Are there any free courses on computers etc? Need a certificate for job application. At least 4 hours they say. Thanks guys in advance

Hello Reddit

I'm looking for a well-rounded book or study resource to help me become a skillful and efficient network engineer.

For context, I passed the CCNA in January and am looking to level up my knowledge and skills in the field; I've completed over 60 labs and enjoyed configuring routers and switches to pass the exam. Unfortunately, I don't have any personal experience besides Packet Tracer labs and following Jeremy's Playlist.

Some networking topics I thoroughly enjoyed learning include TCP/IP, VLANs, STP, dynamic routing, network security, and wireless networks; my personal favorite topics are dynamic routing and network security, through ACLs, port-security, ARP Inspection, and DHCP snooping.

What beginner-intermediate books would you recommend for someone looking to become a skillful and efficient network engineer?

I am finishing my PhD in Computer Science (non-AI, quant user studies), and I am thinking about where to go next. My dream job is something related to market analysis, but as far as I can see, those jobs often require a lot of communication and are better suited for onsite work. Also, one needs to be fluent in the local language (German in my case). At the same time, even though these analysts can significantly help a company grow, the compensation is not really that high (often up to ~150k in the US, waaay lower in Germany).

I like working with data and eliciting insights, I can also elicit insights from research, and I have experience with user studies and statistics. However, I really prefer remote work. On top of that, since my German (I reside in Germany) is far from fluent, I won't be able to land a local market analyst job any time soon. I will probably take a gap year to build a strong portfolio. What field should I aim for? To sum it up, I want to maximize my income, work remotely, and work with data and research.

EDIT1: 200k salary is the goal in ten years, not for the first job.

EDIT2: I'm okay with communication with the team and, occasionally, with stakeholders. I actually enjoy presenting my results. However, I’m not okay with commuting to work every day, traveling, or constantly communicating in person to gather additional requirements.

EDIT3: I am not that interested in Data Engineering positions.

So I've been working as help desk for 3 years now. In the meantime I have obtained A+, N+, Sec+ and AZ-900 certificates. Currently I'm studying for the CCNA. My employer counts over 7000 employees in Germany and recently they have faced fierce competition which is forcing them to cut down on some onsite offices and move the people around other projects wherever they deem fit.

We have been covering an extra onsite position that is in a city 180 km away from our central offices. So someone from us (team of 5) has to go there 1/2 times a week to troubleshoot tickets and pick up some remarketing hardware. We are strongly against this situation, but the employer says that if they assign someone permanently to this remote position, we will have to have a smaller team at the central office. I'm getting to the point, stay with me 😉

I have applied internally for a position of a junior network engineer in a network consulting role. My direct contact for anything job related, like a link between me and the company, says I am eligible for the role, but doesn't have any info to give me as to wether I'll be accepted for the role or not. I want to make an ultimatum since I am the most certified/qualified technician they currently have for this client - ask to be transferred to the network consulting role or else I'll change jobs (the market has moved on, other companies now offer 30% more than what I currently get). Question - do you think I have some leverage here? Is the company willing to loose me and not respond to my ultimatum? Getting the network consulting role would be great since it would give me a great leap into a better position/wage. But at the same time I don't know how long I will have to wait and time is money.

Hi I am starting a new position as a IT support technician at a school in London. I graduated a year ago with a law degree but decided I want to take a different career path. I would like to break into the tech sector but I am unsure on what particularly I would like to do. However I am open to suggestions and would like to know what courses I can do to get ahead preferably not a 3 year long degree.

Hi all,

I worked in an IT company for more than 5 years on L1 support projects. Over the past 2 years, I started learning Pega, completed the Pega Certified System Architect (PCSA) and Pega Certified Senior System Architect (PCSSA) certifications, and worked on a small project using my personal edition.

Recently, I got a job in a Tier-1 IT company by showcasing 4 years of experience in Pega during the interview process.

Now, I am looking for advice on how to manage work in an Agile methodology and effectively contribute to my team.

For those who joined a company with zero real-time experience, how did you adapt? What tips can you share to survive and succeed in such a situation? What key points should I keep in mind while starting this journey?

Hi

I have done my BSc(IT) and now I have 6 years of experience as mentioned in title. Currently I'm currently working as a Service now developer(just started 3 months back so learning it).

I wanted to do some Post Graduation(MCA/MBA) but I'm not sure what to chose as I can't quit my job. Also I did not have Maths as a subject in my 12th so it's more hard for me to chose. I'm not sure if I even need a PG or just some certifications are needed to do big in my career.

Please suggest some good career options after my current stage and what can be learnt frome here. All suggestions are welcomed.

Extra Notes: I chose PCB(Physics/Chemistry/Bio) in 12th but then took BSc(IT) in college. So, I think that's where I messed up things. Just to let you know I'm not much of a competitive person but I've decent technical skills and good presentation related stuff. Also I'm ready to learn if it helps.

Hey guys,

just got an interview in a few days for junior IT support role. if there's anyone here that have done interviews for similar roles can you please let me know what questions do they ask? ik it's different for each employer. but just having an idea of what might be asked is a good idea to make myself well prepared.

i moved to australia recently and english is my 2nd language. i'm not trying to make an excuse here, i still can communicate perfectly but for the interview i'm kinda scared as i sometimes can't think of an answer immediately on the spot in English especially when i'm nervous. TIA!!

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I currently work helpdesk in healthcare. I am a jack of all trades whether it be PowerShell, o365, python, sccm, Linux etc..... I have been at my current job for nearly a year and am making around 60k cad. I hold azure fundamentals, Linux +, cysa, a+ , sec+. It is a fairly corporate environment and I want to move up however I would have to wait a long time for that to happen. I also don't know if I would have significant pay raises. I'm thinking about going into private sector for more money however I'd lose my pension and tenure at current org. Would you wait to move up or move out for money? I'm in my early 20s and am looking to have a family in my early 30s. What would you do?

I searched but couldn’t find anyone talking about working remotely in Southeast Asia. Is there anyone in here doing it right now I would love to ask you some questions. Thanks

I know that someone in my team was told ‘or you reach the 80% rate of tickets resolution within the next 3 months or you are fired. Another colleague who was constantly below minimum (60%) was instead got to explore some different aspects of the role other than tickets and got promoted as an SME instead?

Hello everyone I Finally landed my first job in tech as a Tier II IT Technician for a governmet county . Although I've only worked for two days so far, the job itself seems relatively fine, but the commute is extremely long. (1hr 30 going there, 2 hours going home). The job is 8am-5pm m-f in person too so it takes away basically my entire day with the long commute. The pay is really good too, about $31 an hour before taxes. Everyone there is okay so far, but I'm a 25year old Male and all my co-workers are 50+. so it's hard to really relate with them but hopefully overtime it gets better. I was wondering if theres possibilities for this to open doors for me later on after I've gained some experience? Looking for advice on how I can utilize the position I'm in for my future later on. I hope to be able to find something closer to where I live or a hybrid/remote role?

Hi fellow IT people,

I (early thirties, from Europe) am in a pickle of a tough decision.

I'm working as an Engineer for a reputable cloud service provider utilizing a tech stack that is 95% Open Source which I love and value for myself. My salary is ok but nothing I want to stay at long term and the company already announced a current top cap for personal development in my department. So my chances for a promotion in the next 2 years are slim, because there are people before me in line (I'm dreaming of home ownership and mortgages are crazy). I aspire to be a senior in DevOps one day, maybe even DevSecOps, and I would love to be able to keep working with Linux. Besides the typical annoyances in corporations that are going sideways, I'm enjoying it so far.

All of a sudden I get this offer from a Fortune500 that pays almost double the salary for a consultant role. When it comes to the tasks I'm more engaging with the customer(s) and consulting them on the "big next thing" This is quite a different field of work in IT and I'm not sure if I A) will get along with my Teamlead and B) if I can make use of their promised personal development plan and learn stuff on the side C) most of the stuff I'm going to be working with will not be Linux related, although they have somewhat of a department that has that (cannot go into detail without revealing anything)

So it's the age old question:

• Should I take the offer for the salary and learn my favored tech stack on the side and transition back in a few years?
• Or stick with my current job and believe in the mission.

I'm not sure if companies are eager to hire a former consultant to suddenly do DevOps, regardless of certificates. I don't have kids to feed and I'm not in financial trouble. So this offer is just a "luxury". I'm not sure what would set me up better for the future.

Any meaningful insight is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance

I am a 52 year old teacher assistant for exceptional education since 2014. I don't want to switch careers completely. I am interested in working in a part time position to increase my income.. I am 6 credits away from getting an associate degree in IT Network Administration. Are there opportunities for working part-time remotely for IT? I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Here it is

29 year old guy, Net+ certified, graduating from a CCNA program at my local community college in May.

I've applied to less than 100 jobs, had one interview, so as of right now I'm not stressing TOO badly about the lack of responses.

My ideal long term goal is healthcare IT, but I'm currently not too picky. I'm open to any critiques.

I have a bachelors in Biblical studies and 2 years preaching experience. I had a contract job for a Halloween Company doing a Technical Support Specialist role. I now have a full time Service Desk (Helpdesk) role at an MSP. As I look at SysAdmin and Networking jobs a lot require a bachelors in a tech adjacent field. I have an A+ and will have Net + in February. Is it worth me considering getting a Bachelors in CS or IT or can I use my bachelors and get a masters to get past HR gate keeping when ready to move out of Help Desk in 1 to 1.5 years.

I was speaking with one of my former colleagues and were discussing this and wanted to get some feedback sampling from other professionals.

Working at large companies with massive infrastructure, data centers, online cloud instances, and various sites distributed worldwide. Some time working for big tech companies as well, and now faced with career options. You're presented with a few offers for jobs but are struggling to see what the next step is career wise for some.

A smaller state run organization with competitive pay around $140K USD, remote role pension that vests after 5 years, few promotional opportunities, and an infrastructure that's hybrid on-prem and cloud but potentially fully going to the cloud with a total company users of about 50 people. No chance of layoffs or buyouts as the agency is static in appropriations.

OR

Another tech company based in the bay area, remote role with solid pay, decent benefits, small 401K match but no pension with pay around $160K USD, with lots of career growth and promotion opportunities. The infrastructure is expansive as it's hybrid but heavily leaning on the cloud with a company user base of 15-20K. No layoffs have occurred in nearly 6 years so they appear to be stable.

OR

Federal government position with an agency, but the pay is lower than civilian market but pension and investment account TSP are strong values. You'd come in at $90-100K, but would have to obtain a clearance (isn't too hard since they sponsor), and it is fully on-site. There is substantial opportunity for advancement, healthcare and retirement benefits are best of the best, and you are generally insulated from layoffs, or buyouts so your job can be more secure. It still may be 1 month before the final hiring process is completed.

Questions:

Would going from working in large enterprises, with large infrastructure to a small company with small infrastructure have an adverse impact on your career long term as Cloud Engineer, Principal Engineer or moving into a Cloud Architect or Enterprise Architect role?

Have those who've gone from small enterprises to larger enterprises had challenges being recruited and securing those roles after leaving a small enterprise?

I have almost three years of experience as a full-stack developer. I used to work with Angular and Spring Boot/.NET, but for the past year, I’ve been working with some very niche technologies from SAP. As a result, I am no longer as familiar with Angular and Spring Boot, and I’m unsure whether I should start relearning or focus on something else.

My goal is to improve my chances of getting interview calls and successfully passing them. Do you think I should dive deep into learning Angular/ Spring Boot, or would it be better to focus on more general concepts like algorithms, system design, design patterns, etc.?

I have to admit, I find learning specific technologies on my own a bit tedious, and I’d prefer a broader, more general approach. However, I’m worried this might hurt my chances during interviews.

Additionally, I’m considering pursuing an AWS certification to boost my CV. Do you think it’s worth the effort?

I’m starting at 0 and I need to be mobile while learning. What kind of laptops would you recommend?

I currently work my first real IT job as a Helpdesk tech. I do a lot more than just reset passwords, I help with server room stuff and held with 365Admin. I’ve only been here for like 3 months. However I just received a job offer for IT Manager of a smaller company, nonprofit I think. $15k raise.

Should I take it? The whole hire process was super fast and at the end of the second interview (2 days after first) I got the job. They didn’t ask me any technical questions but liked how I was good with customer service/management and also technically inclined. The new company is smaller and feels less formal. I would be the sole IT guy at my new position vs a department of 5 at my current.

I have a lot of leadership / management experience at my former jobs.

Hi everyone,

I’m in a tough spot right now. I’m 85% through a university degree, but due to financial and personal reasons, I won’t be finishing it. My parents, who have supported me until now, are no longer able to help, and I need to find a stable job as soon as possible.

I’ve always loved working with computers and troubleshooting and want to break into IT or cybersecurity. I know it’s possible to succeed in this field without a degree if you have the right certifications and skills. I’ve started studying for CompTIA Security+ and applying for entry-level remote jobs like IT support and help desk roles.

My goal is to land an entry-level IT job by the end of January while continuing to learn and work on certifications. I’m also seeking mental health support during this time, as balancing everything has been overwhelming.

Does anyone have advice on: 1. Staying motivated and balancing mental health while learning? 2. How to stand out in applications with certifications “in progress” but no formal experience? 3. Any resources or tips for getting started in IT/cybersecurity?

I’d really appreciate any advice or success stories from people who’ve been in a similar position. Thanks for your time and help!

I am a System Administrator for a hospital in Los Angeles with 17 years experience.  I work in a predominantly Windows environment with about 80% of our servers being VM’s.  I have an MCSE, A+ and CCNA, but they were obtained over 20 years ago.  I am currently caring for my 93 year old mother.  She has a caregiver on the weekdays during the day and I take over in the evenings and weekends.  I am going to continue to care for my mom as long as I have to and I hope she lives forever, however I have to prepare for the future.  I am not married and I don’t have any children.  I’m 54 years old and I would like to ultimately retire overseas.  My plan is to obtain a fully remote job and work abroad.  I have a friend that also works in I.T. and he suggested that I study for the Apple certifications and get a technical support position.  He says that since Apple is a global company they wouldn’t have a problem with where I’m working from.  I searched Apple’s website and could not find any open positions for that role.  My concern is that I don’t want to study for and obtain certifications and not ultimately be able to find a fully remote job.  I am seeking advice for what certifications I would need that employers search for in fully remote positions where I can work abroad until retirement.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Hi all,

I'm (29yo) a traditional "countryside sysadmin" from EU, working in a MSP, tech stack is VMware and Windows with basic from mid tech content networking and security. Customer range is from shitty budget to middle budget, with some shitty salesman that can't sell any advanced or interesting product. Anyway, I'm a huge Linux and networking fan and i'd like to switch to a linux job. My ideal tech stack would be Linux, openstack, docker and kubernet and would love networking too. What could be the kind of career I'm looking for? SRE? System engineering? Job role seems to be really confusing and I don't know what to do. I'm Azure certified and got some other vendor certs.

Give me a hint, i know that the perfect role doesn't exists but boredom kills me and I want to do something challenging that keeps me motivated.

Thank you

Lately I've been trying to figure out if I should start looking to specialize now that I've been in this industry for 3 years or if I should just keep trying to make more money on the help desk. I currently work at an MSP and what I do is a bit more involved than just entry level help desk so it's more like a NOC analyst position where I do handle password resets but I also sometimes handle server outages, but I only go as far as information gathering and sometimes trying to resolve DNS.

I'm really interested in the data analytics field but there's no money for that at my current company. I recently learned Jupyter notebooks with python pandas, seaborn and scikit, And I really enjoy it.

However, right now I'm trying to figure out if I should just go for the network+ to move up in my current position and to make more money doing tech support or if this is the point where I should start to specialize and only focus on data analytics stuff.

It's hard because I enjoy both of it. Really. I don't necessarily enjoy being on call sometimes but I do like being able to troubleshoot Network outages and And learn more about why servers fail, If I don't think I necessarily want to be a Cisco tech and specialize in that way.

Hi guys,

I recently graduated with a degree in cybersecurity in the UK and I’m trying to get my first job in the industry. I know entry-level security positions are hard to come by, and I'm fully prepared to start in help desk/IT support to build experience.

I'd really appreciate if anyone with industry experience could take a look at my resume and provide some feedback.

Here’s the link:

https://imgur.com/a/oi0tRuk

Thanks in advance

I recently decided I would like to break out of my role in helpdesk. A subject that intrigues me and I’ve had some success with is automation. I work in the public sector right now (k-12). I’d like work recommendations for what specific technologies / coding I can do on the side to pursue the path of automation.

First time posting on reddit.

My parents have only finished high school and I don’t really have anyone I can ask for advice regarding my future path other than my professor.

About to finish college and I’ve honestly got no idea what to do afterwards. In my mind, I believe that I can get a job as long as I have the required capabilities, so I’ve been trying to self-study as much as I can.

I do research sometimes, but not to the point where I know exactly what I’m doing. University is too expensive and I’m not really sure if IT apprenticeship in army is worth it.

I appreciate your opinions.

I know they've stopped doing these for a while, but I was hoping they might overlook mine. It's been such an invaluable tool for my studying at the start of my career. I've had it a few years, applied a registered domain name to it, created some enterprise apps, made sure I logged in frequently even when I was between study. It enabled me to do lots of Intune labbing when studying for MD 102, I'm doing SC 300 at the moment and went to try something and found I've not got a licence.

I understand Microsoft don't have to give their stuff out for free, but it was such a great resource and can't have cost them much to run. I didn't even get an email to say it wasn't being renewed. Has anybody else still got there's running?

I can probably complete SC-300 without it, but it does make me more reluctant to start another. Buying an E5 license for personal use is a little rich, especially on UK tech salaries.

I am attempting to transition from oil and gas to something that uses my MIS degree. I graduated almost 2 years ago, never got an internship, and only slightly pursued options. I am having a hard time finding/understanding what exactly to look for to break into the field. Is it better to focus on project management? Should I be focusing on analytical rolls? I’m sure it has been covered ad nauseam, but any input is appreciated.

TLDR. Trying to swap careers and utilize my MIS degree. Unsure of the best route and looking for pointers.