A Year of...

stryder144

I've been thinking about career paths and a variety of other things the last few weeks.  I think that in the past, I have lacked true focus in my studies, my certifications, and my career.  As an IT instructor, a lot of my time is spent learning and relearning things that are important to my job but not my career.  I don't want to be an instructor forever, so I've decided that from now on, I am going to institute a personal training philosophy that encompasses a year of learning toward one major IT topic.  I want to eventually pivot over to a full-time security position but want to build on the more generalized foundation that I have (A+, Network+, Security+, CySA+, CASP+, CCNA: Cyber Ops, among others).  Since so much of our infrastructure is moving over to the cloud, I've decided to pursue "A Year of Cloud" training.

I took the CompTIA Cloud Essentials exam on the 15th and passed it and I already have CompTIA's Cloud+.  I am currently studying for the JNCIA: Cloud exam.  Besides AWS and Google, are there any other cloud certifications worth pursuing? I have a copy of the study guide for AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate and I am thinking about pursuing the SysOps Associate and the Security specialization.  I might pursue the Google Cloud certifications, as well, but don't know if I will or not.  Does anyone have the CCNA: Cloud certification?  Are there adequate study materials available for it?  I thought about adding Microsoft but I am waiting for them to hash out the changes to their certifications before I consider them.  Lastly,  I would like to add the CCSK exam, probably toward the end of the year, if time and money permits.

Thoughts?  Words of encouragement?

JDMurray

The CCSK plus (ISC)2 CCSP is the respected Cloud combo that I see right now. The CompTIA certs are more for academic Cloud training. It doesn't hurt to get entry-level, vendor-specific Cloud certs (e.g., AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials, Cisco CCNA Cloud) to show knowledge of the practical, applied side of Cloud tech.

You didn't mention what specialties in Cloud technology (security, networking, programming, architecture, etc.) interest you.

stryder144

@JDMurray...I appreciate the input.  I am interested in both networking and security.  I want to dive deeper into cloud technology in general and with the proliferation of AWS, their certs seem like a safe bet.  I am thinking that I might get Juniper JNCIA: Cloud>AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner>AWS Certified Solutions Architect>CSA CCSK>AWS Certified Security Specialty>(ISC)2 CCSP.  I am not sure if I could get through the first three or four this year or not, as I am going to have to take three exams for work (CompTIA 220-1001/1002, and ITIL Foundation v4) and I want to get my CCNA: R&S this year as well (since it changes soon and I have the books).

Swift6

With Cloud like other areas, you need to decide which vendor and vendor neutral certs fulfill your goals.

Since you intend to focus on security, you can start off with CCSK then (ISC)2 CCSP as suggested by @JDMurray

From there, you can look into AWS and other vendor certs.

Also, having work experience to go with a vendor cert carries more weight.

stryder144

I have a mix of experience with SaaS, primarily.  Office 365 admin, Salesforce, and the like, which makes it difficult to focus on one vendor cert some times (pretty strong ADHD problem).  You have both given me a lot to think about and I appreciate the inputs, @Swift6 and @JDMurray.