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Kashuno
Oct 9, 2012

Where the hell is my SWORD?
Grimey Drawer
Comptia CIOS, CSIS

I wonder if they did this because a lot of the 'big name' certs are 4 letters

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Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal

Kashuno posted:

Comptia CIOS, CSIS

I wonder if they did this because a lot of the 'big name' certs are 4 letters

I think they're trying to cut down on the image of being "easy" certs when people list four or five in a row on their resume. They want 'CSIS' to hold more weight.

Dr. Arbitrary
Mar 15, 2006

Bleak Gremlin
If only it was UNIX+, you could be A+N+U+S+

Heer98
Apr 10, 2009
Hey! I've been working myself up at my MSP for four years (stared at helpdesk 1) and I'm finally looking to grab some CompTIA certifications before I apply elsewhere. I powered through the Professor Messer YouTube series on Network+ while taking copious amounts of notes, and now I'm taking practice tests from a guidebook. How prepared do you guys think that would make me to take the exam, and are there any particular areas that stuck out to you as needing additional focus?

Thanks!

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal
Off the top of your head tell me the port numbers for imap, pop3, DNS, telnet, ssh, and ftp.

DotyManX
Aug 9, 2004
Yeah I drive a minivan, big deal, wanna fight about it?
Also know the wire order for 568a and 568b, on mine I had to drag and drop the colored wires on one of the simlets

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

TsarZiedonis posted:

Hey! I've been working myself up at my MSP for four years (stared at helpdesk 1) and I'm finally looking to grab some CompTIA certifications before I apply elsewhere. I powered through the Professor Messer YouTube series on Network+ while taking copious amounts of notes, and now I'm taking practice tests from a guidebook. How prepared do you guys think that would make me to take the exam, and are there any particular areas that stuck out to you as needing additional focus?

Thanks!

I just did the Network+ a few months ago, CIDR wasn't really on there at all so don't sweat it too much.

Memorize the number of collision and broadcast domains for each network device and when to use a crossover cable, straight through cable or serial cable.

Heer98
Apr 10, 2009
Huh, thanks. So it's mostly common sense stuff, a few gotcha type questions and then some rote memorization with regard to port numbers and cable runs?

Krispy Wafer
Jul 26, 2002

I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat

Grimey Drawer
Finally investing in a home lab to try and knock out my ICND 1 and 2. My home office is about to get really noisy and probably kind of warm.

I had to interview yesterday for my own job (trying to convert from contractor to FTE) and my manager was talking about a prior candidate who stated she had a CCNA but didn't know what firewalls were. I'm really curious now if she just lied about the cert or if she did test dumps.

DotyManX
Aug 9, 2004
Yeah I drive a minivan, big deal, wanna fight about it?

Krispy Wafer posted:

Finally investing in a home lab to try and knock out my ICND 1 and 2. My home office is about to get really noisy and probably kind of warm.

I had to interview yesterday for my own job (trying to convert from contractor to FTE) and my manager was talking about a prior candidate who stated she had a CCNA but didn't know what firewalls were. I'm really curious now if she just lied about the cert or if she did test dumps.

Having just finished those tests, she must have lied. Even if you memorized answers from a test dump I think you would pick up what a firewall is along the way.

Thanks Ants
May 21, 2004

#essereFerrari


I guess people just assume that employers might not bother checking whether the claims of having a CCNA are legit or not if they sound like they know what they're doing. Obviously in this case the bit about sounding like they have a clue fell apart.

Krispy Wafer
Jul 26, 2002

I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat

Grimey Drawer

DotyManX posted:

Having just finished those tests, she must have lied. Even if you memorized answers from a test dump I think you would pick up what a firewall is along the way.

Maybe, I just can't imagine just sticking certifications in your resume without knowing what they were.

I mean, I once put down that I knew VMware because I had a desktop copy but at least that had like...2% truth to it.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Maybe she went to the Community College of Northern Alaska didn’t know where to put it on the resume

Jbz
Jun 6, 2011

Anyone have an idea on how much easier studying for the CCNA and CCNA Security will be with a lab in my apartment? I've gotten mixed responses from already certified folks. I'd obviously prefer not to spend a bunch of money on equipment, but if it would make things a significant amount easier, I guess I'd be dumb not to.

I have no Cisco experience but all the comptia poo poo, for whatever that counts for.

DotyManX
Aug 9, 2004
Yeah I drive a minivan, big deal, wanna fight about it?

Jbz posted:

Anyone have an idea on how much easier studying for the CCNA and CCNA Security will be with a lab in my apartment? I've gotten mixed responses from already certified folks. I'd obviously prefer not to spend a bunch of money on equipment, but if it would make things a significant amount easier, I guess I'd be dumb not to.

I have no Cisco experience but all the comptia poo poo, for whatever that counts for.

I was able to do the CCNA fine with just packet tracer, there was some stuff covered that I wasn’t able to do in it, mostly serial WAN stuff, also some of the dialer interface stuff I think? Not sure about the CCNA security though.

ChubbyThePhat
Dec 22, 2006

Who nico nico needs anyone else
The CCNA should be attainable purely with packet tracer. I believe the issues it used to have with the labs have been fixed, but I also haven't used packet tracer in... 5 years? Might run into some Frame Relay janky behavior, but you'll know it when you see it.

If you already have a home lab, go nuts and use it; you just don't necessarily need to dump the cash into building one specifically for this.

Peachfart
Jan 21, 2017

Just as an aside, Frame Relay is no longer on the CCNA exams.

The Iron Rose
May 12, 2012

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
So my boss and I had a meeting today. Long story short, he wants me to bring to him a list of certs/courses I want to take, and my employer will cover them.

While I've actually been working on a lot of really interesting stuff - helpdesk is maybe half my job with the rest being SCCM and infrastructure poo poo... I only have my A+, and my networking and storage fundamentals are pretty weak.

So, I guess what I'm asking, what are some decent courses, if any exist, for Network+/ICDN1 that are relatively inexpensive? Or would it be better to buy a good workbook and study of that instead? I'm not footing the bill either way, but there's no official training budget yet and I don't want to just throw a thousand dollar bill at my boss :v:

Security+ I'm just gonna toss on there for completion's sake, though is there a good workbook for that so I can memorize more inane poo poo like mantraps and warchalking :suicide:

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Does your work have any type of employer access through Lynda/Pluralsight/ITProTV that you can use?

Krispy Wafer
Jul 26, 2002

I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat

Grimey Drawer

Jbz posted:

Anyone have an idea on how much easier studying for the CCNA and CCNA Security will be with a lab in my apartment? I've gotten mixed responses from already certified folks. I'd obviously prefer not to spend a bunch of money on equipment, but if it would make things a significant amount easier, I guess I'd be dumb not to.

I have no Cisco experience but all the comptia poo poo, for whatever that counts for.

I've tried Packet Tracer and I just can't get into it so I'm picking up an used CCNA lab in a desktop rack tomorrow. I'd check Craigslist and see what's out there. I'm getting mine for $150. I had priced out the parts on eBay for around $200. That's 3 routers and 3 switches in a desktop rack.

There's a definite advantage to seeing the stuff and working with it. The last thing you need is getting a job and then staring blankly at the hardware the first time you're asked to work on it because you've never actually touched a Cisco switch or router.

ChubbyThePhat
Dec 22, 2006

Who nico nico needs anyone else

Peachfart posted:

Just as an aside, Frame Relay is no longer on the CCNA exams.

Wait REALLY? FINALLY? HAS THE GOLDEN AGE DAWNED??

Colostomy Bag
Jan 11, 2016

:lesnick: C-Bangin' it :lesnick:

The Iron Rose posted:

So my boss and I had a meeting today. Long story short, he wants me to bring to him a list of certs/courses I want to take, and my employer will cover them.

While I've actually been working on a lot of really interesting stuff - helpdesk is maybe half my job with the rest being SCCM and infrastructure poo poo... I only have my A+, and my networking and storage fundamentals are pretty weak.

So, I guess what I'm asking, what are some decent courses, if any exist, for Network+/ICDN1 that are relatively inexpensive? Or would it be better to buy a good workbook and study of that instead? I'm not footing the bill either way, but there's no official training budget yet and I don't want to just throw a thousand dollar bill at my boss :v:

Security+ I'm just gonna toss on there for completion's sake, though is there a good workbook for that so I can memorize more inane poo poo like mantraps and warchalking :suicide:

SCCM is no joke, installing that a few years back in native mode was a complicated mess.

When you say infrastructure what exactly do you mean?

You highlighted your weak points and have the forethought to know not to drop a $1,000 PO on the desk. (Here's the thing, $1K is nothing in this fleecing game for a course.)

What are your interests? Start small and pick something that you find interesting and clicks in your head.

Give us a few more details and we can direct a little better response based on past experiences and being on both sides of the desk.

Peachfart
Jan 21, 2017

ChubbyThePhat posted:

Wait REALLY? FINALLY? HAS THE GOLDEN AGE DAWNED??

https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/blogs/community_cafe/2016/05/17/ccna-refresh

Key Topics Removed:
Frame-Relay and Serial WAN technologies are no longer covered.

They did add a shitload of cloud stuff though.

Edit: My original Cisco classes had Frame Relay and I hated it, so I was glad that it disappeared by the time I took the ICND2.

Jbz
Jun 6, 2011

Thank you for your answers re: my stupid rear end CCNA lab. I'll see if I can wrangle up some gear for cheap in the couple months I have before I start. Otherwise I'll make do with packet tracer.

Crusty Juggler
Mar 26, 2009

Hey folks! First off, I wanna say thanks to everyone that posts in this thread! I check in regularly when there are new posts, and a lot of the info I've got has been super helpful.

Secondly, I was wanting to see if anyone could advise me in my current situation. I'm almost 30, and while I've pretty much been using a PC in my personal life since I was pretty young, I made the boneheaded decision to get a Bachelors in History. To the shock and surprise of no one, this didn't really help me in getting a job, but I lucked out in securing some pretty steady customer service heavy jobs - right now, I'm just shy of three years doing administrative work for Deloitte in the DC area. However, I've been thinking that now might be the time to switch career paths to something more IT heavy, since that's definitely not an industry that's going away any time soon, and there's a lot more opportunity there than my current field. I was successful in getting my A+ certification last spring, and saw that there was an opening for the IT Help Desk with my current company. I applied and was given an interview toward the end of the summer, but ultimate did not get the position, due to my lack of professional IT experience. At this moment, I'm considering searching for positions outside my company, but have some doubts about doing so - seeing as how I was denied a position at my current job, due to my lack of experience, would I just get the same results elsewhere? Would a Network+ certification improve my chances, or would I still face an uphill battle? Any tips or information you fine folks could share would be greatly appreciated.

Krispy Wafer
Jul 26, 2002

I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat

Grimey Drawer

Crusty Juggler posted:

Hey folks! First off, I wanna say thanks to everyone that posts in this thread! I check in regularly when there are new posts, and a lot of the info I've got has been super helpful.

Secondly, I was wanting to see if anyone could advise me in my current situation. I'm almost 30, and while I've pretty much been using a PC in my personal life since I was pretty young, I made the boneheaded decision to get a Bachelors in History. To the shock and surprise of no one, this didn't really help me in getting a job, but I lucked out in securing some pretty steady customer service heavy jobs - right now, I'm just shy of three years doing administrative work for Deloitte in the DC area. However, I've been thinking that now might be the time to switch career paths to something more IT heavy, since that's definitely not an industry that's going away any time soon, and there's a lot more opportunity there than my current field. I was successful in getting my A+ certification last spring, and saw that there was an opening for the IT Help Desk with my current company. I applied and was given an interview toward the end of the summer, but ultimate did not get the position, due to my lack of professional IT experience. At this moment, I'm considering searching for positions outside my company, but have some doubts about doing so - seeing as how I was denied a position at my current job, due to my lack of experience, would I just get the same results elsewhere? Would a Network+ certification improve my chances, or would I still face an uphill battle? Any tips or information you fine folks could share would be greatly appreciated.

The Network+ is not a bad idea, but honestly buying a few Udemy courses when they're on sale and spending a hour a night learning Linux, Powershell, or MySQL is going to be far more useful. Like force yourself to use only Linux for a month and you'll begin to hate life, but you'll hate life with a marketable skill.

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


Krispy Wafer posted:

Like force yourself to use only Linux for a month and you'll begin to hate life, but you'll hate life with a marketable skill.

This but you’ll regret having to go back to windows on your work pc.

Ocean Book
Sep 27, 2010

:yum: - hi
I don't have experience directly with IT ( I'm just considering getting an A+ atm), but I've found in other fields you can luck into getting some experience at smaller companies. I now am knowledgeable and competent in QA because a tiny pepperoni factory needed someone to run a few tests everyday for mediocre pay, and I've since translated that into a better paying job at a much larger company.

It also continues to be true that you get 0% of jobs you don't apply to.

The Iron Rose
May 12, 2012

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:

Colostomy Bag posted:

SCCM is no joke, installing that a few years back in native mode was a complicated mess.

When you say infrastructure what exactly do you mean?

You highlighted your weak points and have the forethought to know not to drop a $1,000 PO on the desk. (Here's the thing, $1K is nothing in this fleecing game for a course.)

What are your interests? Start small and pick something that you find interesting and clicks in your head.

Give us a few more details and we can direct a little better response based on past experiences and being on both sides of the desk.

Sorry this took so long for me to get back to!

I do internal IT for an org of about 800, about 60% macs 40% PCs. My job is about 50% helpdesk - people come to me when their computer breaks, or they need help with a zoom presentation, or whatever. Then there's newhires, AD unlocking and password resets, and a weekly action on found security threats. Also dealing with vendors, cell phones, purchasing, the like.

The more interesting stuff is the other half of my job. While I didn't set up the SCCM server from scratch, I'm the point woman for SCCM administration. So for example, I'm the one scripting MDT task sequences and setting up OSD, writing packages and software deployment, WSUS patch management, integration of USMT, et cetera. I also focus pretty heavily on security, ranging from GPOs to analysis of Darktrace logs and subsequent reporting, employee interviews or investigations. I also own the deployment and administration of our new antivirus. Which is poo poo, I used powershell to basically build an automated weekly report from scratch since there wasn't any built in reporting or auditing. I've been asked to write a deficiency report as a result. I've also done some minor work with managing shares and storage, but not anything to write home about.

I'm 22 and I've worked in IT for a grand total of 9 months, including an internship, all at my current org. I'm entirely self taught from learning on the job, and 3/4ths of a Political Science degree.

There's a few things I want to aim for. My understanding of networking fundamentals is patchy, pun not intended. While I have a basic understanding of how networks work, I don't know enough to really flourish in this field. I'm very interested in security in particular, but I also kinda want to learn more about basic server administration and setup, and obviously I need to work on my understanding of networking. My boss also recommended I look into storage as well. I also ordered the powershell in a month of lunches book to work on my scripting.

so, tldr:

I'm very much a generalist
I don't know networks as well as I should
I'm very interested and have done a lot of work with security
I'm also interested in building and maintaining our server infrastrastructure, but don't have any hands on experience.
I am, essentially, the SCCM administrator for my organization.


My initial thoughts were to actually study/take a course for the N+ or the ICND1, and then just buy the textbook and blow through the Security+, which everyone and their mother says is a huge joke.

The Iron Rose fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Jan 16, 2018

incoherent
Apr 24, 2004

01010100011010000111001
00110100101101100011011
000110010101110010
Someone give me the take on the CISSP. Waste of time or worth wild? Ars wrote disparagingly about a year ago because its a security cert tied to multiple choices. Would like to enhance my primary microsoft knowledge with other things such as security and cloud so i'm looking to expand.

Diva Cupcake
Aug 15, 2005

CISSP great for career signaling and as a resume checkbox if you’re applying to basically any senior level infosec position, whether that’s operational security or auditing and compliance. Deserved or not, it holds a lot of weight in F100 HR departments.

I do agree with Ars on some level with regards to IT certifications and how good a filter they provide for qualified candidates. That still applies, but the actual test might be multiple choice but the question pool is large enough to keep braindumping from being a thing. It was tough and it covers a ton of ground.

I would definitely recommend it depending on where you are in your career.

Colostomy Bag
Jan 11, 2016

:lesnick: C-Bangin' it :lesnick:

incoherent posted:

Someone give me the take on the CISSP. Waste of time or worth wild? Ars wrote disparagingly about a year ago because its a security cert tied to multiple choices. Would like to enhance my primary microsoft knowledge with other things such as security and cloud so i'm looking to expand.

To follow-up on your recent answers...are you good at taking tests? Taken CBT before? Can easily exclude 50% of the wrong answers type of thing?

Diva Cupcake
Aug 15, 2005

This is an interesting thing I saw on Reddit. Google is putting out their own entry level IT support coursework because they feel the current certification environment is not providing them with enough qualified candidates. Might be an option for those debating the merits of A+ and MCSA stuff.

Could also be good for people with gaps in their fundamentals knowledge like IT Automation.

https://blog.google/topics/grow-with-google/it-support-professional-certificate/

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/google-it-support

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Interesting $50/mo isn’t bad if it’s go at your own pace and you can blow through a lot of the lower level stuff.

Stuff like automating IT functions is probably a good refresher too.

MJP
Jun 17, 2007

Are you looking at me Senpai?

Grimey Drawer
That Google cert is heavily biased towards *nix-heavy environments if they want people automating via Ruby/Git/etc. and not Powershell/SCCM/etc. It does seem like it's a good supplement to the A+, though.

I wonder if they have wardroning as part of the IT security course.

incoherent
Apr 24, 2004

01010100011010000111001
00110100101101100011011
000110010101110010

Colostomy Bag posted:

To follow-up on your recent answers...are you good at taking tests? Taken CBT before? Can easily exclude 50% of the wrong answers type of thing?

Been through microsoft CBTs (ALL 4 ANSWERS WORK BUT WHICH ONE AM I THINKING OF :iiam: or Here is a problem and the solution is to use SCCM which wasn't covered in any of the official microsoft study guides ) so I can handle anything.

Nitramster
Mar 10, 2006
THERE'S NO TIME!!!
I just got an A+ book to read through, I wonder if I should take the Google course and have both certs to put on my resume. I posted a couple months ago for advice on moving on from geeksquad but I'm just now getting my rear end in gear. Just don't want to lose out on the time and money if companies outside of Google are going to laugh at it.

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
CISSP is a good checkbox ticker but it's really just turning into an indication of whether your last company cared enough about you to spend thousands on a bootcamp.

Some of the applicants I interview with a CISSP can't talk to the most basic concepts from any of the domains.

But if you're looking to move up it's a good five letters to have.

some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Jan 18, 2018

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

My buddy just signed up for the Google IT Coursera course (they offer a free 7-day trial) and it's pretty structured. You have weekly video series and have quizzes and grades that are due once a week. You can easily accelerate through everything, but if you think you're going to just pop in and out of this course you'll have a bad time.

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Dr. Kayak Paddle
May 10, 2006

Diva Cupcake posted:

This is an interesting thing I saw on Reddit. Google is putting out their own entry level IT support coursework because they feel the current certification environment is not providing them with enough qualified candidates. Might be an option for those debating the merits of A+ and MCSA stuff.

Could also be good for people with gaps in their fundamentals knowledge like IT Automation.

https://blog.google/topics/grow-with-google/it-support-professional-certificate/

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/google-it-support

Wonder if it will have any effect on compTIA. They need some healthy competition in the entry level arena, because their current offerings are garbage tier BS, IMO. But I'm jaded because of the BS I have to put up with in the DoD/cleared sector.

Clearance, pulse, and a sec+. = Job regardless of whether you know anything or have a desire to learn.

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