NEED HELP Soon to be 50, new and only son. Have worked in IT over 20 years and I use to frequent

This site often often while i was studying for my A+ and Net+ . It feels good to be back among friends with common goals and love for IT.

TO get down to brass tax. i at one one was on a successful track, good job,. acquired my 2 certs and I was passionate . This was 2006. I am embarrassed and ashamed to say this guys but i become addicted to pain medication and it truly destroyed my life, it took away not only ,my love and passion for IT but all my love and enjoyment for hobbies such as guitar, video games, working out, eating and living healthy, not even a glimmer of hope at a relationship because no good women wants someone like that.

well I have been clean off hard drugs for over 5 years, met a wonderful woman who game my my first and im sure at my age of 47 my old child and ive even given up alcohol with the exception of a Guinness's or two every blue moon .

i come to you fine men and women for advice . I already have A+ and Network + and I have the work experience on my resume to back them up even though its been sometime due to my addiction causing me to be out of the loop for so long. But my question is this. I am about to start studying for my security + exam. i know the is the very basic of security and being the basic being the foundation for everything else to be built on. After I get my security + what book or books do you recommend next to study and learn for security for Network in a windows environment, if linux is recommended to be combined than I will follow your lead and advice. this is why I am asking because I just have been out of the game to long to know what track to follow.

so basically

1, after security + what book or books do you recommend I commitment mt self to tl study
2. do you recommend a lab to be set up if that is even needed.
3. what cert would compliment 3 security + certification?

If I have left anything out or if you can think of anything that i should know and should do please let me know. Both my self and my young son will appreciate it so much, Because after all I am doing all this not only because I love IT but because IT is all i really know and I love my son and want to provide for him the best i possibly can

thanks in advance mates.

Sincerely
Recovered Addict who beat the devil and is living life the way i use to. Meaning morally, decently and trying my best
Cheers!

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Comments

UnixGuy

Welcome back!

Glad you turned your life around! You got this

I honestly think your first priority is to try and land a job - any job - preferably in IT, then build up your skills from there. I don't know if security+ is even needed, you can jump straight to Microsoft Azure fundamentals, it'll introduce you to Microsoft cloud environment and you can build up from there

JDMurray

What are your salary requirements?

FluffyBunny

Good on you, for turning around. Hang in there!

I'm gonna join @UnixGuy and agree that Sec+ might not be your first priority. I would suggest you first start scoping vacancies that you're interested in, to see what qualifications they're asking for. Sec+ might be handy for some DoD positions, but it really isn't a big requirement for most gigs.

DatabaseHead

I agree with @FluffyBunny and @UnixGuy I would look to land a role even if ground floor again and get a feel of the workplace and what is being asked for. Things have changed a lot since you were "in the game". TBH I hardly recognize IT anymore, probably because I went of and specialized, but even with that being true it's still has changed quite a bit.....

latverian45

JDMurray said:

What are your salary requirements?

Considering I have been out of the loop for so long and my main goal at this time is just to get my foot in the door I am going down as low as $16 an hr. I pretty much feel the same way i did 20+ years go when I started out and was knocking on doors and making phone calls just trying to get someone to give me a chance. Im sure many of you here went through that same thing when you first got into IT

RickyJo

If you don't have *Nix experience, you should get some. It comes up in unexpected places. Forget the certs for now, just make sure if somebody asks you to navigate the file system, create, move, and change permissions on files that you can. Learn basic APT and YUM syntax, pick a text editor that is commonly available and learn the basics. No big--don't have to be an expert; heaven knows I'm not. If you're a Windows person, that's fine and valuable, but most places that are Windows shops have a *Nix server or two and will be re-assured if you can function on those devices. I've been getting more *Nix questions in interviews than I used to. I'm a Windows person, first and foremost but being comfy on *Nix has made my world easier. You'd be surprised how in demand and rare basic *Nix knowledge is for entry/mid sysadmin positions.

Don't be ashamed of your mistakes my friend

. Glad you have some forever certs to get you back in the game quickly! You'll be fine

PS. if you want to get into security in earnest you'll need *Nix chops more than listed above. I'm talking Sysadmin I or II at a small/mid company.

JDMurray

RickyJo said:

If you don't have *Nix experience, you should get some.

In large enterprises, *nix boxes outnumber Windows boxes 10-to-1 or more. The ratio is reversed in Cloud environments where most of the VMs tend to be Windows hosts and Linux is mostly the supporting infrastructure.

RickyJo

I didn't realize that @JDMurray, I've always worked for mid and small. Of course, I've never applied for a primarily Linux-centric job, which may be why I keep gravitating to smaller entities.

JDMurray

You've probably used many *nix boxes without realizing it because of the user interface hides the details, much like the dashboard of your car controls what's under the hood. For example, all Apple iOS devices are UNIX-based and all Android devices are Linux-based; knowing how to use Android or iPhone doesn't mean you know how to use *nix.

UnixGuy

To make things simpler I would personally learn Azure, do Azure fundamentals cert and try and work in that area. Learning Linux takes time and there are many opportunities out there and don't require that.