Career switch - Jack of all trades IT into something more specific - advice?

A little background on my situation, I graduated from Radford University in 2008 with a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science. Two months later, I got a job in my hometown working as a Webmaster / IT Helpdesk person. I worked part time at this position from June 2008 until October 2011, and I couldn't take working there because I was 27 years old and still living at my parent's house and still didn't have a fulltime job. I almost joined the Airforce at the time. Instead, I decided to do a year of volunteer service in AmeriCorps VISTA (for those who don't know, it's like a domestic peace corps) in which I served as a technology coordinator at a Boys & Girls Club in Oregon, developing a typing program, internet safety, as well as doing general IT work. I met the woman of my life doing this, but she moved to LA to persue her masters at USC. I recently moved to LA as well following my AmeriCorps 1 year commitment, and got a helpdesk / IT assistant job in Beverly Hills.

I've decided to change something. I want to make a career move. I'm 28 years old and tired of getting paid low wages. I've talked to my friend recently about self studying and pursuing network certifications, the first of which being the Net+ followed by the CCENT and CCNA. Is this route possible? I want to get into more specific IT work so that I can finally get better work conditions as well as much better money flow.

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Comments

Mrock4

Welcome to TE! Absolutely that's a reasonable route. If I'm being humble, though, and you've got a little bit of IT experience under your belt, I would go straight to the CCENT and bypass the Net+. There's nothing wrong with the Net+, but a lot of the information will be redundant for you, in my opinion. There's no reason why in 5 years you can't double (or triple, depending on where you're at now) your current salary, if you work for it.

ohmk

Thanks Mrock4

I guess the only concern I'd have with skipping the Net+ would be that I haven't done any kind of professional networking or have much relevant experience. I've been around it and studied it in school but, is the information really that redundant?

Mrock4

You'll learn Net+, then go to the CCENT, and relearn a lot of stuff. Well..you get the drift at least. I genuinely think you'd add a nice cert to your resume (Net+), but at the end of the day you'll be spending 2x the time/money to get the same knowledge (Net+ then CCENT/CCNA).

lordy

Welcome to the forum.

You have a good background and depending on your network skills you may or may not skip Network+. Since you are just getting started with certifications I would recommend doing N+ if in doubt. The testing center and situation will probably be new to you so it might be a good idea to start with an easier test. It will also give you that great feeling of achievement.

After N+ go right for CCNA. CCENT, from my point of view, isn't worth much but CCNA definitely is. I would like to recommend Todd Lemmle's CCNA book which you can find on Amazon and other shops. I used this for my CCNA and found it very helpful. If you prefer video over reading then you should think about buying CBTnuggets (expensive but very good, imho) or Chris Bryant's videos (cheaper but a little monotone).

While you can simulate a lot of equipment with GNS3 or Packet Tracer I would also like to recommend that you get your hands on a real Cisco Router and a Switch. There is tons on eBay and you will get a decent set for less than $100. They will allow you to learn how to connect to real world equipment, what happens when they boot, etc. All stuff that you can not do in an emulator.

Anyway, you have chosen a good route and I wish you luck. These forums are a great place to get help and motivation along the way so stick around!

Dakinggamer87

Welcome to the forums!!

I'm also on the journey to my CCNA after deciding to skip the MCSE and move more into networking to help expand and round out my skill set

networker050184

I agree with Mrock4, skip the Net+. You want certifications that are going to help you move up in the world right? You already have the type of job the Net+ will help you get. You are at the point where you need to move up and a CCNA will help you with that more than a Net+.

ohmk

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I think I may start with the Net+, I'm not completely comfortable with my skill set yet. I agree that the CCNA would be the most beneficial to get, but I may want to be realistic in terms of pacing. On the plus side, it shouldn't take very much studying for me to pass this one.

I took a practice Net+ test online and some of the info seemed super outdated (windows nt?). Should I expect legacy questions like these in the real test?

I did take a look at CBT Nuggets last night and was blown away by the price. May have to do 24hour subscriptions to supplement my book learning. Any other advice on books/vids etc is welcome. I'm very grateful for all of this advice!

networker050184

Just because you need to learn some of the basics doesn't mean you need to spend the money on the Net+ exam. Pick up a book and do a little studying and move on to the CCNA. Look at the return on investment. Spending the money to take a certification for an entry level job when you are looking to move out of that kind of role doesn't make sense to me.

Either way, good luck!

crrussell3

I agree with networker. You can pick up the Net+ study materials and just not take the exam in the end. This way you will feel more comfortable when studying for the CCENT/CCNA material.

As for videos, just use Professor Messer's free videos instead of CBT. They are a great alternative and you can't beat free!

powerfool

If you want to do the Net+ exam, you can easily crush it after studying the CCNA. That is what I did several years back... I was studying for the CCNA and decided to take the Net+ when I was done with the first half of the Todd Lammle book (general TCP/IP and networking knowledge). I didn't end up taking the CCNA for another six years, as I was side-tracked and got my MCSE, but it is definitely doable.

Bottom lime, I wouldn't pay for Net+ training material if you want Cisco knowledge. Get the Cisco material and cover it that way.

veritas_libertas

I'm with the above. Skip the Network+, it's like ICND0.5 in my opinion.

ohmk

powerfool wrote: »

If you want to do the Net+ exam, you can easily crush it after studying the CCNA. That is what I did several years back... I was studying for the CCNA and decided to take the Net+ when I was done with the first half of the Todd Lammle book (general TCP/IP and networking knowledge). I didn't end up taking the CCNA for another six years, as I was side-tracked and got my MCSE, but it is definitely doable.

Bottom lime, I wouldn't pay for Net+ training material if you want Cisco knowledge. Get the Cisco material and cover it that way.

...great point. if i feel the need to take the net+ just to get some testing experience, i'll do that while studying for the ccna. I've also heard the CCENT is 1/2 of the CCNA, and that if you pass the CCENT you only have to take half the CCNA. Is this true?

paul78

I am curious why you are gravitating towards network related roles. Given your previous IT background and your degree in computer science, have you considered other IT fields. What about software develoment or system administration? Perhaps those fields are a fit as well.

ohmk

paul78 wrote: »

I am curious why you are gravitating towards network related roles. Given your previous IT background and your degree in computer science, have you considered other IT fields. What about software develoment or system administration? Perhaps those fields are a fit as well.

basically at radford university my concentration was networking, it was my initial passion. But the networking professor was terrible. I had him for all of my networking classes and I didn't learn anything. The dissatisfaction was felt all throughout the classroom. We let him know we weren't learning anything and he didn't seem to care...therefore when it came to give him evaluations at the end of the semester, we all left him terrible ones. I tried to change my major to web programming because of this, but the counselor said it would add another year onto my schooling and I was just ready to be done at that point. I stuck with networking, graduated, and that professor got fired that same year.

I did a lot of Java, C, html etc in college as well as some as a webmaster, and I just don't think it's for me. Systems admin isn't something I've thought a lot about, to be honest, but it just excites me to get back to what I originally intended to learn 5 years ago.

Cold Titanium

but she moved to LA to persue her masters at USC

ARGH! MY KINGDOM FOR A SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP STORY

Anyways, I recommend you go for the CCENT first. Net+ is really expensive and you'll get all that info and way more if you go straight for the CCENT/CCNA.

discount81

As other people said if you have IT experience already Net+ (well nearly any comptia cert) is a waste of money, it will only get you the type of job you have.