My path...is it the right one?...kinda long

EverythingPCowner

If you dont wanna get all the details about me skip to the last 2 paragraphs.

Ok to give you a briefing.. im 20 years old ive always been into computers and been taking them apart and just all around been the guy people call when somthing goes wrong with the pc...
I have a huge interest in security.. and my goal is not to become rich but rather i want to be respected in my field...perhaps speak at a few conferences well and make enough to be secure..
That all aside this is what ive done and plan on doing...

-my senior year in high school i did a co-op working with the network admin for ingersoll-rand logistics center (erm..300 computers) both semesters

-the following summer i got hired as a temp for 10 an hour same thing.. but it was a job now more than a class.. was hired to help format and send out 50 new pcs.. but i did everything the admin did sometimes i think more but i have to pay my dues.. college started so i had to go

-After 1 1/2 years at a university i realized a bussiness degree wasnt for me ( i shoulda realized that when i spent more time breaking into the networks then doin my homework)

-Luckily more pc were just ordered at ingersoll-rand and i got an interview for another job... i got it... ive been working here for a few months now and already im basically an administrator as i have all the permissions to everything within our domain.. im hired as a temp still at 10 an hour.. im not complaining.. just being thorough

-On the first of this year i started my own business, "Everything PC." It is a PC repair/upgrade business. It was not meant to be a main source of income just for money on the side and resume purposes. It is leginimate i have all the proper paperwork and bank account in the bussiness name.

I have been using linux for a few years now...as being into security..you get the idea....At home i have 2 laptops one for auditing wireless networks and one for everyday use both running Debian. The one i have VMware installed with 3 vitual workstations XP, 2000server, and Whoppix hdd-install (i know i know.. but its so convenient :P). I have a dell poweredge 4300 running openbsd that i use for my ftp and i sell shell accounts.. if i like you lol. All wireless..which i setup.. and of course not with the original firmware...no no... I go home at night an hack my virtual workstations over and over... as well as fix computers. i could go on and on.... but the purpose of that was to give an idea of my personality...physically im very cleancut... always been homecomming court...prom king **** like that.. im very outgoin in othe words.. unless you really knew me you would have no clue i was a computer nerd at heart.. again this was to give an idea of personality

I have my a+ test the 31st of this month (yes i havnt gotten it yet) and i havnt written out a plan yet but ill map my certs whe i get a chance to sit down and think about it but i either wanna be a top level admin or a security consultant... mitnick move over lol.

Theres so many little things im not adding that i have experiance with but one quality that i have is im a blackbelt in google-fu... if i dont know it... give me 10 minutes with google and ill be a professor in the field.. im hoping this is reconized as im the one fixing all the things not in "the book."

ultimatly at the end othe the day.. right now i have 1 year internship at Ingersoll-Rand.. 1 year so far helpdesk/admin working paid at Ingersoll... and i think they are happy so i should be here at least another year and by then ill at least have my base set cert wize.
on top of that i have the business i created as well as hosting experience.... did i mention i setup my own asterix server completely just to spoof caller ids.. childish i know but look how much i learn from doin it.....my hacking handle which i have retired now im not saying obviosly.. but thats in the past im much more mature and career oriented now and i think ive shown that at IR as i got called in the other day because the faxserver went down and the main admin was on vacation.

At my current route... in a year i will have 3 years hands on experiance as an admin and helpdesk 2 years paid and 1 not paid (at a fortune 500 company). I will have owned my own IT business for over a year. I will have a+ network+ security+ linux+ and i havnt decided my path yet but.. ill be working on mcse etc.

Based on what ive said about myself... how hireable do you think i will be in 1 year if i everything goes as planned?... please tell me where i stand now in your opinion and what i need to change to become a solid asset.

Thanx in advance,
Aaron

qsub

Simply wow, I'm turning 20 and the only experience I have in IT is pretty much PC tech during Co-op my last year of school.

That is indeed a lot of experience, and experience I personally think is better then certifications. I think your resume would look great if I was to hire someone for IT. Especially since you did one year of work without pay.

But I think certifcations are requirements for some company. Have you ever thought about getting a Cisco Security Certification? Since Cisco is like.. whoring the whole networking enterprise for companies.

I'm also still debating myself if I want to move into security since I think you have a secure job if our in that part of the field. I was planning on doing network+, Security+, A+ (by the September 2005), server+, linux+ (before I finish my second year of college), and go for a CCNA, then move to CCSP. By the time I have those, I'll have a diploma under my belt for PC/Network Tech Support & Cisco Wireless Technologies. I still can't say it's better then experience, but hopefully it's enough to get my foot in the door

I'm lacking what you got, the experience. Hopefully I'll get hired as tech Support for DLINK so it will help me out. But hell, I think you should get a cisco cert since they are highly respected.

EDIT: My professor in college said he failed his first time he went to get his CCNA. He said it's not something you should walk into being all cocky about.

/usr

This is going to sound a bit harsh, but it's just my personal opinion.

I would assume that no "business" is going to hire you to secure their networks without actual security related experience, or without some security certs under your belt. Regardless of the amount of experience you have, they're going to want something you can show them before they let you touch that part of their network.

However, with your experience at your job, plus your personal interests, I think you're on the right path. I would suggest making an attempt to perform all of the security-related jobs where you work now, plus pursuing some certification. Perhaps MCSA +Security, or just another security specific certification.

I would also suggest brushing up on sentence structure, punctuation, etc. I'm not trying to be mean, but being able to communicate in a written manner would seem extremely important in the security field, as one of your main jobs is going to be to communicate with the company you're working with.

JDMurray

What area of what country are you looking to get hired? The value of your current (or future) skill set changes with the location of the job.

EverythingPCowner

Thanx guys for the opinions....people around me..ahem... dad.. likes to insist on how poor im gonna be without having a formal degree. I intend to get it but i hope to have a company help pay for it. i hope i didnt come off wrong about everything i said.. i completly understand that even though im interested and have alot of personal experciance in every level im in no way ready to get hired as a consultant.. i intend to get some security related certs if you could recommend some that would be great. I think one thing that set me aside from alot of people is that i love doin this **** to be honest...to be honest if im not a work or with my girl im messing with somthing related to IT. I havnt looked into the certs in detail other than the foundation..... if anyone can suggest some i should go for.. i hear ccie is the top ****.. but i dont care really about money i just wanna enjoy my work and get a sense of pride out of it.. well and have a server room or eight in my house... you know whatever. but neways i rambled on again. im just glad to hear i have my foot in the door.

/usr

As I suggested, if you're already doing admin type work, I would recommend getting your MCSA. Once you move into an official "admin" position, with possibly your MCSA +Security, I would think that it would then be much easier to get into something security related.

You may consider Network+, but if you know the material, that's really up to you.
You could even start with Security+, since that's an elective for the MCSA.

garv221

You sound like myself 2 years ago. Your motivated, you'll be fine. I seen WAY to many people in this field lacking motivation & people skills. Give it time & you'll succeed.

Drakonblayde

EverythingPCowner wrote:

I have a dell poweredge 4300 running openbsd that i use for my ftp and i sell shell accounts.. if i like you lol. All

Good man OpenBSD is the *only* thing (well besides my windows terminal server) that I will directly expose to the internet.

At my current route... in a year i will have 3 years hands on experiance as an admin and helpdesk 2 years paid and 1 not paid (at a fortune 500 company). I will have owned my own IT business for over a year. I will have a+ network+ security+ linux+ and i havnt decided my path yet but.. ill be working on mcse etc.

Based on what ive said about myself... how hireable do you think i will be in 1 year if i everything goes as planned?... please tell me where i stand now in your opinion and what i need to change to become a solid asset.

Thanx in advance,
Aaron

Honestly, you're making a very good start. As for how hireable, probably very, but it's going to be entry level, no matter what unless youre very very lucky or know the right people. You're building a solid base of experience, but for most well paying jobs, they want 5 or 7 years and a degree to boot. You're going down the right path by getting some certs, but with IT hiring still a bit slow, a lack of a degree is going to hurt you, especially when there's a plethora of candidates who will have degrees. You sound alot like me around that age, and I found out the hard way that no certs and no degree does make it a royal pain to find a job.

But who knows? You're obviously a highly motivated and intelligent person, and people like that have a way of making things happen for them.

EverythingPCowner

heh.. yea i learned the hard way with a few other *nix distos.. but hey it was a learning experiance. i just hope that i can get a few certs under my belt while im working here so if a position comes available i like to think ill be the first candidate. Im gonna map out my cert plan either today or tomorrow ill post my rough draft life plan when i get a chance. As for my experiance with security.. thats a very touchy subject to people so i cant exactly tell details of everything i know how to do well at least not at my age. I think i got a little recognition security-wize after showing how easy it was to access the LAN sitting in my truck in the parking lot with kismet and leap crackers available to anyone who knows where to look. i havnt looked into pricing yet but would it be better to get decent amount of certs for both microsoft and cisco ... or focus on one or the other? Also i have a question... We recently switched to AD and now there are multiple locations on our domain. Is there a way that i can do a net send command and single out the computernames on the domain with a certain prefix since we name computers by location (whs-whatever....bry-whatever)