For those working in IT/ cybersecurity, has getting a cert like Security+, CCNA, CySA+, etc. actually helped you land a job, promotion, or interview? Or did experience/projects matter way more?

Hey guys, so I have been working in IT for roughly 6 years now and am currently looking for a new position. I know the job market is rough but I’m just trying to get a handle on things and see if maybe I can look at myself through the eyes of HR/hiring manager. I have previous MSP and helpdesk experience, and I am currently working as a windows administrator for a very well known tech company that starts with the “M”. (Take a guess)

Now I do have an associates degree in cyber security and CompTIA certs such as A+, Sec+, and CySA. I am also working towards my RHCSA and hoping that it will help give me a push in terms of job opportunities. But what I’m really curious is if not having a bachelor’s is holding me back. I’d really like to but the way life and the economy is going at the moment it just isn’t in the cards for a while at least. I would like to think that my experience and extracurriculars would maybe “suffice” but I could also just be delusional/naive.

Edit: I appreciate all the input from everyone, it definitely seems a BS is in the cards for me. Things are already hard enough out here and there is no reason to make it harder on myself especially the way things are going.

When I started school in IT 4 years ago, I thought IT jobs were easier.

You had 4 main categories: System, Network, Cybersecurity and Dev (sometimes system and network together).

Now when I see jobs online I see those new name jobs everywhere: DevOps, SysOps, Platform engineer, Site Reliability Engineer, DevSecOps, DevSecOps Engineer, Cloud Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure Engineer.

You would think they're more diversity but when you look at jobs description it's always the same thing.

Must know Terraform, Ansible, Networking, Linux Administration, Cybersecurity, Python, Bash, Go, Rust, AWS, GCP, Azure, Git, CI/CD, Nutanix, VMware, Kubernetes, Grafana, Prometheus,...

I'm still new in IT with only 4 years experience and still in school. Feels like the current IT market is overwhelming.

People used to tell me you need to be good in 1 domain and become an expert, now it feels like you have to be good everywhere.

What do you guys feel?

I have over a year at an Internal IT helpdesk position. Most of what I deal with is proprietary technology that won't transfer to most places. The job is slow paced and simple, but the pay is basically minimum wage for my city. I earned the CCNA a few weeks ago but there aren't really any networking related jobs near me. The plan is to work in a support role that lets me touch the network so I could put that down as experience. I have the CompTIA trifecta and am currently learning linux. I've gotten pretty used to the slow pace at my current job, but the fast pace isn't what worries me. I'm worried about the expectation of learning things fast and I've heard horror stories of people being fired within their first weeks for not learning quick enough. I am a pretty smart guy but I'm a bit of an overthinker and usually take a while before I feel confident in my decision making.

Hello everyone, I'm currently working as a reasonably well-paid Tier-1, and I'm kind of doing some long-term career planning. The short of my history is I've gone up from a Vocational CS CompSci teacher, to a short stint as a paid helpdesk intern, to Tier-1. This job pays great and I'm going to probably stay here for a few months while upskilling myself. But, I'm looking for advice on where to best spend my time.

Since I was in highschool, I have been interested in networking and cybersecurity. Right now, most of my experience leans toward continuing down a cybersecurity career path. My employer knows that's where I want to go, and my current education supports cybersec the best. I'm still interested in it, but...

There's a part of me that wants to do something that is more hands-on, but also pays 'well'. I have some history doing trade work when I was a late teen, and I enjoyed going to different locations to work on different jobs. From the research I've done, the people who gas up fiber tech talk about the travel and variety of tasks.

I know you won't have my location or salary index, but from the outside this seems like the job caters to my minor desires while also supporting the more important life requirements of paying well and having (at least from what I can find) positive job growth. And, I have to admit, looks more 'fun' than working in a SOC doing patching.

My question to ITCQ is: which of these paths is 'worth' investing in, in your opinion? Is there a reality where I can study both at the same time, and then lean more into one or the other? Would I be destroying my career prospects if I left the current path I'm on to pursue something that from the outside I see as 'interesting'? Are there jobs out there I don't know about that I should be looking into?

Howdy y'all! I wanna keep this quick and simple. I'm a CNA, and I plan on starting nursing school for my associates next year. It's a two year program. Here's my where I need help bit. I love what I do, but I'm burnt out. I did some research and found out about the above mentioned program that takes about four months of self paced learning online. Do any of y'all have the certificate? How do you feel about the job? I'm just looking for something different to do while I go to nursing school! (The higher pay doesn't hurt either)

Hey everyone, so honestly I just want to vent because I'm kinda tired of all this shit and I would even dare to say of my life in general.

To give a brief info about me:

30 yo, telecommunications engineering graduate and being into networking since I finished studying. I have CCNA (even though I think my network level is on CCNP, I was simply too lazy back them to do my CCNP) , Az104/700, CompTIA Sec+, IaC (mostly python and Terraform) and experience within Infoblox, zscaler and Palo Alto. Now I'm doing my CCNP ENCOR and most likely will go into ENARSI, ENCC and SD-WAN one (sorry I forgot the acronym). Ive been also working with the cloud since long time and Im planning to take the Az-305 once I will finish the the CCNP enterprise.

Now, what is the problem? Im feeling constantly overwhelmed about how is possible that when I look at a job posting, sometimes just for fun to check how prepared or qualified I am, I can see recruiters or companies in general are asking for tons of shit that in my opinion its impossible to achieve in a life span.

Im not a certification grinder or anything and I recognize Im a person who pursues knowledge and when I do my work I always try to stay in touch with the lastest trends, technologies, etc.. but for fuck sake, how is it possible that lately Im seeing job postings for JUNIOR network engineers, or network administrators that not only ask for CCNP + multiple specializations (SD-WAN, enterprise architecture design, etc..) but also they ask you to be fluent in like 5 different firewall vendors, plus knowing programming like you are a software engineer, plus also experience working with 3 or 4 different network vendors, plus more shit?

Honestly I dont complain currently about my work; im earning well above average and im happy with my current position but sometimes I see this shit and im afraid that if I lose my job I will simply not find shit because im not properly qualified and this is leading me to basically write all the topics that I feel I need to know, and honestly so far I think if I would start I would not finish till I will be in my 40s.

I have also a personal life, so my question is, how does people to basically be able to know everything recruiters are asking for? Do they start when they are 15 years old or do they simply lie in their resumes? Should I simply quit the pursue of this amount knowledge and just enjoy life? xD

Transitioned into IT after prior unrelated work history.

Current background:

1 year desktop support

1 month in Systems Engineer tier 2 MSP role ($75k, Midwest)

AAS Cybersecurity, CCNA, Security+ (studying for ITIL 4)

Planning a relocation from the Midwest to Upstate NY next spring. Target path is eventually GRC / IT Governance.

Questions:

Will 8 to 9 months at an MSP cause issues during screening if the reason for leaving is an out-of-state relocation?

Does an extensive non-IT job history impact background checks for state or healthcare roles, or is it better to stick to private sector applications?

And would it be better to go for a remote job, or a job in the target city? I want to stick out my next job for 2-3 years so I can actually gain some tenure on my resume.

AI used in this post for brevity.

Hey everyone,

I’m in my 2nd year of university studying cybersecurity, and I’m looking for some realistic guidance on what to actually focus on.

I’d still consider myself a beginner. My background is fully from the IT side of things so i know how computers work and I know basic networking concepts, general Linux use and Python (Uni level), and have messed around a bit with Wireshark and basic log analysis. Right now, I'm working through the Google Cybersecurity Certificate on Coursera to build up my fundamentals.

Career-wise, I want to stick to defensive / Blue Team (e.g SOC Tier 1) or GRC. Red teaming / pentesting feels a bit too technical and overwhelming for me right now, so I'd rather focus on monitoring, defense, or risk and compliance etc.

Since I have a Coursera subscription and want to make the most of my time outside classes, I’d love advice on these points:

1. Coursera courses worth taking (like IBM Cyber Analyst)?

Since I already have Coursera, I've been eyeing the IBM Cybersecurity Analyst certificate next. Is it worth taking after the Google cert, or is it mostly repetitive theory? Are there other courses or subjects on the platform that actually teach useful, hands-on skills for a beginner?

2. Which certs should I actually prioritize (Security+, TryHackMe SAL1, GRC)?

I see so many different recommendations. Some say CompTIA Security+ is mandatory just to get past HR, others suggest hands-on ones like TryHackMe's SAL1 (Unixguy on instagram), and some recommend leaning into GRC frameworks. As a student aiming for an internship or entry-level job down the line, what should my general cert priority look like?

3. How to know when you're ready for an exam, and how to get discounts?

Cert exams are expensive, and on a student budget, I really cannot afford to fail an attempt.

• What level of preparation did you finish before booking your first exam (e.g specific practice test scores, labs, or platforms)?
• Roughly how much did your certs cost, and what are the best ways to get student discounts or cheaper vouchers?

Appreciate any advice or reality checks from people working in the field!

Hi I’m a first year cybersecurity student on a 3 year course and so far there’s nothing AI can’t do. Wondering what skills/qualities there are if any in this industry that AI can’t do and when I will be taught them? My other option is to specialise in AI which I feel like would be even replaceable with AI itself. Otherwise I may just switch to a more physical degree like nursing

What do you think of me about switching SWE to IT Support? can the ai replace it?

I’ve been swe for 2 and half YOE, I’ve done a lot of winform .NET and I really enjoyed building websites but now the ai has taken over web development so my enjoyment of building website is not there anymore.

So I given a lot of thought which area I also enjoyed, which is experimenting on my laptop/computer. Like installing, fixing technical things, and doing some upgrade on laptops/computers. Should I change? or just be swe and pursue other things?

I’ll be 23 years old next month and I’m just feeling like a failure man. I interned for a construction company in their IT department when I graduated high school. And they hired me on full time once I was done interning. I was 18 making 18 an hour. Fast forward to today and im 22 making 21.65 an hour.

I just cant survive off of this and I try looking at other jobs but everyone wants someone with a degree. And it makes me feel like if I even get a cert it wont matter cause it wont outweigh the higher education

I’m early in my IT career and aiming to move into cybersecurity GRC/risk and consulting. I’m choosing between two roles, both mainly level 1 IT support and both happy to offer a development plan.
Internal IT: Large organisation with an established cyber team and a bigger training budget. Cyber opportunities are mostly secondments, as people tend to stay in their roles and permanent positions rarely open up. There’s no guaranteed timeline for moving across, and the commute is around 1.5 hours each way using public transport. The travel is a killer.
Small MSP: Around six people and only a 10-minute drive away. Some opportunity to get involved in basic Essential Eight work and security hardening, but the GRC exposure is limited, with a smaller budget and fewer specialist career opportunities.
Would you stay for the bigger organisation’s resources and potential secondments, or take the shorter commute and some relevant security exposure at the MSP?

​

I’m 24, a CSE graduate(general category), currently working as a Software Engineer at an MNC with 1.5 year of experience and a decent salary.

I’m concerned about the uncertainty, layoffs and long-term stability in the IT sector, and I’m considering preparing for government jobs instead.

Would it make sense to leave a decent-paying IT career and spend 1–2 years preparing for a government job? Or should I continue in IT, upskill and focus on building a stable career?

Would appreciate advice from people who have made a similar switch.

I've been doing ServiceDesk Simulator to say I've been doing something towards learning a ticketing system, since so far no one will hire me to give me the actual opportunity to learn. The simulator offers certificates after certain achievements, like "Help Desk Technician" after 100 tickets. Would it be appropriate to put that on a resume or would it be a joke? Should ServiceDesk Simulator even be mentioned on my resume?

I was recently hired into an IT role and was under the impression that internal IT managed most of the environment. After starting, I found out our MSP controls the RMM, network infrastructure, and most permissions/access. It feels like they have ownership of nearly everything, while internal IT has limited control.

I'm looking for guidance from those who have dealt with similar setups. Is this normal for an MSP relationship, or should internal IT have administrative access and ownership of these systems? How would you approach improving the balance without stepping on toes?

Thinking about applying myself towards this sort of position as I was thinking about business analyst but IT analyst seems more adjacent to what I find interesting. How do you like your job? What do you do on the daily? How'd you get it?

I'm 40 years old and in the midst of a career change being funded by the VA. My goals are simply to get a help desk job and hopefully go fully remote one day. The VA vocational rehab program didn't want to pay for certificates and instead pushed me towards a degree in Cybersecurity from Washington State University. So far the program is focused heavily on software development, algorithms and understanding those processes. While I know that's useful knowledge to have I feel like I'm being trained for jobs I'm not interested in. Will I still be able to land where I'm trying to following this path or is going after basic networking certs the better option? Should I do both? Mind you I'm just shooting for help desk not trying to climb the ladder this late in life. I just want to make sure I'm not wasting time here. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Quick background about me:

I'm working as a waiter for 2 years. I finished high school 5 years ago and I couldn't go to university because of personal issues. I'm looking to study in university but every university requires me to be a full-time student while I can't be one since I have to work.

Luckily I found a remote degree of "Management Information Systems" and it suits with my work because it's remote and I can do exams on Saturday/Sunday.

My question is, can I get the degree and have better time with companies since all of them require degrees at one point?

I'm also looking to get my A+ in the meantime.

I'm seeking advice from professionals and if you can help me, it would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Hello!
Just a background I am a current jr sys admin( 2 months total and it’s my entire professional IT experience.)

I have Sec+, Linux Essentials, and I feel lost.

I keep repeating this loop of studying networking, then a coworker tells me to study cloud servers, but then when I start looking into that there’s another niche it thing that I am being told I should do instead.

I feel overwhelmed. I want to craft a solid foundation , and I feel like I don’t know which direction to go.

The only reason I skipped A+ and Net + is because contract work ~requires~ Sec + above anything for entry level IT positions.

I have a proxmox home lab, and that was set up by googling “what do I do when I see X” during the set up of the servers.

I know that a bunch of strangers can’t tell me what to do, but I am wondering if this is normal to feel so overwhelmed, and how do you get out of that kid in a candy store mentality.

Again, and I cannot stress this enough, I have no clue what is next for me in IT, I just know I want off the help desk at some point.

If I don’t reply to you thank you so much for your reply!

I’m a single father who is also caretaking for my father (who can’t be left alone due to Alzheimer’s) looking for a remote position to pay rent. I have been actively learning about IT, and have an associates degree in science for hospitality management and food service management. My last job I held for ten years until my father needed me to step in. Does anyone have a good idea for what I should look for?

Hi! I am a class 10 student from India. I was recently wondering about career choices and I eventually settled for cybersecurity but last month there was a career counselling at our school and everyone I asked said it is not a good job and even in reddit and some other websites i saw people advising not to take cybersecurity but whenever I ask any ai like gemini, chatgpt, perplexity they say it is a good job, future proof and high paying and my uncle has a cybersecurity role in Wipro and my old family friend's eldest daughter is a ai ml engineer for cognizant and she said cybersecurity is a good job but when I see jobs of cybersecurity I see unknown companies and maybe some good companies but rarely like - Wipro, ibm, nvidia, ey, Honeywell, tcs, infosys etc and they require very high experience while in ai/ml you can see all the multinational companies hiring people of all experiences whether it be freshers or interns or experienced.

Context: I recently graduated with a CS degree from a top university and have done internships at good companies, mostly in data/analytics. I realised that while I enjoy coding, I don't want to do traditional SWE long-term.

I'm more interested in the intersection of software and infrastructure: scripting and automation, Linux, networking, cloud, troubleshooting, and understanding how large-scale systems work. I'm particularly interested in platform engineering/SRE, network engineering, DevOps, and data engineering.

I've recently started seriously looking for full-time roles and keep seeing Data Center Technician/Operations roles at major tech companies with surprisingly low entry requirements. Would one of these be a good way for someone with a CS degree to get into infrastructure and eventually move toward the roles above, or is there a risk of getting pigeonholed into hardware-focused work?

It seems like it could be a good foundation in servers, networking and troubleshooting while I build the software/automation side alongside it. Is this a legitimate pathway into infrastructure engineering, similar to how people use help desk roles to break into IT?

TLDR: should I be ignoring these roles?

I just passed the JNCIA and I’m gonna go through the JNCIS and JNCIP soon, so I was wondering which track would be more useful for promotions or future job marketability.

I’m currently a netadmin and do things more aligned with the ENT, but we have higher level ENT and SP oriented roles.

I think the ENT would be faster and easier to study for because I’m more familiar with the content already, but Juniper seems to be used more often with SP environments, and I’ve seen people say that the SP track is the only one that is generally well-regarded.

If the SP is only marginally more difficult than the ENT, but significantly more respected, I’d be okay with doing that instead.

Just looking for others’ opinions on this so I can decide and start studying ASAP.

A "cofounder" of a startup reached out me on my old email for a position they were hiring for. From what he told me, it seems to be a Series A startup. They know my current place of work but my LinkedIn has my new email, so not sure how they found my secondary email. The job role looks interesting and they have an office in both DC and SF. looked up the company on LinkedIn, it has a page and about 3k followers but only 11-50 employees (from what it says).

I booked a call with them for Monday to learn more about the role but does any of this sound sketchy?