I currently work as Helpdesk analyst for a company that produces projectors. I am on the NOC that field technicians call into for any assistance. I would describe my job as having some elements of network, software, and hardware troubleshooting. Ultimately with my end goal I want to get into cybersecurity and be on a SOC somewhere. To achieve that I am working on my Net+ and building a home lab with some hardware I have to practice building a virtual network. Eventually I want to develop my coding skill and get my Sec+ and other certs. What are the opinions of those who are in both industries and any advice?
Don’t spend too much money on certs. Employers should be paying for that. Maybe get Sec+ on your own dime (or if you can get your current employer to pay for it), but hold off on the more advanced and expensive certs until you find a job that pays for it.
The homelab is a great idea. If you want to get into a SOC role, maybe try setting up security onion, alienvault, ELK, or any of the opensource log analysis tools out there; and you can use the experience to demonstrate your knowledge on interviews.
I’ll echo this. Doing quite well for myself in IT and I have a big fat 0 for certs. I’ve interviewed many people for jobs as well, and I learned certs are bullshit.
Many will pay to have people do them for them. Or brain dump them. Many times I’ve danced circles around people that look way better on paper than me.
If you learn the concepts, work and apply them, get that hands on experience, it will help.
Honestly maybe even a quick run through an MSP is a good place to start. You get to touch a lot of things and learn quickly.
Lurk on r/homelab. Look up some vloggers doing homelab stuffs. Start learning Python (it’s the most common language for breaking into a lot of fields right now). Get on forums where people discuss these things.
Don’t go overboard spending money on hardware for the homelab prematurely. It’s easy to get caught up in building the perfect homelab over actually learning how to implement things. Start with the most barebones rig you can get away with and only start investing more when you’ve stretched it to its limit. Buy second-hand hardware when it comes to things like servers, though I wouldn’t recommend buying servers if you can get away with less, at least until you’re established.
That’s a bit of my thought maybe just get the big three and then practice more practical skills for a while. I’ll definitely have to convince my boys to pay for some of those certs the net+ does translate a ton into my current position.
The homelab will have to wait until I settle in to my new place with an office.