Change of Career looking for advice.

[Ultirian]

Hello all,

 

This is my first post on the forum and I would like to know if anyone has any advice for me with regards to changing in career.

 

Long story short I am in healthcare it sucks and I would like to move to IT security.

 

I have been told that the CompTia Security+ is the way to go. does anyone else know if this is a good place to start?

 

Also I would like to know how do people get experience as all the jobs in the field seem to want 3-5 years experience.

 

Any advice would be grand. :)

 

Ultirian

[Radium_Angel]

3 minutes ago, Ultirian said:

CompTia

They offer all manner of certs. Some are worth it, some are not.

Personally, I'd start with the basics, understand the hardware and how it works, then move up from there.

4 minutes ago, Ultirian said:

Also I would like to know how do people get experience as all the jobs in the field seem to want 3-5 years experience.

Starting at the bottom, and working your way up. Break/fix, level 1 technical phone support, that sort of thing.

You can teach yourself much of this in your own home. Get some cheap systems from CraigsList, set up your own network in your house, and try to penetrate them. Use Kali Linux, it has a good set of penetration tools built right in

[KuJoe]

CompTIA certs are good for entry level jobs but they're so easy to get they don't hold a lot of weight. Most jobs require experience or "equivalent degree" meaning if they want 2 years of experience they'll settle for an Associates degree (although experience is more valuable than education). Looking at certificates is a good first step, it's cheaper than going to college and provides you with specialized training for the field you want. My advice is learn as much as you can on your own first and look for internships to gain experience and training. How much knowledge do you currently have?

[Kalm_Traveler]

I switched from systems administration to security about 6 months ago and got that cert last month.

 

Honestly shifting gears is more about who you know than what you know. I had zero security-specific knowledge or experience, but I've worked at the same place for almost 4 years now and that team knew me pretty well. I was asked to fill a spot, and they offered to bring me up to speed based on positive work experiences dealing with me.

[TheBean]

honestly... i learnt quite a bit from my old computers breaking. also, howtogeek is a really good website. they used to post a bunch of REALLY awsome stuff to get you started but they dont do that much now. (look in their archives). also, watch LTT videos and other tech channels. 

 

howtogeek.com has made me the IT tech support of my school.

[KuJoe]

1 minute ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

who you know than what you know

This is IT in a nutshell. With the current job market there are hundreds if not thousands of people more qualified than you (not the person I quoted specifically, you as in whoever is reading this post), the only way to get an edge over other people who know more than you and want less money than you is to know somebody who can help you get the job. And it doesn't even have to be somebody on the team, I got the job I have now because 12 years ago I was making pizza with somebody who's day job was working in HR at the company I'm at now and the person at this company who was in charge of internships happened to be the mother of my boss at the time so the person in HR was able to get my resume in her hands so when I called her directly the next day to apply she already had my resume and a reference (she was so impressed she introduced me to all of the teams looking for an intern and let me pick which one I wanted to join).

[Ultirian]

52 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

CompTIA certs are good for entry level jobs but they're so easy to get they don't hold a lot of weight. Most jobs require experience or "equivalent degree" meaning if they want 2 years of experience they'll settle for an Associates degree (although experience is more valuable than education). Looking at certificates is a good first step, it's cheaper than going to college and provides you with specialized training for the field you want. My advice is learn as much as you can on your own first and look for internships to gain experience and training. How much knowledge do you currently have?

Anything to do with hardware I have a great understanding of, If a PC is broke I can probably fix it. I have done various pen-testing things off my own back using various linux distros etc. However I do not hold any formal qualifications.  I have worked in a couple of tech support jobs in the past mostly with telecom companies paint by numbers tech support. Basic understanding of Linux, When the command line gets heavy I start loosing the will to live. I have managed to brute force WPS passwords through the old TP link routers that have vulnerabilities using Linux etc. So I am not day one week one but however I am far from accomplished.

 

Thanks for the heads up though

[Ultirian]

Thanks for the heads up guys,

 

I know of various IT types so I guess I better start get to beer and begging xD!