Which path for me?

Hello SevenForums,

I was wondering if you would kindly help me. My name is Darren and I'm from the UK. I've just turned 17 and I am due to start the Zenos IT academy where I will be working towards a diploma to become a Microsoft Certified System Administrator along with an NVQ level 3.

I'm excited but I would like to go further and I have absolutely no clue what to become or what to study. I was hoping you could perhaps help me with this.

My dream job would be to monitor systems and networks to stop people from breaking in/breaching (as many forms of hackers, too). How to trace an intruder. Also to monitor and stop people in the early stages of an infiltration and learning how to make a network as secure as possible.

Can anyone tell me the best job for me? Also the best path of qualifications that would help me reach this goal?

How in demand will I be in the next few years upon completing this and what is the average pay when I am qualified?

Thank you. :)

PompeyFC said:

Hiyah Cheyron, as you can tell from my siggy I have done a number of Microsoft and CompTia qualifications.

I would definitely suggest taking the entry level IT qualifications which are CompTIA A+ and Network +. There is also a Security + exam which used to be able to be used as an elective towards your MCSA+Security

If your going to go down the network plus security path you need to be looking at the CCNA Cisco routes - there are also a number of Microsoft exams in security which you can study for via the MS-Press books for example

MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-298): Designing Security for a Microsoft® Windows Server

I am assuming there is an equivalent for Server 2008 depending on which O/S you are going to study on.

The sort of jobs will be ethical hacking plus security which pay around 35k plus I would of thought

Hi Pompey,

Thank you so much for the reply. I've been a lost puppy haha.

You seem to have a lot of qualifications yes. How long has it took you to get them all? Do you think it could be worth also going to university for a course and do the A+, S+ & N+ exams/qualifications?

If so, which do you think I should go for?

Thanks

PompeyFC said:

The A+, S+ and N+ can all be learnt through self study and use of a PC

For the A+ I recommend this

Mike Meyers' Guide to Supporting Windows 7 for CompTIA A+ Certification Exams 701 & 702 All-in-one: Amazon.co.uk: Michael Meyers: Books

For the N+ this

CompTIA Network+ Certification Kit: (Exam: N10-004) [Book]

and for the security exam I recommend going to the CompTIA website and checking it out - as you should do about the other 2 as well

I completed the A+ fairly quickly - the exams are multiple choice and as long as you have some previous experience of PC's you should be able to complete it providing you cover the topics thoroughly in 3-4 weeks if you study hard. For the N+ it is harder because the principles involved in networking are more complex in their nature.

The MCSA qualification will take you a lot longer and to be honest is only recommended for those who already have experience working in a network / server environment. I hope the mods do not mind me posting this but check out CertForums - The Certification Community which has a wealth of info about all the different certs you can take.

One thing you will need to do is try and get yourself a decent setup going with a powerful PC that will allow you to setup virtual environments so you can have multiple PC's networked together which will help with labs and learning.

Anything else you want need to know give me a shout

Thank you for this information. I will check out those links. :)

Much appreciated for your help.