Questions on Cert Path

Glyphic83Glyphic83 Member Posts: 33 ■■■□□□□□□□
So...about a month ago I passed SY0-201. I'm relatively new to IT. I have 9 months of real world experience working for a CLEC, troubleshooting T1 connections providing both voice and data.
Currently I am A+, Network+, and Security+ certified. Question is where to go next. My ultimate goal in IT is to get into penetration testing. InfoSec is by far what interests me the most in IT and where my passion lies. But after my last three certs I am kinda stuck as to where to go next.
Recently I have been studying for 70-680, figuring that a solid understanding of Windows 7 would be useful for a career in security, with the plan being to take Linux+ after since I read so much about Linux knowledge being paramount for Infosec careers. And from there....not so sure.
But recently, reading more about various certs, I am questioning if this is the proper path. So, to you security professionals, what would you do next? Stick with Windows? Linux? Go for something like CEH right away? Any and all input is appreciated. If there are any IT managers reading this...when looking to hire a security professional what certs would be most important to you?

Comments

  • ibcritnibcritn Member Posts: 340
    For pen testing GPEN and OSCP are some good options.

    OSCP being more lab oriented hands on and GPEN having those parts about it for sure, but also jumping into the business side of pen testing.

    Security though CISSP is the top dollar no matter what....even though it doesn't mean anything technical it gets noticed by HR.
    CISSP | GCIH | CEH | CNDA | LPT | ECSA | CCENT | MCTS | A+ | Net+ | Sec+

    Next Up: Linux+/RHCSA, GCIA
  • GAngelGAngel Member Posts: 708 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Glyphic83 wrote: »
    So...about a month ago I passed SY0-201. I'm relatively new to IT. I have 9 months of real world experience working for a CLEC, troubleshooting T1 connections providing both voice and data.
    Currently I am A+, Network+, and Security+ certified. Question is where to go next. My ultimate goal in IT is to get into penetration testing. InfoSec is by far what interests me the most in IT and where my passion lies. But after my last three certs I am kinda stuck as to where to go next.
    Recently I have been studying for 70-680, figuring that a solid understanding of Windows 7 would be useful for a career in security, with the plan being to take Linux+ after since I read so much about Linux knowledge being paramount for Infosec careers. And from there....not so sure.
    But recently, reading more about various certs, I am questioning if this is the proper path. So, to you security professionals, what would you do next? Stick with Windows? Linux? Go for something like CEH right away? Any and all input is appreciated. If there are any IT managers reading this...when looking to hire a security professional what certs would be most important to you?

    Win7 and Linux + are good
    CCNA, CCNA:S that's the foundation. If you're going to secure my network I'd like to know you really understand it first.
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