Should I even get anymore certs?

Been having a bit of a conundrum with this recently when I was trying to go after the VCP, found out that Stanly's new courses only counts for VCTA, and thus doesn't do jack for the VCP.

I work in government as a Helpdesk Technician, so certain vendor certifications like MCSA, CCNA, and VCP are useful if you need to work with the product in your role. I want to secure a role as a Systems Administrator so I wanted a "core" set of credentials around Systems (Microsoft and VMware, both used heavily by federal jobs around here). I'm not very good at deeper level networking which is why I didn't go for the CCNA (also no Sysadmin positions require it for govt so it would be kinda useless in that sense). There's still a path for me to get the VCP if I grab the CCNA then the VCP-NV, but I'm not so sure it's worth it just because it'll be a much longer path (I'd expect 3 months of diligent study for only the CCNA just because it's a weak subject for me).

I only wanted to grab a cert a year as a relaxed pace since I nabbed the OSCP in 2020. Linux isn't a big part of the market where I live, so that kinda put a damper on my desire for the RHCSA. I'm not so sure I'm qualified to be dabbling in Cloud if I'm not even a Sysadmin yet. Is there anything else I should be looking at, or just bite the bullet and go for the CCNA?

My other motivation for wanting to go directly for the VCP is simply because that's a technology I work with everyday, whereas I don't get to touch Linux boxes or Cisco devices where I am.

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Comments

shochan

did you dislike subnetting like I did? LOL~!!

I took CCNA twice, missed passing on both <10 pts...I moved on...

Maybe Azure or AWS cloud or security?

Are you wanting to stay technical or mgmt?

OR

(Computer_generations) <- Let's have a history lesson, lol

N7Valiant

Not good with subnetting, to say nothing of IPv6. I also find most networking topics (BGP, OCSP, OSPF) to be very dry and boring.

Goals would be a purely technical path in Systems, maybe eventually branching into Cloud or DevOps. The main reason why I don't want to chase those certs first is because while I passed the OSCP, I didn't quite feel I was prepared for it in that 3-5 years as a Sysadmin first probably would have made the experience more enjoyable.

I pretty much killed any desire for offensive security after that, so I didn't want to do the same thing again by chasing Cloud or DevOps certs without a solid general foundation to work with.

JDMurray

Going for the CCNA was the only thing that forced me to understand IP subnetting. Just the learning aspect alone is a good enough reason for me to keep going with certs.

UnixGuy

I did certs in the past for one reason: to learn a certain topic. So if you're curious or want to build a skill, go for it.

People get disappointed when they get a cert and it doesn't lead directly to a job. Whilst it may or may not lead to a job, it makes you a more knowledgeable individual, and a potentially a better professional.

N7Valiant

UnixGuy said:

I did certs in the past for one reason: to learn a certain topic. So if you're curious or want to build a skill, go for it.

People get disappointed when they get a cert and it doesn't lead directly to a job. Whilst it may or may not lead to a job, it makes you a more knowledgeable individual, and a potentially a better professional.

I enthusiastically agree, though I'm in a bit of a unique job market in Hawaii. The biggest employer here is the federal government and we have a dilemma because although COL is high, IT jobs in particular in the private sector pays even less than the States where COL is lower. So if I went private, I couldn't afford to live. Thus fed is the only game in town for an affordable living wage.

Certs matter a bit more here due to DOD 8570 OS/CE requirements, and it's primarily why VCP is asked for. The federal government does seem to have a limited technology stack, primarily revolving around Cisco, Microsoft, and VMware. Of the available certs and technology, Linux is the most interesting to me, especially RHCSA for being more of a hands-on experience that I enjoyed with the OSCP. But in our work environment I almost never see it used outside of vCenter and an ACAS scanner.

I'm personally more interested in a Systems role and not Networking revolving around heavy scripting skills. I guess I'm feeling a bit impatient because I'm coming up on year 3 of my IT career and I'm not yet a Systems Administrator as far as job title is concerned and wanted to make sure I add another arrow to my quiver so I'm not condemned to tech support hell.

balance

Go Bows!! Leaving Hawaii will skyrocket your career.

E Double U

JDMurray said:

Going for the CCNA was the only thing that forced me to understand IP subnetting.

Same here. My CCNA instructor spent the first few classes just drilling us with subnetting.

N7Valiant

balance said:

Go Bows!! Leaving Hawaii will skyrocket your career.

I have a couple of considerations for that, I know I have to leave since I literally can't afford to be alive in Hawaii XD
1) Cash savings of $50k.
2) Mid-level experience in IT.

The first is just so I have a decent safety net to job hunt on top of typical moving costs. The second is to guarantee the job I find after moving is not tech support.

shochan

Looks like some states will pay you to relocate there