IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[FastEddie215]

ccna or mcsa?

Depends on what you feel more comfortable doing. As far as pay though, 3 years ago i started out doing level 1 tech support 3 months after i got my A+ Making $15.50/hr. last year I got my MCSA 2012 and landed a systems admin position making $35/hr. Currently studying for the MCSE. Gotta thank the homie @bdizzle he dropped so many gems in here over the years that helped me decide what path i should take in I.T. . I advise you guys to look back on his posts in here and many others, so many gems.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Depends on what you feel more comfortable doing. As far as pay though, 3 years ago i started out doing level 1 tech support 3 months after i got my A+ Making $15.50/hr. last year I got my MCSA 2012 and landed a systems admin position making $35/hr. Currently studying for the MCSE. Gotta thank the homie @bdizzle he dropped so many gems in here over the years that helped me decide what path i should take in I.T. . I advise you guys to look back on his posts in here and many others, so many gems.

How many years experience you got?

 

[FastEddie215]

How many years experience you got?

I only have 3 years experience in I.T

 

[↓R↑LYB]

I only have 3 years experience in I.T

3 years and already at $35/hr. You on your way breh

Don't get comfortable though, you need to hit $135/hr in the next 3 years. Take the cert game to new levels breh

Besides, we need more brehs in the 5 figure a month club. That's when you get your 7th pawg

 

[FastEddie215]

3 years and already at $35/hr. You on your way breh

Don't get comfortable though, you need to hit $135/hr in the next 3 years. Take the cert game to new levels breh

Besides, we need more brehs in the 5 figure a month club. That's when you get your 7th pawg

Haha Im never going to stop till i max out breh. I screenshot every gem you ever gave me and look at it every day to stay motivated. I'll be at the 5 figure a month club in no time! Im eventually i want to get into the security lane, A few months back i asked you about the security+ cert and you said since i have my MCSA2012 i should just stick to studying for the MCSE sijce it involves alot of AD then get the CISSP once i get 5 years experience in I.T so im following that path right now.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Haha Im never going to stop till i max out breh. I screenshot every gem you ever gave me and look at it every day to stay motivated. I'll be at the 5 figure a month club in no time! Im eventually i want to get into the security lane, A few months back i asked you about the security+ cert and you said since i have my MCSA2012 i should just stick to studying for the MCSE sijce it involves alot of AD then get the CISSP once i get 5 years experience in I.T so im following that path right now.

MCSE + CISSP and you'll be set breh. Do you know where in security you want to be? If you want to stay on the windows side, start learning about ADCS/PKI and ADFS (and of course powershell).

 

[FastEddie215]

MCSE + CISSP and you'll be set breh. Do you know where in security you want to be? If you want to stay on the windows side, start learning about ADCS/PKI and ADFS (and of course powershell).

Thats the thing I'm not sure about yet. I guess I'll stay on the windows side, I have a how to learn active directory in a month of lunches and how to learn powershell in a month of lunches books. Would that be sufficient enough to learn all of that or is there something better i can use to learn it?

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Thats the thing I'm not sure about yet. I guess I'll stay on the windows side, I have a how to learn active directory in a month of lunches and how to learn powershell in a month of lunches books. Would that be sufficient enough to learn all of that or is there something better i can use to learn it?

The MCSE (411, 412, 413, and 414) will cover ADDS, ADCS, and ADFS. To learn powershell you just gotta use it. As your studying for the MCSE, just follow along in the book and have your VMs up so you can follow along and do what they're doing. Once your comfortable doing shyt with the gui tools, try doing the same thing in powershell.

 

[FastEddie215]

The MCSE (411, 412, 413, and 414) will cover ADDS, ADCS, and ADFS. To learn powershell you just gotta use it. As your studying for the MCSE, just follow along in the book and have your VMs up so you can follow along and do what they're doing. Once your comfortable doing shyt with the gui tools, try doing the same thing in powershell.

ok so just studying the books/videos from the 411,412,413 and 414 is enough so I am already on the right track.

 

[bnm8907]

Depends on what you feel more comfortable doing. As far as pay though, 3 years ago i started out doing level 1 tech support 3 months after i got my A+ Making $15.50/hr. last year I got my MCSA 2012 and landed a systems admin position making $35/hr. Currently studying for the MCSE. Gotta thank the homie @bdizzle he dropped so many gems in here over the years that helped me decide what path i should take in I.T. . I advise you guys to look back on his posts in here and many others, so many gems.

What was your experience like studying for msca? How much time did it take and do you have any book recommendations?

It also seems their are multiple tests. Do you recommend one?

 

[FastEddie215]

What was your experience like studying for msca? How much time did it take and do you have any book recommendations?

It also seems their are multiple tests. Do you recommend one?

It was ok. I made sure I studied 3-4 hrs a day. Took me about 5 months to pass all 3 tests. You must pass 3 tests to be MCSA 2012 certified (70-410,411 and 412). 411 was the most difficult to me but may be different for everyone. As far as study materials i used cbt nuggets, the exam reference books, and a bunch of practice exams.

 

[bnm8907]

It was ok. I made sure I studied 3-4 hrs a day. Took me about 5 months to pass all 3 tests. You must pass 3 tests to be MCSA 2012 certified (70-410,411 and 412). 411 was the most difficult to me but may be different for everyone. As far as study materials i used cbt nuggets, the exam reference books, and a bunch of practice exams.

How has the cert helped you as far as getting jobs? Would you do it over again?

 

[FastEddie215]

How has the cert helped you as far as getting jobs? Would you do it over again?

That cert has def opened up many more doors compared to when i didn't have it.

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

For the programmers out there, how often are you contributing to open source projects or creating your own? I'm tossing the idea back and forth of trying to make a change to a Linux distro or something to that extent, but my C skills are and I just wouldn't know where to start. To date, all of the stuff on my GitHub has been either a class project or some somewhat trivial code tossed together to help me stand out from others. Despite that, I still want to get some experience working with existing code bases.

 

[rushing to paris]

For the programmers out there, how often are you contributing to open source projects or creating your own? I'm tossing the idea back and forth of trying to make a change to a Linux distro or something to that extent, but my C skills are and I just wouldn't know where to start. To date, all of the stuff on my GitHub has been either a class project or some somewhat trivial code tossed together to help me stand out from others. Despite that, I still want to get some experience working with existing code bases.

The number of gainfully employed software engineers/programmers that are active in open source is dwarfed by those whose output is mostly code for their employers. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Contributing bug fixes and feature requests here and there is fine, but you definitely want to get experience building something from the ground up, being able to talk about the decisions and tradeoffs, and seeing something through. These are all important characteristics and skills that employers value and will make you stand out.

There are downsides to running open source projects (time commitment, demands for your attention, unappreciation). However, if you're just looking to get your feet wet, many projects have issues and requests that are tagged in such way that they make sense for someone new to the project.

You missed it this year, but look at Hacktoberfest for inspiration.

Hacktoberfest 2016 - DigitalOcean