Not sure what to do career wise

zdx

I've been doing helpdesk/desktop support for about 6 years. I'm sort of the jack of all trades but I'd like to narrow down to networking. I have no certs and no degrees and im 25 years old. I don't want to go to college but if its highly suggested I'll go. At this point I don't want to do helpdesk/desktop support anymore and I'm on a salary of 35k with a on call work schedule. What should I do?

kohr-ah

If you don't want to go to college then start getting certified.

You want to go into networking then start looking into the CCENT and go get certified in it. Then the CCNA. Then get a job doing work with that certification. From there go for CCNP. etc etc.

Certifications and a degree show you that you are dedicated to a task to completion.
Certifications it is a specific material you are showing you want to specialize in.
Degree is a dedication of time and resources for higher educational learning as a whole.

veritas_libertas

I'd start with the CCNA and then see what happens. It's respected and can definitely help you get a entry-level role in networking.

kurosaki00

lol after reading this... I wonder in what did you based this post:
http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/91717-advice-degrees-certs.html#post770200
Several years ago.

Buddy you know what you need to do. Get some books, get a lab and get certified. You wrote a post about this years ago.

mzx380

College doesn't have to be the move for you right now but it should definitely be on your improvement track. Initial strategy is to do what everyone else has suggested and certify yourself in the technology that interests you. Once you attain a position that will allow the flexibility, finish your formal education since it will be difficult for you to do it later in life.

EANx

There are a lot of suggestions to be made but the first thing to me is addressing the lack of motivation that made you stay in a help-desk role for 6 years.

To answer the question: Skip the degree for now. Get the Network+ and CCNA. I have top-end engineers making over 200k without a degree but they have a deep understanding of a very specialized area and 8-10 years of experience. Degree or no-degree, you won't get the big bucks without experience.

TechGuru80

EANx wrote: »

Get the Network+ and CCNA.

For the CCNA, do the two exam path (CCENT then CCNA)....but yep spot on. It can be difficult to plan far ahead in technology because things change very rapidly. I think you could make up to a 5 year plan and be ok but just realize that beyond 2-3 years needs to be flexible just incase. So for instance, get Network+ and CCENT/CCNA, and plan on the CCNP....but be flexible if all of a sudden all the jobs are doing some fancy new SDN (Software Defined Networks) method. In technology, you really want to be thinking ahead so timing is critical....the faster you get certified, the easier you can pivot.