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I graduated college with an AS Degree for Network Systems Technician - Cybersecurity. The job I currently have (hired last month) is a 1-man band overseeing 100 employees at a nonprofit. I’m classified as an IT Specialist, handling network issues, Active Directory, being a liaison for any IT related issues for the third party vendors that house our Cloud based desktops for work, etc…

My question is: is there any certifications I should go for to help expand my knowledge? I’ve been debating getting my Network+ or Security+…

Any tips or help will be helpful.

Thanks!

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Experience is key to knowledge, certs tend to be structured and distinct to that company/product or process.

Given that your work and existing certs are varied, where would you see yourself - as that defines the certs best suited to you.

I would also suggest, as I do with every topic like this, to get yourself a home lab.

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I have found certs are useless on their own. I need to be able to relate them to my work or I have no motivation to take them.

One thing I have been finding useful of late is Udemy. Its full of good courses (mark them as favorites and wait for them to go on sale) But rather than just taking courses at random I tend to pick things I want to learn more about or upgrade my existing skills on and watch them. Don’t focus on the certs aspect… its more about turning it into practical skills you use day to day than about collecting pieces of paper.

Since you mention being newer I would strongly recommend learning PowerShell… I put that off for years, but I use it almost every day for everything. From simple support calls to automating tasks so I don’t have to do them manually over an over and over (like installing software or printers) It really is a game changer to be able to use powershell to automate tasks and speed up your work process. Co-pilot is actually really helpful in this regard too. Just make sure you read and test anything it gives you as its good, but its not perfect. It gave me a script just yesterday that completely crashed the machine I was testing with LOL.

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Generally, certs are for getting the job as bullet points on your resume. Once you have the job (as you do), any additional education should be focused on your professional growth, either with this company or a future one if you become dissatisfied. Ask your supervisor if they have any plans for you, though it might be too early for that conversation. Most employers have a policy of 90 day provisional employment, i.e. your first job performance review is in 90 days and they can fire you for little or no reason until then. Take that time to see how you fit in and how everyone else relates with you, you support them in IT service and they support you in positive feedback to your supervisor. At the first review ask how he and the rest of the staff feel about you and what career path you might expect. From that career path comes your list of certs (whew!!! I finally got to your question). That also opens a dialogue so you don’t have to wait for formal review to make corrections, and you might want to state that.

It sounds like you’re doing well enough to look around and consider the future. Good luck!

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I was in the same position as you were 5 years ago. I had an AS in Information Technology, and a company took a chance on me with the contingency that I get my A+ within 6 months of employment. That’s a long time. My company did have vendor-specific certifications they wanted me to get, and I just did them.

First, ask yourself where you want to go as a career. Second, ask yourself why you’re getting the cert. Once you’ve made a choice, pivot to that field by doubling down. Lastly, are you getting the certs because you want to learn more for the sake of learning and honing your skill, or just for a pay raise?

Now for a more practical answer. Honestly, IT pros will always recommend getting a trifecta of some sort and get a feel of which one you want to dive more into, and at the same time, you can show potential employers that you are capable past the fundamental level.

For example, A+, Network+, Security+

I would recommend following the trifecta but mix the vendors.
For example:
A+ = Fundamentals
CCNA = Networking but Cisco specific
ISC2 (CC) = Cybersecurity

You have to understand that you can have multiple of these certifications. For example, A+ & CCENT, Network+ & CCNA, Security+ & CEH. On this note, if you are just looking to fluff up your resume, if you can pass an A+, you can pass ITF+. You can always punch down at this level. This will only work during the early stages of your career. Hiring managers do not know what they are looking at when it comes to certs. You can have your certification portion of your resume looks like this:

Certifications:
CompTIA ITF+, A+, Network+, Security+
ITIL Foundation
Cisco CCENT, CCNA
(ISC2) Certified in Cybersecurity

It’s all about optics when it comes to hiring managers. Another example, if you can pass a CCNA exam, you can pass ITF+, A+, Network+, and CCENT. I’m not saying it’s guaranteed, but the chances are extremely high. Be careful though because most interviews have 2 parts to an interview that’s where the certs can get you to the door, and the practical test where they actually test you on a technical and scenario-based test. All of these certifications mentioned are all in the entry level, this will not work once you go higher. No one is going to care about your A+ if you have CySA+ and PenTest+.

Certs are great to prove you are knowledgeable but practical application makes experience. You can pass a Network+ but if you don’t know how to fox and hound a cable, then you don’t know how to fox and hound a cable. You can have Sec+ but if you never used a SIEM tool, then you’ve never used a SIEM tool. Best analogy I can use is, you can know all the facts about skydiving and watch 100 hours of skydiving videos, but if you never skydived you never skydived.

Dip your toes in different sectors and see which one you like. If you started studying for a cert and you don’t find it interesting or it’s not just clicking, you don’t have to commit. Don’t waste time, money, and effort on something you don’t enjoy. Hope that was helpful.

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I would recommend you take whatever certs, classes, etc. that interest you! Knowledge is power and more of it means: Mo Powa Babeh James Pumphrey GIF - Mo Powa Babeh James Pumphrey Donut Media - Discover & Share GIFs
I took the certified in cybersecurity from isc2.org and I believe it’s still free: One Million Certified in Cybersecurity – Free ISC2 Certification Exams
I took it last year even though I have a Bachelors in Computer Science and 3-4 years of experience in I.T. ISC2 is a great organization lots of continuing education opportunities as well as greater certifications! Whatever you decide though as long as you put your mind to it and want to learn you will excel!

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I think going for some generic certs would be helpful now and then as you start progressing further into your IT career, you’ll find that there are some specialties that you prefer over others. But further than just certs, I would also second the recommendation for PowerShell. That will be a huge benefit as scripting is a key tool in making your operations more efficient and automated.

Here are a few resources for learning PowerShell that might help:

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Personally, I would put off certs for a bit. I would concentrate on the environment you’re in, if you need more skills in your environment then follow up there. In the future, Security is always good.

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I hated ITIL, failed it twice, which was upsetting to manager at the time as he had the highest score recorded in the EU for ITIL practitioner

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If you’ve only been on this job for 30 days…give it 180, or even a year at which point you will know what certifications will assist you in your job, and moving forward. Frankly, if the job you have is not requiring you to certify…I wouldn’t (that’s just my humble opinion) instead I would study for the exams, but not pay for taking them. You may want/need the information/training, but no point in paying for it unless they’re willing to pay?

I’m sure others will disagree with this opinion…

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