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Where you have been, how you got there

N

nweaver

Diamond Member
Had someone PM asking me how I learned the little bit I know, and what my path was to get to where I am now. I'm an IT n00b...and thought it might be a good idea for some of our Elite status folks to tell us that, give some folks an idea. If I don't mention you by name, don't be upset, I'm absent minded.
I was thinking folks like Nothinman, Nocmonkey, Stash, Jack, Spidey, and any other elites. Just a quck "education, certs, career path" like "High school, A+, Tech support for Packard Bell, Token ring net admin" type thing.


Oh, I posted this in OS as many of our comp pros troll this, networking and SW/Programming the most. If this is too far off, then may the mods do their magic!
 
hs, college (business major, while working), comps were a hobby.
Had to install a couple PCs at work, then networked them myself, which got me my first job as sysadmin. (OS/2)
Learned an s-load in the NOC, next to the network folks. tferred up to level 2 support
(finished an MBA...never exactly job-related, but useful skills)
Then opening in security dept...seemed like less on-call work, less fire-fighting, so went w/ it.
90% OTJ learning, minimal "training". Reading. ATF. Installing various software products. More about evaluating vendors for solutions to different things that seemed important to management.

Supporting certain applications/functions (I am "the man" for EFS/PKI 😱) makes you learn/know them in far more detail than you ever thought possible.
 
Originally posted by: spyordie007
elite on AT = high post count + minimal pissing off of the mods

me:
tech support>trainer>mvp>mcsa>sys admin>mcse
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I read his request as not just "Elite members". 😉

And there are a couple of smart Elites too (like mechBgon and Drag). :evil:
 
And there are a couple of smart Elites too (like mechBgon and Drag).
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Definetly, I'm not saying that there arent.

I just meant that the mods seem to give them out more haphazardly than anything...

Erik
 
Originally posted by: spyordie007
And there are a couple of smart Elites too (like mechBgon and Drag).
Click to expand...
Definetly, I'm not saying that there arent.

I just meant that the mods seem to give them out more haphazardly than anything...

Erik
Click to expand...

I've found that most true in OT, where as the much less frequent Eliteing of users in technical forums is more deserving. Not that there's any point to this (or my last) post. I'm just bored. 🙂
 
And to maybe add some meaningful content...I started out in college working at my school's library system, which was separate from the main computer group on campus. I had a blast there, because my boss let me do pretty much whatever I wanted. So I learned a ton of NT admin stuff there. Then, after a couple of years, I worked about 25 hours a week (still in school) for a defense contractor, doing NT/2000 administration and network security. That was a cool job too, but I got my first taste of true corporate culture. In other words, I was a cog in the wheel.

Then they decided they didn't have enough money in the budget to hire me full time, and I really didn't want to stay in the area anyway. I eventually ended up in NC as a Microsoft contractor doing enterprise directory services support for PSS. I thought I knew a fair amount about active directory, but after a six week training course, I learned a whole lot more. That job was fun, because you would a crazy problem you had never seen before, every single day. It was a lot of fun spending 8 hours on a call with someone and resolve the issue. Customers tended to be really grateful. On the other hand, lots of people cry on the phone because they messed something up and don't have a backup.

That lasted a year, then I moved to DC to take a job with a company that does communications work for the military. They had a contract with Homeland Security to run a network of government, private and public sector orgs that was intended to be a means of communication if the 'main' Internet was brought down during a crisis.

Then I took my current job with Microsoft, where I do security and AD consulting for a government agency (they have a recognizable address in DC 😉 ).

I have MCSE/MSCA 2000 and MCSA 2003. I need to take that last test for MCSE 2003, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I could just walk in and take it, but it's pretty meaningless for my job, and not a huge priority. I'm studying for the CISSP, another cert of somewhat dubious value, but not terrible. I've thought about doing CEH, but I'm not sure if I will have time.

Oh yeah. My major in college was Economics 😉
 
Originally posted by: stash
I'm studying for the CISSP, another cert of somewhat dubious value, but not terrible.
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It seems worth it from a managerial perspective, but not so much on the technical side.

There are a couple of people aroun dhere doing the CEH stuff, seems interesting.
 
It seems worth it from a managerial perspective, but not so much on the technical side.
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That was my feeling too. That, and if you are really curious about what type of fire extinguisher to use for a particular fire, it's really handy.
 
Originally posted by: stash
It seems worth it from a managerial perspective, but not so much on the technical side.
Click to expand...
That was my feeling too. That, and if you are really curious about what type of fire extinguisher to use for a particular fire, it's really handy.
Click to expand...

And all this time I thought you were in perf, not DS, back 2 years ago. What group in MS are you with now?
 
Not much to say. Pretty much everything I know I learned on my own. Went straight from HS to one of those 18mo tech schools and got hired at my current job like 4 months after I graduated. I wish I had gone to real college though, the tech school was a huge waste of time, it was pretty much like 13th grade so I didn't really do anything there. While I was working on our helpdesk I got acquainted with Linux and became our local Linux guru, I even ended up helping our unix admins a few times. Now I'm on our network security team, but I still spend a good portion of my time helping our unix and linux admins. =)
 
And all this time I thought you were in perf, not DS, back 2 years ago.
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No perf for me, but I did spend far too many hours of my life on hold for perf. Not as many hours as Exchange though 😉

What group in MS are you with now?
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Premier Federal. Although they are kinda merging Premier and MCS now, so the lines are pretty blurred. I work onsite with my customer everyday, which can suck sometimes. Working in a government building everyday sometimes makes me feel a little removed from the rest of the company. But it's a fun job.
 
In HS i went to a post secondary school the last two years, in a computer communications networking tech program..while there we had a+, net+,CCNA, and Fiber Optics, traing as well as the usual mcp....this wasnt like one of those typical 18 month tech schools ort anything it was really cool, there i got into linux, did sweveral class projects, including an linux live cd, that had a ton of network monitoring tools on it, after my jr year there i helped a friend of mine with his dad start a wireless iips in NW ohio on lake erie www.coastalwave.net there i got even more familer with linux and wireless (my friends dad was a ham radio god)then i went to work for the school system being their network tech person which i puicked up a ton of nt/2k/exchange knowledge handled roughly 575 workstations at the time, after than i helped out starting up a discount dial-up isp while workign as a bence tech in a small pc shop, then i decided that a 4 yerar college degree is what i should go for so im currently finishing up my sr year at Bowling Green State University, and working part time at a pc shop in town.... yeah my major is tourism industry administration
 
as for certs a+,net+ and FOA...was going to take a ccna exam, as i took all 4 semesters of the classes and that dreaded threaded project, but i just never did
 
went to college, picked up everything from roomates, learned more on my own. i consider myself the equivalent of a+ and net+, though am too poor atm to get the xams done.

do windows and mac help desk support now, but i'm contemplating what to "specialize" in further. debating web programming/LAMP, microsoft web technology equivalents (windows server, asp .net, sql server), networking, or perhaps security.
 
I got my 'Elite' status from being a very active member in the Distributed Computing forum. I still do a little DC but I'm not nearly as active as I used to be. A few years back I had 6 or 7 systems running 24/7 at home for the sole purpose of doing SETI@Home and a bunch of office clients as well. When I saw a computer not crunching away on a DC project I only thought of the wasted processing power. I guess you might say I was addicted. 😉

My education level is 'Some College' as in I went a few years and then took a short break because I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in and wanted to work full time over the summer Well, that short break is now 15+ years so if you're one of those college students thinking about doing that my advice would be don't do it. It's very difficult to go back. Get your degree now. It might not help but it sure can't hurt.

Certs? Not much - Network Essentials (no longer offered), NT4, Win2000 Pro, and Win2000 Server. I'd like to get my MCSA and then MCSE but haven't put in the time to study. Never was much of a studier. Anyway, it wouldn't earn me any more money at my current position but I'm sure it would be nice on the resume just the same.
 
Well I'm not any where near Elite status but if you guys don't mind, I'll share how I learned about computers.

I had an interest in computers since I was a little kid. I only began learning about how they work and how to upgrade/fix/troubleshoot them when I turned I'd say 15. I was heavily invovled in AOL. I used that like it was my other half. From there, I had a friend who was already into computers. He advised me to just read sites like Anandtech, HardOCP and a few other sites that do not exist today.

I can honestly say almost all of my information has come from this forum or the internet in some way shape or form. I only got my A+ certification after having several years of computer hardware/software experience.

So, my advice to anyone wanting to learn is to just read, read and read more. That's what I did and I still continue to read, read and read. It's something that you're going to have to do in an industry like this. With changes happening every day, you have to keep up with the technology otherwise you fall behind.
 
Drag is 'The Man' when it comes to Linux on these forums.

Sure, there's others here that know their stuff, but no-one is as helpful as he seems to be.

Well worthy of his Elite status imo.
 
Even though this is not really related to the OP I have a quick question:

I am a senior in High School currently. I have been building computers since I have been 13 (remember the old Athlon Thunderbirds... first machine I built 😛). I currently am in the Milwaukee area, and I am starting to see there is not very much of a market here for computer consulting.

So my question is: Did you guys move to get to your current job, or did you stay where you were?

I have no problem relocating... I really hate cold weather (Wisconsin winters are pretty bad).

Also, after High School I plan on getting my 4 year degree in Management Information Systems. Will that help me land a good job in the computer / networking related field?

Just wondering... I love computers... I have all my life, and it really helps to get info from people already in the field.
 
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