Best Cert to Start into IT?

mmeravy34

I work in the UAV field mostly just in operations as a maintenance personnel. Some of my duties do involve troubleshooting the network between the control station and aircraft, and our logbook system runs off a server we have to set up and troubleshoot. I'm deployed now and am trying to find the best like starter certification to start moving into the IT field, I've already dont some studying on SSCP but have been advised that it might not be the best start point. Any one know whats good to start with?

MeatCatalogue

Best one is A+. If you don't understand computer hardware, the rest won't matter.

mmeravy34

Any recommended study materials for that such as various books? As I said I'm deployed right now so any kind of classroom options wouldnt work.

Snow.bros

A+ is the best certification to start with. I would say that this certification opened my eyes in this IT industry and it can also help you in the decision making of the path/route you would like to take in IT, the certification is not focused one only path but it explores in some more other certification, so if you want a good start in IT start with A+.

Master Of Puppets

suman yadav wrote: »

i have no any idea about the topic

Best response EVER

Anyway, I don't see why you would go with SSCP. The CompTIA certs are always a great start and are very often useful for breaking in. I don't think you can go wrong with them. Do you have any particular field in mind for the future?

NinjaBoy

mmeravy34 wrote: »

Any recommended study materials for that such as various books? As I said I'm deployed right now so any kind of classroom options wouldnt work.

Books like the Mike Meyers AiO is very good, abeit (imo) over the top - but it does cover everything.

You can also get get CBT's like CBTPlanet.

Or even free sites like this and Professor Messer.

N.B. I'm not employed by any of these companies, so what I've listed are just examples of what you can use

krjay

suman yadav wrote: »

i have no any idea about the topic

You happen to work for comcast? I swear this is exactly what they kept saying every time I told the guy in live chat 'no my HD channels are still not working and yes, I've verified that the HD cable is plugged in'

A+ would be a good place to start though. I don't think it's necessary to know about hardware in depth like one guy said, but it's nice.

Snow.bros

krjay wrote: »

You happen to work for comcast? I swear this is exactly what they kept saying every time I told the guy in live chat 'no my HD channels are still not working and yes, I've verified that the HD cable is plugged in'

HAHAHAHAHA funny funny....

mmeravy34

Master Of Puppets wrote: »

Best response EVER

Anyway, I don't see why you would go with SSCP. The CompTIA certs are always a great start and are very often useful for breaking in. I don't think you can go wrong with them. Do you have any particular field in mind for the future?

No I'm pretty new to the whole process, mostly just trying to get a start then decide where to go. Most people I've talked to said that getting A+, Network+ and Security + gives a pretty good foundation though so I've been thinking about trying to pursue those three before getting into anything else.

Master Of Puppets

mmeravy34 wrote: »

No I'm pretty new to the whole process, mostly just trying to get a start then decide where to go. Most people I've talked to said that getting A+, Network+ and Security + gives a pretty good foundation though so I've been thinking about trying to pursue those three before getting into anything else.

I agree with these people. I think you've got it figured out. This looks like the best path. Good luck and feel free to ask around in case you have any questions that we might be able to help with.

Moon Child

Although years ago the A+ was good enough in my area to get a entry level job not anymore. I have been in interviews for entry level jobs and have been told the A+ cert, a computer degree, and a few years of experience wasn't good enough. They said they were looking for MCSA or CCNA for an entry level position. Although I will be taking Network+ soon I am not very positive that the cert will help me at all. I might study for the CCNA after that. If you can pass a higher cert and skip the A+ go for it.

mmeravy34

What area are you in, if you dont mind me asking. My home of record is in Virginia, but currently deployed on a contract so figured I would start the studying and certification process now.

mavicka3

Hi all, I'm in a similar situation. I'm 30, have a non technical degree, and desire a career change into IT Security. I've been building PCs for 6 years, have set up networks and am pretty comfortable with the basics.

Are certs my best option for getting into a Infosec career? If so, is A+ really necessary?
Seems like every IT job starts with a helpdesk position, should I go that route or can I bypass that with the right certs and self study?

Guess I'm wondering if investing all the time and money on certs is going to land me a job without a technical degree and experience.

Im completely lost in all this. I know this is the career path I want to take, just not sure how to make it. Job I would like to work towards is an internet security specialist. Any advice is much appreciated!

Master Of Puppets

What makes you think this is for you? Also, what do you mean by internet security specialist?

Indeed jobs in IT start from the bottom in order to build experience. No cert can substitute that. Getting certified will help a lot by ensuring you learn more, develop your skills and increase your market value. However, it can't make up for lack of experience. Especially with security, you can't skip steps. Usually the best way is to start somewhere and gather relevant experience. If you could clarify a bit what you mean by internet security, we could probably recommend a way to start that is better suited for you. Besides building PCs, what other IT experience do you have? How deep have you gone into networking?

instant000

This topic is a bit disjointed.

Moon Child: Experience may vary by location.

mmeravy34: Until newer guidance comes out (which is pending), much of certification in the DoD is driven by 8570. (At least, on the security side.) The most marketable certs in this realm are Security+ and CISSP. Please keep in mind that you also need computing environment certifications to accompany your security certifications. Many seem to miss that point. I would advise you to check out several things that might help you:

Skillport. (each branch has a way to get a login for this), which provides online training courses across many topics.

SafariBooksOnline. (DoD MWR has a contract for this), which gives you unfettered access to the entire online digital library at Safari, along with enough tokens to download a book or two in a 12-month period.)

techexams.net. (you're already here) a great site to help you out as you make this transition. There are several veteran posters here who have gone before you. You say deployment contract, but as far as I'm concerned, same difference.

Packetlife. If you want an example of someone who deployed on contract, studied hard, and parlayed it into success, check out Jeremy Stretch's blog over at packetlife.

mavicka3: In your case, there are a few free options you can glance over, to gauge where you could best begin. Professor Messer is mentioned often as a great resource. If security is your goal, you're looking at Security+ at a minimum. Internet security is such a big term. Do you have an example job description for the work that you would want to do? If not, could you write one?

pas1964

Good morning all. Instant000 I'm retired Air Force and would like to know how to access the Safaribooksonline. do I just contact the nearest base's library and they'll have an access code? Thanks in advance for your help.

mavicka3

Master of Puppets: I like the idea of looking for vulnerabilities and then fixing them. Part of what I do now is establish protocols and processes, mostly for training or to increase efficiency, but I think that can carry over into this industry as well.

To clarify, I'd like a job that requires me to determine security needs of an organization/establish policies and procedures to meet those needs/maintain security. I know this would be years done the road and lots of certs later, but until then I think I'd pretty much enjoy any aspect of IT security that I've read about. Everything covered in the Sec+ cert is interesting to me.

instant000: thanks for the input, i've been on Messer and have watched some of the free videos.

Say hypothetically I self study and get my A+, Net+ and Sec+ while continuing in my current non-IT industry, would an employer look at those certs and shrug when I try to make a career change or would I be able to make my way into an entry-level IT sec job?