Life after A+...

Krovos

Krovos

Member
So I recently got my CompTIA A+ certificate and landed a $40,000 a year help desk position within a corporation. I had my eyes set on obtaining a Cyber Security position within the future, but am starting to re-evaluate such a career. What I didn't realize was that you have to attain a security clearance (usually through the military) and are expected to have a degree in Computer Science. I want to continue my advancement within the world of IT, but am unfamiliar with the landscape.

- Beyond help desk, what are some career advancements I could start investing myself into?
- What are some promising and growing fields within the world of IT?
- What are some high demand certificates I should start looking into?
- Is programming/development a better industry to grow in?
- Essentially, what are some wise options after help desk?

Thanks guys!
 
You don't HAVE to have a military security clearance to work in the IT security field. Those positions are just for military contract type of work.

What kind of specialization did you have in mind?
A+ itself and fixing computers is okay, but typically the higher salaries are in more specialized skill sets (example: systems engineering, networking, firewall/security, applications development, etc).
 
It depends on your interest and skill. Do you have a degree or certificate from a college? Do you prefer networking, security, programming, or something else? I'd say networking, security, and programming are three of the major general fields of IT with great potential in growth and salary. Each one requires a completely different set of skills and knowledge, but you can start that route with say the Network+, Microsoft Certs, Cisco certs, etc.
 
beers said:
You don't HAVE to have a military security clearance to work in the IT security field. Those positions are just for military contract type of work.

What kind of specialization did you have in mind?
A+ itself and fixing computers is okay, but typically the higher salaries are in more specialized skill sets (example: systems engineering, networking, firewall/security, applications development, etc).
Click to expand...

Networking is definitely a field that interests me; I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to start studying up on Network+. Beyond that, I haven't clue what I want to do.

Geoff said:
It depends on your interest and skill. Do you have a degree or certificate from a college? Do you prefer networking, security, programming, or something else? I'd say networking, security, and programming are three of the major general fields of IT with great potential in growth and salary. Each one requires a completely different set of skills and knowledge, but you can start that route with say the Network+, Microsoft Certs, Cisco certs, etc.
Click to expand...
I don't have a college degree, just an A+ and 2 years of professional experience. Networking definitely sounds more flattering than the rest.
 
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If you don't have much skills or knowledge of networking, as beers said studying for the Network+ would give you a broad overview of what you would expect future certs to expand upon. Personally, I love networking, particularly the wireless side.
 
I guess all and all what I really want is job security, but see development as the most promising field. Networking definitely interests me, but I've heard it is really difficult to get your foot in the door.
 
Look into networking and see if you can retain the information. OSI model, routing protocols, spanning tree, static routing, subnetting, etc. You need to remember that kind of stuff.
 
Krovos said:
I guess all and all what I really want is job security, but see development as the most promising field. Networking definitely interests me, but I've heard it is really difficult to get your foot in the door.
Click to expand...
You have already started. Work at a company as an entry level tech/help desk, where you have the opportunity to advance within that company to higher level jobs. I wouldn't recommend working at a company that is purely help desk though, as it will be harder for someone like you to advance.
 
Krovos said:
So I recently got my CompTIA A+ certificate and landed a $40,000 a year help desk position within a corporation. I had my eyes set on obtaining a Cyber Security position within the future, but am starting to re-evaluate such a career. What I didn't realize was that you have to attain a security clearance (usually through the military) and are expected to have a degree in Computer Science. I want to continue my advancement within the world of IT, but am unfamiliar with the landscape.

- Beyond help desk, what are some career advancements I could start investing myself into?
- What are some promising and growing fields within the world of IT?
- What are some high demand certificates I should start looking into?
- Is programming/development a better industry to grow in?
- Essentially, what are some wise options after help desk?

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Well Congrats on passing and landing a job. 40K here where I live would be perfect. I have joined groups on facebook to begin studying for the A+. I have been putting it on hold and know it is a entry level cert, but still. I believe getting the 3 CompTia would be great. I currently have a certificate from local college here and haven't been able to find a job except for some Tech Support. Not ideally what I would like to do so I most def need to get to the studying.

Congrats once again!
 
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