Any of you mind sharing your IT backgrounds?

[BBUK]

Realizing the mortal sin going on in this one for IT personnel but am curious...

I see some's post realizing many of you have good backgrounds without displaying them and while you do not state it, I recognize many of you have some serious expertise just watching you type...

I will start...

Not in any order but I have held or do hold these certs; (Most of the reason I let some certs go was the annual dough involved.) I am still training hard but getting near the end of it and will probably only keep one paying cert when all is said and done... (The $135.00 annual cert renewal for the CISSP.) (Those who hold them will realize which certs I no longer have due to the annual renewal fee's.)

Have held or do also still hold; SEC+, MCSE, MCP, MCP +I, CCNA, A+, Net+, AWS CP, MC AF, I have a few others but will stop there.... it was good training.... (This has been for well over twenty-five years so...)

Thanks for any responses, as I say, I am seriously contemplating finishing my public career soon and just working some on the side...

 

[CAT Scratch FVR]

No offense but do the certifications mean as much anymore, for most roles? Isn’t it it the experience and technology you are currently working on?

 

[noncomposmentis]

No offense but do the certifications mean as much anymore, for most roles?

I'd really like to know this, too. Not for my own sake. Short of it: my son graduated 1.5 years ago from UK with degree in IT - and no job yet. Amazing. Everything he sees (and believe me, I've look it over) requires 1 year or 2 years experience. He has no certifications, so my idea is find a job, any job (Costco, whatever), and complete the certifications on the side. Someone told me having the certifications makes the difference in finding a job. If that's not true, would rather he know on the front end of course......

 

[BBUK]

Let me answer some of this without responding directly.. (I have an MSIS and BBA (Dual-major) as well but didn't want to go there. (I am at the end of my public career. I am being more open.)

The certifications allow you to access certain areas. The certifications are critical in many areas of technology work that helps prove your competence. For instance; you cannot access a government network as an administrator without at least a Sec+ certification or the equivalent. (Plus any sort of required clearance. (Clearance depends on where you work but many organizations require those items. (A minimum certification and a clearance to even be looked at.) (A lot more goes into that but that is it in a basic nutshell.)

I can work without the degrees but could not have worked without the certifications...

A for instance, the CISSP is a six hour test (Took me twice back in 2014.) (You NEVER want to take that test again...)

What areas? The areas are what have been more defined over the years. I was a systems administrator, a network administrator, worked help desk as well along with a host of other specialties. (Security being another for a long while.)

Edit: I say Sec+ but it is actually stated as Security+, just used to using the short versions of the certs.

A cert I took the training for but not having the interest CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker). That cert is right with the CISSP in certain areas. (Just an aside.)

 

[CAT Scratch FVR]

If you are looking to work on the side, recommend contracting. And if you were in the government some placement firms specialize in that looking for that specifically.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

I've seen a lot of porn

 

[BBUK]

If you are looking to work on the side, recommend contracting. And if you were in the government some placement firms specialize in that looking for that specifically.

If for me, I've done that. I am more looking to make money with something that works 24/7 now. I am nearing 64 and just looking to augment my grandchildren now. My children do alright. I am thankful..

 

[LineSkiCat14]

(From another thread)

Senior System Engineer. Mostly working on Infrastructure, SaaS, NetApp, VMware, SSO, etc etc. Background in Helpdesk and SysAdmin. Been at it for nearly 20 years.

My certs are a little lacking, but to toot my own horn, I just get shit done. I don't need to know about every little detail of a flux capacitor. I just need to whack it with the right wrench in the right spot to make it work in 1/10th the time someone else is reading about how to get it started. I sometimes think people who stack certs are just like the "teacher" mantra: Those who can do.. those who can't, teach.

That said: A+, Net+, Sec+, AZ900, some bullshit PM/Agile certs. Going for my CCNA .

I'm just hoping this line of work exists long enough for me to retire in thie field. But I'm skeptical. Thankfully I do think physical datacenter engineers will be in demand for at least another decade. At that point, my liver will have given out anyways.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I'd really like to know this, too. Not for my own sake. Short of it: my son graduated 1.5 years ago from UK with degree in IT - and no job yet. Amazing. Everything he sees (and believe me, I've look it over) requires 1 year or 2 years experience. He has no certifications, so my idea is find a job, any job (Costco, whatever), and complete the certifications on the side. Someone told me having the certifications makes the difference in finding a job. If that's not true, would rather he know on the front end of course......

The job market out there is absolutely BRUTAL. Certs, no certs. Doesn't matter. Things are becoming automated, more jobs going to India, systems rapidly changing to the point your expertise could be irrelevant tomorrow.

I'm at the point where I'm just trying to hold on as long as I can. I have a good job, solid pay, but I WFH (And make sure I take full advantage of that)... So I will ride this as long as I can. Not even 2 years ago I had a totally different tune, and figured I'd be moving on to bigger and better things. Thats how quickly IT has changed, and just the job market in general.

 

[noncomposmentis]

The job market out there is absolutely BRUTAL. Certs, no certs. Doesn't matter. Things are becoming automated, more jobs going to India, systems rapidly changing to the point your expertise could be irrelevant tomorrow.

I'm at the point where I'm just trying to hold on as long as I can. I have a good job, solid pay, but I WFH (And make sure I take full advantage of that)... So I will ride this as long as I can. Not even 2 years ago I had a totally different tune, and figured I'd be moving on to bigger and better things. Thats how quickly IT has changed, and just the job market in general.

Thanks for the word. I can’t say it makes me feel better, but it sort of matches the vibe I get. Kind of ironic, I remember telling my kids how the world has changed in terms of cost of college and the percentage of people who go, so I couldn’t in good conscience let them major in theatre or Icelandic studies or whatever. And I thought IT was a pretty safe one. This of course was before I was paying attention to AI…..

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Thanks for the word. I can’t say it makes me feel better, but it sort of matches the vibe I get. Kind of ironic, I remember telling my kids how the world has changed in terms of cost of college and the percentage of people who go, so I couldn’t in good conscience let them major in theatre or Icelandic studies or whatever. And I thought IT was a pretty safe one. This of course was before I was paying attention to AI…..

No one can really predict the future I guess. Even the safest seeming jobs could get upended at any second.

His best chance is to get into any place with a support/helpdesk role, and preferably in a larger company that also has room for growth. The career path here goes Helpdesk to System Admin to System Engineer to Architect, generally. The certs definitely help because they still show competence and your willingness to learn and take the career seriously. But just as important is communication and people skills. I always will take a candidate who can talk to the customer, explain technology, talk them through it. And lastly, that ability to just get things done. I mentioned in a post above, I dont need the smartest guy in the room (I've never been, except when im here in The Paddock), that guy often times doesn't always deliver. I need the person who can "fire from the hip" and get the task done at hand.. after hours, something difficult, something risky, etc... those are kind of the "big three" to me.

 

[noncomposmentis]

No one can really predict the future I guess. Even the safest seeming jobs could get upended at any second.

His best chance is to get into any place with a support/helpdesk role, and preferably in a larger company that also has room for growth. The career path here goes Helpdesk to System Admin to System Engineer to Architect, generally. The certs definitely help because they still show competence and your willingness to learn and take the career seriously. But just as important is communication and people skills. I always will take a candidate who can talk to the customer, explain technology, talk them through it. And lastly, that ability to just get things done. I mentioned in a post above, I dont need the smartest guy in the room (I've never been, except when im here in The Paddock), that guy often times doesn't always deliver. I need the person who can "fire from the hip" and get the task done at hand.. after hours, something difficult, something risky, etc... those are kind of the "big three" to me.

Thanks!

 

[AustinTXCat]

No one can really predict the future I guess. Even the safest seeming jobs could get upended at any second.

His best chance is to get into any place with a support/helpdesk role, and preferably in a larger company that also has room for growth. The career path here goes Helpdesk to System Admin to System Engineer to Architect, generally. The certs definitely help because they still show competence and your willingness to learn and take the career seriously. But just as important is communication and people skills. I always will take a candidate who can talk to the customer, explain technology, talk them through it. And lastly, that ability to just get things done. I mentioned in a post above, I dont need the smartest guy in the room (I've never been, except when im here in The Paddock), that guy often times doesn't always deliver. I need the person who can "fire from the hip" and get the task done at hand.. after hours, something difficult, something risky, etc... those are kind of the "big three" to me.

Exactly and well-said.

<- - - 40+ years IT experience, including various "geek" assignments in US Army (S2, S3, Force XXI).

Earned my A+ while still on active duty in 1999. Ran a PC parts business 1996-2000 on weekends and when not deployed. Provided basis for bigger, better things later. A+ is the foundation. Also gained extensive Unix (Sun Sparc) experience while on active duty back in the days when Command Line (CLI) and Read The F*cking Manual (RTFM) were all we had. Help Desk and Deskside Support are entry level jobs and the foundation for later roles.

Can discuss this topic for hours, but must login to work PC and complete reports.

 

[cole854]

 

[CAT Scratch FVR]

I should say, it may be a little late, but internships are a path to jobs. We, generally, only hire recent grads who have interned with us. We are a F500 company with an IT staff of 800.

Lineski, that is the path our folks take on the network side as well, desktop support/client systems admin/general systems admin/architect.

AI will only change how you do your job, not necessarily put you out of a job. Need people to know how to use, feed, it., etc.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Exactly and well-said.

<- - - 40+ years IT experience, including various "geek" assignments in US Army (S2, S3, Force XXI).

Earned my A+ while still on active duty in 1999. Ran a PC parts business 1996-2000 on weekends and when not deployed. Provided basis for bigger, better things later. A+ is the foundation. Also gained extensive Unix (Sun Sparc) experience while on active duty back in the days when Command Line (CLI) and Read The F*cking Manual (RTFM) were all we had. Help Desk and Deskside Support are entry level jobs and the foundation for later roles.

Can discuss this topic for hours, but must login to work PC and complete reports.

You might you get a kick out of this reddit post I made about working in IT and comparing it to the cosmonaut in the film Armageddon. It wound up with like 1,200 up votes back when I posted it lol.

Obviously the username checks out.

 

[AustinTXCat]

Dude. Haha. Oh the nightmares of a Linux Sendmail server admin while supporting 150 Windows boxes and 2 Windows servers for $34,000/year 2001-2005 until returning to Iraq. Constantly updating config lists while also completing my BA and always on-call. Even finished MCSA and other certs during that time. Surprised I'm still alive.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Dude. Haha. Oh the nightmares of a Linux Sendmail server admin while supporting 150 Windows boxes and 2 Windows servers for $34,000/year 2001-2005 until returning to Iraq. Constantly updating config lists while also completing my BA and always on-call. Even finished MCSA and other certs during that time. Surprised I'm still alive.

That is brutal. I've done a Exchange migration from 2003 to 2010, 2010 to 2016, and 2016 to EOL. Those are such cluster F's. I can't even say I did them by myself, each one we needed some contracting help because there's just no way anyone knows Exchange Migrations THAT well, unless you specialize in it.

And that's why I want out. I'm not getting smarter. I'm not dedicating my evenings to learning new tech because I simply don't have the time (or the enjoyment anymore, quite honestly). I need to either move into management, or get into the sales side.

 

[AustinTXCat]

That is brutal. I've done a Exchange migration from 2003 to 2010, 2010 to 2016, and 2016 to EOL. Those are such cluster F's. I can't even say I did them by myself, each one we needed some contracting help because there's just no way anyone knows Exchange Migrations THAT well, unless you specialize in it.

And that's why I want out. I'm not getting smarter. I'm not dedicating my evenings to learning new tech because I simply don't have the time. I need to either move into management, or get into the sales side.

Missed such madness. We overjoyed about our MSFT E3/E5 accounts. We currently support 49K internal and 14K external users. Much easier these days, but still crazy at times. Migrations not bad if you have access to the tools.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Missed such madness. We overjoyed about our MSFT E3/E5 accounts. We currently support 49K internal and 14K external users. Much easier these days, but still crazy at times. Migrations not bad if you have access to the tools.

And so this illustrates just what automation does. A fully on-prem AD and Exchange environment with infrastructure, licenses, Email networking, etc.. for 50k users.. that would take roughly a team of 10 or so. But once it's all in O365/E365 and E5 licenses.. you can manage this with half the team. Maybe even less.

 

[BBUK]

Ya'll type too much. I've been to stupid busy. Just wish I could tell you.

Did take USAREC from NT to AD back in the day. Helping them stand up their own forest. Pulled cables, sys admin, yadda yadda yadda.. Back when you built accounts manually, user and email ....

 

[KAB Cats]

No offense but do the certifications mean as much anymore, for most roles? Isn’t it it the experience and technology you are currently working on?

From the perspective of a hiring manager, I think they help for sure. Nothing is superior to proven success in a similar position, but all things being equal, having certifications definitely helps give confidence in making the hire.

I am on the software engineering side moreso than IT, but I think if I was in IT, I'd take a strong look at cloud infrastructure certs like AWS cloud practitioner. I haven't worked in an office with hardwired network in over a decade. Curious what that job market looks like in 2025. I'm almost definitely biased in that view though, admittedly.

DevOps infrastructure scripting / administration is going to continue to be in-demand.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Ya'll type too much. I've been to stupid busy. Just wish I could tell you.

Did take USAREC from NT to AD back in the day. Helping them stand up their own forest. Pulled cables, sys admin, yadda yadda yadda.. Back when you built accounts manually, user and email ....

 

[BBUK]

Yeah yeah.... 😅

 

[LineSkiCat14]

From the perspective of a hiring manager, I think they help for sure. Nothing is superior to proven success in a similar position, but all things being equal, having certifications definitely helps give confidence in making the hire.

I am on the software engineering side moreso than IT, but I think if I was in IT, I'd take a strong look at cloud infrastructure certs like AWS cloud practitioner. I haven't worked in an office with hardwired network in over a decade. Curious what that job market looks like in 2025. I'm almost definitely biased in that view though, admittedly.

DevOps infrastructure scripting / administration is going to continue to be in-demand.

Cloud certs for Infra are definitely a way to go, because the cloud is never going away. Every year, traditional companies are shutting their doors (data centers) and new ones are starting up (cloud-hosted). Because of that, on-prem data center is a dying configuration.

But even then, cloud is quickly becoming automated. You dont need as many "server" admins. Docker and containerization is getting bigger and bigger.

I really would love to get out unscathed by the time I'm 50. Make as much money as I can and just go be a bartender to finish it all out.

 

[BBUK]

Cloud certs for Infra are definitely a way to go, because the cloud is never going away. Every year, traditional companies are shutting their doors (data centers) and new ones are starting up (cloud-hosted). Because of that, on-prem data center is a dying configuration.

But even then, cloud is quickly becoming automated. You dont need as many "server" admins. Docker and containerization is getting bigger and bigger.

I really would love to get out unscathed by the time I'm 50. Make as much money as I can and just go be a bartender to finish it all out.

Ha, the big business now and seems to even be getting bigger even though RMF 2.0 was introduced reducing AO personal liability is ATO's and everything attached to them. Paperwork rules.....

Deep-diving processes now versus "just" systems and applications.

ATO, IATO, PATO, ATC, yadda, yadda, yadda...and oh the time, oh the serious resource of....time.

Yeah...law being intricately introduced as security......

A computer needs a lawyer now....

 

[CAT Scratch FVR]

Funny enough, just had conversation with an IT Manager looking for salary data for Cloud Engineer.
A lot of companies hiring. Anecdotally, a lot of openings are looking for someone to lead the transformation to the cloud, which will pay greater. I assume market will die down in a few years when it becomes even more common place.
Data is rich from a survey perspective. Pay ranges start at about $80k for someone with a little experience, to $185k and beyond at an architect level. Again, more if you are leading the way.

 

[KAB Cats]

Cloud certs for Infra are definitely a way to go, because the cloud is never going away. Every year, traditional companies are shutting their doors (data centers) and new ones are starting up (cloud-hosted). Because of that, on-prem data center is a dying configuration.

But even then, cloud is quickly becoming automated. You dont need as many "server" admins. Docker and containerization is getting bigger and bigger.

I really would love to get out unscathed by the time I'm 50. Make as much money as I can and just go be a bartender to finish it all out.

I'm not sure on the future, mainly in regards to AI. I've been going back and forth from "this is going to put me at jeopardy the rest of my life" to "I really don't think we are close to that, but it can be good for productivity".

The place I think has a lot of value right now is DevOps engineer. Ability to create scalable CICD pipelines, setting up autoscaling w/ respect to cost effectiveness, managing cloud resources the RIGHT way, environment parameterization, pushing good practices to engineers, performance monitoring, database right-sizing, log digestion, etc etc. Those guys are worth their weight in gold.

Funny enough, just had conversation with an IT Manager looking for salary data for Cloud Engineer.
A lot of companies hiring. Anecdotally, a lot of openings are looking for someone to lead the transformation to the cloud, which will pay greater. I assume market will die down in a few years when it becomes even more common place.
Data is rich from a survey perspective. Pay ranges start at about $80k for someone with a little experience, to $185k and beyond at an architect level. Again, more if you are leading the way.

Yes, this. Though, if a company doesn't have their applications in the cloud yet, they are about 7 years behind. Industry is on the diminishing side of that curve in terms of adoption. I wouldn't suspect salaries to decrease in regards to the adoption curve, but maybe moreso in regards to AI or advancements in cloud technologies that abstract services to the degree where there is simply less technical skill needed. Even then though...I'm not sure. Adapt and survive like everything else.