This got a lot of attention in another thread when i posted it to give someone tips so i thought id make a full thread about it.
A lil about me and my background so you can see where i came from and how this can work for anyone. I dropped out of high school and never went to college. I got my GED and worked in sales for 10 years. I hated it and always wanted to work in IT but didn't have the money or time for a tech school or college. I found out that alot of entry level IT jobs will take you with just certifications and you can just pay about 250 to take the test and that's it. so i did some research and found quite a few tools that are helpful in self studying i wanted to share.
Please understand that there are many ways to take to get into IT and many different types of jobs in IT. This route in particular is to become a network administrator, this is the path that I took.
Im not here to argue about the merits of college Vs. certifications, so please do not bother.
Like i said before I had a background in sales and customer service prior to working in IT. This greatly helped me get into my first help desk position because i already had many skill sets that were pertinent to the position like phone etiquette and PATIENCE. If you plan on getting a job in a help desk environment i highly suggest starting with a simple customer service job while you are starting work on your studies.
Also, I showed this to a co worker of mine who went down a similar path and he told me about the WIA grant which is a government grant that pretty much anyone that is unemployed or making less than like 17k a year can qualify for. It gives you 12 thousand dollars in grant money that you can use at places like mycomputercareer.com (i dont recommend using them, that was just an example) http://ift.tt/1KV08oi
Comptia A+ certification.
This certification is focused on basic knowledge on both PC hardware and software. This is your starting point for even those of you that cant do much more than basic use. Even if you dont want to work in IT this is still a great way to learn the ins and outs of a PC just for personal use. It is broken up into two tests. The first is a test on hardware. It tests your general knowledge about pc hardware like what a motherboard is, it may have a picture of a motherboard and have you label what each part is, common TCP ports, etc. The website has a breakdown of all the info they are testing you on.
Start studying here. His videos are 100% free and he is amazing at breaking down the information and making it easy to understand. After each video there are 3 or 4 questions. Answer them and if you fail watch the video again.
After you feel you have finished the videos go here to test your knowledge. A general rule of thumb is once you can get a 90 on each section you should be ready for the test.
The forum on this site has alot of really helpful people and is a great tool while studying.
Once your ready to take the test go to pearson vue's website to find a testing center, schedule your test, and pay for it.
get a entry level helpdesk job
After you have achieved your Comptia A+ certification you should look for entry level helpdesk/tech support work. This is all about building experience for your resume. These jobs typically pay around 15 an hour or so but can pay more depending on where you live and what type of work your doing. My first IT job was a helpdesk position and it started at $42k which is $20 an hour.
Now you need to decide where you want to go in IT.
This guide will focus on the network\hardware side of things which is typically working on any of the hardware related issues anywhere from setting up workstations to working on routers and switches.
Some people stick with Comptia from here and get their Comptia N+. This is comptia's networking certificate. To do this follow the same steps as the A+ above just study the N+ info. Alot of people find the N+ unecessary and go right into Cisco certification. This is what i did, a cisco cert makes the N+ pretty pointless as it is more advanced.
From here on we will be discussing Cisco certs.
Cisco CCNA
Cisco certification is alot harder than comptia. The cisco CCNA is said to have a less than 20% pass rate. Its the only cert test i ever failed and had to retake (failing sucks hard because you have to pay those fees again)
The first cisco certification is the Cisco CCNA or CCENT. When taking the first cisco certification you have two options. you can either take 1 test which covers all the material, or you can take 2 tests which splits the material in half. I highly suggest taking the split test because there is ALOT of information to cover. The split test still gives you a CCENT certificate for completing the first test. Just make sure if you go this route to not stop until you have your CCNA because recruiters will ask you about it if you have a CCENT.
For studying I highly suggest using Jeremy Ciora's CBT nuggets he is an amazing instructor
It does come at a cost (if your ok with pirating you can bittorent his videos.)
You also need to use a program to simulate routing and switching. I recommend packet tracer as its what i used. You need to become completely familiar with the Cisco IOS using this. Just google packet tracer you should be able to find a free download with little effort.
Once you feel comfortable with your knowledge schedule your test over at vue.com
After achieving your CCNA and having a year or two experience you should start looking for a better job as a network administrator. These typically pay somewhere on average around 60k in the us but vary wildly.
Good luck and if you have any questions hit me up!
TLDR verision
See if you qualify for a WIA grant http://ift.tt/1KV08oi
Get some sort of over the phone customer service job to get some experience and have a job while you study.
Study and obtain your Comptia A+ certification.
Optional: Study and obtain your Comptia N+ cert
Get an entry level helpdesk job.
Study and obtain your Cisco CCNA.
???? (sorry couldnt help myself)
Get a job as a Network technician/administrator
Profit!
by crazboy84 http://ift.tt/1TjXEID
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