Degree/Career Advice

This is going to be my first post on here. I have read countless threads on numerous topics which has given me answers to a number of questions I had. With that, I wanted to kick off my first thread with a post asking for advice on where fellow members of the IT industry would recommend I go in order to gain valuable experience and turn IT into a career.

A little background information on myself.

I am a veteran of the US Marines where, unfortunately, I did not have an IT related job. Currently, I am on track to graduate with an A.A.S. from the local community college this summer. I am also studying for the Net+ on my own, and taking a credited class that prepares me for the Sec+ exam. I hope to have both completed by May of this year. After I would like to work towards my CCNA and then MCSE -or- MCSA though I am not sure which to choose first. Any thoughts?

Just recently I was hired as a temp with a large corporation to do some IT Support stuff. The project involves the entire organization, which I believe will give me great "feet wetting" experience. My official title is IT Support. Eventually I would want to get into Network/Information Security.

So where do YOU recommend I go after this position in order to get to my final destination (Network/Security Administrator)? I am under the impression that it looks something like this.... IT Support/Analyst -then- Systems Administrator -then- Network Administrator -then- Network Security Administrator. No?

I do not plan on stopping with just my A.A.S either and would like to get a BSCS. I hope to start just shortly after graduating with my 2-year degree.

In summary: With these certs, and a little experience, could I look at a Systems Admin position in the next, say, 6 months? Or is that unattainable? If so, where should I begin? I don't want to start down a road to perdition so I am trying to be as planned as possible. Suggestions on certification path? (I know MS and Cisco and two different things but would like to well rounded and bring to a company more than the minimum job requirements). Salary is varied, I get that, but any thoughts on what I what I should be looking to take home?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to your responses.
Thanks.

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Comments

Cisco Inferno

Oh nice. going for the BSCS. I hope you got your math and physics down.

Anyways, i want to give you some advice on credit classes preparing for certs.
- The classes are meant to prepare you to pass the class itself(not necessarily the cert). I recommend scheduling your Sec+ a bit after finals and to study 150% on the cert as opposed to the slimmed down version youll learn in college.

-study hard and you will pass the class with an A+ grade and a cert. Good luck.

dewey hafta

Thanks for the reply.
The class is also making us use the Security+ testout labsim material as well as read the book by Emmitt Dullaney. I think it is pretty comprehensive with the two combined. Have you used testout before? If so, how did it fair in terms of teaching you the material required for the exam?

bobloblaw

If you're going for a jack of all trades, I'd opt for a unix flavor cert over Microsoft. Every Unix person at my work = more money than their MS counterpart.

hyperSCSI

Just my opinion, I don't agree with the CompTIA exams as they can be pretty useless. They do have their purpose for those who are just getting into the field, but they aren't looked at as nicely as something like the CCNA.

To get into a network security position, you have to know networks very well. You can't learn how to attack/defend a network if you don't know how a network works. With that said, I would make sure you go for the Net+ (if you have to) then go for the CCENT and CCNA, and then move on to the CCNA:Security.

Make sure the positions you work in are for networking or networking security. Systems administration and networking are very different. Experience is key. I would say your job path should be something like (after you get the CCNA or CCENT): Helpdesk -> NOC/SOC -> Network Analyst/Technician or Security Analyst (get your CCNA: Security certification)-> Network Engineer/Security Engineer (get the CCNP: Security certification).

Hope this helps