Questions for those who work Pro IT

[Twinleaf]

Hi, I'm Twinleaf.

 

I'm a bit of a lurker around here, mostly out of my fondness for LTT since the old times. But since I've been trying to change fields, I have come across a few questions here and there as to what I should be trying to even do here. 

 

I'll keep it short as to not waste anyone's time. I know little about the actual job scene in IT, but I've been into computers and building them since I was 10 (27 now).
 

1. What certs should I even be looking into? I'm signed up for CompTIA A+ 1 and 2 already, since everything I've read about it gives me the impression its a very easy test since I'm already a techie as a hobbyist.
2. What is the job market like in America/Canada? Should I be going into a specific part of IT or possibly go back to college? (I am not opposed to a job offer, Mister Sebastian. I'll be in touch at some point!)
3. I personally have a fascination with servers and networking equipment, are those jobs likely to be automated away at some point? I know AI can't do that much right now, but I like being at least a little future proofed.

Any and all answers would be very much appreciated, as I am a very paranoid man who likes knowing what he's getting into.

[Tideroo]

Wanted to be a sysadmin roughly ~10 years ago (as a 15yo, in France) and I studied for it for 3 years, but gave up later for personal reasons. I cannot say much about certifications aside from the fact that they're fairly damn important at least where I live. I was told to aim for CCNP/CCIE (Cisco) and similar, basically the highest "rank" possible.

 

You can teach yourself a lot of IT-related stuff if you're motivated enough, but IMO nothing beats school and teachers that will put you in real-life (even if they're simplified) situations. There's a lot of theory that you can already learn just with Youtube and programs like IMUNES, but also a lot of to practice (finding what cable went wrong in your network with IRL tools and replacing it for example, modifying values in your routers as well maybe? dunno if you can use emulators for this one) that you have to actually experience.

 

As for AI, I'm guessing that if they know exactly how your network works, they will definitely be able to help and suggest what to do for specific situations (think of it as the 50yo+ IT guy that has been there for 20 years already). But you will still need someone to plug/remove cables, and DEFINITELY someone that can troubleshoot the most stupid things AI cannot prevent (Like a printer going berserk, some tech noob that managed to break their computer beyond repair without admin perms) and your regular yearly meeting for saying " don't plug in random usb keys and don't open random e-mail files pls".

 

Don't take my words for granted because all this is fairly old for me now and I can only speak from what I learned in school, but hopefully that can still help a bit ! At least while waiting for an answer from someone more experienced

[Oshino Shinobu]

1. Really depends what part of IT you're going into. From my experience CompTIA A+ isn't taken very seriously. There's a lot of irrelevant stuff covered and little practical usage for it. If you have an employer that will pay for it, worth doing as many as you can, but not really worth the cost for A+. Microsoft's Role based certs are generally a good start and are widely respected. CCNA is widely respected as well.

 

2. Can't say for North America specifically. Most people start out on the service/help desk and end up specifiying as they go. I started on the service desk and now work in IT Security. If you're really interested in the hardware side, you may want to try going into a field engineer position, but they're not super common. As things move more and more to the cloud, the bar to entry is going up as you're looking at working in Microsoft, Google and Amazon datacentres as an end goal.

 

3. Unlikely. The roles are changing, to managing systems that are AI based, but the roles are still very much required. In IT Security, we're in the process of deploying some AI powered systems to defend against AI based attacks. AI's fixing some things, but also creates new things to manage within the same roles. You may be a bit dissapointed though, as honestly most IT jobs don't really involve dealing with servers and networking equipment much. Most servers you'll work with in support/admin roles will be virtualised and that is going for networking stuff as well now.

[Twinleaf]

4 hours ago, Tideroo said:

Wanted to be a sysadmin roughly ~10 years ago (as a 15yo, in France) and I studied for it for 3 years, but gave up later for personal reasons. I cannot say much about certifications aside from the fact that they're fairly damn important at least where I live. I was told to aim for CCNP/CCIE (Cisco) and similar, basically the highest "rank" possible.

4 hours ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

1. Really depends what part of IT you're going into. From my experience CompTIA A+ isn't taken very seriously. There's a lot of irrelevant stuff covered and little practical usage for it. If you have an employer that will pay for it, worth doing as many as you can, but not really worth the cost for A+. Microsoft's Role based certs are generally a good start and are widely respected. CCNA is widely respected as well.

Ah well, crap. I've already paid for the tests and I don't have enough time to cancel. But I'll be looking into both the Microsoft stuff and CCNA.

 

4 hours ago, Tideroo said:

You can teach yourself a lot of IT-related stuff if you're motivated enough, but IMO nothing beats school and teachers that will put you in real-life (even if they're simplified) situations. There's a lot of theory that you can already learn just with Youtube and programs like IMUNES, but also a lot of to practice (finding what cable went wrong in your network with IRL tools and replacing it for example, modifying values in your routers as well maybe? dunno if you can use emulators for this one) that you have to actually experience.

I see, very interesting. I was looking into schools for IT stuff but I am quite broke ( my job doesn't pay me enough :c )
 

4 hours ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

2. Can't say for North America specifically. Most people start out on the service/help desk and end up specifiying as they go. I started on the service desk and now work in IT Security. If you're really interested in the hardware side, you may want to try going into a field engineer position, but they're not super common. As things move more and more to the cloud, the bar to entry is going up as you're looking at working in Microsoft, Google and Amazon datacentres as an end goal.

So field engineer, I am guessing that would require a degree then? If not then should I start service desk, since that seems to be the entry point?

 

4 hours ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

3. Unlikely. The roles are changing, to managing systems that are AI based, but the roles are still very much required. In IT Security, we're in the process of deploying some AI powered systems to defend against AI based attacks. AI's fixing some things, but also creates new things to manage within the same roles. You may be a bit dissapointed though, as honestly most IT jobs don't really involve dealing with servers and networking equipment much. Most servers you'll work with in support/admin roles will be virtualised and that is going for networking stuff as well now.

Well that's good to know at least! I honestly have been worried about AI/automation taking my current job (I work in data entry) for a while, part of the reason I'm switching careers.

 

4 hours ago, Tideroo said:

Don't take my words for granted because all this is fairly old for me now and I can only speak from what I learned in school, but hopefully that can still help a bit ! At least while waiting for an answer from someone more experienced

Even so, your experience is very much appreciated!

[Oshino Shinobu]

2 minutes ago, Twinleaf said:

Ah well, crap. I've already paid for the tests and I don't have enough time to cancel. But I'll be looking into both the Microsoft stuff and CCNA

Have you studied for it? Even with really good knowledge, there's a load of stuff in the A+ that is easy to get wrong as you never really need to know it. Best to take some practice tests online to see where you may fall short.

 

2 minutes ago, Twinleaf said:

So field engineer, I am guessing that would require a degree then? If not then should I start service desk, since that seems to be the entry point

Can't say for North America. I'm a Cyber Security Engineer and I don't have a degree, never even been asked about my education outside of my very first position. May be different in NA, but once you've started working in the industry, it all becomes experience and certifications, not a degree that will most likely already be outdated by the time you complete it.

 

2 minutes ago, Twinleaf said:

Well that's good to know at least! I honestly have been worried about AI/automation taking my current job (I work in data entry) for a while, part of the reason I'm switching careers

Yeah, data entry is much more likely to be taken by AI or outsourced. The more technical stuff will just evolve with new/different roles that AI creates

[Twinleaf]

2 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Have you studied for it? Even with really good knowledge, there's a load of stuff in the A+ that is easy to get wrong as you never really need to know it. Best to take some practice tests online to see where you may fall short.

Yeah, I've done plenty of studying. I know most of the stuff based on my years of being a PC hardware enthusiast. It all seems like really simple stuff, save a few very niche things I've seen in some study materials.

 

5 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Can't say for North America. I'm a Cyber Security Engineer and I don't have a degree, never even been asked about my education outside of my very first position. May be different in NA, but once you've started working in the industry, it all becomes experience and certifications, not a degree that will most likely already be outdated by the time you complete it.

Ok I see, so basically what you mean is get enough certs to get a job and I won't really have to worry about college or anything like that. What is it like in Cyber Security these days? I've never looked too far into it besides the stuff that protects my home network from unfriendly types.

[Oshino Shinobu]

19 minutes ago, Twinleaf said:

Ok I see, so basically what you mean is get enough certs to get a job and I won't really have to worry about college or anything like that. What is it like in Cyber Security these days? I've never looked too far into it besides the stuff that protects my home network from unfriendly types

That's my experience with it. It's all down to experience with toolsets and certifications, no one seems to care about your education, unless it's really recent.

 

I enjoy it, plus it's industry agnostic, I can work in any industry as basically every company has IT requirements and IT security is a growing part of that. It's constantly changing, new attack methods are constantly popping up. Currently looking into methods and policy changes to deal with AI/Deep fake voice calls to service desks. It's a method on the rise, getting service desk to just reset someone's password and MFA method, even if they're a known person by faking their voice.

[12345678]

On 1/31/2024 at 1:06 PM, Twinleaf said:

1. Cut/

What certs should I even be looking into? None, any serious company will pay for your certifications, if they require any. It's a little different with state level certifications, where you need to have a certificate to do x job (like if you want to be an architect in most states you need a bachelor from that sector)

 

What is the job market like in America/Canada? I can't answer since I do not live in the us/canada, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was saturated. 

 

I personally have a fascination with servers and networking equipment, are those jobs likely to be automated away at some point? They mostly are, and can be automated, but most businesses are made out by idiots who won't change their ways of working since they always done it like that, or that's from my experience. It has to do more with human relationships and burocracy at the end of the day than machines

[wasab]

I can answer point 2. Job market is a sh*t show in USA and Canada right now. During the pandemic, literally everyone and their grandmother wanted to work in tech, remotely and with a cushy 6 figures salary. Many of them bootcamp grads or self taught who came out of jobs in hospitality and services thinking tech and IT is some get-rich-quick scheme. 

 

The surprising thing is, during the pandemic, it actually worked. Companies were hiring everyone literally left and right, fuel by the venture capitalists and their stimulus money. Experienced people with degrees got insane compensation packages, like in the 200k+ just working in average companies and startups. For big tech, it went up much higher to 500k+. Doors opened wide, even for entry level roles. It was absolutely insane. 

 

Right now the bubble has burst thanks to the feds and the Bank of Canada jacking up the interest rate. Easy funding and capital have dried out and companies realized many of the employees are grossly overpaid and many organizations are overstaffed. Consequently laid offs happened at all levels in the 2022 and the 2023. Many workers got the chopped. The doors at the entry level got shut tight. Compensation packages have also fallen to a down-to-earth level. Bosses are now demanding employees to return to the office and here we are. The job market is now saturated with many qualified laid-off workers as well as newly graduated college grads with many internships under their belts but nowhere near the number of positions that are hiring. Anyone wanna do tech and IT can look forward to a long grind and an intense competition with them for the limited jobs out there. 

 

Wait for another 5 years and check the job market again. Pray that inflation has subsided by then and central banks lower the interest rate. 

[Kisai]

On 1/31/2024 at 4:06 AM, Twinleaf said:

Hi, I'm Twinleaf.

 

I'm a bit of a lurker around here, mostly out of my fondness for LTT since the old times. But since I've been trying to change fields, I have come across a few questions here and there as to what I should be trying to even do here. 

 

I'll keep it short as to not waste anyone's time. I know little about the actual job scene in IT, but I've been into computers and building them since I was 10 (27 now).
 

1. What certs should I even be looking into? I'm signed up for CompTIA A+ 1 and 2 already, since everything I've read about it gives me the impression its a very easy test since I'm already a techie as a hobbyist.

The CompTIA stuff is ultimately worthless, nice to have if you're applying to some place who requests it, but ultimately you can have a 20 year old cert and nobody cares that you haven't updated it.

 

On 1/31/2024 at 4:06 AM, Twinleaf said:

1. What is the job market like in America/Canada? Should I be going into a specific part of IT or possibly go back to college? (I am not opposed to a job offer, Mister Sebastian. I'll be in touch at some point!)

 

The job market depends where you want to live. Because usually places that are cheap to live in, have very low IT needs. IF you live in a city of 10,000, chances are the city is already served by 4 IT people and doesn't need anymore. Linus doesn't need to hire foreigners, let along anyone who doesn't live in Surrey/Langley already, because there are definitely enough people within a 15 minute drive of LMG's offices that they don't need to get people from the city of Vancouver or Richmond.

 

Bigger cities, have more people. And to give you an idea, on a previous client, who charges $100/hr for IT services, could not find anyone below $70/hr during peak covid when they needed some temporary help.

 

If you're not asking at least $100/hr in a city like Vancouver, then you're being lowballed. Cost of living here is insane, and a 100K/yr job doesn't buy you a home.

 

On 1/31/2024 at 4:06 AM, Twinleaf said:

1. I personally have a fascination with servers and networking equipment, are those jobs likely to be automated away at some point? I know AI can't do that much right now, but I like being at least a little future proofed.

Nope. People are still used to rack them. Speaking from experience, all software things are done remotely, so you're likely to find yourself in "remote hands" situations, plugging and unplugging power, ethernet, fiber. In some cases you'd be asked to put the machine into a network boot mode if the machine arrives misconfigured. But the larger the business, the less likely you'll get to do anything interesting or fun software-wise.

 

Most IT stuff done at billion dollar businesses offices consists of swapping hardware. 10% of the work I was doing was replacing laptop batteries, 50% was re-imaging computers via network boot, and because the network connection was so slow, also consisted of a lot of queue'ing of hardware. 

 

Among "more fun" parts was setting up a remote office, which actually involved setting up networking hardware. Less fun was waiting on the ISP and printer vendors.

 

I hate printers. Enterprise printer/copier leases are bureaucratic nightmares. If it's not the business trying to minmax their leases, it's the manufacturer trying to get you to agree to things on behalf of the enterprise when you're not in that position to do so. I could write a novel on how long it took to get a single printer "approved" to be installed.

 

Funny enough, there's probably more money to be made in servicing printers, or tape backup systems in offices. The reason I say this, is because it seemed like the the one office was paying money to have their tapes rotated, and it was constantly breaking because any time the non-regular guy did it, they put one too many tapes in and broke it. Where as the printers are always breaking down because they keep sending their print jobs to the wrong printer (eg the one that's offline) on the wrong floor that happens to be named exactly the same but one character.

 

On 1/31/2024 at 4:06 AM, Twinleaf said:

Any and all answers would be very much appreciated, as I am a very paranoid man who likes knowing what he's getting into.

 

[CrowTheRobot]

I feel like there are a lot of people who always comment on these kinds of things from the angle of years in the field when it comes to certs like the A+, and there's always a twinge of bias to it, it feels like.

 

My college degrees are in Childhood Education (Grades 1-6) but I got burnt out on what the teaching field has become and years of working for a school that was an utter disaster before they cut me at the start of COVID.  I wanted to get into the tech field and was largely self-taught, outside of three-ish years of part time experience doing real basic troubleshooting and repairs for my college bookstore, but I think I got literally two interviews in a matter of 3-4 months that never made it to a second round.  Crammed for a week and got my A+, and had a temp job pretty much the same day I applied, for a school district less than 10 minutes from me.  When I got to the end of that, from that experience alone and from the A+, I was able to transition to a full time county-level Civil Service position with another district with great benefits, making twice as much as I was making as a TA, and now have returned to the original district I temped with.  It's not the same here, though, but all of that experience is enough to qualify me for state-level Civil Service lists that start at a 20% pay bump from where I'm at and the possibility of partial remote work.

 

In that time, I've let my A+ lapse.  Would I retake the test now to have the cert again?  No, because it holds less value to me at this point.  But it was invaluable to getting my foot in the door as someone with minimal "on paper" experience.

[Touch My Hamm]

IT is a big field and covers alot. Comptia A+ is the basic get your foot in the door for t1 contact centre. Unless you have a university degree and multiple certifications before you apply for the job there are 2 basic ways to get into higher up positions. IT is a learn what you enjoy and are good at. There are alot of fields from networking, server, SaaS, CcaaS, etc. So many certs and most will be very narrow in its use case so depending on your each company it may require new ones which alot will simply pay you to take.

 

1. Put your time in on the service desk and get your foot in the door at a company. Many will promote internally if you show your skills and willingness to learn. Not all will do this sadly.

2. While working get certifications for the positions you want. CCNA/MCSA/etc to get into the portion of IT you want to go into.

 

tldr: have degree and certs for jobs or work t1 and work towards certs for positions you want.

[AngryBeaver]

On 1/31/2024 at 6:06 AM, Twinleaf said:

Hi, I'm Twinleaf.

 

I'm a bit of a lurker around here, mostly out of my fondness for LTT since the old times. But since I've been trying to change fields, I have come across a few questions here and there as to what I should be trying to even do here. 

 

I'll keep it short as to not waste anyone's time. I know little about the actual job scene in IT, but I've been into computers and building them since I was 10 (27 now).
 

1. What certs should I even be looking into? I'm signed up for CompTIA A+ 1 and 2 already, since everything I've read about it gives me the impression its a very easy test since I'm already a techie as a hobbyist.
2. What is the job market like in America/Canada? Should I be going into a specific part of IT or possibly go back to college? (I am not opposed to a job offer, Mister Sebastian. I'll be in touch at some point!)
3. I personally have a fascination with servers and networking equipment, are those jobs likely to be automated away at some point? I know AI can't do that much right now, but I like being at least a little future proofed.

Any and all answers would be very much appreciated, as I am a very paranoid man who likes knowing what he's getting into.

The Comptia stuff are entry level certs. They are good for helping you get your foot in the door or giving you an edge on other candidates that might not have it.

That changes once you have some experience. Yes, some high-end certs are very valuable to a company and on your resume, but regardless of that experience is still king. 

To answer your questions.
 

1. I would look at the Comptia Trifecta   A, Network+, and Security +.
2. The job market for tech is good overall. There are some fields that I think are extremely worth it though. DEVOPS and INFOSEC. Huge demand for people and the pay is extremely good. Networking is also a good second choice. IT Support fields are also fine, but they aren't very lucrative and you cap out on job growth a lot sooner than the other fields.
3. I don't see AI as really taking away jobs. I see it as making people more efficient at their jobs. The AI is only as good as the algorithm or person that designs it. On the generative AI side it is only as good as the data it has access to and that same data can easily cause negative outcomes since it AI isn't able to always decern Fact from fiction.

I have personally been pushing people towards the Infosec side for the last 5+ years. There are more open positions than people in the industry, the pay is extremely good, and if you like a challenge well it is a challenge than has no end. The only downside is the barrier to entry (which with the deficit is a little easier than it could be), now on the flip side once you are in this field you will enjoy a profession with a 0% unemployment rate. 

All of that said, there is no right or wrong answer. Look at an internship or contracting positions for the areas you are passionate about. If you don't like it cross the isle to another area in the IT umbrella. The time doesn't get wasted, it is all experience, and with competency you can move from one concentration to another without too much hassle. 

[wasab]

On 2/8/2024 at 8:44 AM, AngryBeaver said:

now on the flip side once you are in this field you will enjoy a profession with a 0% unemployment rate.

yeah... i dont know about this. 

here is a fun activity, challenge yourself to see how many doom and gloom posts about lack of employment opportunities you can find on these reddit sub

 

Students of Computer Science! (reddit.com)

CSCQ protests reddit

 

of course, IT is not all about engineering but if engineers are struggling, i doubt folks who do IT help desk and whatever other IT jobs are any better. 

[Ahmadrazas]

Hi Twinleaf,

It's great to see someone with a passion for IT and a history of building computers since a young age.

Starting with CompTIA A+ is a solid choice, especially if you're already familiar with technology. It lays a good foundation. As you progress, consider exploring certifications like Network+ and Security+ to delve into networking and cybersecurity.

In terms of the job market in America/Canada, it's generally robust for IT professionals. Specific demand varies, but roles related to networking and system administration are often in demand. Keep an eye on job boards and industry trends to stay informed.

Your interest in servers and networking is promising. These areas are less likely to be fully automated because they require a deep understanding of systems and configurations. However, staying updated with emerging technologies, including AI, is crucial.

As for going back to college, it depends on your personal goals and preferences. Certifications and hands-on experience can often be just as valuable as a degree in the IT industry. Consider what aligns best with your career objectives.

 

[AngryBeaver]

9 hours ago, wasab said:

yeah... i dont know about this. 

here is a fun activity, challenge yourself to see how many doom and gloom posts about lack of employment opportunities you can find on these reddit sub

 

Students of Computer Science! (reddit.com)

CSCQ protests reddit

 

of course, IT is not all about engineering but if engineers are struggling, i doubt folks who do IT help desk and whatever other IT jobs are any better. 

I am mostly speaking from the Infosec prospective. For people in this field you could be fired today and be lined up for your next position in a few weeks. 

A little bit of data on this. Currently in the USA there are about 750k open Information security positions that still have not been filled. There are 3.5 MILLION world wide... and as of right now. In comparison there are only about 1.2-1.3 Million people worldwide in the profession. That demand is not going to decrease, it is going to actually increase as we move forward. We do have more degrees and people majoring in it now than we did, but there are also a good percentage of people that burn out or just can't handle it unfortunately. 

[wasab]

8 hours ago, AngryBeaver said:

A little bit of data on this. Currently in the USA there are about 750k open Information security positions that still have not been filled. 

These positions also require decades of experiences and many of the technology and tools they use did not even exist until 5 years ago. I would imagine they would have a huge shortage of workers if they ask for 10 years of experience in some xyz skills/knowledge of something that just came out 5 years ago. That doesn't mean you can just study cyber security, get certs, and expect to easily nag a job.

 

Companies today are looking for unicorn candidates and they don't care at all about false negatives, they simply want to get rid of the false positives. They don't just find the best interviewing candidates out of a talent pool. If they find no candidates they are happy with, they simply won't hire anyone at all and continue posting the job ads while complaining they can't find skilled workers. It doesn't mean lack of competitions and a low barrier of entry for those jobs, it means lack of experienced and qualified workers. In fact, harder the position is to fill like cyber security, the higher the barrier to entry.

 

In addition, don't trust the jobs statistics. Many of these are just bullshit. 

 

 

fun fact, out of all the job postings in tech, 10% are entry-level, 15% are juniors (3 years experience) and a whopping 75% are looking for mid and senior levels(3-10 years experience). This is what they mean by skilled worker shortage, the experienced 75%. if you are just starting as an entry-level, you can immediately eliminate 90% of the open jobs you see. job seekers at the entry level are a lot more numerous than mid and senior levels since qualifications are much lower so you can also expect a long grind, fierce competition, and an uphill battle.

 

i am not discouraging anyone to not do it but please be realistic, especially for the Canadian and American job markets. 

[AngryBeaver]

On 2/10/2024 at 3:29 PM, wasab said:

These positions also require decades of experiences and many of the technology and tools they use did not even exist until 5 years ago. I would imagine they would have a huge shortage of workers if they ask for 10 years of experience in some xyz skills/knowledge of something that just came out 5 years ago. That doesn't mean you can just study cyber security, get certs, and expect to easily nag a job.

 

Companies today are looking for unicorn candidates and they don't care at all about false negatives, they simply want to get rid of the false positives. They don't just find the best interviewing candidates out of a talent pool. If they find no candidates they are happy with, they simply won't hire anyone at all and continue posting the job ads while complaining they can't find skilled workers. It doesn't mean lack of competitions and a low barrier of entry for those jobs, it means lack of experienced and qualified workers. In fact, harder the position is to fill like cyber security, the higher the barrier to entry.

 

In addition, don't trust the jobs statistics. Many of these are just bullshit. 

 

 

fun fact, out of all the job postings in tech, 10% are entry-level, 15% are juniors (3 years experience) and a whopping 75% are looking for mid and senior levels(3-10 years experience). This is what they mean by skilled worker shortage, the experienced 75%. if you are just starting as an entry-level, you can immediately eliminate 90% of the open jobs you see. job seekers at the entry level are a lot more numerous than mid and senior levels since qualifications are much lower so you can also expect a long grind, fierce competition, and an uphill battle.

 

i am not discouraging anyone to not do it but please be realistic, especially for the Canadian and American job markets. 

I know plenty of people fresh out of college that are landing jobs as interns while till finishing up degrees. Those "unicorn" positions you mention do exist, but those same requirements get relaxed as more and more time goes on without a candidate. Many companies are filling their ranks with people fresh to the field and/or converting people into this field.

Contract work is there for people new to the field and looking to get some experience... 3 years of experience to get into the mid-senior range is not a lot. 

[wasab]

17 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

I know plenty of people fresh out of college that are landing jobs as interns while till finishing up degrees. Those "unicorn" positions you mention do exist, but those same requirements get relaxed as more and more time goes on without a candidate. Many companies are filling their ranks with people fresh to the field and/or converting people into this field.

not currently. the market is saturated atm. 

Tech layoffs in 2024: A timeline | Computerworld

Laid-offs are still going on and job numbers have not fully recovered. I have hop jobs roughly 5 monthish ago so i have a pretty good idea of the shape of the recent job market. it is down considerably since the pandemic highs. 

[aggie113]

Certs are a good way to get started.  Mostly they will help you meet minimum qualifications for positions when you may not have the work experience to put on a resume.  They are also good at getting past HR requirements for positions.  For useful IT knowledge you would need to look at specific vendor certifications such as Microsoft or Cisco for their respective products.  I think the only cert I got without prompting was my MCP.  My A+/Net+ were a requirement for a job I applied for.  My Sec+ became a requirement for a job I was already on, and my MCITP was another cert required for a job I wanted.  Ok, I did update the MCITP to a MCSA (2012) later on but only because it was a (relatively) easy transition cert and I was bored at the time (working overseas).  If you do get any CompTIA certs be sure to maintain the CE requirements.  It's not as hard as it sounds.  Every three years you'd need to submit some online (free if you can find it) training and payments to keep it valid.  

Can't really speak to the job market in the US as I've been out of the regular market since 2009.  Which is where I might offer some unique advice.  If you want to try adding some value to your future earnings without a college degree you might want to look at government/gov contracting work.  If you don't have a sketchy past you can qualify for positions that require a clearance.  If you are interested in such a career you could add a Security+ certification as many such positions will require it.  
 

[Agall]

On 1/31/2024 at 5:06 AM, Twinleaf said:

Hi, I'm Twinleaf.

 

I'm a bit of a lurker around here, mostly out of my fondness for LTT since the old times. But since I've been trying to change fields, I have come across a few questions here and there as to what I should be trying to even do here. 

 

I'll keep it short as to not waste anyone's time. I know little about the actual job scene in IT, but I've been into computers and building them since I was 10 (27 now).
 

1. What certs should I even be looking into? I'm signed up for CompTIA A+ 1 and 2 already, since everything I've read about it gives me the impression its a very easy test since I'm already a techie as a hobbyist.
2. What is the job market like in America/Canada? Should I be going into a specific part of IT or possibly go back to college? (I am not opposed to a job offer, Mister Sebastian. I'll be in touch at some point!)
3. I personally have a fascination with servers and networking equipment, are those jobs likely to be automated away at some point? I know AI can't do that much right now, but I like being at least a little future proofed.

Any and all answers would be very much appreciated, as I am a very paranoid man who likes knowing what he's getting into.

Security+ is generally a pre-requisite, but even that's not necessary depending on experience. One can get a high paying job in the IT world with no certifications or official training, but that's not the standard. The utility of 4 year degree programs is shrinking in the field from what I've seen, since its less useful than a shorter and denser technical program.

 

Someone will always need to maintain the hardware, even if software largely takes over. Until AI has a physical form, it can't move network ports, or build servers, etc. AI is definitely a useful thing to understand, myself jumping into Chat with RTX with the goal of understanding how to DIY AI if my employer ever wants to explore it as an option.

 

Start buying some cheaper hardware and playing with it. The nature of most networks is that they'll have their own design and nuance, so you can't jump into a professional network and expect to know everything, but you can develop the skills to figure it out.

 

Strong self-driven motivation isn't required, but definitely disproportionately impactful in comparison, although the importance can vary depending on the structure. The couple of roles I've had absolutely required self-drive, but that's because I was effectively the top of the stack. My current role has no subordinates nor equals, so its an absolute requirement to be self-driven since there's really no one there to 'force' me to do my job.

 

Overall, in my experience in managing networks since 2017, the most important skill to have is the ability to find information and discern truthful information. Almost nothing is static in the IT world, so adaptability is the most important quality, but there is a fundamental base level of understanding required. That can be learned exclusively through the internet which is kind of mind blowing considering its

[Agall]

On 2/8/2024 at 9:44 AM, AngryBeaver said:

I have personally been pushing people towards the Infosec side for the last 5+ years. There are more open positions than people in the industry, the pay is extremely good, and if you like a challenge well it is a challenge than has no end. 

Regardless if infosec is someone's primary responsibility, its a necessity in today's world in my opinion. Even if you're a dev or the least privileged administrator, having infosec knowledge/understanding enough to be able to fulfill that role shouldn't be viewed as 'cross training' but as core training, in my opinion.

[AngryBeaver]

On 2/15/2024 at 7:18 AM, Agall said:

Regardless if infosec is someone's primary responsibility, its a necessity in today's world in my opinion. Even if you're a dev or the least privileged administrator, having infosec knowledge/understanding enough to be able to fulfill that role shouldn't be viewed as 'cross training' but as core training, in my opinion.

I completely agree. It needs to be a part of everything we do. 

[Omon_Ra]

A few things you could do now that don't require tests/certs if you want to get into IT:

 

- build a pfsense router and start learning firewall 'programming' and setup (firewall rules, VLANs, setting up VPN's, etc)

- setup a Hyper-V server and start getting a handle on virtual machines

- learn PowerShell and other automation/scripting languages

- start learning the AWS and/or Azure platforms

 

I'm nearing a year at a small MSP (managed service provider) and I got my foot in the door because I had 5+ prior years of AV and networking experience in residential and small businesses. At that previous job it was pretty basic network setups, but it gave me a solid foundation of managing larger networks (10+ bedroom houses, with networked TV's and all sorts of networked devices, multiple access points, etc). Also having hands-on wiring experience was an added bonus as well. Understanding the physical wiring aspect helps a lot when trying to diagnose network connection issues beyond the devices on the network. Consider any job with low-voltage wiring/audio-video stuff as well. A lot of that dovetails into networking/network management now these days and is useful. Look around for local IT companies/MSP's or other local companies with internal IT departments. Trying to get into big corporate IT is kind of a different beast.