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no pubes yet sorry posted:My employer is offering to pay for certs. I don't have any yet and it hasn't really been a problem at all but I figure I may as well get some for free. What do you want to do? IT director typically means you aren't supporting stuff, perhaps making some high level decisions about architecture type stuff, but not really handling implementation or support.
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Apr 18, 2017 20:23
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If you're focusing on certs that would help at the director level and above, CRISC, PMP, CISSP, ITIL, TOGAF, etc... I wouldn't even bother with the Microsoft stuff.
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Apr 18, 2017 20:31
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Define mid sized company
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Apr 18, 2017 20:40
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Whoops, edit wiped out my reply. We are on the small side of medium. 200+ employees, 10 locations in the US. We are growing so those numbers are ticking up. Organizationally my title is Director and I perform all the director level functions but I still sysadmin and am involved day to day with support and implementation. The job function will shift as org grows. I took a CRISC practice exam I found and passed it easily - obviously not indicative of a real test but seems like it could be useful. Out of the architecture and project management certs are ITIL, PMP and TOGAF the big ones now? no pubes yet sorry fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Apr 20, 2017 |
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Apr 18, 2017 20:47
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no pubes yet sorry posted:I'm very hands on. Organizationally my title is Director and I perform all milk milk lemonade posted:Define mid sized company See this varies so much by company. I would consider us a mid sized company, but we're global with 60 sites and 12K+ employees. I report to a Manager, who reports to a Director. My Director oversees 3 separate teams, each with their own manager, and team underneath. He reports to a VP of IT who has 7 Directors under him, and he is one of 5 VP's in the IT Org. A large company to me is 50K+ employees.
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Apr 18, 2017 21:04
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skipdogg posted:See this varies so much by company. I would consider us a mid sized company, but we're global with 60 sites and 12K+ employees. I report to a Manager, who reports to a Director. My Director oversees 3 separate teams, each with their own manager, and team underneath. He reports to a VP of IT who has 7 Directors under him, and he is one of 5 VP's in the IT Org. Mid/Medium seems to mean more than 100 employees but less than 30k. It is nearly meaningless except to say "not small".
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Apr 18, 2017 21:38
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This is more general but how do you even sit down and study? Feels like only 10 percent ever sticks and it's really discouraging.
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Apr 19, 2017 02:23
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Practice something you just learned. Assign an ACL to a port and pass traffic through. Design a group policy and apply it to a PC. Spin up a clone VM in a separate virtual network. Write a quick webpage form with PHP and link a database. Warchalk your neighboring buildings. The next time you study you'll have something concrete to apply the information to. Then you can do the same lab but use your newer information as well. It sticks so much better and you get that accomplished feeling when your lab works.
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Apr 19, 2017 02:53
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skooma512 posted:This is more general but how do you even sit down and study? Feels like only 10 percent ever sticks and it's really discouraging. I feel it, especially as I'm getting close to 50. There are ways of forcing yourself to study, and by that, I mean "the words actually stick to my brain now" instead of scrolling by my eyes. My wife does this: Open the first pages, find the table of contents. Write each topic and subtopic at the top of a flash card. Read: As you finish each section / subsection of the book, force yourself to make three bullet points on the correlating flash card that cover all of the section's material even tangentially. Study: Flip through the flash cards, get yourself to remember what the three bullet points were about. Iterate until you're pretty quick at recalling what's on the flash cards. ---------- I do this: Take two practice tests so I get a feel for the level of detail the test wants. Read the recommended study guide, taking bullet point notes at a level a little deeper than the test wants. Notes are in my own words. This is my Big Notes. Re-read Big Notes one or two times. Turn my Big Notes into Small Notes: condense Big Notes into as few pages and as few words as I can, then try again. After try 3 or 4, I might have a spiral notebook of material condensed down to a Cliffs Notes of like 3-4 pages that I personally made, so it jogs my memory perfectly. Turn Small Notes into Uberchart: On four letter-sized pieces of paper taped together, flowchart the Small Notes, and I poo poo you not, colorize them with colored pencils. The color association and lines take the little visual/auditory links that have been building this whole time on their own and makes them way easier to mentally "seek" during a test.
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Apr 19, 2017 17:28
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Now for the actual reason I came in here: I'm looking for good CISA and CISM study books. Recommendations?
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Apr 19, 2017 17:31
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skooma512 posted:This is more general but how do you even sit down and study? Feels like only 10 percent ever sticks and it's really discouraging. I do well with repetition and practical learning; labs and flash cards are my bread and butter. Also, as I read through chapters I will take my own notes, and usually re-write those notes later into more concise notes, but this falls into the whole repetition thing, kind of.
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Apr 19, 2017 19:52
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Has anyone used Crammasters Online for certification exam prep? I have a CCNA and Windows Server prep I have been asked to review by my boss and was wondering if anyone had any input on the quality of their services.
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Apr 19, 2017 23:03
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Thanks all! I'll give those suggestions a shot.
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Apr 21, 2017 04:20
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Solaron posted:Great - thank you! My endorser just responded that he thinks the experience should be more than fine so I think I'll be good. I think my sleep-deprived mind is just looking for reasons why this won't go through somehow.
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Apr 21, 2017 16:15
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Old workplace had a whole test environment where you could pretty much do anything. Spent most of time breaking and building stuff there. I miss it now.
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Apr 21, 2017 16:22
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MF_James posted:I do well with repetition and practical learning; labs and flash cards are my bread and butter. Also, as I read through chapters I will take my own notes, and usually re-write those notes later into more concise notes, but this falls into the whole repetition thing, kind of. This was my strategy. Material didn't stick very well until I did things a few times myself in a lab environment (just a bunch of mocked out VM's, Packet Tracer, and GNS3). I did every practical lab task over and over until I could do it very quickly and without ever referring to notes. This made "yo fix this broken config," questions fairly trivial because troubleshooting just became walking through the implementation steps to check. It also depends on the exam too. If you're doing RHCSA then really the practice is really all you need. Going through and poring over the textbook isn't very useful. For Microsoft tests, though, from what I gather it's a lot more regurgitating book bullet points. So the trouble with studying for these exams is that you not only need to find out a study routine that works for you, but then also is actually appropriate for the test. ErIog fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Apr 23, 2017 |
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Apr 23, 2017 02:18
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After too many years in customer service I'm finally getting my proverbials together and want to get out and into something more useful or at least higher paying like IT. I'm sure I'm barking up the wrong tree for "something better" but I need a change. Are the Sybex books still a good resource to learn from? Or are actual classes better? I'm sure the answer is "its personal preference." How often do the exams change, I.E. do I need to worry that if I start studying now will the exams change in six months? I'm sure I'll have more questions but those are the first ones I have. Edit: for what it's worth I just want to get my foot in the door. I need a good starting point and I'll tackle the rest. TheBoyBlunder fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Apr 24, 2017 |
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Apr 24, 2017 21:51
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Classes are expensive and are usually only worth the cost if your employer picks up the tab. Start with books. New exams are usually announced way ahead of time regardless of vendor. Look up the exam you want to take and it should be pretty apparent if it will change in 6 months. IT, even at a customer service level, is objectively better than other customer service rolls. In IT you hold knowledge the customer or client doesn't possess, so they can't treat you like bottom of the barrel scum (all the time, anyway)
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Apr 24, 2017 22:00
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Is EMCSA (EMC Storage Administrator) certification something employers care about? I'm going to a training on EMC Data Domain in a couple of months and I found out included is a voucher to take the certification exam for it. I can't find it listed in a single employment posting though. I mean, sure, I see a ton of stuff for EMC administration, but not the actual certification.
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Apr 24, 2017 23:00
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Japanese Dating Sim posted:Is EMCSA (EMC Storage Administrator) certification something employers care about? I'm going to a training on EMC Data Domain in a couple of months and I found out included is a voucher to take the certification exam for it. I don't think a standard corporate job will care about it, but if you're looking at a job with a VAR, Integrator, or consulting firm, they might. It can't hurt to earn it. It can also help with your current job when discussing things review time.
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Apr 24, 2017 23:11
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TheBoyBlunder posted:After too many years in customer service I'm finally getting my proverbials together and want to get out and into something more useful or at least higher paying like IT. So, I took the A+ in July (the very last day of the 220-801 & 802), and just passed the Network+ on Saturday. The job I've been promoted into seems like a good way to move my way into being a DBA (probably Oracle), but I've heard it's much easier to pass the Security+ exam immediately after Network+; is it worth going for my Security+, or if my intended direction is to become a DBA, am I better off getting out of the entry-level CompTIA stuff, and starting on some Oracle certs? Ham Equity fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Apr 25, 2017 |
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Apr 25, 2017 04:53
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Security+ is the one actually worth getting as it's recognized by the DoD. Any IT resume is improved by having it, in my opinion, because HR and C levels are awestruck by IT security buzzwords.
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Apr 25, 2017 05:27
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There is a lot of topics on Security+ that a decade-old veteran may not even know anything about deeper than name and "thats a crypto thing right?"
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Apr 25, 2017 05:44
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Would you guys agree that it's much easier to pass Security+ shortly after Network+?
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Apr 25, 2017 05:52
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Thanatosian posted:Would you guys agree that it's much easier to pass Security+ shortly after Network+? The Sec+ is just significantly easier than the Net+ period. Net+ is a dumb level of rote memorization and that's all there is to it. Sec+ you can usually feel your way through the question if you don't remember the specifics.
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Apr 25, 2017 14:11
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Thanatosian posted:Would you guys agree that it's much easier to pass Security+ shortly after Network+? There's a lot of overlap so yeah I would think so. Disclaimer: I took them 3 years apart.
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Apr 25, 2017 14:17
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Kashuno posted:The Sec+ is just significantly easier than the Net+ period. Net+ is a dumb level of rote memorization and that's all there is to it. Sec+ you can usually feel your way through the question if you don't remember the specifics. Agreed. Sec+ you can pass by reading a book for a week or two and having absorbed some common sense day-to-day knowledge of IT security that you'd get from working just about any role in the industry. And there is a bit of overlap with Net+ so yeah. There's also these videos which are pretty great for being free.
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Apr 25, 2017 14:27
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Guide to passing Security+ : give whatever answer a C level wants to hear in an interview. Forget realistic expectations, forget reasonable shortcuts, forget things you've done in the real world. Give every feel-good canned answer that would bring a smile to a non-IT person's face. There, you've passed.
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Apr 25, 2017 16:10
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Judge Schnoopy posted:Guide to passing Security+ : give whatever answer a C level wants to hear in an interview. That was basically the same advice I was first given when I began studying for CISSP.
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Apr 25, 2017 16:11
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Hey, those canned answers have to come from somewhere.
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Apr 25, 2017 18:48
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Thanatosian posted:The job I've been promoted into seems like a good way to move my way into being a DBA (probably Oracle), but I've heard it's much easier to pass the Security+ exam immediately after Network+; is it worth going for my Security+, or if my intended direction is to become a DBA, am I better off getting out of the entry-level CompTIA stuff, and starting on some Oracle certs? Oh loving lol. PM me if you run into any weird Oracle stuff. I'll do my best to walk you through it. The starter Oracle cert is basic SQL programming. After that comes the OCA DBA which is where the admin work starts. Security+ does not even apply unless you're working for the DoD.
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Apr 25, 2017 19:02
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MrKatharsis posted:Oh loving lol. PM me if you run into any weird Oracle stuff. I'll do my best to walk you through it. Heh, right now everything I do in Oracle is weird, I know virtually nothing about it. My boss really likes me, so she bumped me to a position she expects me to grow into. It's a fantastic opportunity for me, but I'm definitely in a bit over my head right now. The company is in finance, and very security-conscious, so I think the Security+ will pay off, and I would like to do it while I still remember stuff from Network+.
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Apr 25, 2017 19:41
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Anyone take the Stanly VMware ICM 6.0 course recently know if I can get away without buying the textbook? I need to take it to qualify for the exam since I let my VCP5 expire.
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Apr 25, 2017 20:36
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Thanatosian posted:Heh, right now everything I do in Oracle is weird, I know virtually nothing about it. My boss really likes me, so she bumped me to a position she expects me to grow into. It's a fantastic opportunity for me, but I'm definitely in a bit over my head right now. Unless your company is telling you to do Security+ and is dangling a pay raise it's a waste. It won't really help you with actual security fundamentals.
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Apr 25, 2017 23:03
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ErIog posted:Unless your company is telling you to do Security+ and is dangling a pay raise it's a waste. It won't really help you with actual security fundamentals. BUT WAR CHALKING
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Apr 25, 2017 23:10
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Has anyone here taken the PCNSE? What did you use to study for it, how much time, how long have you been working on PAs, etc? I had some pretty thorough training (not specifically for the PCNSE, just PAs in general) a few months ago through my work and have been poking my way through some of the official material lately.
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Apr 26, 2017 01:24
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MF_James posted:BUT WAR CHALKING Never fails to make me laugh
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Apr 26, 2017 12:36
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MF_James posted:BUT WAR CHALKING Much like D.A.R.E. telling me weed was going knock my socks off I now war chalk because the Security+ materials told me it owned and was what cool hackers were doing.
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Apr 26, 2017 12:50
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ErIog posted:Unless your company is telling you to do Security+ and is dangling a pay raise it's a waste. It won't really help you with actual security fundamentals. I'm saving sec+ as a way to reset the timer on my n+ and a+ without spending time and money on CE credits. Although I hope by the time that comes I won't care since I'll be in a position that will be a stepping stone to places that don't give a poo poo about entry level CompTIA certs.
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Apr 26, 2017 18:30
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I wasn't planning on doing the Sec+, but I'm starting to mess around with Kali Linux and metasploit for my company to do just some sort of basic passive vulnerability review of our network configuration and I wouldn't mind getting grounded with some fundamentals that I may not have picked up on otherwise. Does anyone have any good study guide recommendations for Sec+? When I did my Net+ I just used the Mike Meyers passport series and that worked fine for me... should I stick with that for Security+ or is there something better out there? Also, has anyone tried any of the paid education courses on Stack Social? I thought they looked like they might be a good review and they're cheap enough at ~50$, but I'm deeply skeptical of anything that says it's 99% off the "normal price" of $1500 "for a limited time only" with similar posts from last year, plus I feel like a lot of this information has a short half life unless you're actively using it and I'm just looking for continuing education kinda stuff. Are any of these like the ethical hacking or the 2017 coding bundle worthwhile, or should I stick with free courses like from datacamp and stuff?
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Apr 26, 2017 20:18
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