NET+ and CCNA with no experience or Degree

Hello IT world... my situation: I'm currently Active Duty in the USAF (secret clearance), I'm set on separating from the Air Force in July 2018 and by that time ill have my Net+ (working on it now), and possibly CCNA. (I'll work on CCNA as soon as Net+ is done.) I'm not sure if I can get my CCNA in time before I get out since its a lot tougher than Net+... my question is, what lol should I be looking for if I just have my Net+ with no experience OR degree? Also what job should I look for if I have my Net+ & CCNA? but no experience or Degree?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

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Brian9801

lol = job*

nothimagain

Brian9801 wrote: »

Hello IT world... my situation: I'm currently Active Duty in the USAF (secret clearance), I'm set on separating from the Air Force in July 2018 and by that time ill have my Net+ (working on it now), and possibly CCNA. (I'll work on CCNA as soon as Net+ is done.) I'm not sure if I can get my CCNA in time before I get out since its a lot tougher than Net+... my question is, what lol should I be looking for if I just have my Net+ with no experience OR degree? Also what job should I look for if I have my Net+ & CCNA? but no experience or Degree?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hey man im in the military and get out in 30 days and just got hired for a job. What did you do in the air force? If it wasn't IT related you'll probably have to do something a long the lines of help desk or NOC . Do you have a clearance? If you have a TS/SCI you might be able to leverage that for a higher pay or more network focused position. BTW if i were you , skip the Net+ , get your CCENT and then CCNA. CCENT prepares you way better for CCNA and is worth more than Net+. Also get your SEC+ if you plan to do federal contracting. Everyone requires it.

N7Valiant

I just figured at this point that the root directory of the IT world is the Help Desk. *shrugs*

I still say you'd be in a better position to get your foot in the door with a security clearance. Net+ would qualify you for IAT Level I. However I haven't seen any source to suggest that CCENT or vanilla CCNA meets the DoD 8570 requirements.

It would really depend on your job market, but most of the positions I've looked for here with the DoD or military base generally want IAT Level II at least. So that would mean a Security+ or CCNA-Security.

LordQarlyn

I would recommend you also work towards getting Security+ As N7Valiant points out, it opens more doors in DOD jobs, and better jobs too. If you don't have much experience, you can try applying at Vectrus, they have lots of deployed positions with high turnover. The pay is not bad, not great, but not bad, and if you apply yourself, you can learn a lot from the job.

nothimagain

N7Valiant wrote: »

I just figured at this point that the root directory of the IT world is the Help Desk. *shrugs*

I still say you'd be in a better position to get your foot in the door with a security clearance. Net+ would qualify you for IAT Level I. However I haven't seen any source to suggest that CCENT or vanilla CCNA meets the DoD 8570 requirements.

It would really depend on your job market, but most of the positions I've looked for here with the DoD or military base generally want IAT Level II at least. So that would mean a Security+ or CCNA-Security.

I said CCNA because it seems he wants to get into networking and a lot of the positions for networking even in the DoD do want people with a CCNA on top of that Sec+

TechGuru80

Get Security+ before CCNA...especially if you are going to stay in either government, military, or contracting...it's critical.

Since you won't have experience or a degree, you should be looking for entry level positions...are you looking for a general IT position? Information Security? You more than likely will want to look for help desk, and work on getting that degree because it will hold you back.

Brian9801

Thanks for the replies everyone.

So I think what I will do is go for the Net+ and then the CCENT/CCNA after that I'll obtain my Sec+. I have 0 networking experience so that's why I'm opting for Net+ as a first Cert.
My job in the military is useless for the outside world (at least in my mind) so unfortunately it doesn't translate well, thus my thirst for Networking knowledge/certs.

I wouldn't mind getting a job within DoD as a contractor and I'll definitely check out Vectrus as an option to obtain hands on skills. I'll also look into helpdesk support. If i have a CCNA and Net+ and eventually Sec+ should I still look at help desk jobs as an option? I mean a job is a job is a job... but I don't want to sell myself short is all.

Lastly, i wish I would of went for a degree but I didn't use my time wisely in my spare time while in the military. I could always go to school fulltime on my Post 911 G.I bull to get a degree but that would take a lot of time (3 years for BA)...

How detrimental would it be if I didn't do school and just went for Certs and experience? For example... if I had Net+, CCNA & Sec+ with 2years experience (2yrs exp working lower end networking job) and then I go to look for a higher paying job (network admin etc).

Sorry if that's a lot.

Bjcheung77

There are three things I've been telling people on TechExams: - 1) Experience (hands on, troubleshooting of issues), with that experience you can get higher up that corp ladder such as transitioning to help desk, then to technical analyst and beyond. 2) Certifications - get those vendor neutral certifications from CompTIA, ITIL, and which ever you would want to specialize in. 3) Degree, get an associates, ladder your Associates and get a Bachelors - get a competency based degree from one of the non profits such as Brandman, Hodges, WGU.

See this thread post for more info on the Competency Based Bachelors Degrees - Cheap/Easy/Fast.
In short, get the A+/Net+/Security+ and beyond with CompTIA, then get your degree/experience...
http://www.techexams.net/forums/general-certification/129926-where-go-what-do.html#post1122882

dave330i

if you're planning on getting a CCNA, net+ would be a waste.

N7Valiant

dave330i wrote: »

if you're planning on getting a CCNA, net+ would be a waste.

Depends on the job right? If he plans to make use of that security clearance, it might involve DoD 8570 requirements. I've only seen CCNA-Security listed. Net+ qualifies for IAT Level I, Sec+ for IAT Level II. Although CCNA-Sec will also qualify for IAT Level II, so I suppose he could get CCNA then CCNA-Sec.

I only have A+ and Net+ so I'm not sure if that's a more difficult path to go than Sec+, but seems like it would give a better edge if Networking is the goal.

TechGuru80

8570 is actually only half of the equation. If OP goes to government or contractor, it's very possible to require a computing environment certification (CCNA for Cisco, MCSA for Microsoft, etc.) AND an 8570 certification. I'm going to repeat it...they are basically going to make you get Security+ and if you don't have it and they decide to hire you, you will only get 6 months to pass the exam. Security+ is the informally adopted de facto baseline for 8570.

The only reason I suggest Network+ first, is because you only have 7 months...not enough to get CCNA on zero experience or education background so it will help you. Also, since they will make you get Security+ anyways (guaranteed), you can be ahead of the curve with Network+ and Security+, and once you get into your job you can start getting either CCNA/MCSA depending on what you deal with at work.

CCNA:R&S plus CCNA:Security would be a good combo too but again you are going to have time constraints...and they probably would still make you get Security+. Additionally, if they make you get a Windows computing environment certification (computing environment has to be what you work on not just choose one out of a few), you are going to face another set of serious time constraints because theoretically you would still be finishing studying for CCNA:Security.

I highly suggest you read this link under the IAT requirements. It outlines specifically what kind of certifications are required. Computing Environment (CE) is generally an OS, Network Environment (NE) more than likely Cisco.

http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/857001m.pdf