How much money can I get with A+,N+, MCSA, CCNA, & Secur

These are the certs Im planning to have after June or July with New Horizons Cyber Defenders Program! These accomplisments are only half of the program and Im not taking the second half of the program.

New Horizons has been a bad experience and not much help in achieving my certs! Basically it has been all self study and just using some resources of their but stuff I could of bought on my own with way cheaper than the $8000 paid for the classes and vouchers.

How much money can I get with A+, N+, MCSA, CCNA, and Security+???

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garv221

Plantwiz wrote:

Danh wrote:

ps: cost of living in delaware is low too. $42k is enough to buy a nice house and car for a single guy.

$42K is pretty good for a guy with a wife and a child or two. That is a very, very good wage.

Cost of living does play a HUGE factor. I agree, a single guy w/ 42k can live a good w/ a house & nice car, but a child or two you going to need at least 65k to live decent. 100k would be nice.

My opinion on programming is that it sux. My dept has a programmer & I am sure I could be a programmer no problem, but damn you never move from your office- just type away all day, drinking coffe & soda.. Alot of people ask If I program & they don't understand the differance between networking, I tell them straigh up "I hate it, won't look at it & want nothing to do with it" That programmer is STRESSED all the time

There is just something about networking Cisco & Server platforms I like. Also, I'm never stressed fully confident & 100% sure there is nothing that I cannot fix or figure within my network. I dunno thats just me.

x_Danny_x

nknk417 wrote:

Danny, when I decided to get into the IT field I looked at going back to school. My main goal was to get certified and to eventually become a network administrator. When I looked into the State Colleges most of the computer science programs were geared to programming. I did not see any classes that actually prepared you for any specific certification. Maybe some java certification. Anyway, I ended up on going into a two year local tech school instead that was more focused on not only getting you certified but also prepares you to become a network administrator. A great all around program. I have been in it already for eight months now and have already passed my A+ and XP Pro exam. I guess my question to you is why do you want to become a network admin if most of your education has been based in programming. As for as I know programmers make much more money than network admins. Well, at least from my point of view it kinda looks like you are taking a step back. I wish you the best of luck.... Go find yourself a job with Microsoft and let these network admin jobs for people like me.

I didnt know what I wanted to be. Most of my friends decided to do programming because of the money and the demand for it! The majority of them didnt took it seriously and cheated their way towards a degree. So they graduated without knowing how to program! Which is a problem for that major in my school.

As for me, well I have been undecided for like 2 and 1/2 years of finding field a study! I decided to do programming because like i said before, my friends where doing it and I just decided to join them and give it shot.

Big mistake! I gave it all but i wasnt that good. I went through depression because I didnt had the neccessary skills of a good programmer! I tried but I had to fight and ask for alot of help which bugged the crap of alot of people! I felt ashamed for myself. I did finish my BA though but unsatisfied. I knew I didnt have good programming skills so I decided to go for my masters in Computer Science in trying to make it up in lost skills! But the samething happend when I was doing my BA, alot of fighting to just do the work and asking for help. People there consider me as stupid and couldnt believe I graduated with a BA in Computer Science!

Doing my masters I found the joy of Admistration and Networking! Im into Networking and the Security of it! I realized that I hated programming and wasnt that much good at it but at least I found something that I wanted to do and enjoy and made the decision to go after it!!

I regret not knowing and finding out about networking and security sooner! Im not looking back, after I get a job Im still going to pursue the CCNP or the CCSA. I could do both, but either way I finally found something that l love doing and enjoy!

The CCNP, that is what you guys do right, Network Administration while the CCSP prepares you for Security right??

Munck

How about gaining experience by offering free penetration testing to local companies in your spare time?

As others have mentioned, experiece is a key factor.

The professional family of Cisco certs. might prove to diffecult without actual experience with the products.

x_Danny_x

I didnt know you could do that!

well lets see if I get this job here in Georgia Tech. The problem with me is that Im planning to move back to the Northeast as in New York or Connecticut to be close to my family.

thanks for the info!

remyforbes777

Certs look good only with experience. If you just have certs that basically means you have read a book and memorized information but never applied it in a working environment. If you have certs and experience that is telling the employer that you know how to apply the knowledge. I am currently holding two jobs, one full time help desk and the other part time but one pays 15/hr and the other 17.50/hr. I only have that because I got the certs and experience, plus I am a damn good interviewer. So get your foot in the door for about a year and then look to move up.

keatron

How about gaining experience by offering free penetration testing to local companies in your spare time?

This might not be the best advice unless you have an attorney to back you up. Just because they tell you it's okay to try and break into their network doesn't mean they wont try and cut off your head when something goes wrong. Or if it just so happens they start getting showered with worms, trojans, and spyware shortly after you pen test for em, It's almost certain that someone will say, "This didn't start until that guy supposedly tested our network security" The way to gain experience as a pen tester is to work for, or help out a seasoned pen tester, not do it yourself. For example if you unknowingly open up holes long enough for a malicious attacker to get in (while you're doing your "pen testing"), look out, because you will be toast and be held liable.

As far as the poster who posted that programmers make more money than network admins, I wouldn't totally agree with that. I know of at least 4 programmers who once made over 100,000 per year who are now struggling to make 40,000 a year. Programming is one of the main areas of IT that's being outsourced to India. So the demand is not exactly like it was in recent years. Progammers that are very seasoned and well experienced, who happens to be in the right area (specifically .NET, JAVA and DB stuff) can make lots of money. Think it's rough trying to get an entry level job in the networking and security field? Try landing one in programming. Needless to say there's downsides whether you choose to go the programming/developer route or the admin/engineer route. The key is to stick to what you enjoy doing the most and do the best. This is where you will succeed. What I mean by that is this; top programmers make more than average network admins, and top admins make more than average programmers (generally speaking). So it literally pays to do what you enjoy and what you're really good at. Some secretaries make 6 figures, but they are the best in the business. This stands for most fields.

Ten9t6

strauchr wrote:

Networking (people networking that is) is probably the most powerful way to get your foot in the door.

Good luck with the position.

Exactly....Every job that I have had since I left the military, I got because of who I know...not so much what I know...although that does help some too......

confuzz

x_Danny_x wrote:

you know, that is what New Horizons led me to believe!

they a couple of times talked about getting jobs around $60,000 with MCSA and CCNA and combine with other certs such as N+, A+ or a few Security certs!

Bastards, they got $8000 of my money!

lol, you're complaining abot $8000? the school I'm oging to cost me $23k and they only do up to MCSE.... but on a good note, they keep in contact with the students after they finish and the average starting salary for the people from the class in my area is close to $45k.... I'll be appy with something that pays $20k, it's alot better than $5.50 an hour.... plus, around here, all th ejob postings I see, they want the certs, either that or a college degree.... they don't care too much if you've had 5+ years experience without a cert, they see 2 years experience and a cert as being greater, I don't know why, but htat's how it is around my area.... even if you get stuck with a low-paying job for a few years, you can take advantage of it and work for a few hours extra a day for a few days a week fixing computers.... I have 5 or 6 people that said they'd pay me just to come look at their computers since they heard I got my MCP.... I can't charge them much since they're friends, but I can't let them go without paying anything since it sounds to me like what they're describing, it's gonna take a few hours of doing alot f scans and reinstalls if the scans don't work.... maybe print up a few business cards or some cheap flyers and give to some friends to give out if they have other friends that have computer problems.... charge those who contact you from the flyers and everything more.... you get one or two calls a week, if you plan on charging what I am thinking about, you could make between 40 and 120 extra a week.... that depends on how well I know the person and if they have proof of someone quoting them a lower price.... this "job" I have coming up in a few days, if I didn't know the girl, I could honestly charge her $55 just to come and look at it.... someone else I was talking to paid the Best Buy people like $300 to come and fix her computer and all they did was do virus and spyware scans and remove it all.... if you have people that have or know other people with computer problems and they feel confident about you being able ot fix them, tere is money out there if you go looking for it.... it might be slow at first, but you get your name out there and start getting a few calls a week, you can get a "friend" in the field to join with you to help keep up with the calls if you have stuff come up and eventually you're on your way to a business.... just because you have those certs doesn'tmean you have to go work as an network admin somewhere....