IT Careers

[burkemi5]

Originally Posted by TheBlackSheep [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Admittedly, most of my stuff I "acquired" here and there from cohorts in the business, from infrastructure upgrades. I mean, what are you going to say when a buddy calls you up and says "Hey, remember that money I owe you? Well, we had a 6108 with a bad port and HP sent us replacement with a couple of SX GBICs, but we're going with a E4200 Series Modular instead. Its new in the box. You want it?"

Azorath

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[Zer0sFamiliar]

kinda going off topic from the pointless pissing contest

but ive been reading most of this thread with interest and im curious to see if i have summed up everyone's excellent opinions

getting certs as quickly as possible seems to be the main point
is that right?

[TheBlackSheep]

Originally Posted by Zer0sFamiliar [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

kinda going off topic from the pointless pissing contest

but ive been reading most of this thread with interest and im curious to see if i have summed up everyone's excellent opinions

getting certs as quickly as possible seems to be the main point
is that right?

Ya, sorry about the piss everywhere. Yes. To get in and get going in IT relatively quickly, certs + a bit of work experience (if possible), is the way to go. Once you're in, it gets easier. I can't speak for other companies, but we reimburse you if you take any Cisco or MS certification courses and pass while employed with us.

Azorath

[Zer0sFamiliar]

Originally Posted by TheBlackSheep [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Ya, sorry about the piss everywhere. Yes. To get in and get going in IT relatively quickly, certs + a bit of work experience (if possible), is the way to go. Once you're in, it gets easier. I can't speak for other companies, but we reimburse you if you take any Cisco or MS certification courses and pass.

Azorath

Thank you, how long do those courses take, and(incoming possibly retarded question) do the certifications have expiration dates? cause maybe courses change and or what they teach in the courses?

[TheBlackSheep]

Originally Posted by Zer0sFamiliar [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Thank you, how long do those courses take, and(incoming possibly retarded question) do the certifications have expiration dates? cause maybe courses change and or what they teach in the courses?

Not a retarded question at all. The courses don't really have a set duration unless you are taking it at technical school or organized certification course. I took most of mine after reading the books and participating in some study groups with some fellow engineers that I work with. We all took the exams on our own time, which was immediately for some, and a few months later for others.

Cisco certification paths generally expire after 3 years. MS certs expire or become inactive when Microsoft discontinues and/or significantly upgrades an aspect of their technology enough that they feel it requires a re-cert.

All you need to know about MS Certs (scroll down to the lifespan subsection):

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en...rted.aspx#tab3

Cisco:

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le...aths_home.html

VMWare:

http://mylearn.vmware.com/portals/certification/

Azorath

[Zer0sFamiliar]

Originally Posted by TheBlackSheep [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Not a retarded question at all. The courses don't really have a set duration unless you are taking it at technical school or organized certification course. I took most of mine after reading the books and participating in some study groups with some fellow engineers that I work with. We all took the exams on our own time, which was immediately for some, and a few months later for others.

Cisco certification paths generally expire after 3 years. MS certs expire or become inactive when Microsoft discontinues and/or significantly upgrades an aspect of their technology enough that they feel it requires a re-cert.

All you need to know about MS Certs (scroll down to the lifespan subsection):

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en...rted.aspx#tab3

Cisco:

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le...aths_home.html

VMWare:

http://mylearn.vmware.com/portals/certification/

Azorath

Awesome, thank you

[stayne]

Find an IT job at a hospital. Trust me...you don't need a degree. Go through a hiring agency.

[moklianne]

Be ready to donate a lot of time or take a job making jack for a couple of years, since the industry is mainly looking for experience first, then bachelors degrees in IT, then certs.

The only certs worth anything are the Cisco ones and VMware ones. Since network security will increasingly be a problem, the CISSP (and related) is sought after as well and will continue to be.

On another note, programmers are still pretty heavily sought after, even with all of the outsourcing to developing nations lately.

[Brawk]

Get accounting degree
Get accounting job
Work 3-4 years
Learn financial accounting products
Move to an IT support role maintaining those products
Earn $200k+

Every company has an accounting department and most prefer support be on site. Not in some 3rd world country.

[dusk883]

If you have people skills in the IT world, there is no limit to the amount of money you can make in the field.