# Newbies, first post. Be gentle.



## stillwater (May 10, 2011)

I'll try and make this short and to the point. I have recently moved for my wife's job. It has allowed me some time at home trying to figure out what I want to do. I have been exploring the IT field, trying to figure out in which direction to go within the field. I am pretty sure I would like to get involved in the Computer/Network security side of things. I enjoy figuring out how things work. If I learned this stuff when I was a kid I probably would have gotten myself into trouble.
My computer knowledge is extremely limited. But I am motivated, and fairly smart.

In my research I have come to the conclusion that getting in to the Security side of things is probably one of the tougher ones, involving extensive certs, experience, more experience, and more experience. I am open to any and all suggestions.

With all that being said here are a few questions: 

1. I am using a Macbook Air now, I have a outdated desktop PC with windows XP. Starting from scratch, which OS should I focus on?

2. What basic Certs would I need to start looking for a job?
CompTIA A+, CompTIA NET+, SEC+?

3. Can these books, training manuals be purchased used?

4. For the avg. person how much time is involved in getting these certs?
4+hrs/day, 7dys/wk, etc

5. Other than certs. what other expenses are there, software, CP Programs, new CP, etc..? 

6. Recommendations for other forums, sources of information? 

Any other info, advice, criticism is greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your time.


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## tim19889 (Jan 24, 2010)

Hi Stillwater and welcome to the forums . I will try to answer some of your questions as best I can.

If you're wanting to get into Networking/Security I'd recommend you get your A+ and Network+ certifications from CompTIA first, then try to get some experience in a helpdesk type role for a few years. After you have your A+, Network+, and a couple years experience under your belt go for the Security+ from CompTIA, then CCNA from Cisco.

It took me (and I had very little prior technical knowledge) about 9 months to get both the A+ and Network+, 6 for the A+ and 3 for the Network+. I was studying about seven or eight hours per week. I recommend Mike Meyer's A+ and Network+ all in one study guides. They are very comprehensive and explain things in ways that are easy to understand for the average joe. You can get the A+ book for about $35 and the Network one for like $25 I think on Amazon. Professor Messer also has some great free online training videos here: Professor Messer's Free 220-70x CompTIA A+ Training Course | Professor Messer - CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, Certification Training

Anyways so that's what I would do. Someone else might have a different opinion though :grin:


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## epshatto (Dec 23, 2010)

You're right that security is difficult to get into. The reason is fairly obvious - if you have some person or people in charge of the security of your network and data, you want to be damn sure they are trustworthy!

I have no college degree at all and I'm starting work in the IT field on the 23rd of this month. I got my CompTIA A+ certification on the 18th of April.

It took me altogether close to a year (I'd say 9-10 months) to get the certification. However, I'd expect for most people it would take less time than that. In my case I had to reschedule the exam for a few weeks later because of weather and I wanted to take a class on it too, so I waited for that and went through it for a couple months. Right now I'm working on Network+ (maybe a month into that one so far, at most)

I study my book on average about 4 1/2 hours a week or so. Also I'm here and read other resources online.

The usual progression with certifications is to start with A+, then go to Network+. After that some people take Security+, others do MCP or some OS specific certification.

Some recommendations-

-Diversity is a huge deal. It looks fantastic when you can say you can deal with Windows, Linux, and Solaris operating systems, for instance.

-Certifications don't mean you're going to start making good pay at a job. The certifications, especially the CompTIA certifications, can assist in getting an *entry level* position. Expect entry level pay. Microsoft and Cisco certifications are different, and designed for people with a solid history of experience in the field.

-I took an expensive class at a community college for A+, but this is not in any way necessary. Many, many people take the certification exams based on a curriculum they use to teach themselves. 

-As far as operating systems go, you will definately need to know XP, Vista, and 7. Windows 2000 might be useful in some cases as well but you won't see as much in certification material on it. I would also suggest you familiarize yourself with the various Linux distributions, particularly Ubuntu.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

security is harder to get into than networking and no one walks into a networking job regardless of their qualifications unless they are lucky.

You should start with A+ and N+ and MCTS windo 7, get a helpdesk job or IT tech job and build up some experience.


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