IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[CASHAPP]

I was in Ohio when I got my first gig. But regardless of where you live, take a pay cut to get your first job if necessary even if it means you gotta get a second job to make ends meet.

I've taken multiple pay cuts over my career to get me where im at right now. Don't think small time breh. Whatever money the post office is paying is peanuts compared to what you could be making with your career.

Don't trade in $15-20/hr now for $120/hr in a few years.

I hope you under my predicament though. I just would have to see if there are other examples of people going from $12 an hour to 20 plus in that position besides yourself.

Sorry to be hardheaded its just weighing on my mind. However what i have been thinking about is maybe i should go ahead with the A plus now since there is no given the post office will hire me right this second...

About how much did you make a month with the help desk from when you first started vs 9 months later? How big a difference?

 

[↓R↑LYB]

I hope you under my predicament though. I just would have to see if there are other examples of people going from $12 an hour to 20 plus in that position besides yourself.

Breh I don't need to understand your predicament. You're just being extremely short sighted. You're willing to exchange a career that can easily make you 5 figures a month for a little bullshyt post office job because you don't want to make a temporary sacrifice.

Sorry to be hardheaded its just weighing on my mind. However what i have been thinking about is maybe i should go ahead with the A plus now since there is no given the post office will hire me right this second...

You've been in this thread for how long and you haven't even got your A+ yet? No offense breh but it seems like you just want to struggle. I've laid the blueprint out for y'all nikkas for the last 4 years and been posting nothing but receipts and you haven't taken any action.

About how much did you make a month with the help desk from when you first started vs 9 months later? How big a difference?

When I first started I was making $8.98/hr. I was broke as shyt living in a room I had rented that was roach infested. I was so broke the only thing I could afford to eat was ramen noodles and canned ravioli (people at my job would even make fun of me because of it). I did that for 9 months while working full time, going to school full time at night, and studying for my certs on the side in whatever little free time to I had (I had my A+, CCNA, and MCP before I got that first job).

9 months later I got promoted and was making 20/hr. About 18 months later I was making $30/hr. Fast forward 7 years and I'm making $120/hr with just a high school diploma and a fukked up hairline . And during those 10 years I took 3 years off to travel, fukk fat bytches, and play Xbox

Like I said, you hustling backwards and you're being extremely short sited, but it's your life to live

 

[↓R↑LYB]

I fell off after like 2 weeks of studying but after reading this last page im bout to get back on it today!

Reading some of the replies in this thread about nikkas slacking legit be having me like

It's like y'all don't understand with just a few years of studying you can easily be in the top 5% of income earners in the country

Now I know how Pastor Manning felt

 

[↓R↑LYB]

To the cats looking for remote jobs, check out flex jobs.com.

Also for nikkas that are confident in their technical skills make an account on elance and offer your services. They have nice little gigs on there where you can make some passive income doing tech shyt on the side.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Not at all, I've actually got recruiters blowing my phone up on the weekly with opportunities that they want me to pursue

But I'm good where I'm at for now. I spent the first 5 years after college working at a cushy Helpdesk then last fall started a new job which supports a specific application but I also get the chance to help out with Cisco UCS hardware, VMware, SAN technologies and SQL. Currently, I'm not quite at 6 figures but I understand that typical sys admin jobs (while the job security is good) the salary maxes out right under 100k. What I'm trying to achieve is doing something more specialized like either security (which would command a pay of $125k senior level, or DBA which pays around $110). Specialized route seems like less stress and less work because you're paid for what you know.

That's what I've been telling cats from day one. Specialize in whatever area of IT you enjoy and just be the top dude in your field. People will literally be chasing you down to throw 6 figure jobs at you.

 

[HoldThisL]

Guys I am a beginner, so what should I study first. I pick up computer related information pretty quick though.

What cert can get me a job straight away that is in high demand?

 

[↓R↑LYB]

About 5-6 months. I had originally took all my stuff down to stop recruiters, but was still getting emails.

So i just figured i'd ammuse them and they started tossing out crazy numbers

Breh, you don't even realize it but you're maybe 1-2 steps behind me at this point . Once you get to the point where recruiters are starting to stalk you is when you get the upper hand.

Try this as a test: from now on start getting real disrespectful with the amount of money you ask for. I was making $35/hr and started telling recruiters my rate instead of asking them what their rate was. This was before my CISSP and CCNP. I got to the point where recruiters were saying "Yes, $70/hr is fine."

I damn near had a heart attack

 

[RubioTheCruel]

Just had a firm contact me for a 100% remote gig as a NOC escalation engineer for hedge funds

Not sure I wanna do the hours(F 10a-7p, Sa/Su 7a-7p, M 10a-7p) but the guap

 

[thaKEAF]

Reading some of the replies in this thread about nikkas slacking legit be having me like

It's like y'all don't understand with just a few years of studying you can easily be in the top 5% of income earners in the country

Now I know how Pastor Manning felt e

you right Breh that's why when I know I'm slipping or check this thread I myself.

 

[semtex]

Adding some devOps skills to my repertoire. Learning docker. Ain't an easy thing to make it play nice with Windows tho.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Background and piss test came back fine

Bout to cop some trees, get my drink on, and get real wavy like

 

[Silkk]

Breh, you don't even realize it but you're maybe 1-2 steps behind me at this point . Once you get to the point where recruiters are starting to stalk you is when you get the upper hand.

Try this as a test: from now on start getting real disrespectful with the amount of money you ask for. I was making $35/hr and started telling recruiters my rate instead of asking them what their rate was. This was before my CISSP and CCNP. I got to the point where recruiters were saying "Yes, $70/hr is fine."

I damn near had a heart attack

aight ima keep you posted

 

[thaKEAF]

Guys I am a beginner, so what should I study first. I pick up computer related information pretty quick though.

What cert can get me a job straight away that is in high demand?

Been mostly advised here to start up with A+. If you are fairly decent with computers it shouldn't be hard to pick that one up. From there get you a help desk gig and study for your next cert.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Adding some devOps skills to my repertoire. Learning docker. Ain't an easy thing to make it play nice with Windows tho.

doing the same. Studying for the RHCSA now and some python and then going to learn Ansible, Vagrant, Docker, and knock out the AWS Sol Architect cert. I have a screening for a company that uses AWS though so that would be a God send if it comes through.

 

[HoldThisL]

Been mostly advised here to start up with A+. If you are fairly decent with computers it shouldn't be hard to pick that one up. From there get you a help desk gig and study for your next cert.

Thanks bro, any books or anything I should specifically study for the test?