Stuck on what to do next.

Princecanine

I recently got my CCENT certification, and have an associates with a minor in IT. Unfortunately, I do not have any IT experience other thank fixing computers as a side job for the past 3 years. I'm a little stuck as to what move I should make next, as I am not sure if working help desk would be the best route.

krjay

If you can find a help desk role I'd jump on it. Good place to start

cisco_trooper

You will not break into IT without starting at the helpdesk. You don't have any enterprise skillsets, and you never will if you don't get in while you still can. Get a helpdesk job, don't get hung up on the money, and start grooming yourself for your next jump. Just get the job and start getting REAL experience.

olaHalo

Helpdesk/Tech Support or internship.
You need to get your foot in the door and get some experience.

Princecanine

Thank you very much, guys. I will begin looking for help desk/internship jobs. I am going to focus on finding an internship as I really want to get involved with pure networking from the start. Networking, in particular Cisco, has become a passion for me ever since I discovered it. As I look for jobs, I will continue my ICND2 studies since I find the material to be very fascinating. Do you think I should pursue my A+ as well (I skipped it because I was up for a challenge on my first cert endeavor) since I am aiming at help desk jobs/internships?

cisco_trooper

A+ has no value in the Cisco industry. I'm not sure it has any value at all, to be honest.

sadfjlfdo24

The only useful cert from CompTIA (and only useful to get it once, never renewing it again) is Security+. It satisfies DoD's 8570 directive and can be used to cut down 1 year for experience when applying for CISSP. But if you are into Cisco this point becomes moot because CCNP:Security can be used to cut down same year of experience for CISSP, and if you get CISSP nobody cares about Security+ at that point. So in summary, CompTIA sucks, and nobody cares about their stupid certs.