason the some people with certs get stuck in entry level IT jobs, is the same way other people get stuck in entry level jobs. Usually it is not changing jobs to get better opportunities and/or not getting higher level certs. It is rare to stay in one company and go from low level help desk to engineering, especially in a certain period of time. As soon as you get a certain amount of experience and you are sure you will not move up in your current company, leave and find something else better. You should also look into contracting firms (like Robert Half Technology, TEKsystems, Insight Global, etc..) local managed IT firms for jobs as well since they will refer jobs to you in ordered to get paid. If you are doing any type of help desk let it be in a Network Operations Center. You may be doing simple stuff at the start but you will be logging into the equipment to do so, and you will get crucial experience there.

Also getting your A+, N+, S+ and even a CCNA R/S is good and all, but they are bottom barrel to entry level certs. If you want to get more offers and success work on more higher level certs. For example If you have a CCNA you should be on ebay buying a networking lab and also studying for the CCNP R/S. But the lab is crucial in getting experience in configuring and troubleshooting networks because it is rare you will be allowed to do so without any knowledge of it, lab or real life. The knowledge you get from learning from an actual lab and not a book or even a simulator is priceless. Once you have that go to your supervisor and let them know you have these skills and you are willing to take on more work. I have seen it work. There was an employee at my company that started out at lowest level of the NOC but kept studying and learning. They moved up levels in the NOC until they were at the top, and when there was an opportunity to move into engineering they did. But to be fair they had prior experience as well which helped.

 

[num123]

Nothing wrong with saying you can't do what breh did. Just remember that most of your peers who you see that are successful did something that others either won't or can't do.

I have no degree and I been making salary/having jobs that required a degree since 2012. If I wasn't wasting time trying to be a pharmacist I could have started getting money earlier.

Some of y'all are just scared. As an OG all I can say is stop being a bytch and "do it".

Most of the people i knew in the field did not have a degree, including my lead. The most important thing that is considered is experience, then certs. And you do not get experience sitting in one job level hoping someone is going to give you that shot, you do it by being willing to move from job to job soaking up as much knowledge as you can.

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

All my cyber security friends are doing real good im my area.

 

[Marc Spector]

Got into IT through the Military. Best decision I ever made

God bless this breh

For brehs interested in the path to IT through the Military, send me a message. This is a field black men can dominate EASILY if we just have the knowledge early on. If you are trapped working a shytty dead end job, or if you have a degree you ain't using with tens of thousands in debt and fear what the future holds, or if you arent where you want to be in life and want to make that career change to IT but you're too broke or undisciplined...send me a dm

I also am living proof of this.

 

[Sonic Boom of the South]

A lil advice


Everybody goes the same route when going into IT

Going for A+
Then Network+
Then Security+

And u end up making $13-15 an hour doing help desk

What makes it even worse is cats going to these bootleg for profit schools and taking out loans to pay $20k for that shyt


Don't


Look into some certs that the average person doesn't know about that are easy
VTC is huge and there aren't enough certified people for the field

 

[Voice of Reason]

A lil advice


Everybody goes the same route when going into IT

Going for A+
Then Network+
Then Security+

And u end up making $13-15 an hour doing help desk

What makes it even worse is cats going to these bootleg for profit schools and taking out loans to pay $20k for that shyt


Don't


Look into some certs that the average person doesn't know about that are easy
VTC is huge and there aren't enough certified people for the field

What do you think of aws. And what is VTC?

 

[num123]

A lil advice


Everybody goes the same route when going into IT

Going for A+
Then Network+
Then Security+

And u end up making $13-15 an hour doing help desk

What makes it even worse is cats going to these bootleg for profit schools and taking out loans to pay $20k for that shyt


Don't


Look into some certs that the average person doesn't know about that are easy
VTC is huge and there aren't enough certified people for the field

If networking is your goal, get your N+ just for the knowledge but i would skip that if you can and get your CCNA R/S. The crucial thing about networking is getting a lab setup and actually learning the commands and processes. It is so much better to learn how to configure and troubleshoot OSPF or STP for example by actually working on the equipment and not just reading about it in a book. Go to ebay or click this link (CCNA Lab | eBay) to see ready made labs that are relatively cheap.

 

[Sonic Boom of the South]

What do you think of aws. And what is VTC?

Aws def huge
Amazon hires a lot for that and actually has an apprenticeship program for veterans to train in it

VTC
is video teleconference
Most fortune 500 companies have vtc suites and have multiple daily conferences
They hire vtc personnel to set up and monitor the conferences while going on
U troubleshoot issues if the conf drops

And u maintain the equipment
It is networking and dealing with codecs

If networking is your goal, get your N+ just for the knowledge but i would skip that if you can and get your CCNA R/S. The crucial thing about networking is getting a lab setup and actually learning the commands and processes. It is so much better to learn how to configure and troubleshoot OSPF or STP for example by actually working on the equipment and not just reading about it in a book. Go to ebay or click this link (CCNA Lab | eBay) to see ready made labs that are relatively cheap.

I would advise just going straight to your ccna
Network+ gets laughed at by hiring managers for positions that require moderate skills.

 

[Sonic Boom of the South]

Also don't fukk with them high ass for profit schools

Community College is the shyt for getting into the field cause the tuition is low and u get way more face to face teaching from a more skilled individual

 

[Voice of Reason]

Aws def huge
Amazon hires a lot for that and actually has an apprenticeship program for veterans to train in it

VTC
is video teleconference
Most fortune 500 companies have vtc suites and have multiple daily conferences
They hire vtc personnel to set up and monitor the conferences while going on
U troubleshoot issues if the conf drops

And u maintain the equipment
It is networking and dealing with codecs



I would advise just going straight to your ccna
Network+ gets laughed at by hiring managers for positions that require moderate skills.

Good info overall. In regards to AWS I was thinking about getting the cloud developer associate cert. Do you have any Knowledge regarding that route?

 

[Vaselclean]

I am not going to invalidate you life experience but the reason the some people with certs get stuck in entry level IT jobs, is the same way other people get stuck in entry level jobs. Usually it is not changing jobs to get better opportunities and/or not getting higher level certs. It is rare to stay in one company and go from low level help desk to engineering, especially in a certain period of time. As soon as you get a certain amount of experience and you are sure you will not move up in your current company, leave and find something else better. You should also look into contracting firms (like Robert Half Technology, TEKsystems, Insigt Global, etc..) local managed IT firms for jobs as well since they will refer jobs to you in ordered to get paid. If you are doing any type of help desk let it be in a Network Operations Center. You may be doing simple stuff at the start but you will be logging into the equipment to do so, and you will get crucial experience there.

Also getting your A+, N+, S+ and even a CCNA R/S is good and all, but they are bottom barrel to entry level certs. If you want to get more offers and success work on more higher level certs. For example If you have a CCNA you should be on ebay buying a networking lab and also studying for the CCNP R/S. But the lab is crucial in getting experience in configuring and troubleshooting networks because it is rare you will be allowed to do so without any knowledge of it, lab or real life. The knowledge you get from learning from an actual lab and not a book or even a simulator is priceless. Once you have that go to your supervisor and let them know you have these skills and you are willing to take on more work. I have seen it work. There was an employee at my company that started out at lowest level of the NOC but kept studying and learning. They moved up levels in the NOC until they were at the top, and when there was an opportunity to move into engineering they did.

Not everybody is going to be willing to change paths, job hop, and move like I did. I just wanted to provide the other side, cause getting in is not as easy as getting a bunch of certs, entry level or not. Another big issue is certs can be braindumped. Plenty of folks go to 9tut to help them get their CCNA and CCNP, employers know this and it makes it harder to separate yourself when you have no degree.

The biggest hurdle is getting that first, non help desk role. If you go the networking route, this usually means getting into some NOC, but what if you can't get into the NOCs in your area? The obvious answer is to move, but many folks aren't going to be willing to move and potentially face the same situation in an unfamiliar city and I don't blame them. My best advice if you have certs and no degree and want to move for better opportunities is to go to a NON IT hub, sounds counterintuitive, but there is a ton of competition IT hubs for black folks like Atlanta and DC and just having certs without any proof of application beyond your home lab is going to be very difficult.

I believe if you stick with it for years, you can eventually get there, but it's going to be very hard with no guarantees and no degree backing. I just think the time is better spent earning a degree instead.

 

[num123]

Also if you can be willing to travel to another state or city for work especially as a contractor. You will get more job offers if you can do so.

 

[Bushmaster69]

I’m still waiting to have a black interviewer...I’m in my late 30s. If you’re Asian thry autimatically assume you’ll be fine. You get the benefit of the doubt. Broken English and all. If you’re black they’re trying to find ways not to hire you. Remember years ago for a mid level position this broad actually asked me if I was OK managing Asians. I was like .

Bet you they wouldn't ask that question in the reverse.

Motha fukkaz.