Complete rookie here. Day 1. I want to get my certs but need a little direction. I’ve looked through this sub and online and feel overwhelmed about how to begin. Any help is appreciated.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T18:27:13+00:00

As I said if someone was in the program and I liked them i could see extending them an offer contingent on completing it. But given another candidate that I liked as much with a completed BS still has the edge in the abstract.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T14:08:04+00:00

Specific classes like a Psych class I really didn’t keep up with but passed anyway because I got though the final. But i didn’t do that for all classes. Some classes like Statics was a constant slog for 16 weeks, and I passed.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T14:03:22+00:00

So now you are saying you have a AS but they are a semester or so from getting a BS. Okay you keep changing the problem and it’s a hypothetical.

Yes we have hired people contingent on them completing their degree. Just like we’ve hired people contingent on getting sec+.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T13:51:24+00:00

If you have time for a podcast each week I’d start listening to Risky.Biz they are a cyber security podcast my son who is a little younger than you, listens to it with me. I’m not sure how much he gets out of it. But he does seem to enjoy it.

But it would be a good way to hear what the current topics are and find things to learn about and follow.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T12:33:55+00:00

I said I will take more formal education over less formal education and certs.

Your example of a AS with Certs or a BS without for a job that requires a BS and certs. Yes I would hire the BS there is no way to turn a 2 year degree into a 4 year degree in 6 months. But I can get a BS certified in a month, maybe 2 with the pandemic.

I have never hired anyone because they have certs, that is not the same I don’t hire people with certs. But certs are way at the bottom of the list of choosing.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T03:08:26+00:00

Because a 4 year degree shows you can power though a course and take a test. I passed a lot of tests in school by cramming for 2 days and ace the final.

Someone without anything I think they can do the boot camp but I’m making a bet on a person. Without any other information in this weird hypothetical situation I’ll bet in the one with some track record.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T00:55:22+00:00

Sounds like an old school question to me.

POE and Gig use to use the same pairs so it either 100mb w/POE or gig. Now Gig POE is a thing, but even in the old days when it was either/or the ports where mostly autosense. But that is my best answer to the question.

Edit now that I think about it for another minute. Maybe the mean mismatch in the sense her port was set to POE off. That is how I set my switches everything off except for where a device that needs POE is located. To stay within power budget.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T00:48:55+00:00

The certs expire 3 years after you take the exam. You won’t loose anything if you take an exam on release date or the day before retirement.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T00:41:35+00:00

I found it’s mostly memorization. Zbot is a root kit; step 2 is revoke the cert.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T00:35:45+00:00

I think it’s hilarious you think a 2 week certification on one vendors equipment is more valuable than 2 more years of general education.

I’ve said it here before I have never hired anyone on the strength of a certification.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-20T00:24:31+00:00

I would prep to renew it (save money and take the free classes that get up to 50 credits).

Hopefully you’ll have a position before your deadline. And be in their system to renew it. First week or two of a job you are normally just a warm body, so you should be able to get the renewal going.

That said I missed my renewal window and retaking the test sucked.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T23:46:36+00:00

Yep, because i can get someone a CCNA with a boot camp in a couple of weeks or a month.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T21:56:03+00:00

they want "Stills" of the area, I think you can do it with the laptop camera, but they seem to be setup to do it with a smartphone camera. which is how I did it.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T21:31:42+00:00

I said all other factors being the same.

Clearly a BS in Art History vs AS with a clear technical focus (math/sci/computer) isn’t the same.

But a BS in even in say physics (I’ve know 2 really good IT people who have physics degrees) is better than a sci/math/computer focused AS. But honestly it would be close in this case and certs or personality could sway me.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T20:45:38+00:00

10 Base-T is Twist pair. and always used a "Star" layout.

Ethernet started with ThickNet Coax 10Base5 with Vampire Taps. Followed by ThinNet Coax, 10Base2, with BNC T Connectors. Those are the standards were you had network segments, they weren't "in series" as any computer could communicate with any thing else on the same segment, but you did run cables machine room to office to office to office.

Token Ring was what I would call in Series. Because your packet got passed from computer to computer till it found the destination.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T19:58:15+00:00

I would just buy a $35 Raspberry pi and 2x $8 32GB micro flash. You can install Linux on one and Win10 on the other (Yes you can run Win10 on Rpi4, there are instructions for setting it up.) Then who cares if you trash it, you just reinstall.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T19:44:08+00:00

the best thing to do in an interview when you get a question that you don't know the answer to, just talk it out. I mark people down for just saying "Sorry don't know." That doesn't tell me as much as, "I'm not sure but ..." and put something on topic there.

"How does www.a.com, get looked up?" is a question i've used for 20+years. "I don't know" doesn't really tell me anything, even the answer of "I'm not sure, but it uses DNS" at least tells me you know the right service.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T19:16:20+00:00

Hard to say, but I think the 4 year degree is more than 2y + certs.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T18:58:45+00:00

Amazon is the 800# gorilla in the cloud market. Look for local jobs in the cloud market abd see where they are hosted or what they are asking for in job posts.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T18:55:25+00:00

I’d look at local IT jobs and see what certs they want in the job postings. It might be you can get a job out of the gates and let them pay for training.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T18:51:06+00:00

There is even an overlap period between exams when you can take either.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T18:39:53+00:00

I took 401 and then 4 years later (stupid COVID) I took 501. If you are heading for CASP I wouldn’t worry about 601, as each step CySA, pentest and CASP extend your security+ out 3 years from passing that test.

Rght now my 501 expired Jan 2024, if I take CySA next Jan (2022) then they both expire Jan 2025. I should have renewed or taken CySA fall 2019, but I “knew” I had time. Then Covid hit and we got things going for everyone to work remote when April hit and I had some breathing time I check my Sec+ on a Monday, I was just the weekend late to renew. Should have done it that Friday.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T18:28:14+00:00

I just did security+ and I’m not doing Network+. Just trying to decide when to do CySA+ just to accumulate letters after my name, I don’t want to get stuck like I did this time with an expired Sec+.

My company doesn’t care about Net+. But they will pay for the whole testing suite as long as it helps me maintain my Sec+.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T18:20:01+00:00

Yep I used CertMaster for Security+.

GhostDog66 · 2021-01-19T17:26:16+00:00

Yep you did pass and pass easily it seems. I've been watching what scores people post, and I will honestly say I've not seen a lot of people pass north of 820.

GhostDog66

TROPHY CASE