I.T. Certifications

[KillShot]

Hey guys, for those of you who are in the I.T. field, may I have a few minutes of your time? I would greatly appreciate it.

I am self taught in I.T. such as hardware, security, and a little networking. At the present time, I am pursuing a college degree in the field of Information Security & Digital Forensics at Oklahoma State Institute of Technology. I've been taking classes since the Summer of 2009 and right now I have 47 credit hours. I chose to take this Summer off due to financial reasons. My Associate of Science will come next Spring/Summer with the Associate of Applied Science coming in Fall/Spring of 2013. I won't have my Bachelors until 2014, at the ripe old age of 35-36.

My question(s);

What certification(s) should I be trying to get while still in college?

My plan was to get my A+, following it up with Security+, then getting the Network+. I was told by an instructor as O.S.U. that Test King is a great source for getting pretty much any I.T. certification that I could possibly want. Eventually, I want to pursue my C.I.S.S.P. but I'm not expecting something like that for probably 10 years down the road.

My reasoning is having those certs should give me a better chance of landing an I.T. job while I'm still in college and after I've finished bachelors, those certs should put me in a better position than the average graduate and hopefully, land me in a better paying position. One thing that will certainly help me in finding a good job after graduation is I'm not married and I have no children, so I can relocate anywhere the job requires. In the meantime, I've been making contacts within the local F.B.I. field office, with C.I.O.'s of large casinos in the area, and also with I.T. consulting firms.

Am I misguided in my thinking and if so, would you give me some input as to what you might do differently if you were in my position?

I am a blunt and straight-forward guy by nature so please, give me your unvarnished opinion on anything I've said here or anything you might be thinking of that pertains to the topic. It will do me no good to have smoke blown up my ass.

Thank you for your time and any advice you can give.

 

[poison123]

Re: I.T. Certifications

A+, Security+, Network+ aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Until you get up into the Arch level certs like CCIE or the equivalent through another vendor they don't really set you apart from someone else.

My advice finish your 4 year....its rough in the IT world right now. Either having contacts or absurd exp is the only way to get a half way decent paying job at the moment.

 

[KillShot]

Re: I.T. Certifications

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Poison123</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A+, Security+, Network+ aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Until you get up into the Arch level certs like CCIE or the equivalent through another vendor they don't really set you apart from someone else.

My advice finish your 4 year....its rough in the IT world right now. Either having contacts or absurd exp is the only way to get a half way decent paying job at the moment.</div></div>

Wow...no kiddin? I was thinking it would be a good way to get my foot in the door somewhere. Thanks for your input, it is <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline">greatly appreciated</span></span>!

 

[CrazyDonkey]

Re: I.T. Certifications

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Poison123</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A+, Security+, Network+ aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Until you get up into the Arch level certs like CCIE or the equivalent through another vendor they don't really set you apart from someone else.

My advice finish your 4 year....its rough in the IT world right now. Either having contacts or absurd exp is the only way to get a half way decent paying job at the moment. </div></div> I will have to disagree with you. Everyone should have supporting certs to bigger ones. Raytheon won't even higher you around here without at least basic certs.

And as far as jobs go I will again have to disagree. Maybe with civie companies the job market sucks, but government contract job are always there as are gov civilian jobs. If i ETSd right now i could have a 70k job in a week.

 

[LegioX]

Re: I.T. Certifications

I disagree CD, you'd make 100k+ 'cause you're the smartest MF'er in the Southwest!!

 

[CrazyDonkey]

Re: I.T. Certifications

I was trying to be modest

 

[sharac]

Re: I.T. Certifications

How much would a head of an IT department get in US. Let's say some minor insurance company or small bank? All MS certs, masters degree in IT science and approx 10y experience?

Here in Slovenia i get around 60k$ gross (taxes and everything else takes around 40% away).

 

[Adam B]

Re: I.T. Certifications

I found that certs aren't worth a damn if you dont have any experience to back them up with, all it proves is that you are good a test taking/memorization. Finish your 4 year degree and try to land a good internship, experience is going to get you the furthest, ymmv.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: I.T. Certifications

Here's where I will disagree. Keep in mind he's young and has not been in this field as long as some of us have.
I have surpassed 20 years working in IT now. Certs for me are pay raises.

Network + - looks good on a resume and if you are at entry level it shows you have some knowledge of networks, some.

Security + - VERY basic cert, however DOD REQUIRES this cert so if you go to a DOD contractor or DOD job you must have this.

Microsoft Certs - I will keep my mouth shut as I have 9 of them but they are no longer the "First" cert I would suggest you go for - go for Cisco and Security + first.
However to be DOD 8570.1M qualified you MUST have one Microsoft cert in Network infrastructure (Ie Active Directory will work), and the Security Plus.

Having an 8570.1M qualification will make you attractive to a DOD contractor, and your opponent NOT having it could be the difference between getting hired or not.

Now that Certified Ethical Hacker - good cert but I would not do it until AFTER you have been in the field, have earned your CISSP.

And DOD is a great place to practice security, by far our systems are more tight than any civilian place I have ever worked.

Took the CISSP yesterday, my brain still hurts.

 

[KillShot]

Re: I.T. Certifications

Thanks for the input, everyone. I agree that certs aren't worth their weight unless you have experience to go with it. For me, though, I look at the CompTIA low level certs as a way to get my foot in the door somewhere that allows for hand-on experience while still working on my degree. I understand what has been said about them not carrying much (if any) weight in the industry (depending on the employer) but it certainly couldn't hurt to have any of them on my resume.

Those are my thoughts, anyway. My reasoning behind that is below.

If I were hiring for an I.T. position within a company and someone fresh out of college applied and had the certifications I mentioned along with a bachelors (3.75 GPA), for me it would say the individual had the initiative to not settle for a degree but also did what they could to get experience and become certified.

While the certs may not carry a lot of weight, it shows ambition and a willingness to build on what he/she has learned, which is exactly the kind of employee I want on my team.

Do you agree, disagree, or...?

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: I.T. Certifications

KillShot - Yes - if you go to any place like where I work with a degree and no experience they probably would not give you the time of day...or they might recommend an internship.

The certs show that you are getting your feet wet, or if you have the experience show that you took initiative.

Fear not.

 

[CleanMoostang]

Re: I.T. Certifications

I remember when I thought have CCNA was a big deal, I have since learnt you can have all the degree's you desire, but if you dont have the work experience to prove you can put forth the knowledge you have, your screwed.

And I know its a loop hole, if I cant get a job how can I have work experience, and no one will hire me because I dont have experience, weve all been through it.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: I.T. Certifications

"how's a man supposed to get experience if he's not given the chance?" - Dirty Harry.

Volunteer, you will be paid in experience.

 

[Jayne]

Re: I.T. Certifications

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ArcticLight</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Volunteer, you will be paid in experience. </div></div>

yep. I worked my first IT job in college for free. Learned some stuff, got noticed by other departments as someone that could get things done and was then hired into an actual paying slot. Worked for low pay for about a year, got a slightly better paying job, then found a 'real' job making actual money... rinse and repeat.

I've been in the unix track for, 18 years now. (when did I get so dman old?) I've got exactly 3 certs, all outdated and worthless.

Currently I have a staff of 24 and seem to be constantly interviewing people, and rarely give any weight to certs. I honestly also rarely give any weight to degrees, some of my best guys never finished up and it's not holding them back in any way. We're not a government shop but we are a big company and degrees/certs still have zero impact on pay. We're engineering focused though, I imagine if we were in finance or some such it would be a different story.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: I.T. Certifications

I think if you have a guy working and he goes out of his way to certify, something solid anyway, it should be worth a pay raise - unless your shop is like a former employer that figures it's cheaper to hire someone else in (??) -

It just shows initiative.

AS for degrees, LOL I'm FINALLY doing what my SAT test 30 years ago said to do - ENGLISH!!!!

I'm writing a book so I figured it would help.

 

[Mute]

Re: I.T. Certifications

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Poison123</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A+, Security+, Network+ aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Until you get up into the Arch level certs like CCIE or the equivalent through another vendor they don't really set you apart from someone else.

My advice finish your 4 year....its rough in the IT world right now. Either having contacts or absurd exp is the only way to get a half way decent paying job at the moment. </div></div>

This is especially true nowadays. Take it from someone who worked as a network admin and a network engineer, the lower level certs may get you through the door but the top level jobs not only requires higher certs but also a good deal of work experience.

Outsourcing has really squeezed the mid-tier IT jobs in the U.S. Most of them now are either lower level or top level.