Passed my first IT cert! Where to next?

Real excited about passing the SYO-301 last Friday as this will be my first IT certification. Right now I am 5 months into my first IT job doing IT/Help Desk support for a large company (but it's temp work). Have my second interview for a position as a network technician this coming Friday with a small business(fingers crossed they offer me the job).

Any advice on what I should be looking at next in terms of certifications? I am about halfway though the material for the Net+ and hope to have that done in the next month. After, I'd like to complete the track towards CCNA (though I think there are some changes that are about to happen this summer??).

I want to get into a network analyst role next, following some experience as a tech first. Are there any MS certs I should become familiar with?

Also, any ideas about what a reasonable salary range should be for a network tech with Net+ Sec+ and 6 months of exp and an Associates degree would be? I know location is a factor. I found online that it said the average salary for Virginia Network Techs was something like 70K....whoa. And that the lowest 10% made around 40K... The lesser of two sounds a little more relevant for someone in my position.

Any advice or tips would be helpful!
Thanks TE.

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Comments

SharkDiver

Congratulations!
You are on the right track. Do the Net+ and then go for the CCENT and CCNA. Then, maybe CCNA Security.
As for salary, with a little experience and a few more certifications, I would think the $70k could be possible.
Keep up the good work and Good Luck!!!

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on pass!!

Welcome to the TechExams forums this is a great community

SharkDiver: He is right on the money keep up the momentum and good luck on your next exams

dewey hafta

Thanks guys. Wow, walk about motivating! That's pretty good money.

Anyways, from what I have read the ICND1 should be pretty similar to the Net+ exam. You guys have both. Any thoughts on that?

Dakinggamer87

It's very similar to the Network+ with a Cisco flavor added to the mix with Cisco router commands and protocols. It also covers basic networking knowledge such as the OSI model, TCP/IP, cable types.

Network+ helped immensely going into CCENT!!

joemysterio

Dakinggamer87 wrote: »

It's very similar to the Network+ with a Cisco flavor added to the mix with Cisco router commands and protocols. It also covers basic networking knowledge such as the OSI model, TCP/IP, cable types.

Network+ helped immensely going into CCENT!!

that's really good to know haha. i'm working on A+, then i'm planning on doing Net+ afterward while I work into getting in WGU.

hey dewey, what kind/how long of experience do you have in IT, not including your current job?

dewey hafta

Thanks Dakinggamer87. I was hoping that the Net+ would help with obtaining CCENT, then on to CCNA afterwards.

joemysterio - to be quite honest I have only been working in IT for about 6 months... and that includes the current job. The only other "experience" I have is simply playing with numerous different OS's at the casa; Win 7, 8, XP, Vista, MAC. But that is hardly noteworthy when you put it down on paper that "oh yeah, I've been toying around on computers for years at my home!" I quickly learned that industry is WAY different than setting up a home PC. Luckily I was able to land this temp job that really got my feet wet in the industry. I think because of my ability to communicate effectively and just having good people skills from past jobs I was picked up.

So, I took the job as Help Desk just to get me in the field and get that put down on my resume. I really tried to act like a sponge everyday because I knew my time there was limited. I followed tons of posts about noobs (like myself) getting started. Everyone I came across that would lend a helping post said pretty much the same thing; you gotta take it where you can get it to start out (volunteer, unpaid internships, etc). So I did, and this next job (fingers crossed I get it) is to the "T" where I want to start my IT career.

joemysterio

Dewey, that's awesome! I'm basically in the same boat. Only personal experience and no professional experience. I went to an interview for a tech support/delivery job last week and last night they emailed me for a second interview. Hopefully I get lucky myself and land my first IT role

Aldur

As others have said, picking up your CCNA is a good goal. That's where I started then I went down the Juniper path.

Salary range is tough to say, so many different factors, from experience, interview skill, certifications, job role, etc... Any experience below 2 years is going to be tough to justify 50k+. If you acquire an expert level certification, then you could justify 80K+.

I understand, getting as much as you can now is a big deal, but right now you should focus on building up your experience and acquiring certifications. Once you have 3-5 years experience under your belt you'll be able to ask for a much higher salary.

101010

dewey hafta wrote: »

Thanks guys. Wow, walk about motivating! That's pretty good money.

Anyways, from what I have read the ICND1 should be pretty similar to the Net+ exam. You guys have both. Any thoughts on that?

As others have stated most, if not all, of the information contained in the Network+ exam is contained in the CCENT. While I will agree that having the Network+ knowledge before sitting for the CCENT is very helpful, I would not recommend actually taking the test. I would grab a book or two for the Network+ and spend a couple of weeks studying the material, then jump right into your CCENT studies. If I had to do it over again that is what I would have done.

MrAgent

Congrats and good luck on getting the CCNA!

dewey hafta

101010 -

What was the turn around time for you to grab CCENT after the Net+? I take the Net+ on Friday and, not that I want to rush, I definitely do not want sit a twiddle my thumbs for long either.

Thanks MrAgent. How're you enjoying GMU?

Snow.bros

congrats on pass whatever choice you take good luck