IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[BamdaDon]

Just don't get complacent breh. When I first hit 20/hr I was walkin round like " y'all nikkas can't tell me shyt."

My current gig got me like . I'm not gonna say how much I make cause of course y'all nikkas is gonna scream but let's just say I'm puttin skrimps in my ramen noodles now



Good luck breh, just get used to studying. A+ is just the beginning. Cause the time is gonna come when a offer comes across your inbox needing some random ass cert with a starting pay of 150k plus bonus and you gonna be like " another damn test?"

To be more specific this is what Im going to be getting trained in

CompTIA A+
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)

But yeah I can believe it. When I was searching for a new job I started searching for 100k+ salaries and every fukking IT or pharmaceutical job would have me like and im in real estate so basically I aint made no real money since 2008

 

[↓R↑LYB]

lol yea I figure i'ma have to start at help desk like everybody else. hopefully i'll be able to at least make 12 starting off, but 15 would be great. worked warehouse my whole life so i know it's gonna be tough for me to break into the field at first. but I just wanna get to a point where i actually like my job and I dont become some zombie and shyt. I heard help desk can make you like that, but i'm willin to go through the bullshyt to get where I need to go. wish i woulda started sooner like the rest of yall. but fukk it. it's on me now.

ain't no can about it breh, helpdesk will make you like that. I give you a good 6-8 months until you're ready to commit dat.

Speak on that salary brethren. I'll say I came into the DBA game with 70k not including bonuses. That might be light for some of ya'll that been in the game


I'm sure I can get more because i'm out here in Silicon Valley... the wages are but the cost of living is

Right now I'm making 140k. I'm seein bout $7500/mo take home pay. Plus I got an email today for a 100% remote gig. I don't know the salary yet, but I'm asking for 150k on that and work both jobs at the same damn time (16k/mo breh )

But my next contract though I'm shootin for 100/hr, gotta knock off my CCIE Security for that kinda bread (shoulda had it by now, but a nikka got burned out). That's 11k a month take home . The funniest part is I drive a 2004 Saturn with manual windows and doors, everyone think I'm broke so they don't ask me for shyt

But don't pay me no mind breh, I just bought a mansion in duckberg.

Spoiler

And don't get me started bout workin in Iraq and Afghanistan. I personally know help desk cats brining home 10k/mo. I saw a couple Sr. Security positions paying like 30k/mo, but I don't know if I wanna be in the dessert for 2 years at a time

 

[((ReFleXioN)) EteRNaL]

ain't no can about it breh, helpdesk will make you like that. I give you a good 6-8 months until you're ready to commit dat.



Right now I'm making 140k. I'm seein bout $7500/mo take home pay. Plus I got an email today for a 100% remote gig. I don't know the salary yet, but I'm asking for 150k on that and work both jobs at the same damn time (16k/mo breh )

But my next contract though I'm shootin for 100/hr, gotta knock off my CCIE Security for that kinda bread (shoulda had it by now, but a nikka got burned out). That's 11k a month take home . The funniest part is I drive a 2004 Saturn with manual windows and doors, everyone think I'm broke so they don't ask me for shyt

But don't pay me no mind breh, I just bought a mansion in duckberg.

Spoiler

And don't get me started bout workin in Iraq and Afghanistan. I personally know help desk cats brining home 10k/mo. I saw a couple Sr. Security positions paying like 30k/mo, but I don't know if I wanna be in the dessert for 2 years at a time

so how long it take you to make this progress breh. realistically for a dude like myself...with only warehouse experience. lets say I started help desk tomorrow. would it be possible for me to be makin 20 an hour by the end of next year?

 

[↓R↑LYB]

and im in real estate so basically I aint made no real money since 2008

not to laugh at your pain breh but

Side note, I'm thinkin bout getting my real estate license cause me and my girl is thinking bout picking up some foreclosure/short sale/REO houses as income property. The plan is we'll be getting them cash and renting em out for some passive income. Got any advice ?

 

[↓R↑LYB]

so how long it take you to make this progress breh. realistically for a dude like myself...with only warehouse experience. lets say I started help desk tomorrow. would it be possible for me to be makin 20 an hour by the end of next year?

I got my first IT job at 21. Before that I was working at Target. I started out as an intern working for the city making 8.98/hr doing help desk. I busted my ass and got hired on as an employee after like 6 months making a little under 20 hr. I stayed there for about 2 years and some change, then started doing contract work. My 1st contract I was making 30/hr and I ain't look back since.

If you hustle the system, get as much experience as you can, and knock out some good certifications, you should be able to hit 20/hr in 18 months max. It's hard work getting to this level, but once you're here you're pretty much coasting for the rest of your life.

 

[BamdaDon]

not to laugh at your pain breh but

Side note, I'm thinkin bout getting my real estate license cause me and my girl is thinking bout picking up some foreclosure/short sale/REO houses as income property. The plan is we'll be getting them cash and renting em out for some passive income. Got any advice ?

Yeah... 7500mo+Cheap ass depression priced houses+plus unemployed people who cant qualify for home loans = massive renters now and before people start getting jobs and housing starts rising. only advice I would give is to check your county auditors website for transfer history/sales price to make sure you paying a good price.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Yeah... 7500mo+Cheap ass depression priced houses+plus unemployed people who cant qualify for home loans = massive renters now and before people start getting jobs and housing starts rising. only advice I would give is to check your county auditors website for transfer history/sales price to make sure you paying a good price.

Will the auditors office have foreclosures/auction properties only, or will they have short sale/reo too?

 

[McTwerk]

So I got an associates in computer science, got a help desk job from there leaped to a Jr Sys Admin Job, from there I ended up in the DBA realm. All of this happened in 2 years time.

(so only 3 years in the tech industry total)

I'm generally a young guy (25) and I'm still looking for ways to improve my worth in the Industry. I keep seeing dudes in this thread mentioning security. What would be the best way for someone of my experience to step into the security area if I wanted to? Should I start aiming for networking certs first?

Let me know brehs!

Depends on what your goals are. You looking to move out of DBA role and into a network or security position, or stay with DBA and build off of that from a security perspective?

 

[patscorpio]

Just make sure while you're on the job you learn as much as possible. Being in help desk, you'll meet a lot of people. Even the damn CEO of the company possibly. Shake hands, kiss babies, and just network. You'll make some incredible contacts, and you can figure out where in IT you ultimately wanna go. When I was doing help desk I was cool with every damn body. I was working for the gov't and even ended up chilling with the mayor and his wife. I knew the police chief, fire chief, and all the directors on a first name basis.

This..best advice you'll ever receive about not just doing IT work but a job in general...i remember during my internship days at a top fortune 500 company i used to be in the gym with the heavy hitters of the company..talking to them on some casual shyt from physical fitness to boxing...it got to the point where i was able to stretch out a possible 1 summer only internship to a little over 3 years...if it wasn't the fact i was going to move out of state for grad school i could have easily got myself a permanent position with one of them making good money.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Think Ima start on the MCITP/MCSE 2012 track this weekend. I get free MS training through the firm I contract through. They're a Gold MS partner

 

[Silkk]

I bought the latest exam cram for the A+. for those who got the michael meyers shyt and find yourself losing focus I think this book much better and to the point. the michael meyers shyt is a great book but it has so much information you don't know exactly what to put your main focus on. exam cram gives you shyt to pass the exam plain and simple. I feel like i'm retaining the information a lot better with the exam cram. hopefully i'll be ready to take the test in november and finally get my new career started.

That meyers book long as shyt. I lost focus on ch.4, but im bout to start watching them prof messer vids instead

 

[Silver Surfer]

man Im scared of them contracts.....

 

[Blackking]

man Im scared of them contracts.....

in IT many times you do good work and are hired in. Especially if you have a rare skill set.

 

[Silver Surfer]

in IT many times you do good work and are hired in. Especially if you have a rare skill set.

yeah..I wouldnt mind going over seas for a year or 2....

 

[Blackking]

I got my first IT job at 21. Before that I was working at Target. I started out as an intern working for the city making 8.98/hr doing help desk. I busted my ass and got hired on as an employee after like 6 months making a little under 20 hr. I stayed there for about 2 years and some change, then started doing contract work. My 1st contract I was making 30/hr and I ain't look back since.

If you hustle the system, get as much experience as you can, and knock out some good certifications, you should be able to hit 20/hr in 18 months max. It's hard work getting to this level, but once you're here you're pretty much coasting for the rest of your life.

what are doing... software developer? .net, java, IOS?
network engineer?