Paul Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Hi everyone! For those in the IT field Jamie B and others what are some good certifications to get? I graduated two years ago, and I've worked as a Java programmer, HP printer repair specialist, and currently in IT healthcare as an database admin. Any ideas and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Depends on what you want to do. Be a programmer? A DBA? If your currently a DBA, I would look into learning big data platforms like Hadoop Also Amazon Web Services are big. I think you can get certs for both. Oracle also offers a certification for their database. Same with Microsoft and SQL Server Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Asking what certs you should get is kind of like asking what kind of car you should buy or what flavor of ice cream you should eat; it all depends on what you want to do and what's available in your area. You state that you're working as a DBA, and there's hardly a better bang for the buck in certs than Oracle. Question is, are you working in Oracle? Are there Oracle jobs in your area? If not Oracle, is it SQL Server? MySQL? Postgres? Do you really like databases to begin with? MS SQL Server has a large server portion you have to pass to get the MCDBA (if that's what they're calling it these days). If you like databases and SQL, then look at getting a cert in the platform on which you're working, or on a platform that is ubiquitous in your area. Aside from databases, virtualization is huge, and that is what I specialize in. I've not gotten my VMware, Xen, or KVM certs as I've not worked for a company that has said "Here's $5,000 to take the class that you need to take the certification test. AWS (Amazon) is also big. If that doesn't appeal to you, then there is the server side. You can get certified in Windows (meh), Linux, or Unix. Linux and Unix offer a better bang for the buck as the positions are harder to fill and they pay really well, but the positions are a bit harder to find. I don't recommend Windows only because I consider it a dreadful OS, but that's just me. I work in it every day, but that doesn't mean that I like it. You can get certified in backup technology (Avamar, Symantec, Tivoli), storage (EMC, HP, NetApp), and Security (Security +, CISSP), and I'm not even touching on the networking part of it (CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE which is the most difficult certification on earth to obtain). Find what you love, not like, love, focus on that, find the certification that allows for gainful employment, and go for it. We're here to answer questions.... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Thanks Jamie B and Elflocko! I'm interested in security, especially cyber security. Which cert would a stepping stone to that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 I think CISSP is still the big security cert. Devops is all the rag these days too. So if you can get famliar with puppet/chef and a few scripting languages, that goes a long way to making your resume looks nice and shiny. Every one also wants everythign in the "Cloud", so some working knowledge of EC2 helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Paul you work in the DC area right? Do you have a clearance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Ah yes! Security! I would start Security+, as that is the most general security cert around. It gives a broad overview of everything IT Security from risk assessment, to door locks, to the type of cipher you should have on your web server. From there, as Ben mentioned, the CISSP would be the next step; it is much more in depth and has a number of domains or sub-specialties depending on your area of focus. Now, if you really want to get your hands dirty and actively secure/exploit/pen test systems and fight the Chinese, I would recommend this track: CCNA: Get your networking foundation solid Linux+: Let's face it, the Black Hats aren't running Windows, and the vast majority of tools are available in *NIX. CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker): The name says it all. My coworker is a CCIE and he says that the CEH is the only cert test he's taken that was even close to as difficult as the CCIE. Download, install, and learn to use Kali Linux. It is the hackers toolkit. If you find that this is where your passion really lies, then you might want to look at the OSCP that is offered by Offensive Security who produces Kali. Since you've worked as a programmer in Java, learn some scripting languages as well, notably Python. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Paul you work in the DC area right? Do you have a clearance? No I wish, i'm clearable though. I've done polygraph test before it was so much fun lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Yeah very interested in security was a lot of fun working and learning from the IT people at the hospital I worked at fixing and installing printers, label markers, fax machines and all sorts of other stuff. Would I take a boot camp, classes, or books in pursuit of a security +? Or any recommendations you can think of Elflocko. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 I think CISSP is still the big security cert. Devops is all the rag these days too. So if you can get famliar with puppet/chef and a few scripting languages, that goes a long way to making your resume looks nice and shiny. Every one also wants everythign in the "Cloud", so some working knowledge of EC2 helps. Cool i check that out this weekend, i got a close friend i'm seeing this weekend who works in the cloud i'll ask about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 No I wish, i'm clearable though. I've done polygraph test before it was so much fun lol If you had more than two years in the field I might be able to help, I know an old company unused to work for that is sponsoring. Although its mostly programmers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Skins Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 Check this kid out: http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/05/technology/11-year-old-coder-live-stream/index.html?iid=ob_homepage_tech_pool&iid=obnetwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 Yeah very interested in security was a lot of fun working and learning from the IT people at the hospital I worked at fixing and installing printers, label markers, fax machines and all sorts of other stuff. Would I take a boot camp, classes, or books in pursuit of a security +? Or any recommendations you can think of Elflocko. Books and videos would be sufficient for Security+. It's more important to make sure that you like the field and specialty enough to commit a lot of effort and expense, and Security+ will do that. P.S. Check you PM's... :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 Got it thanks! What would be a rough guess on expenses? I'm also looking at maybe getting a certificate from my uni they offer a program for it.. i'm okay with spending a little money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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