Career Advice

I am in the process of changing career at the age of 36. Just wanting to get some advice on which certifications are in most demand? I have a couple of different paths I can take:

1. There is a local CC that is offering a CCNA class.
2. There is a local university that offers a graduate certificate in information assurance and security. It would take a year to do but I already have a Bachelors degree so the graduate program is somewhat appealing.

Any thoughts or advice on which path would be better?

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Comments

LoMo

What type of position are you trying to get?

CareerChangeIT

I would recommend A+ or an entry level cert. You have to learn to walk before you can run. A+ is the starting point but try to gain experience by volunteering some place. You want to know the basics before you move on the WAN. It will make you a better IT professional if you start for the basics and work your way up

the_Grinch

Have to agree, what do you want to end up doing? I will say (believe me I know this from experience) you'll be hard pressed to find a job in security with no experience. I have a BS in Computing and Security Technology, to date I've only had 3 offers (maybe 4, the position was suppose to convert from coop to fulltime, but they decided to keep it as a coop position) for security positions. Every other offer or job has been for regular IT related work (helpdesk, field engineer, etc). I'd go for the CCNA as it does seem to have the most pay off and aim for a NOC type job (basic level NOC job, monitoring alerts/opening tickets, taking initial call). Good luck!

Turgon

utkgrad wrote: »

I am in the process of changing career at the age of 36. Just wanting to get some advice on which certifications are in most demand? I have a couple of different paths I can take:

1. There is a local CC that is offering a CCNA class.
2. There is a local university that offers a graduate certificate in information assurance and security. It would take a year to do but I already have a Bachelors degree so the graduate program is somewhat appealing.

Any thoughts or advice on which path would be better?

Are you in the UK? If so skip the A+. The Comptia exams are not rated here. Go for CCNA and toss in an MCP to get some Microsoft foundation, but concentrate on networking. PC support functions pay a dime a dozen here, better off with the entry level networking route if you can get in. Contact all the small companies in your locale who sell and install networking solutions to SMEs and get some parttime work. It will help if you can drive.