IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[satam55]

What are your certs? What are you getting into? I wanted to do cyber security but it seems like they want crazy experience or a degree.

YouTuber Du'An Lightfoot mentions you can get an entry-level SOC (Security Operations Center) job with Security+ cert & no experience (Skip to the 40:26 mark):

 

[zerorequiem]

YouTuber Du'An Lightfoot mentions you can get an entry-level SOC (Security Operations Center) job with Security+ cert & no experience (Skip to the 40:26 mark):

Thanks for this bro. This makes me more motivated. I subscribed to him. I can't believe I hadn't beforehand. I got a Sec+ now and working on the ITIL for my job requirement but after that I'm going hard

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

YouTuber Du'An Lightfoot mentions you can get an entry-level SOC (Security Operations Center) job with Security+ cert & no experience (Skip to the 40:26 mark)

Don't play with this. Entry level SOC jobs are not that easy to pull. These are good jobs (and they're disappearing).

Information security is not a beginners/step in discipline. You will get caught out and exposed.

 

[Silkk]

Any other job sites you brehs using instead of Dice, Indeed, Ziprecruiter, Linkedin, Monster, & Careerbuilder?

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

Glassdoor and the company's own website.

 

[patscorpio]

https://www.cbtnuggets.com/blog/2017/05/4-best-entry-level-it-positions/



Jr. SysAdmin is an entry-level job?

yeah.in my company the salary range for that is between $49,120 min to $73,680 max

 

[MajorVitaman]

New job.

Puts me at 6 figures

























After taxes.

I appreciate it, certgang. Y'all gave me the game and I ran with it

Yea, I started in help desk. While I may be an outlier (< 2 yrs xp). The process is simple. Learn, listen, lab, and leave.

Learn what employers want in a candidate. Search for positions you want. Then, learn the skills they ask for.

Listen to people that are in the position you aspire to get to. Whether it is in person or on here. You can gain experience vicariously.

Lab the new skills you learned about. It will give you a better understanding of the technology.

After you feel you have learned enough at your current job, leave. Make sure you negotiate your new rates, too.

Rinse & repeat

Naa I'm not in a high COL city.

Lemme try to break it down.

Most brehs aspire to hit 6 figs in 5 yrs. I said I would do it in less than 2.

Not to be cliche, but I had a target salary in mind since March. I also had a position in mind that would've paid around the same amount. The plan was to get that job no later than Jan. Then, I switched domains. Therefore, my job prospects changed, but I still had that target salary in mind and I still learned mad shyt. Fast forward. I got a call and the recruiter was talking wild numbers. Instead of accepting the initial offer, I negotiated for even more $$ - It's really on some Alchemist shyt tbh.


Edit: mattafact, Cashmere, you sparked the idea you said in a old post u would hit 6 figs in 6 years. FreshFromATL told you why not do it in 2.

Depends on you, breh. You have to factor your hustle and capacity to learn. You have to choose what to apply when ppl share advice. If I followed the typical path. I'd be working on the CCNA or MCSA right now instead of the OSCP.



Cyber security is a huge discipline. You have to be more specific. What exactly do you want to do? Malware analyst, Vulnerability analyst, Red Team, Incident Response, GRC, Network Security Engineer just to name a few.

Most important: Resume > Certs

If you can show an interviewer scripts or tools you wrote in Python, Perl, or Ruby - You will get a job. If you can explain in detail how you have a lab with VSphere running AD, LAMP, SAN, SIEM, NGFW, IPS/IDS - you will get a job. Get creative. Best part is, those two options are free. Compared to expensive certs.

good shyt breh rep

There are a lot of different roles in information security and many of them require knowledge of different technologies and skills. For example a SOC analyst employs a completely different skill set from an application security engineer.

yeah.in my company the salary range for that is between $49,120 min to $73,680 max

you in philly?

 

[Henryflo1]

Been applying for these help desk jobs and still no luck, no idea what im doing wrong.

 

[Redguard]

Been applying for these help desk jobs and still no luck, no idea what im doing wrong.

It took me awhile to find a job after I got the A+. Especially with the job market in my area being garbage.

I would have somebody look your resume. If it looks fine I would just keep applying at jobs. Somebody will give you a chance.

 

[patscorpio]

you in philly?

nope

 

[satam55]

https://www.cbtnuggets.com/blog/2017/05/4-best-entry-level-it-positions/



Jr. SysAdmin is an entry-level job?

well it says jr. right there in the title

Folks in this thread don't really talk up Junior IT Admin/Engineer positions as entry-level, so I never thought of it as entry-level.



@Silkk You ever tried to go after junior Admin or junior Engineer positions?

 

[Silkk]

Folks in this thread don't really talk up Junior IT Admin/Engineer positions as entry-level, so I never thought of it as entry-level.



@Silkk You ever tried to go after junior Admin or junior Engineer positions?

Thats about where I am now pay wise

 

[xXMASHERXx]

Don't play with this. Entry level SOC jobs are not that easy to pull. These are good jobs (and they're disappearing).

Information security is not a beginners/step in discipline. You will get caught out and exposed.

I have to agree with this. While its always possible, at least here in Cali, they are expecting at least 3 years of IT experience with some security related certs to go with that experience.

 

[xXMASHERXx]

Folks in this thread don't really talk up Junior IT Admin/Engineer positions as entry-level, so I never thought of it as entry-level.



@Silkk You ever tried to go after junior Admin or junior Engineer positions?

I guess it depends on what you consider entry level. Where I've worked, those positions don't exist and even if they did, they wouldn't give them to someone without helpdesk/desktop support experience.

 

[satam55]

Folks in this thread don't really talk up Junior IT Admin/Engineer positions as entry-level, so I never thought of it as entry-level.



@Silkk You ever tried to go after junior Admin or junior Engineer positions?

I guess it depends on what you consider entry level. Where I've worked, those positions don't exist and even if they did, they wouldn't give them to someone without helpdesk/desktop support experience.

Is possible a Junior IT Admin/Engineer postion is just a glorified title for a higher tier (Level 2 or 3) Support/Tech postion?