IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[Obreh Winfrey]

Quick question:

With GCP going down a few weeks ago, do yall think that may have some negative effect on GCP or cloud computing as a whole?

Nah. AWS has had outages before that affected big companies. Only thing it will probably do is make people think about spreading there applications across cloud providers. The likelihood of two going down at once is about as close to 0 as you can get.

 

[TheNig]

Nah. AWS has had outages before that affected big companies. Only thing it will probably do is make people think about spreading there applications across cloud providers. The likelihood of two going down at once is about as close to 0 as you can get.

I guess my thinking is that because GCP is on such a smaller scale compared to AWS or even Azure, that maybe it wouldn't effect cloud computing as a whole but it could make companies like LG and Target, who use GCP to think twice about who they are using for cloud computing.

 

[Artenche]

Having a homelab is crucial brehs. Take advantage of them free tier Azure/AWS accounts and lab it up with hot tools/techonologies i.e. docker

might just be me but Docker on Windows is on some other shyt. Maximum resource hog and has my shyt running like a calculator

still gonna fukk with it though hoping to land a DevOps/DevSecOps gig by next year.

 

[Dre23]

Fellas, which do you guys prefer a full time with benefits? or a contract job? I'm thinking about leaving my full time and taking on more contract positions. That way i get a bunch of experience instead of trying to climb the corp ladder at current place. If you guys have any advice on contract jobs or anything related. Feel free to share.

 

[Silkk]

Fellas, which do you guys prefer a full time with benefits? or a contract job? I'm thinking about leaving my full time and taking on more contract positions. That way i get a bunch of experience instead of trying to climb the corp ladder at current place. If you guys have any advice on contract jobs or anything related. Feel free to share.

I prefer contract because the $ is usually higher. But thats the only reason, don’t GAF otherwise.

 

[Silky Johnson]

I remember those days taking 30+ calls a day being tracked by some stupid ass adherence system. Getting QA scores fukk that I’m never going back to helldesk

Breh, I once worked on a Helpdesk where 50+ calls was an average shift and they mirrored your screen to make sure you only had the ticket queue up. I only lasted 90 days before resigning.

anybody have any recommendations for security+ bootcamps, not trying to shell out 1800+ for a non reputable company

None. Bootcamps are a waste. Get a book, a computer you can set up labs on and grind at your own pace.

I don't have any IT experience, hence the reason why I want to go for the Certified Cloud Practitioner certification

Why do mfers swear you can just pull up to the IT field w/o any experience and just shortcut their way through?

Start at the bottom with A+ & Network + before jumping into anything else. Without a foundation in troubleshooting theory, you won't be able to last in this industry.

 

[Silky Johnson]

I been in this IT game for a while....15 years and counting so lemme throw out some useful gems I learned from experience and my tech O.G.'s

• Start with entry level certs then specialize as needed. A plus and Net plus will get your foot in the door for that first job. Steer clear of vendor specific certs unless you are on a job that requires it. If that's the case, let them pay for it. Most of those acronyms don't mean a damn thing at the end of the day because...
• ...skills rule over certs. There are a million ways to scam the exams these days. IT managers care less about the alphabet soup acronyms and more about what you can do to provide service to the end users. Do you understand and apply proper troubleshooting theory? How do you interact with users? Other members of the department? How well do you solve problems within your domain?
• Time is money. Learn to manage it properly. The book answer isn't usually the right answer in the enterprise. Yes, you're supposed to remove every peripheral and manually add startup items until you find the answer, but is that worth it when an exec's laptop is down 15 mins before they are supposed to walk into a meeting? No, give them a loaner and troubleshoot later. Another user can't connect to wifi and you think you should reinstall the OS? Nah fam. Reinstalling the OS is almost never the right answer (just a catch-all response). Take your time and get it right. Different scenarios call for different approaches.
• Find a mentor. I didn't utilize this until a few years in the game but it's invaluable. There's nothing new under the sun so whatever aspect of I.T. you're trying to get into, somebody already walked in those shoes. When you find a good O.G you vibe with, learn as much as you can for as long as possible before you move on. There's nothing more valuable than learning how to be a professional.
• Sit down. Be Humble. Evolve. Start from the bottom and work your way through. Again, skills mean more than certs. Don't wait for the perfect job before you start working. Start working now to get that XP up. You gotta jump off the cliff and learn how to fly on the way down. I had 3 Comptia certs, a MSCE and some vendor certs before I broke into the game. I started on a Geek Squad desk until I could muscle into an enterprise Move/Add/Change gig. Flipped that to hardware support and kept growing over the years all the way to management & owning my Managed Service Provider.

 

[calixprynce]

Quest to get CCENT

Once I do the rest of these Sybex-Lammle chapters, Im taking a practice test.
Fucc that Wendell-Odom book

erewrwer

 

[Black Panther]

Well, just pulled the trigger and paid for a Microsoft exam.

Since the new Microsoft certs are out and I've been thinking about this for over a year, I decided to go for the Modern Desktop Administrator Associate cert.

First test is MD-100: Windows 10, should be able to knock this one out the park easy. Just need to brush up on in-place upgrades, the different deployment methods, Microsoft-specific terms and local user/group policy stuff and I should be good.

The second test is MD-101: Managing Modern Desktops, haven't paid for that one yet. Still seems easy enough. :kanyebp:

 

[Silky Johnson]

Well, just pulled the trigger and paid for a Microsoft exam.

Since the new Microsoft certs are out and I've been thinking about this for over a year, I decided to go for the Modern Desktop Administrator Associate cert.

First test is MD-100: Windows 10, should be able to knock this one out the park easy. Just need to brush up on in-place upgrades, the different deployment methods, Microsoft-specific terms and local user/group policy stuff and I should be good.

The second test is MD-101: Managing Modern Desktops, haven't paid for that one yet. Still seems easy enough. :kanyebp:

Is it too late to get your money back? You are only going to get two years max out of those certs.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Basecamp is hiring Remote Customer service reps and it looks like pay starts at 70k

 

[Trustus]

Quest to get CCENT

Once I do the rest of these Sybex-Lammle chapters, Im taking a practice test.
Fucc that Wendell-Odom book

erewrwer

What are you using for labs? I'm studying for both my Net+ and CCNA. I use this for labs https://www.udemy.com/cisco-ccent-packet-tracer-ultimate-labs-icnd1-exam-prep-lab/

 

[calixprynce]

What are you using for labs? I'm studying for both my Net+ and CCNA. I use this for labs https://www.udemy.com/cisco-ccent-packet-tracer-ultimate-labs-icnd1-exam-prep-lab/

I gotta couple of lab books downloaded, I’m boutta cop that too tho . Is it good?

 

[Trustus]

I gotta couple of lab books downloaded, I’m boutta cop that too tho . Is it good?

Yeah I like him he gives a lab (packet tracer) with instructions asks you to see if you can solve the lab. If you can't the next video has a detailed overview on how to solve the lab. He offers free content on udemy to see if you like his teaching style. David Bombal | CCIE #11023, over 15 years of network training experience| Udemy

 

[calixprynce]

Yeah I like him he gives a lab (packet tracer) with instructions asks you to see if you can solve the lab. If you can't the next video has a detailed overview on how to solve the lab. He offers free content on udemy to see if you like his teaching style. David Bombal | CCIE #11023, over 15 years of network training experience| Udemy

That Bombal nikka I can’t jive with. I bought first networking course from Udemy and he was the instructor. Cuz voice put me right to sleep, I will give it a go tho since it’s labs and not lecture