[sllug-members]: Getting into the IT industry, where to start?

[Allen Parker]

It's generally 'best' if you don't already know the business/have
experience working as a sysadmin to go with CCNA/CCNP/CCIE and
possibly some juniper certs. Network administrators are paid fairly
well and they're also pretty sought after.

Being a sysadmin myself, I know that the job market isn't massive, as
most people can't afford to pay us.

On 11/14/06, Chad <masterclc at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello!
>
> I'm attempting to change careers after ~8 years in Pharmacy.  I don't
> have a professional IT background; so my resume reads of my
> experiences using computers at home (which I'm sure has very little
> merit).  Basically it's about 9 years of Linux on the Desktop (and
> small home networking with things like email servers and ftp/http
> servers) cataloged along with the various other things I've done
> relating to computers such as becoming a Moderator at
> linuxquestions.org and joining this Users Group.
>
> So where am I going with all this?  It appears like starting out from
> nearly square one towards a Bachelor's Degree in CS isn't appealing
> and when looking at some of the jobs' requirements, rarely do they
> even mention a CS degree.  They usually want a bachelors degree (vague
> usually) and then a whole slew of certifications.  Which leads me to
> believe that it's more important to focus on certs than on a track to
> a CS degree.
>
> Ultimately I'd like to see myself as a Linux Sys Admin, but I don't
> see a whole lot of positions available for this 'title' leaving me to
> guess on the requirements.  So, I've focused in on Cisco.  Currently
> studying for the ground level CCNA, and plan on eventually moving to
> CCNP.
>
> So, my question is:
> How does one know which certifications are important?  Also, does
> having a CS degree hold any value if an applicant has all the "right"
> certs?  And, as someone looking to get their feet wet in IT, does
> anyone have any hints/pointers?  I'm also considering doing the Fast
> Track for RHCE, but at $2700 I'd really like to first find out whether
> it's going to pay off by actually landing me a position.
>
> Thanks for reading this novel, and possibly responding!
>
> -Chad
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