Best software certification guides according to redditors
We found 2,882 Reddit comments discussing the best software certification guides. We ranked the 675 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 2,882 Reddit comments discussing the best software certification guides. We ranked the 675 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
>I am pretty good with computers
There you go! Dedicate as much free time as you have to studying to get an A+ Certification, then start searching around for local IT/Helpdesk jobs. Once you're in and get some experience, there is all sorts of room for promotion. It all depends on the time and effort you put into it.
As far as what/where to study, there are a ton of resources out there. Professor Messer has a whole series of totally free videos for not only A+ certification, but most of the other major certifications as well. You should also pick up this book as it covers just everything you'll need to know for the exam plus a lot more.
The exact four books I read are:
Learning Obj-C
Learning Java
iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide
Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide
However, I would now recommend learning Swift instead of Obj-C. At the time when I was looking into iOS books, good books on Swift were few and far between.
You don't need school to learn how to do that. It's true for most things in life but it is even easier with computer science.
Want to learn C ? No school will ever teach it better than the book The C Programming Language (also called K&R) by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie.
Want to learn C++ ? You should start with C or C# or Java and then go for Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup.
Want to learn Python ? Go to python.org and pick a tutorial.
Want to learn Javascript ? Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbeke.
Want to learn HTML5 ? Maybe have a look at diveintohtml5.info or W3Schools
Want to learn Java ? The Java Programming Language by Ken Arnold or Head First Java by Kathy Sierra.
You need two things, time and will. You'd be surprise how easy it is to learn all those things if you like it and if you have a dream project.
edit: Woh, thanks for the gold. :D
When you learned Spanish, did you start having full-fledged conversations? Just walked into class on day one and boom: "tango el gato los pantalones"?
If I were a betting man, I'd say no.
They gave you a book for grammar, a dictionary for words, and taught you ways to pronounce and express sounds that aren't in English.
Most videos (whether they mean to or not) are presented in such a way, that you need to know Spanish before you start learning Spanish. Sometimes you get lucky, but most are for the already initiated.
I usually recommend this book for the uninitiated. It's quite descriptive, very short, and covers a large amount of topics briefly enough to get one interested in the language (or in programming in general). This is your grammar book.
Here's your dictionary.
The last thing you need is to use the language. In the case of programming, solve a problem. If you want to make games; learn the basics of Java grammar, and make a guess-the-number game. Then work up to a text adventure. Then figure out how to do pong, then breakout, then tetris, then Mario.
Software development isn't about knowing everything. It's about knowing what you don't know and learning what you need to learn to solve the problem.
Sure :)
EDIT: Added links to Amazon just in case anyone wants to see reviews.
[$1 Or More Tier]
Head First Ruby
Head First C
Head First Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
Head First SQL
Head First Statistics
[$8 Or More Tier]
Head First Javascript Programming
Head First PMP
Head First HMTL and CSS
Head First C#
Head First Agile
[$15 Or More Tier]
Head First Design Patterns
Head First Java
Head First Python
Head First Learn to Code
Head First Android Development
There are a lot of different ways to get in, and the only real requirements are reading comprehension and knowing how to use google.
Here's what I did: Read this book, took the A+ 801 and 802 on the same day, and applied for tech support jobs. I landed a decent phone tech support job with my second interview. Start to finish, it took about a month. I only made $15/hour to start with.
I immediately started using linux as my daily OS on all of my personal devices, and my skills really started to take off. After a year, I got a raise to 42k. Then I jumped to devops and started at 55k. I've increased my salary by roughly 10k every year ever since.
This exists.
You have read our Bible, right? ;)
IMO; The fastest IT career to get into is in Linux Administration. I don't know how your job scene is over there in the UK, but from my experience in the US it's pretty happening.
You can get started in under 3 months with under a grand and get a job making 50-60k starting.
Here's how:
https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523303112&sr=8-1&keywords=jang+linux
https://www.offensive-security.com/
If you wanna stay an admin go down the architect route with Redhat.
Knock knock Neo.
Are you in New England? Amway is a pyramid scheme that a lot of people in my area fall into. As for IT...bro, he doesn't even need to get a degree. Buy him this, make him study the entire guide + do the included practice tests, have him take the exam, and then have him apply for entry-level IT jobs. That is the best way to break into IT at first. You can work your way into a high-paying job and...it's not a scam!
No offense, but someone falling for Amway would be a dealbreaker for me... :-/
The Practice of System and Network Administration
Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (7th Edition)
https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Networking-Top-Down-Approach-7th/dp/0133594149
CS144 Introduction to Computer Networking Stanford University
https://suclass.stanford.edu/courses/course-v1:Engineering+CS144+Fall2016/courseware/ac9d1eef5aaa4bb5bcfe4d42f51f0f5b/c5c384e648cf404c837d05497c6e36b0
Beej's Guide to Network Programming
http://beej.us/guide/bgnet
Unix Network Programming, Volume 1: The Sockets Networking API (3rd Edition)
https://www.amazon.com/Unix-Network-Programming-Sockets-Networking/dp/0131411551
High Performance Browser Networking
https://hpbn.co
Eli The Computer Guy Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF360ED1082F6F2A5
Load Balancing Servers, Firewalls, and Caches
http://www.amazon.com/Load-Balancing-Servers-Firewalls-Caches/dp/0471415502
More at http://Learn.SharjeelSayed.com
Lots of books here.
If it has to be absolutely one book, The Practice of System and Network Administration is one on how to be a well rounded sysadmin.
I highly recommend The Practice of System and Network Administration. Goes over a whole bunch of real world tips of what you will need to be successful and keep you sane in the process. Goes over ticketing systems, time management, documentation, patching, imaging, and various other processes that are vital for any Sys Admin.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b
Check out r/CCNA.
Maybe pick up Todd Lammle's CCNA study book. I hear it is very good and a great tool for beginners.
Maybe also check out Professor Messer and danscourses on YouTube.
EDIT: Forgot to mention to just dive in. Set up a home lab (either physical or virtual) and just get to work. Break things and then figure out how to fix them.
Head First Java is what you want.
If you're talking about memory corruption, you're looking for Smashing The Stack in 2010. However, most experts in application security and modern exploitation techniques recommend a more practical research-driven approach to learning about memory corruption mitigation techniques, so keep that in mind while reading this paper. As always, The Bible is relevant.
If you're talking about embedded device reverse engineering, you'll probably get the best answer from the /r/ReverseEngineering subreddit.
If you're talking about kernel bugs and kernel module bugs, I wish you luck. Bugs and vulnerabilities in these types of systems, usually require very obscure knowledge in very specific systems. Not for beginners or the faint of heart.
If you're talking about web bugs, you're looking for the OWASP Top 10. The web is mostly a giant joke, and widely uninteresting (this is an unpopular opinion on this subreddit).
I would also like to take the time to plug a few resources, if I may, that have greatly assisted me throughout my career.
Practice of System and Network Administration
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668/
Worth every cent and more.
This is what I got.
Absolutely! Anything to help out others!
I used lots of different sources. Below are what seemed to help me the most.
Kevin Wallace's Videos give the best explanations: https://www.kwtrain.com/
Laz Diaz's Udemy Course gives great packet tracer labs: https://www.udemy.com/cisco-ccna-200-125-the-complete-course/ (DO NOT pay full price for this course. There are discounts ALL THE TIME that are 90% or more off. I paid $10)
The best subnetting video available in my opinion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs39FWDhzDs
Practice subnetting on https://subnettingpractice.com. Using Laz's chart method above I was able to do most of the questions here in under 30 seconds with practice. Helped a ton.
The Official Cisco Press CCENT book by Odem: https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-125-Official-Library/dp/1587205815/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ccna+book&qid=1554763617&s=gateway&sr=8-3
Professor Messer's content is not enough IMO, it very lightly touches upon a large number of subjects, and completely ignores others. I purchased Darril Gibson's Security + Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-501 Study Guide and used it alongside Professor Messer's videos.
The study guide provides a great pool of test questions (per chapter) and the summaries are extremely helpful.
Hey OP, I love the enthusiasm, it's what people in this career need! I'd like to provide some advice before the class begins.
I'm in cyber security, participate in pentesting for clients, and visit local security meetups between Miami, Tampa, and Orlando.
Take my advice with a grain of salt as I'm just a person on the internet:
I have the CEH, took it v9. It did nothing for my career. The CEH is basically a memorization exam that doesn't teach practical skills. Some topics include, what tool would you use for this? Or for that?
The CEH's only merit is it complies with the DoD's requirements 8570.01-M requirements. That being said, paying for the bootcamp and the exam will cost a lot of money for little gain. Reason? Many companies hiring for pentesters/red teams overlook the CEH.
CompTIA's Security+ is $339 (you can get it cheaper with a student email/voucher) and once completed, you fulfill the same DoD requirements and you're able to jump into the Cyber Security field. There are free resources on YouTube and a great book on Amazon costs $30.
>But what if I want to get into PenTesting and Exploit Hunting?
Take the OSCP. That certification hold a lot more value as it's a 24 hour exam based on your performance hacking boxes.
The EJPT is also one that hold more weight than the CEH.
And if you can afford it or, preferably, your employer will pay for it, a SANS is highly regarded.
Swing by r/SecurityCareerAdvice - It's a great community willing to help you get that career you want.
The Todd Lammle book for CCNA study was probably the easiest intro into networking I've read.
CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119288282/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xA.5yb5VFATQB
I highly recommend self-study. In my experience, classes are only as effective as its least-knowledgeable members. The classes I have taken [Optional CCNA courses from a CCIE Security at my old job] in the past meant a lot of waiting on slower learners to grasp concepts before moving further in the material. Eventually I was self-studying the later material as the class was working to catch up.
Most people use at least 3 or 4 study sources ranging from video to books. And they usually lab, either with real equipment or with Packet Tracer. No point buying a lab just for ICND1.
Here is my copypasta
First, don't take the composite. Do you like money? You will probably fail at least once. I failed my first time. Goodbye money. Goooodbye pride. Helloooo shame. Take the ICND1 and then ICND2.
Here is the current blueprint for ICND1 It is meant to be followed from top to bottom as the first topics are fundamentals, working its way down to switching and then routing.
I recommend getting a SafariBooks subscription. It even has a free trial. The Livelessons videos are over $100 retail and the Odom and Lamlee books are another $100. For $39 a month I think SafariBooks is the best value.
Then on SafariBooks, search for CCNA Livelessons videos [specifically "CCENT ICND1 100-105"] on ICND1. Kevin Wallace goes through the blueprint from top to bottom and I just think he is a very focused and excellent instructor. He has another video series there called "Learning Path: CCNA Routing and Switching" which goes off the blueprint slightly into a deeper understanding of networking fundamentals. Disclosure, I have not watched the new exam videos since the exam was revamped last year, but I did watch his videos from the last exam version.
Supplement your learning by reading the Odom and Lammle books on ICND1 which are also available on Safaribooks. You can even download the books for offline reading on your phone or tablet. Some like Odom's official cert guide more but it is dry material that follows the blueprint. Lammle is a little more 'colorful' but I don't like his prose and how he gets off topic with real-world scenarios. There are also some cram guides that have quizzes and good commands to know. Again, all of these are available on SafariBooks. ^I ^am ^not ^a ^shill ^for ^SafariBooks ^but ^I ^use ^it ^almost ^everyday.
For additional studying you can get some pre-made Anki or Quizlet decks. They both have mobile apps [Anki is not free for iOS. Quizlet is] and are super helpful when you don't have the ability to open a large book or watch videos...or don't have the attention span to re-read a chapter. Quizlet just added the ability to test and game on flashcards, which is something it didn't have before that Anki did have. Anki requires a program to install to study on desktop, while Quizlet uses an in-browser interface. If you can't get Anki installed on a work computer, Quizlet is a fine substitute.
When you want to touch 'real' equipment you can download Packet Tracer for free from Cisco Net Academy. Dan's Courses has step-by-step Packet Tracer labs and solutions. Labbing is essential but you definitely don't need a physical lab for CCNA and especially ICDN1. You eventually can graduate to GNS3 but you should only need PT for ICDN1 and probably ICDN2.
Lots of people like CBT Nuggets but I find that since they don't follow the blueprint very well and the presenter Jeremy Cioara gets off topic [I.E. excited] and can throw off focus of the subject matter. Also at something like $100 a month [legally], it is expensive for what you get in return, which is one video series with some large holes in the knowledge you need to pass.
Hope this helps.
Lol what?
Dude, you don't need any fucking classes to start out in IT
You can buy textbooks and earn certs while spending minimum amounts of money
Do not sign up for some fucking ridiculous 23k course. That's insane.
This field is so beautiful because you can dive in without any student debt whatsoever, don't hamstring yourself by going into debt like that
If you want an entry level job, go buy the A+ cert book on amazon
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549500043&sr=8-1&keywords=a%2B
Maybe do network+ too(that's the path i started out with so I'm biased I suppose).
You're talking like less than 50 bucks for the textbooks and then a couple hundred bucks for the tests(total), and with those 2 certs you can easily get an entry level help desk job and start working your way up.
It beats the fuck out of manual labor, that's for sure
Network security books are almost all scams that monetize the escapist fantasies of the fan base. Security is mostly assumption management. Don't assume a third party rehash is going to make you understand the underlying code any better.
That said, The Art of Software Security Assessment is pretty good. It's one of the books openbsd recommends for developers. It's quite healthy to know how anything talked about in the past 15 or so articles of phrack works, too.
Don't read anything that makes you think there is less for you to know after reading it. It's poison. And until you put the concepts into action, you don't know shit.
> Supponiamo che uno (anzi, più di uno visto che siamo tutti componenti di un LUG) voglia iniziare a smanettare un po' in quest'ambito, che cosa consigli?
di farlo :)
> Mettere su un webserver e iniziare a tentare di bucarlo con gli exploit conosciuti può essere una buona idea oppure è meglio prima procedere con altro?
Tutto fa brodo (mi', ventesimo proverbio, mi sto biscardizzando :). Però per prima cosa devono essere chiare le problematiche agli strati più bassi: boot da media esterno, forensics "malevola" (accesso al fs, reset delle password, estrazione delle password, trojanizzazione dell'OS, ..), MITM e i suoi derivati, poi nmap e network/service discovery come se piovesse, analisi di tutti i servizi esposti, poi "finalmente" potete dedicarvi anche alla parte (web) applicativa.. :)
Ci sono moltissimi "playground" per divertirsi ed imparare, sia come vm da scaricare che contest, crackme & co. online, alcuni al volissimo:
(copio & incollo dal sorgente che usiamo per generare la documentazione che distribuiamo a corsi & co, spero mantenga la formattazione - non è aggiornatissimo):
Esercizi
Elenco di applicazioni vulnerabili che possono essere utilizzate per imparare/approfondire le vulnerabilità nelle applicazioni web:
Elenco di applicazioni vulnerabili da altri siti:
Libri consigliati
Metodologie e check-list
Cheat sheets
> Da esperto di sicurezza, hai qualche consiglio su qualche "giochino" da far vedere in conferenze e relazioni per sensibilizzare le persone sull'argomento? Attualmente noto che fa molta presa questo iter (che è più sensazionalistico che altro):
> creo una rete wifi aperta senza dir loro nulla e aprendo wireshark
> durante la conferenza loro ovviamente la utilizzano senza pensarci troppo
> a fine conferenza mostro loro quante cose avrei potuto prelevare se solo avessi voluto
Ehm.. sarà anche sensazionalistico, ma lo faccio spesso anche io, con anche la parte di MITM sui certificati in automatico. Anche phishing/malware via mail, magari con split screen (cosa fa l'utente, cosa si vede sul "back-end"), con uno dei vari tool che ci sono metasploit, beef o con banali 10 righe di (linguaggio di scripting web a tua scelta).
http://www.amazon.com/The-Software-Security-Assessment-Vulnerabilities/dp/0321444426
Done and Done.
This one should give you a good overview:
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
There's a lot of information you need and I highly doubt you're going to get it all from one post, one individual or one source.
If you know your IT director is leaving then stay on his good side and bend his ear a bit on how things work there. This will save the owed-beers and frantic phone calls when some shit hits a fan and you can't Google your way out of it.
As for what to learn, Windows or Linux, etc; If you want to stay with this company for a year or few then look at what they need. Find problems, research solutions, test them, present them to your boss in the context of how your solution can save money and/or increase productivity. Is every user emailing you requests for assistance? Setup a ticket system. What's your backup setup like? If you don't have one then you need to figure that shit out quick. Backups are boring and second-class to most people until they need to recover an important file.
I also highly recommend picking up a copy of The Practice of System and Network Administration. http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668. Most of us wouldn't recommend a tech book from 6 years ago but most of the information in this book is the non-tech stuff you need to know to do your job and do it well.
Oh, and keep lurking online and here in /r/sysadmin
Good luck.
Congrats at getting into NEU. After reading a bit about the school, it sounds like you had to do work hard in your schooling to get into it.
On becoming a sysadmin, be patient. It's going to take a while. However, here are a few things to keep you busy:
exercise 1:
your world. DO NOT code in an IDE. Code in them all the way through
your degree.
personalizes your editor to you. Become a power user in whatever your
editor of choice is.
or zsh, but if you go with zsh, you have to learn bash anyway) to
customize your shell to your liking
exercise 2:
things into your shell that the oh-so-helpful! interwebz tell you to do, you should always understand
what they do before your run them)
strace -eread=all -ewrite=all -f nc -l -p 18100 127.0.0.1 > server_out 2>&1
strace -eread=all -ewrite=all -f nc -v -v -n -w 1 127.0.0.1 18100 < /etc/profile > client_out 2>&1
the file until you understand all of it and use wireshark to annotate everything
that is happening on the network in that pcap you had tcpdump write out all
the way up the OSI stack
exercise 3:
strace -eread=all -ewrite=all -f wget -qO /dev/null www.google.com > wget_out 2>&1
in the file until you understand all of it. include everything that happened between
your host and google (you don't know google's internals so just assume they're
running an apache server) over the network in the annotation. study a webserver
(apache, lighttpd, nginx) in debug mode with strace to understand what happened
on the other side of the network connection and use wireshark to annotate everything
that is happening on the network in that pcap you had tcpdump write out all the way
up the OSI stack
Read these whitepapers:
Buy this book and learn it inside and out. It is your bible.
If you do all this and learn it well, get a couple years experience under your belt (frequently there are computer labs that students can work in in college, that is one place to go) and then move to Silicon Valley or some other hub (sounds like you'll already be in Boston--there should be opportunity there). You'll never run out of work and you'll have the opportunity to try to work for the companies that make directly make money from their computing systems instead of being inside an IT shop that is a cost center in some company that does not appreciate you.
I think you need to keep an extremely open dialog with the COO. She's your boss. But she's likely hoping you become a trusted adviser rather than someone who needs to be managed.
Don't go in there helpless. But don't hide your deficiencies either. If you want to grow, she will help you do it. But you need to be self-reflecting and have ideas as to how to move forward.
The plan itself will come in the next suggestions.
Reflect on what was successful, and what could have gone better. Get a feel for the general process you defined. Could you have communicated the goals in a more organized fashion? Could you have defined milestones to help set management expectations? Should you have explicitly mentioned certain things weren't goals? What alternate plans where there, why were they rules out, and did management know about them? Were they properly budgeted? Was there adequate testing? Was it prioritized properly?
Do this for every singly project you can remember, then focus on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each rollout. The strengths are what you were good at doing. The weaknesses were what you were bad at.
It could be as simple as "You know, looking back at this rollout, it all feels like one big step to me. I'm having trouble breaking them apart into steps, so it's hard to know when one piece of the project is done." You also need to identify why it's a problem and could get in the way of the project.
Look for patterns, and lay them bare. She'll be aware of some things and not on others. But you're demonstrating a clear willingness to grow, and that your solutions aren't just grasping at straws.
When you assess training options, you need to realize what you actually need. Do you need a class on project management, where you can ask an expert questions, or should you focus on ITIL standards, maybe you just need to start with a book, or maybe a book about modern it departments, or just a professional community.
Your project successes and sore spots, as well as your own comfort level will answer this question.
For any suggestion here, make sure you can justify its efficacy. How will the tool solve something that went wrong with a project?
Maybe the tool isn't a program, but a process . . . A process that you're technically building up by reflecting on project results and starting the dialogue.
They might want you to stop break/fix entirely. You won't be getting an assistant, but you'll be put in charge of someone with their own role, goals, and projects. THEY handle break/fix, rolling out an update, deploying a project.
So when a rollout moves past configuration and basic veirfication, they're role is to test it. Then give it to the people you direct. Then give it to everyone. They're not assisting you, they're following their own objectives within the parameters of their job description.
Maybe they see you as becoming a CIO type in 5 years: the budget, vision for the company, etc. will fall on your shoulders. You'll have a team of people under you doing technical work, while you handle technology from the business perspective. And maybe that's not what you want.
You might want to stay technical and specialize. You'll need project management skills as a Sr. admin or a manager, so your short term goals align. And they're not big enough for a CIO now anyway, so there's no harm.
But your building the expectation that, once you grow large enough, there WILL be someone over you. Because that's not what you want.
------------------------------
It's all about being comfortable, open, and trying to improve. Right now, you're deep into the learning phase. Own it. Everyone will respect you for it.
> Crankys Guide to Sysadmin
I would honestly read that. It would make a great no-bullshit addition/supplement to something like The Practice of System and Network Administration.
here 'tis, and it was well uner $100
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
Best around.
The biggest hurdles I had motivating myself to work on a project was never coding itself. It was always setting up the compiler, IDE, environment, finding something to work on, etc. The biggest one for me is blank page syndrome.
You don't need to convert to linux if you don't want to but it is good to get some experience in it if you can. I spent sometime setting up a headless Ubuntu server to manage my torrents and be network storage. It took a lot of time starting from scratch but the experience has helped me out.
http://www.ubuntu.com
http://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions
http://ubuntuforums.org/
If you want to continue with Java (which is a good choice). I believe the most popular IDE is Eclipse. It has great plugin support and has been used everywhere I've been. You can use it for development on android phones as well if you want to play around with mobile development.
http://www.eclipse.org
http://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/eclipse-adt.html
If your college is like mine, most of the later courses in computer science will not involve much coding at all but will involve a lot of math and knowing popular solutions to common problems (sorting, searching, graph theory, combinatorics). If you feel like you need to brush up on a language, there are a lot of web resources and books to help you.
http://www.codecademy.com
http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Java-Edition-Joshua-Bloch/dp/0321356683
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1382580434&amp;sr=1-2&amp;keywords=head+on+java
Computer science and software development is a broad field which makes scaling it daunting at times. The only way to make it less daunting is to just dive in and do it. Pick a project and work on it. You will encounter problems you have no idea how to solve and that's great because now you've found something you can learn (usually through Google).
Solve problems in manageable bits. If you try to implement your whole program at once it will seem impossible. Implement small portions of your project at a time. Trying to create a Java chat client? Just work on getting some basic sockets to work and build a library you'll be able to use going forward. This will make the goals seem manageable and help you modularize your code. It helped me with not feeling overwhelmed about my project's scope.
I hope I didn't sound condescending. I just wanted to share some things that have helped me. I don't think you are in a bad spot, you just need to stay motivated and find some things to work on to help you learn. If you have any specific questions I can try to help out, but there are other people on this sub that are far more knowledgeable than me.
There sure are books!
My favorite authors are Mike Myers and Todd Lammle.
Here's a guide for the CompTIA A+ certification.
These books can be a bit pricey, but it's EVERYTHING you need to know for the certification. If you have this book and a computer to practice on, you have everything you need to pass. The book is nearly 1,500 pages long as well. If you struggle to afford the books, you can always search online for illegal copies of older versions and possibly even the latest version that I linked. I assume the copyright police aren't going to be breaking down your doors.
The A+ certification estimates 6-9 months of hands-on training to be able to pass, but it can definitely be done in a shorter amount of time. Don't get dissuaded if after a month you feel tired of studying. Even if you don't have the means to take the exam, the information you can learn will help you so much.
I've heard good things about Head First Java.
I haven't read this one, but I have read their C# book, which I highly recommend.
Head First Java
http://amzn.com/0596009208
As previously mentioned, the RHCSA is a pre-requisite for RHCE.
These exams are hard. I'd suggest the study guides from Michael Jang:
http://www.amazon.ca/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654
Imagine knowing everything in the RHCE curriculumn and how much prep time it would take to get there. Now imagine being given a test thats 2 hours long, and if you do everything perfectly the first time, you'll finish with 15 minutes to spare. Oh, and if you're linux machine doesn't boot properly at the end, you'll get a zero as they can't grade a machine that's not functional. They are real-world tests, and they are challenging. Point being... be well prepared. Especially if you're planning on challenging the exam without taking any pre-requisite training coursework from RedHat.
Good for you for looking at these certifications. IMO, they're the most recognized enterprise level linux cert out there. The certification process is difficult, but very applicable and valuable. I've got both, they've helped my linux career immensely.
Best of luck!
> No one else even has admin level access-- except me, very recently, with a big fight.
If this fight was with your current "computer guy," then you have big problems. They may be political, or technical, or security; he may be just offended that a family scion is encroaching on his "turf," or he may be afraid that someone will see his incompetence, or he may be disgruntled by the whole employment experience and planting some deadman switches. Take some time to mend fences; emphasize your need to learn this area of the business, and that you don't intend to displace him, and that the more you learn about what he does, the more you, as a future owner, will be able to advocate for the expenses necessary to keep "IT department" operating smoothly.
But also make it clear that the guy who pays the bills has placed you in charge, and that while you want to hand him his paycheck indefinitely, you are the guy signing the paycheck. Things are going to change, and he needs to get on board with that. He may not be willing to accept this change, in which case you will, unfortunately, have to quietly start planning to replace him.
Give him a chance; he may come around. It sounds like for a long time he's been able to run the "IT Department" however he wanted to, so this is a huge life change for him. I can't emphasize enough how much you need to make clear your loyalty to him, but that the price for that loyalty is his loyalty to you the other members of management.
> We have at least 8 computers still running XP.
Is this because computer guy didn't want to replace them (bad) or because users didn't want them replaced (still bad, but not computer guy's fault)?
> He keeps everyone's passwords on his phone.
This is almost certainly because of employees who think he should know everything about computers, including their password. I'd start with a culture change among employees that passwords are secret; that no one, not even the owner, should have their password; and that writing down or sharing a password should be a fireable offense. However, you need to be sure that passwords are easy to remember.
> Am I wrong to be thinking we shouldn't be having these frequent crashes/problems?
No, you're not wrong. Review your support agreement in detail. Start keeping meticulous records of the problems you're having and the impact to the business, in terms of number of users affected, lost hours of work, and lost revenues. Notify the software company of each problem. When you get to three problems, you need to politely but firmly request an escalation to someone who can address and prevent these problems systematically. There's a good chance that the software company will report back that these problems are the results of past decisions your company has made in contravention of the software company's recommendations.
> yelling at people
Does your company have a culture of yelling at people? Does the owner yell at people? Do managers yell at people? If so, then he's merely following his leadership. This is a culture change that you will have to work on, quietly and calmly, but forcefully. If / when leadership doesn't manage by yelling, then I would make it clear to computer guy that he gets one free yell, but a second one will result in harsh disciplinary action. If the job is that frustrating, get him a heavy bag for the server room and tell him "Whenever our employees are too stupid for words, excuse yourself, tell them that your boss 0110100101110100 told you you have to do something, and go punch the bag." This sounds like it might also be symptomatic of the end users expecting the computer guy to be able to fix anything immediately, and that if he can't, he's an idiot. This is something else that may require some culture change among the end users.
> it's impossible to fix
This is a different problem. If he says he can't fix something, you need to show him that he can. If he exhibits any behavior other than wanting to learn more, you need to shut him down hard. IT changes constantly. Anyone who doesn't want to learn something new all the time doesn't belong in IT.
> visual basic
Eh, unless you're doing custom software development, I'd let this slide as a quirk. Everyone has a right to stupid opinions about things they know nothing about.
> where do I start?
Buy a copy of The Practice of System and Network Administration I think most folks on this sub would agree that it's a good reference for a starting (or even a seasoned) sysadmin. Read it, encourage him to read it, and use it as a starting place for the changes you want to make.
TL;DR IT guy's behavior is symptomatic of a bad relationship between users and IT. It's not all his fault. You need to take charge of the situation and bring him along. If you can't handle one frustrated sysadmin, what makes you think you can run a company?
For those too lazy to find it, http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668 is the book on Amazon :)
This book is recommended all the time here.
The Practice of System and Network Administration
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/133-5038114-7566656?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=0321492668&amp;pd_rd_r=0e7670a0-ca48-43ed-b0df-52a961b8b37e&amp;pd_rd_w=EHHBL&amp;pd_rd_wg=QxYjw&amp;pf_rd_p=d66372fe-68a6-48a3-90ec-41d7f64212be&amp;pf_rd_r=XY52WEZ55TBYCVPCX482&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=XY52WEZ55TBYCVPCX482
I recommend The Practice of System & Network Administration. Next is probably the manual or a book about whatever monitoring system you're using (and spend the time you would have used to read another book to ensure you're monitoring everything). After that it depends what you're doing (busy public websites? Office IT?)
I keep seeing this book mentioned on this sub reddit, I haven't read it yet but it looks like what would help you: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Practice-System-Network-Administration/dp/0321492668
You're definitely going to have to have a good working knowledge of Java (or some other similarly-structured OO-language like C#). That's honestly the biggest hurdle.
For that purpose, I recommend Head First Java. It's actually a book you can read straight through (if a bit goofy), but it does a better job of teaching Java and OO concepts better than anything I've ever come across.
After that, it's pretty much developer.android.com all the way home. Best of luck!
Head First Java ,
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
I'll let the upvotes speak for it.
Here are my nominations:
I haven't read them all through but have started on the Time Management book. So far so good.
The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition
UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook - 4th Edition
[TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols - 2nd Edition] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321336313/)
These should be part of every ops department's library, if not already in your own personal one.
I would definately recommend going for a book. Head First Java is the book I'm learning from right now, and I find it to be engaging, funny, and on point.
So. I read Michael Jang's RHCSA/RHCE book.
It took me 16 days to get through Ch1 - 10.
Chances are, if you can do all those things, you can get a job as a Linux Jr. Systems Administrator.
I knew nothing about Linux, read that, and -- I've been a rather successful Linux Jr Admin (soon to be Sys Admin) at my current job. It also allowed me to be an Infrastructure Director for a startup. So.
I mean. Really, knowing LAMP is half the battle. Pick a P, learn MySQL & Apache, and pick a flavor of Linux (I'm RHEL distros, obv). Master the basics, master the finer points -- and you're good to go. Having a few popular applications under your belt like puppet, aide, rkhunter, clamav (perhaps), configurations for php properly (secure) & mod_security ... a few things like that, and you're good.
Web dev having trouble finding work? Buy this book and this book, read them and contact [email protected].
Yeah, you definitely should get a intro to java book and go along with it.
Perhaps check out Head First Java. It's ... a bit cheesy (cause they try to make it "fun"), but I found the material to be pretty solid for beginners.
Looks like someone uploaded it online, if you dont mind reading a textbook on a screen.
If you aren't doing well in your current CS courses, I'd highly recommend you focus on your university's courses and do well in them before deciding to bite off more than you can chew. Do some research and look for very basic coding books, not ones like this: https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Language-Brian-W-Kernighan/dp/0131103628/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1478891766&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=introduction+to+C+programming
Look for a bit more like this: https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1478891799&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Head+first+java
This depends on what language you are currently learning right now. Don't worry about entering contests and participating in projects or open source coding until maybe second or third year in especially if you haven't had any prior experience. Don't rush yourself into this, you need to make sure you absolutely understand the basics before going into things like hackathons or being very concerned about internships. Take your time learning, and don't enroll onto too many online courses if you think that you can't handle it. Yes, online courses can be helpful, and will only be really helpful if you treat them like real classes. I would advise against code academy or khan academy to learn languages since I've gone through them and they never helped me really grasp CS material better than a book and actual coding. Key here is to code as you go through a book, or else you'll never learn how to actually code. Do tons of simple programs and if you don't understand code bits, don't get frustrated. Copy paste the code, and use a debugger (a bit more advanced but very very helpful) to go through step by step what the code is doing.
Main Points:
Best of luck to you, remember to enjoy the process, and keep in mind that while you might not like coding, CS isn't coding. It's the principles that underlie what we can do with code. A lot of it comes from really basic logic, you will be surprised in the future how easy some things can be to understand with basic step by step thinking.
Head First Java. This is an outstanding, fun, book and an easy read. Good explanation of OO principles as well.
After that, just start coding. I had previously done C and Perl, but HFJ is written for the absolute beginner.
>The instructor for the class told us to just init 5 when we get to a terminal and use the GUI for everything and we'd sail through it. But, I never got there because I got locked out with no root password, and didn't think that'd be the first thing they served up.
was this a certified RHEL trainer or some 3rd party random " I know linux" class? Because init its gone and changing the number in init does not boot you into root no more. With systemd its a little more complicated process. Red Hat does not even test on version 6 no more. Check out https://www.certdepot.net/ they have listed the process very well. This book is good too https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Seventh-Career/dp/0071841962/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1491878007&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=red+hat
Sounds like you already know what you want to do! I'm on the Microsoft side of the house, love scripting, and am fortunate enough to spend the majority of my day working in PowerShell.
Definitely check out The Practice of System and Network Administration if you haven't already, it lays a great foundation for the areas in IT.
If you go the Linux / scripting route, read up on and spend more time with shell scripting and Python (perhaps Ruby if you get into config mgmt). If you go the Windows route, read up and spend more time on PowerShell. Either way, being able to code and automate will be very important in our field, it sounds like you are on the right track.
Cheers!
&nbsp; Hello /u/rennypenn,
&nbsp;
I was in the exact same situation as you until just a few months ago. I was in customer service for over 10 years but technology was always my passion and I deeply wanted a career in the industry. Unfortunately, I did not complete a college degree and thought a career in IT would never be possible for myself. Then I was introduced to the world of certifications which made my dream into a reality and was able to land a help desk tech position.
&nbsp;
Some people will tell you certifications are not very helpful and will not benefit you much. I've come to realize that people who say this usually do not have any certifications themselves so they've never personally benefited from them and assume certifications to be useless. Do not listen to them, certifications will help show potential employers that you have the fundamental knowledge to do entry-level IT work.
&nbsp;
The following resources will make you more than ready for these exams.
&nbsp;
• Professor Messer video course and study groups
&nbsp;
• Professor Messer course notes and practice test
&nbsp;
• Mike Meyers All-in-One book
&nbsp;
• Mike Meyers 901 and 902 course on udemy
&nbsp;
• CompTIA 901 and 902 objectives.
&nbsp;
• Exam Compass
&nbsp;
• Crucial Exams
&nbsp;
After completing the exams and receiving your certification you should immediately begin a resume and work daily to perfect it. If you are not too comfortable with writing a resume you can visit IT staffing companies like TEKSystems who will give you free resume and interview coaching along with helping you get employment.
&nbsp;
When you get a resume you are happy with, begin sending it to every IT job opening in your area listed on Indeed, Career Builder, Monster, and listings to jobs under the local Gigs>Computers section of Craigslist.
&nbsp;
Apply for any IT position you see and keep in mind that 99% of job postings, even entry-level, will "require" a Bachelors degree, A+, Network+, Security+, ITIL, CCNA, and 5+ years of experience, and much more. Apply to these positions anyway. This is just wishful thinking of the recruiting team. If you apply to enough positions someone will eventually call you for an interview. Even if you really are under qualified for the position you applied to they may have an additional entry level opening that is just not posted yet and still call you. I applied to well over 150 jobs over a 5 week period and finally landed an interview and got the job as a help desk tech, but the job I initially applied was several levels above help desk.
&nbsp;
If I can do it, anyone can. Just don't get discouraged and don't give up. Eventually someone will give you a chance and you will get your foot in the door. Good luck to you.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668#
Here is messer's sec+ video list. Here is ExamCompass, it's a link to the first test, notice below are 23 more free tests and 9 drill down topic tests. Here is, Darril Gibson's certification book, the best book on the subject.
I scored a 795 just last week on Sec+. I recommend Darril Gibson's book totally and completely. It currently costs 23 bucks on amazon prime but comes with a 10% discount for your test voucher so it literally pays for itself.
ExamCompass is great to figure out what sections you are week on, the topic tests will give you the best idea of where you need help or you can refer to your post-test printout.
Messer's videos are great to watch at 1.25 - 1.5 speed to better understand areas of weakness.
I used Mike's practice tests on udemy but didn't use any of his videos or his book for Sec+. He tends to spend too much time outside the test materials for me. I totally get why he does that and it's great to understand how these technologies came about and some of the depth as to why they are and do what they do but.... fuck man I'm just trying to get a cert, ya' know? I'm currently using his book for Net+ and I can't for the life of me get through it.
When I started my Sec+ studying, I was recommended a book called,
"Security+ get Certified Get Ahead" by Darril Gibson
It's regarded as one of the best books and it has that littke CompTIA certified material thing or whatever. Great book that's straight to the point with a lot of examples and practice questions.
Just get the Darril Gibson book.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059
Strictly in order.
Head First Programming
Head First Java
Effective Java
Head First Design Patterns
Head First Software Development
<http://developer.android.com/training/index.html&gt;
You are welcome!
Pick up a copy of The Practice of System and Network Administration. It's a great starting point for overall support and admin methodologies.
I recommend you become familiar with the following terms:
Rules, Regulations and Guidelines; ACR guidelines, NRDR (e.g. Lung Cancer Screening), AAPM TG-18, HIPAA 1996, HITECH 2009, MACRA 2015, PAMA 2014 (especially AUC aka CDS), PQRS, etc.
IHE (actor, transaction, profile)
DICOM (entity-relationship, GSDF, GSPS, IOD, DICOM service, SOP Class, RESTful services e.g. WADO)
HL7 (message, message type, segment, field, component, FHIR)
Image pixel data (bit, byte, bit depth, grayscale, histogram, pixel, voxel) and Image Processing (Gaussian, Laplacian, Sobel, etc.)
Speech Recognition (aka Voice Recognition), DICOM Structured Reports
High Availability and High Performance (Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, Fault Tolerance, Failover / Failback, hot / warm / cold spare, Geographic redundancy, clustering and mirroring, RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 50, etc.)), virtualization, iops
Networking (Packet Switching, OSI Model, TCP/IP, "Well Known Ports" - Network Protocols (DNS, DHCP, FTP, FTPS, HTTP, HTTPS, SNMP, telnet, ping, traceroute, netBIOS, netstat, ipconfig), DSL, ISDN, T-1, T-2, T-3, DS-1, DS-2, DS-3)
Encoding, Encryption and Compression (SSL, TLS, RSA, Run Length Encoding, Big Endian, Little Endian, JPEG, JPEG2000)
Nomenclature and medical coding (RadLex, LOINC, SNOMED, CPT, ICD)
Information technology Management (ITIL, ITSM, SaaS, SLA, SOA, QoS)
https://www.abii.org/About-PACS-Administrator.aspx
https://www.abii.org/docs/Certification-Guide.pdf
http://siim.org
http://siim.org/?page=ciip_study_resources
http://siim.org/?page=pii_textbook
http://www.otechimg.com
http://ihe.net
http://ihe.net/Resources/upload/ihe_radiology_users_handbook_2005edition.pdf
http://medical.nema.org/standard.html
http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/index.cfm?ref=nav
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/privacyrule/index.html
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/securityrule/index.html
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/enforcementrule/hitechenforcementifr.html
http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/MammographyQualityStandardsActandProgram/default.htm
http://www.acr.org/~/media/AF1480B0F95842E7B163F09F1CE00977.pdf
http://www.acr.org/~/media/3E08C87AD6E6498D9E19769E5E5E390D.pdf
http://deckard.mc.duke.edu/pdf/Samei-TG18.pdf
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
http://www.pmi.org
>However with servers, and everything else in the data center, I'm scared to do anything to them, because of fear of crashing the system.
This is actually a healthy and normal attitude to have, frankly. If you make a mistake, you aren't just interrupting one person's workday but potentially everyone's. I would use a very conservative approach to handling the servers and double check everything you want to do. Understand the potential benefits and drawbacks to your choices and actions before implementing them. This should become second nature to you during your new career.
But don't worry about breaking things. Worry about what you should do if you break things. Always have a plan in place.
I'd recommend reading a book like The Practice of System and Network Administration to get a general overview of what a system administration should look at and how one should approach the job.
Grab a copy of the Practice of system and network Administration as a basis to start from. Not a textbook, but covers a wide range of topics and key concepts that are not tied to a specific technology stack.
A lot of what has been suggested is great for learning linux. Realize that "out there" very little is served out of a single box (and if it is you're doin it wrong). Production infrastructure likely looks and acts very very differently from your home linux workstation. Just because you know how to type
sudo apt-get install apache2does not mean you are ready for a full ops position... BUT - if you put in the wrench time and pay your dues, you will get there.Here are some areas that would be good to build your knoweldgebase up in...
So off the top of my head there's a bunch of things you could study. I think that's quite a bit to get your head around, and a deep understanding of some of these topics will only come from working experience. There may be a LOT of work to do in some of those areas. Getting a fully functional xen (or kvm) based system up and on it's legs is not an easy task for the uninitiated. It is my opinion (and everyone else is free to disagree with me) that all good sysadmins/ops/engineers need to "grow up" in some area of lower level technical position. That can be a jr. admin position, the helldesk, or whatever else... This will give you the "systems" working experience that will let you branch into a full fledged admin/op position. Getting some certs under your belt can help you get in the door, but by all means isn't required. Cert's cost money and (the ones worth getting) take time. Personally, I tend to stray away from places that make a big deal out of certs... but that's just me.
tl;dr: Learn how to learn. Pick something you don't know how to do and leverage a linux system to accomplish that goal - rinse and repeat.
When I have time to pick new projects, I just pick up the bible and start reading until I have my next project.
This is by far my favorite book. I liked it so much I have the first and second edition.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
Learning electronics is a lot like music. There is an insane amount of information, but if you get an economic working knowledge under your belt, you can really do some amazing things. In order for you not to get lost in the rabbit hole, I will provide you these methods of learning practical hobby electronics.
First, is simply just a suggestion. There are two "domains" of electronic thinking and analysis: digital and analogue. Fuck analog right in its dumb face. The math used in analog is fucking super duper hard, and analog circuits are prone to interference problems. Digital is where you want to be. It's vastly simpler to use programmable digital parts, and analyze digital circuits. Don't get lost in AC equations of capacitor, or the god damned transistor equation (seriously, fuck that. )
Okay here is how I learned hobby digital electronics:
First buy this, and go through all the examples in the workbooks. When you learn electronics you 100% HAVE TO DO HANDS ON LEARNING! DONT LEARN IT FROM A BOOK! MAKE CIRCUITS!
https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Shack-Electronics-Learning-20-055/dp/B00GYYEL8I
At the same time, read this (which is a good topical explanation, and free):
http://jacquesricher.com/NEETS/
And buy and read this (which is an EXCELLENT formal introduction into the physics):
https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Third-Scherz/dp/0071771336
Also you are going to learn how to program, which is an entirely different topic. Programming and hobby electronics make you a master of the universe, so it's worth it. I learned programming in the electronics domain and it was awesome. I made a microcontroller FM synthesizer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TvuzTK3Dzk
So basically, the way I learned programming in general was self-teaching with books. Again, you have to do it hands-on. Actually complete the examples in the books, and you'll be fine.
First, learn procedural c programming using C primer plus. Buy an older version so it'll be super cheap:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0672326965/ref=sr_1_3_twi_pap_1_olp?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1465827790&amp;sr=1-3&amp;keywords=c+primer+plus
Next, learn Object oriented programming using head first java. They do a great job of tackling OOP, which can be a difficult thing to learn.
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1465827860&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=head+first+java
You're overwhelmed because they're deep topics. But, seriously, its the most fun shit ever. You'll love learning how to do it.
Check out this stickied post
Its a lot of good stuff posted there. If you're looking for just the basics and general information, not so much the what is happening now, check these things out:
I'd recommend getting Cisco certified if you're looking to get a job in computer networking. I'd highly recommend this CCENT Certification Guide. I'm currently using this a textbook in my Business Computer Networking course, which was design to prep. for the CCENT/CCNA Cisco certification.
There are also a lot of Youtube videos covering the topics. I find the book to much easier to learn from though. But if you're just looking for the very basic of the concepts, youtube will definitely suffice. But I don't think that'll be enough to land you a job in Networking.
If do decide to go for Cisco certification and want more instruction or the ability to practice in a lab, your local universities or community college may offer courses/workshops.
TCP/IP and Subnet Masking
Go through the AWS Certified SysOps course over at acloud.guru, and get an RHCSA and maybe an RHCE through Michael Jang. Might take you a few months but that should be enough to get you interviewing for a Junior Linux Admin role successfully and start making the switch.
Essential Reading:
Read this and make a task and project list
Aside from that I work at an MSP and quite enjoy my workload but no 2 days are the same.
> Look for a book on object oriented programming
For this I recommend both Head First Java and then follow that up with Head First Design Patterns.
The CCNA curriculum is a great way to get a solid networking foundation. Many will recommend the Network+, but I certainly think the CCNA is a better certification track. I recently went through Todd Lammle's CCNA Study Guide in less than two months and passed the CCNA Composite.
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1413474786&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna+study+guide
The great thing about this book is you can opt to go the ICND1 and ICND2 route, or just go for the composite exam. It's up to you.
GNS3 is excellent for practicing in a lab environment if you do not have your own equipment.
Cisco press has a book: 31 Days Before CCNA which can help with study/review schedule and topic breakdown.
For more study material, Todd Lammle’s CCNA book Amazon is a good read, the Official Cert Guide by Wendell Odom is very detailed and can be a bit dry.
Best of luck in your studies!
I started in the same boat as you, but I've been doing this for a few years now. Probably worse than someone who came up in a very structured environment.
Get a orchestration mgmt system setup, like salt, puppet, chef, etc.
Get monitoring set up if you haven't already. Central logging and automatic alerting, etc. If you have time, set up visualization for logs so you can see trends, using things like splunk or elk.
Make sure you have backups, and make sure you can actually restore from backups.
These are good, and written by someone with way more experience than me: 'The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition', 'Time Management for System Administrators'
This book is one of the best out there for overall real world sysadmin knowledge/practices
If you have no background in sysadmin you should definitely check this book out:
The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321492668/
Go get Mike Jang's book on RHCSA/RHCE - If you can do everything listed in the first 9 chapters of that book without much thought, you will pass most entry level interviews.
Once you have basics, script everything you can in bash. Once you've done that, go learn ansible or puppet or chef. Turn all your scripts into runbooks. Once you've done that, recode it all to Python.
More advanced stuff: Learn AWS and an infrastructure as code tool like Terraform or K-Ops. Docker/K8s are also highly desired once you've got the above mastered.
https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Guide/dp/0071765654
Source: I screen candidates for my current department and will hire you for T1 if you have the basics listed above. T2 and T3 people need to know more code. My SREs need to know pure CI/CD and infra as code with containers.
> They're wrong. The problem is that writing and testing cryptographic software is really, really hard.
Except that HeartBleed was an implementation bug, not a cryptographic one. It could have been caught if the OpenSSL maintainers a) paid for a security audit b) learned how to perform security audits themselves and did so on a regular basis. Instead of depending on security firms to audit OSS code, I feel this is an opportunity for the OSS community to unsilo the knowledge built up by professional security researchers and code auditors.
If you are interested in helping audit OSS C/C++ code, read The Art of Software Security Assessment: Identifying and Preventing Software Vulnerabilities.
If you haven't read The Practice of System and Network Administration yet I would suggest starting there. It is an easy read and very informative. It helped me get into the mindset of a sysadmin.
You need to start reading. I don't even know where you should start..maybe here would be best: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
The issue with that is Linux networking is a specialized topic under networking. You will need to understand Networking FIRST, then delve into how it works in Linux AFTER. TCP/IP and OSI are the same no matter what OS you are running, it's just the tools used to accomplish certain things may be different.
For Networking, try studying materials for the Network+ (I'm not saying take the cert, just use the materials to study for it.). It is the fundamental cert for Networking and starts at hubs and covers everything from DNS to AS to copper to fiber to WiFi.
Professor Messer's videos are great for networking basics. Here.
Mike Meyers makes very thorough books on basic networking (if not a tad bit [ok, sometimes VERY] dry and boring) Here.
You can choose either one of those resources and have a very solid base once you are done. Once you get a solid grasp on networking THEN try to figure out how to get it to work as you want on Linux.
Whatever I need to stay relevant or updated. At this time I'm taking VMware cert courses from Stanly college, just to stay ahead on my own time. If you're just starting out, take Network+ to understand that realm, but there are a lot of routes you can go in. I always carry around these books though:
The Practice of Network and System Administration
Time Management for System Administrators
I also recommend this book:
"The Practice of System and Network Administration"
by Thomas A. Limoncelli
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
You're probably better than you think. Also, you're actually in a better spot than people who get comfortable with their little environment and think they're really great. There's no way you can improve someone who thinks he is amazing at what he does.
Rather than give up on IT, try to find a place where you can work that pushes you harder and forces you to learn new things.
Go read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
What makes someone a good sysadmin isn't knowing everything about everything (you can't) but instead developing really good methods and processes for getting work done.
This: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
I wish I'd read it at the start of my career.
Other than than, learn the fundamentals well and you'll be fine.
Pick up The Practice of System and Network Administration. It's OS agnostic, so you'll still need to research into other OS specific areas, but I found it was a great starting place for fundamentals.
The official tutorials are not bad:
http://download.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/
I also recommend Head First Java as a book:
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
You have semicolons after your if statements. Though I don't see why it's not printing both statements. In fact, I just ran what you have posted and it did print both. Did you mistype something by chance instead of copy/paste?
Your if statements should be something like
if (mrk >= 440) {
// print message
} else {
// print other message
}
Note that there are no braces around the if statements like you have either.
Edit: You should probably get a better resource for Java than a For Dummies book. Head First Java is often recommended. You might try the official Java tutorials as well.
For Android I can recommend the Udacity course. Basically they teach you the building blocks of any Android App by making you build a weather App. It's very... "holdy-handsy" though. Each concept is broken down into manageable chunks (small coding exercises). You get to watch videos explaining the concept then you gotta complete the example programs they provide (It's basically just following some TODOs that are commented in the code), and at the end of the class you have to put it all together and add that to the main weather app.
They won't explain any Java syntax / concepts that they use but if you know some OOP language it won't be too hard to understand what they are doing (though it's gonna be a bit harder to understand why they are doing it the way they do).
Top tip: every exercise is accompanied by a short video where someone will show you how to code everything. My suggestion is to watch the video once to get the basic gist of it then go and code by your own (using the Android Reference if needed). Avoid just copy-pasting what you see in the video. It might seem sluggish and hard but that's how you'll get the most out of it.
As for Java, I don't know any course that teaches it in that manner but I can recommend Oracle's Java Tutorials and Head First Java. Oracle's tutorials are really comprehensive but imo they can get a bit dull, while the book is really fun and easy to follow (and if you know a concept already you can just skim that chapter and move on).
I found your christmas gift to the network administrator!
Depending on your level of knowledge:
Networking
Brocade IP Primer I haven't read it myself, but some guys around these parts that I have a lot of respect for recommend it highly for beginners.
CCENT Offical Cert Guide Good next step after above and gets you the CCENT cert which is half the ccna if you pass the test.
CCNA Official Cert Guide Next step after CCENT, gets you CCNA obviously if you pass the test.
If you need to know some basic wireless, I highly recommend the CWTS by CWNP. It is meant more as marketing/sales, but honestly its a really good entry into wifi. You can always follow it up with the CWNA after.
And an always favorite, the network warrior. This book really brings it all together for doing day-to-day networking for a ccna level. I haven't read all of it, but the majority I did read really clarified what I the CCNA brushed over.
As far as Microsoft and other tech's, I highly recommend getting your hands on CBT Nuggets (Yeah, its a bit expensive ~$1000 / year) and just start devouring as much as you can. Watch two or three shows a night? Sub one of them for a CBT nuggets vid. Just devour a few books and some vids and do your best to lab (either in vmware or with gear) and you'll be off to a really great start.
On a political level at work, I'd be fighting for some training (again cbtnuggets or the like) saying, hey tech is always moving forward and you need it to keep up and benefit the company. If you stay hungry you'll do just fine :)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Routing-Switching-200-120-Official-Library/dp/1587143879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395065946&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna+library
This is what I used/love.
>Do i really need too buy the very expensive cisco books from their site?
No, and I recommend one or both of these two books:
OCG
Lammle
I also recommend taking ICND1 then ICND2 instead of the composite (200-125).
I also recommend the Boson practice tests, they seem to be the most popular, for good reasons too.
>When i do the exam for ICND1, do i also have to do the test for CCENT cert? Is the CCENT cert test just based on the ICND1 stuff? Just asking since it seems you have to do 2 tests for the same thing?
CCENT and ICND1 are the same thing, once you pass ICND1 100-105, you are now a CCENT. Once you pass ICND2 200-105, you are a CCNA.
https://certification.comptia.org/certifications/a
http://www.examcompass.com/comptia-a-plus-practice-test-1-exam-220-901
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X
I studied for about 4-5 months. I work as an admin now with a little dev experience. Got about an 80-85% on the test. Here is what I did.
For a good beginner book that I think explains things well, look at Headfirst Java.
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208
Very Good is the book 'Head First Java'
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0596009208/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
Which certification? I'll assume RHCSA for now, but really the suggestions I'm making are for both.
Check out the RHCSA exam objectives (a similar list exists for the RHCE.)
I don't advise just checking these off if you think you know them. Work through exercises and actually do them.
The Jang book and its companion with practice exams seem to be the go-to books. Do the practice exams.
Michael Jang's study guide and the companion practice exams with VMs.
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Certification-Practice-Virtual-Machines/dp/007180160X
The second book has some nice practice tests once you've covered everything.
I took it not that long ago. It is composed of 2 tests. Information on them can be found here http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx
Testing centres and booking can be found here http://www.pearsonvue.com/
I don't remember the exact cost but I think it was somewhere between $350 and $400 for both tests. If you are interested in taking the A+ exam, I would recommend getting some study material such as http://www.amazon.ca/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1381873535&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=a%2B+certification
I worked as a computer technician for ~2 years before taking the test and still used a study guide before taking it.
Don't listen to the useless advice that says just keep installing and smashing your head against the keyboard until you learn something. Follow a course that gives you a study guide and an organized approach to the topic and you will faster, and better.
The topics are presented in a logical order that build upon each other.
Study for the RHCSA and go get it. The bonus is at the end of the day you can also get a job with it.
Resources (these two should be all you need):
https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1468515373&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=rhcsa+7
https://linuxacademy.com/
I finished my RHCSA with a perfect score using only one resource. While getting access to official Red Hat resources could be better, if you have to fund this yourself, this is the best option for the money. Michael Jang helped me pass my RHCSA on RHEL6 and then again on RHEL7, with the current exam getting a perfect score. All you need to do is follow what is in the book and you'll have no problems passing. Just do the labs thoroughly enough until you no longer need to reference any help material and you'll be fine.
https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1508331478&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=michael+jang
Get your RHCSA and then your RHCE. For learning/study resources I recommend LinuxAcademy along with Jang's book (https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962). Even studying for and getting your RHCSA will teach you a bunch of fundamental Linux skills. RH certifications are also among the more respected certs in the industry.
This is generally regarded as the best. It was suggested to me when I needed to re-certify from 004 to 006.
Unix Network Programming: Unix Network Programming, Volume 1 Sockets Networking API v. 1 (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0131411551/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tMA.AbMQCD1XT
Had it for years, worth the price.
Here's what's been recommended the past few times this has been brought up.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1298858799&amp;sr=8-1
I know you didn't ask but I'm going to recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
I picked up that book and I've been reading it. I've been a sysadmin for 10 years and the book is teaching me things. I'm impressed thus far. It's written the way that I want books to be written.
>I believe I understand the science behind procrastination, but I just can't seem to apply any methods to my life.
Do you have a ticketing system? No. Then, roll a ticketing system with email pickup. OTRS or RT.
If yes, immediately put in place a SOP(standard operating procedure) company wide, that all requests with the exception if critical ops are down, that all requests go through the ticketing system. Back that up with action. With no action, unless it comes through the ticketing system.
>I am the only IT guy at a 80+ user company (which is pretty lax most of the time). Because our ERP software is terrible (Which I didn't choose and constantly argue to get rid of)
You accepted the position and all its responsibilities. Stop trying to change what is and accept that yes you have a POS ERP solution. You're fighting the wrong way. You should be asking yourself how can I make this ERP work for me, instead of fighting to get rid of it.
>I spend most of my time at work generating SQL queries for basic user requests such as order statistics and the like. It turned me into a IT zombie where I procrastinate on all my IT projects unless it's directly in my face.
Can you not automate these procedures? Perhaps scripts users can execute on their own to for order statistics and the like?
> Before I started 4 years ago, I was always reading IT books and going to college and was enjoying learning and experimenting. Now, I almost feel afraid to read about new things or refresh my knowledge because I know I've been out of touch for so long.
You are spending too much trying to figure out the same things day in and day out. You need to start using a ticketing system religiously and start documenting everything. Everything.
> This gives me constant anxiety even while at home, knowing that there are a lot of things I need to work on but haven't in months, such as fully setting up vCenter/vMotion, Configuring the PS SAN array properly, etc. Whenever I try to work on a project, I feel it requires so many prerequisites, let it be knowledge/reading manuals or running out of network ports on a switch, that I'm in a constant juggle of accomplishing nothing.
As munky9001 said you need to let go of work when you leave work. With the policy and ticketing system in place. You can then only respond to operation crit emergencies. Then, when you get in the next day all your open tickets will be in your face to remind you what to do.
> I'm wondering if anyone out there has experienced a sense of losing flow and confidence as a sysadmin and what they did to get back in the game?
Every sysadmin has. You aren't growing enough and just dealing with the same bs. You need to prioritize, organize and document.
The way I attack my ticketing queue:
I also recommend reading:
http://www.amazon.com/Management-System-Administrators-Thomas-Limoncelli/dp/0596007833
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1344483754&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+practice+of+system+and+network+administration
A short version of both, at least read this.
http://everythingsysadmin.com/the-test.html
The Practice of System and Network Administration Second Edition. Filled with great advice. amazon
All the code is up on github here, so feel free to poke around. If you have specific questions about the architecture or design I wouldn't mind answering those, but I don't have the time to walk you through everything line-by-line. If you need that kind of instruction I would refer you to the fantastic open.gl tutorials for OpenGL related stuff and a project oriented tutorial-style book like this one for Java for general programming concepts if you're just getting started. I'm not familiar with anything similar for C/C++ but perhaps someone can chime in with suggestions.
Nice commitment! but take one step at a time friend!
Start with the OCG (official cert guide). It has the 2 books for the 2 part exams. This will be your bible! Everything is in there!
Also consider Udemy for a few video guides. Chris Bryant videos are often recomended.
Later, you can decide if you need a few exam simulations (Boson is highly recomended) and additional video training (CBTNuggets also often recommended)
Hope this helps!
Current Mid-Level SysAdmin here, maybe pass by the A+ unless you absolutely know nothing of the field. The Network+ and/or Security+ will open more doors. The Security+ is required in a lot of government contract positions. On the security side you can branch out into certifications like the CISSP and the CASP. On the networking side you can look into specific vendor certs (Arista, Juniper, Cisco...) Just my 2 cents.
Edit: If you're going to pursue the Sec+, I'd recommend this book. It's all I used to study for the exam. I passed the 1st time. It's a steal at $10 on Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Darill Gibson's books are usually always cream of the crop for a primary Sec+ resource - https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059
Supplemental videos are also a good thing to have for both review + the fact that when you learn similar material through a different presentation -- you'll usually find that you understand it better. https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-501/sy0-501-training-course/
Definitely recommend also signing up for his monthly study group. https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus-study-group-registration/
From there, go absolutely nuts on the practice tests. Here's one resource I found. - https://www.examcompass.com/comptia/security-plus-certification/free-security-plus-practice-tests
Something I did when I was studying for the Sec+ a while ago, was print out the objectives and check off the concepts I felt that I could explain to someone -- who is completely unfamiliar with the topic.
As an aside, it also helps to have good note taking practices. I personally use Joplin (First iteration of note taking) + Anki (For transferring my more detailed notes to flash cards), while following this advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqYmmZKY4sA
Alternative note taking software includes: Evernote, CherryTree, OneNote, etc. It's more of a matter of preference, but regardless I'd still recommend Anki no matter what.
Hope this helped you out.
Absolutely. I did have a leg up in that sales really helped me to hone my social/communication skills, so I was confident once I got an interview somewhere.
But start building a home lab, tinkering, and learning now - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1587205815/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_CgmmDbD770ACA
There might be a better resource, but this is how I passed my first exam.
Initiative seems to be well regarded in this field.
I got this job, which is WAY more than I was led to believe was possible for essentially a first time IT job, with the most basic Cisco cert. I worked with a few recruiting agencies and found a good fit, then they helped me get this interview. Offered the job the next day. Which is to say it's more than doable, and honestly, avoid helpdesk if you can, especially if you're looking at networking. Look for NOC analyst or tech. Hope this helps at all. Good luck, and if you have questions down the road, feel free to ask and hopefully I can answer them!
There's only one book you need to read. I read this book, used no other resources and passed with a 93% in 30 days:
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024
Edit - corrected link! thanks /u/rNyhm
Start with printing the Security+ objectives so you know exactly what you nee to study for. You've taken the A+, so the construct should be familiar to you.
Darril Gibson's Get Certified Get Ahead is the gold standard book for this exam. Read this cover to cover! In addition to the book, many people like the extra material on his GCGA website.
Keep in mind that it's suggested to have some networking knowledge when taking this exam, but not required. Many people will take the Network+ or CCNA before taking the Security+.
Check out Professor Messer on YouTube, he has some great study guides and also videos on the CompTIA SYO-501 Security+ exam. Professor Messer also has course notes of his videos that you can purchase, a digital .pdf version for $20, or you can purchase a high quality book of the notes for $40, and that also includes the .pdf.
Darril Gibson has probably THE study guide book on SYO-501, Get Certified, Get ahead, that costs around $35. There's also a Darril Gibson app for $8, on iPhone which includes flash cards and practice questions and practice tests. I'm not sure if it's on Android.
You can check out Mike Meyer on UDEMY. He has some great videos, though a lot of the stuff is what is required for the 501 exam, but he'll also go a little more in depth so you have a better chance at understanding the subject matter. His course is on sale now for $9.99.
Are you referring to this book?
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/
Michael Jang's books albeit hard to understand and read at times... are great for prepping for the RHCSA. I have my RHCSA, haven't started on my RHCE yet.
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397241140&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=RHCE
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Certification-Practice-Virtual-Machines/dp/007180160X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397241140&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=RHCE
Asghar Ghori released his updated book to his RHCT classic that I loved
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1467549401/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
My friend says this one helped him out a lot.
As for the command line, there's a ton of online crash coarse resources you can find with a Google search. Also, there's the lower 100 courses Red Hat has and I'm pretty sure they deal with command line if you have the bucks, or company funding for it.
I recommend using both https://linuxacademy.com/ AND Jang's book https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Guide/dp/0071765654. Personally, I completed LA first and then worked through the entirety of the RHCSA section in the book, being sure to do every single lab and exercise along the way while also taking handwritten notes.
Using the above, I earned my RHCSA last month. Currently studying for the RHCE with the same two resources and study strategy. Good luck!
Michael Jang's book is a good start.
Or just go look up the Exam requirements at Red Hat's website and self-study.
You know I signed the NDA and can't talk about the exam, but I can give you my personal opinion.
I finished the RHCSA an hour earlier than the given time, I found it quite easy, but consider that the majority of the Red Hat official objectives are part of my daily job (user management, LVM, scripting etc.) thus I rushed through the questions without problems. I usually work through the CLI because I really enjoy it but also becouse it's quite faster than the GUI.
The RHCE was a bit more difficult, Red Hat gives you less time and I felt the stress of the previous exam (I took both the same day, one in the morning and the other in the evening).
I studied for a couple of months using the M. Jang book. I found it very useful, particularly the labs and the exam samples.
I can just recommend you to do a lot of practice. Install CentOS, spin up a couple of VMs and go through all the labs and examples in the book. Then delete the VMs and restart from the beginning until you can rush through them without googling or looking up in the book.
Then just book your exams and pass them! :)
Start here:
http://www.professormesser.com/free-a-plus-training/free-a-plus/
This guy's uploaded great video guides on the entire A+ exam for free. I'm sure he has some literature if you learn better from a book. Also these books are pretty good: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007179512X/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687722&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_i=1118324056&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_r=0NNPTGHSPZBPVBMZCYB9
I'm using this to study
This book is pretty much a RHEL bible:
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962
Great resource.
The exams give you some of the foundation blocks for a lot of the more advanced stuff. I think they are worth it.
Michael Jang is my go to recommendation. I have not (yet) seen the RHEL 7 edition.
Red Hat - Changes Between RHEL 6 and 7
Red Hat - Cheatsheet I actually really dig that pdf!
And if any of you are going to pursue certs on RHEL 7 - get a study guide. I can pretty much guarantee there are a few seemingly trivial differences that would likely make you fail the exam - and, of course, I can't go in to any detail ;-)
The best way to learn is to use it as your primary system, and you'll learn as you have to solve problems. If you're looking to learn its recommended you use something that isn't going to abstract everything like Ubuntu or Linux Mint does, and use something such as Debian etc. (or if you're adventurous and really want to accelerate your learning, Gentoo or others) where you're a bit more involved with less hand holding.
Since you're also wanting to peruse it for purposes of future career options, depending upon your location (NA or Europe) you'll see quite a bit of value from Red Hat certs if you're located in North America. For this there's a lot of reading you can do, but generally the recommendations come down to Jang or Sander books. The current RHEL OS is release 7, and the certification follows that so you'll have to make sure you're using up to date information for reasons of release specific changes (systemd as an example).
Additionally you'll want to make use of Administration guides and the official documentation. This will help you learn to use and administrate systems, but if you're looking to understand things on a lower level there are wonderful books such as How Linux Works to really understand what's going on underneath and help tie things together a bit.
At some point after you're familiar with Linux and you've been using it for a while comfortably you'll want to start learning BASH. Having a good handle on the command line with help with picking up BASH as you use the same commands strung together along with logic structures, error checking, and whatnot to accomplish the tasks you're trying to do. At least some BASH is recommended due to the power of it, and how all distros have a version of the bash shell so provided your script is built portable enough you'll be able to script tasks across systems.
This wiki links to a lot of valuable material, you'll want to go through it in conjunction with a guide such as this. As usual solving problems is a great way to learn, so if you give yourself a project to script and figure it out along the way is great.
Best of luck, this'll keep you busy for a while
http://beej.us/guide/bgnet/
The books by W. Richard Stevens (he has the reputation of being one of the best technical writers ever, and for good reason), e.g.:
http://www.amazon.com/Unix-Network-Programming-Sockets-Networking/dp/0131411551/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1313380032&amp;sr=8-3
Reverse engineer Microsoft patches.
edit: serious answer:
I do this kind of work for a living. I started out in 1995 when I was 13 years old learning from mudge's excellent article on how to write buffer overflows and I progressed from there.
If you're analyzing software for which you have access to source code, you can't beat The Art of Software Security Assessment: Identifying and Preventing Software Vulnerabilities.
Chris Wysopal's Art of Software Security Testing is also good.
If you're attacking software for which you have no source code, learn about fuzzing and reverse engineering. An excellent intro to reverse engineering is Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering.
Those will get you started, but it helps to have people around you who are successfully discovering and exploiting software vulnerabilities. This is also the kind of field where you absolutely have to stay on top of the latest developments in software security. Things move at a mind-boggling pace. Read security blogs, talk to people in the industry, read books, etc...
Hey when I studied for the exam this book https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X and this guy http://www.professormesser.com/ are extremely helpful, he also does free YouTube lectures, good luck!
Definitely not recommended. Make sure you look at what exam series the books you're buying are for - the current A+ is the 901/902. Mike Meyers' book is among the best and most popular, and he's great at explaining things from a more real-world, less technical view. (https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1492880166&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=mike+meyers+a%2B)
These two books for the ICND 1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CCENT-CCNA-100-105-Official-Guide-x/dp/1587205807/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1483461592&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=icnd+1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CCENT-ICND1-Study-Guide-100-105-ebook/dp/B01I5WZ6L2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1483461592&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=icnd+1
These two books for the ICND 2:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Routing-Switching-ICND2-200-105-Official-x/dp/1587205793/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1483461669&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=icnd+2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CCNA-ICND2-Study-Guide-200-105/dp/1119290988/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=
Head First Java contiene l'introduzione agli oggetti più semplice e carina che io abbia letto. Però è in inglese, e non è stato tradotto. D'altro canto ti devi arrendere: l'inglese è un requisito per imparare la programmazione. La quantità di materiale nelle due lingue è semplicemente non paragonabile.
I don't know how far you are into your academic career, but here's a pro-tip/lifehack from someone who got through a master's degree in an unrelated discipline: If the professor doesn't require the latest edition (just ask them), don't get the latest edition. Get one or two editions back, if they're not super-old, and the $25 2011 edition or the 32 cent 2008 edition are probably more than adequate for an introductory book. Hell, the most referred to book (one I love) -- Head First Java, 2nd Edition -- is from 2005, and it's still relevant even if it doesn't cover the most recent language developments.
It's very rare that a college book for anything other than highly advanced courses or cutting-edge technology will have anything necessary in the most recent editions. I don't know how many thousands of dollars I saved over my academic career buying two versions back, and never personally encountered a single problem since the majority of what they do is reorganize pages, add a graph, and call it "9th version" or something. I took a few books and did side-by-side comparisons and have never found anything worthy of $100-200 price tags versus $3 or less -- most often things like a picture moved to the opposite page or an updated index.
Again, this is most especially true for beginner courses, and you should always talk to your instructor. But in the off-chance anything is missing, you can just ask a classmate to read the relevant chapter from their book.
But for an unrequired side book, it's hard to justify spending $100+. Maybe try the 2008 edition while googling newer features, or take a look at Head First Java (great introductory book, in my opinion).
Check out The Practice of System and Network Administration, and Time Management for Systems Administrators.
Oh, and nagios/icinga is free and totally rocks, as does spiceworks.
Personally, I rarely join these organizations for a few reasons. Mostly I feel that they are frequently out of touch and tend to be idealistic, there are rarely speakers or topics of practical use to someone on the job. I understand that most students don't realize this, but being on the job while attending school it really chaps my tender bits.
That said, I am very interested in a decent professional organization provided it meets some requirements.
Now, to go to the actual question presented; What do young professionals want out of an organization like this? this really depends on who you're targeting, those who are in the field will likely be looking for lectures/presentations on best practices, practical examples of deployments of "the next big thing" and hands on training. Those who are in school for this are looking for cool presentations that validate their choice of career, Crazy speakers ("can you get Bill Gates?"), and the stuff I mentioned first. I'm not saying that a person in the field doesn't appreciate that stuff, but the draw for someone in the field is a bit different.
Last, but not least: books are a good draw. I could see offering a nice book for all the 1 year members or a month or two long promotion "join and get this book free." I'm not sure the budget for you guys, but it's an idea. It'll be hard to draw young people until you have a decent amount already no matter what though.
Sorry for the long post
TL;DR: Skip to the paragraph first word "Now" if you want the answer to the actual question.
You do not need to learn other modalities although understanding the underlying physics and knowledge of cross-sectional anatomy is helpful. Approximately half of all imaging Informaticist do not have a clinical background.
Become involved in imaging informatics (PACS and RIS Administration) at your facility to learn everything you possibly can.
Read everything you can about IHE, DICOM and HL7. Knowledge of rules, regulations and guidelines related to imaging informatics is likewise essential.
Focus on information technology such as obtaining your MCSA (Microsoft desktop and server administration certification), CCNA (Cisco routing and switching certification), VCP (VMware certification) or OCP (Oracle database administration certification). Your local community college may be your best resource.
Knowledge of ITIL, project management (PMP), Six Sigma and software development methodologies (Agile, Kanban, Scrum and waterfall) is essential. Arguably, these are the most essential skills for imaging informaticists.
The job market for imaging informaticists is highly competitive but highly lucrative. A highly skilled imaging informaticist can earn over $200,000 per year although I understand that the average is approximately $80,000 per year (from $60,000 per year for a junior imaging informaticist in Asheville, North Carolina to $140,000 per year for a senior imaging informatics in Stanford, California).
https://www.abii.org/About-PACS-Administrator.aspx
https://www.abii.org/docs/Certification-Guide.pdf
http://siim.org
http://siim.org/?page=ciip_study_resources
http://siim.org/?page=pii_textbook
http://www.otechimg.com
http://ihe.net
http://ihe.net/Resources/upload/ihe_radiology_users_handbook_2005edition.pdf
http://medical.nema.org/standard.html
http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/index.cfm?ref=nav
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/privacyrule/index.html
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/securityrule/index.html
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/enforcementrule/hitechenforcementifr.html
http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/MammographyQualityStandardsActandProgram/default.htm
http://www.acr.org/~/media/AF1480B0F95842E7B163F09F1CE00977.pdf
http://www.acr.org/~/media/3E08C87AD6E6498D9E19769E5E5E390D.pdf
http://deckard.mc.duke.edu/pdf/Samei-TG18.pdf
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
http://www.pmi.org
I used Head First Java. It's actually a pretty funny book and helped me get all the OO concepts down really well. Very easy read.
I like the book Head First Java if you have some programming experience. If you need something more basic (actually it's probably very similar to your class), Stanford has their Intro to CS class online here. It's in Java, and the teacher is pretty entertaining.
I think Head First Java is a good book for beginners.
Is this the book you mean?
The Practice of Network and System Administration
The Book -- The blog
/r/sysadmin/
serverfault.com
lopsa.org
Your local Linux User's group
A couple of personal projects.
Would recommend reading,
"The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition"
lots of good starters on different topics. It helped me quite a bit.
Good reviews
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
If your school is rolling out 1:1 in macbooks using google accounts... and you're coming on blind but willing to learn... that's going to be rough.
Do you currently have any sort of IT support at your school/district? If so, I'd start by asking them what they currently use. Do you plan on using an MDM? Remote management?
At the very minimum you'd want to familiarize yourself with inventory management. Keeping track of all these devices and being able to link a device to a student/teacher is key in the event something breaks. If you're just starting a 1:1 program, I'd be curious to see how long you eat the cost on repairs before sending bills out. I just talked to one of the largest districts in my state a few months ago (ok...like 6 months ago at least) and they just starting billing for damages on their 1:1 (which is only rolled out to 9-12) because they were eating roughly 10k yearly in ongoing repairs and replacements.
Is there a ticketing system in place? How are requests handled? Would you be flying solo or part of a team? There's all these factors that greatly change how and what you do. Very few people in the sysadmin world walk in as a sysadmin, they start as helpdesk and work their way up.
what should you study? I recommend brushing on on different types of alcohol. If you're doing this all solo with no existing infrastructure or support it'll be helpful. As far as books probably the practice of network and systems administration. It's more of a focus on the theories and practices, not so much the CLI or "how-to" tasks.
I see this thrown around quite a bit.
Apparently it's a bit of a huge read, but that's what comes to mind.
I prefer two, but others may do.
My brother has been raving about "The Practice of System and Network Administration" by Limoncelli, Hogan, and Chalup. I can't speak to it personally, but it gets pretty great reviews.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
The Practice of Network and System Administration is a great resource for novices and experienced professionals alike. I picked up a copy last year and have found the advice within invaluable.
Check out The Practice of System and Network Administration or The Ops Report Card
If you are looking for general advice, instead of domain specific (ie. Windows, Unix, networks...), this book should give you plenty of information and ideas for further reading. Very practical and sane approach. ITIL materials might be also useful, but that's much heavier reading, and rather, um, self-centered.
Keeping a blog with things that you've discovered/struggled with/hacked up together is rather useful - both for you, and for community at large. I actually do this both at work, writing about things specific to our infrastructure, and on the outside, when I find something interesting. It's easy to fall into trivial topics area though.
Last but not least: respect for picking sysadmin job despite having strong developer background. We need this kind of people :) You might also want to read around on DevOps, although take it with a grain of salt.
Good luck!
I've used Spiceworks in the past.
I also went down the path of using Trac after Spiceworks. I liked the built in Wiki features that let me document things for my users. I also made use of the code repositories to track my work.
I also recommend The Practice of System and Network Administration. It helps to justify and understand why a ticketing system is so important and will give you the ammo you need if you get push back from management.
This is not a direct answer, but: read "The Practice of System and Network Administration" to get a sense of a what a model IT department should look like.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
For a tl;dr version, you can check out Ops Report Card:
http://www.opsreportcard.com
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
That one
The Head First series is quite light and fun to read/work through. I'd suggest
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=7QHH9XZJAXDWPFKR32BP
followed by
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Design-Patterns-Freeman/dp/0596007124/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1472716617&amp;sr=1-1
Honestly, not too sure if the first book is that great, as I haven't read it, but the look inside view looks quite good and the reviews aren't too bad. Maybe there are alternatives.
The second book I have read and would highly recommend. You need some basic beginner knowledge about objects and stuff first, though.
Edit: Also if you haven't done it yet, think about setting an IDE up for him (or let him do it himself). Nothing discourages more than having to mess with line numbers in compiler output logs, or get frustrated because you run the wrong class files and so on.
Head First Java is a great book if you are just starting out. I highly recommend it.
Edit: http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1394392238&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=head+first+java
Head First Java
I think the first confusion here is that the language is a entity in the construction of a program. Does the type of a house that is built depend on what type of hammer the carpenter used to put up the walls? Or what kind of wrench a plumber used to put together the piping? Sure, the carpenter or plumber could've used a crowbar to do their job, but was it the right tool for the right job?
The right tool to build an Android app is Java. If you need better performance, and you don't need Google APIs, you can include C or C++ to further improve performance at the cost of added complexity.
There are a lot of different abstractions to add the ability to use other languages on the platform, but this comes at the cost of performance, and added potential points of failure (more abstractions = more potential bugs not caused by the coder.)
Heavy number crunching (especially on a RISC architecture) may push the device to its limits. Do yourself a favor and learn how to use the right tool for the right job. This book is both entertaining and informative, and this book will get you started in on C++ in a short amount of time.
C++ is the inspiration for Java, and the creation of Java is what caused C# into being. As such, the syntax for all of these languages are tightly woven between each other. I wouldn't doubt that within 15 minutes of light reading on Java you'll be up and running in its entirety.
C++, while being a slightly more complicated beast, isn't inherently an overly complicated one. The Object-Oriented concepts are all there to be leveraged.
While you say you're not a professional programmer; I think you'll find that broadening the languages you do learn will improve your ability to convey your thoughts and concisely implement them.
Best of luck!
The best thing you can do to learn is spend more time writing code. It doesn't matter what the textbook is or what the course you're following is. For every new concept that's introduced, you need to write a lot of code using that concept or you're not going to truly understand it.
It's one thing for someone to tell you about overloading and for you to say, "that makes sense". It's a different thing entirely to write a program that could actually benefit from overloading and to see exactly how it works for yourself.
You know one common trait of all of the CS courses at top universities? They assign a lot of homework. That's because there's really no substitute for writing a lot of code.
To directly answer your question, I'd recommend a well-reviewed book over a video any day. The top-rated Java book on Amazon right now is Head First Java, but any of the top 10 rated Java books will probably work just fine for you. Go back to the first chapter that has a concept you don't fully understand and start reading from there. Take the time to actually do exercises.
You're looking for books that cover "Exam 100-105 & Exam 200-105" or "Exam 200-125 (combined exam)".
Odom
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-125-Official-Library/dp/1587205815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1482616909&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna+library
Lammie
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1482616937&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=200-125+ccna
I'm currently using Odom's book. It's a bit heavy in context but once I got used to it after a few chapters its been great.
A+ Resources Computing...
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There is an all in one A+ book on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X)
This book is a good read through for general concepts - read it quickly, don't go super hardcore study mode on this book, its quite long. This along with professor messer (free, google it)after quickly reading through was all I used to get my A+.
If you have some knowledge of computers and perhaps built your own you could be ready for a helpdesk role already. I know all I had was "customer service" and some basic technical knowledge before I got my first job. Just be sure to word your customer service skills as if you were on the phone doing customer service - since this may be a large portion of the job. Asides from that - google common helpdesk interview questions, their answers, and then google the specific terms like dhcp and dns to understand how they work.
The A+ is an entry level cert, it's only "a joke" because it's entry level, the same way a HighSchool diploma is. If you can find an employer who can pay for it, great! (I did). IMO it gives you a good experience in how these certs work. Everyone recommends Professor Messer. I would recommend visiting /r/CompTIA to see what questions people have and what they struggled with. The book I read did not prepare me for a question regarding how to repair the Masterboot record (bootrec /FixMbr). But reading a book can be good too, Mike Myer goes but further in depth then is needed imo, but learning more is never an issue. Printers will be asked, I didn't think so but I messed up on them (I was asked about impact printers and had to guess).
I think you're looking at an old practice test as I took the 802 and don't remember anything about floppies. There were questions about Windows XP and a general question about IOS 6. The questions they ask are usually pretty general. They don't ask you about interrupts, maybe the basics of what a driver does, but I don't believe it would go further into it. Maybe a question relating to using a new driver to fix a problem. My book went indepth on how a processor communicates with RAM and vice versa. As well as HDD sectors vs tracks (was too indepth, and those Q's never asked).
A+ is very general, Network + is specific to networking, but again pretty general and entry level. If it helps you get your foot in the door, it's not "useless". A+ and Network+ would create a good base to start moving up from. The big thing is that they need to be renewed (tests retaken) every 3 years. So maybe try to aim for having a higher level cert in 3 years time so you don't need to renew your A+.
So for studying, Mike Myers Book
and Professor Messer would be good material. I just read the book and it was incredibly vague compared to what was on the test (general knowledge mostly). But it comes with a practice CD too.
also, everything /u/VA_Network_Nerd said.
For a book, I highly recommend CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902) 9th Edition
For best overall source of study material, I highly highly recommend
Professor Messer's CompTIA 220-901 and Professor Messer's CompTIA 220-902 A+ Certification Training Course playlists on Youtube. You could use this as your sole resource if you wanted to.
ad /u/radicldreamer said, subnetting... this is the biggest challenge for a lot of engineers.
You'll need basic ospf troubleshooting skills.
Know basic ports for applications... 80/http, 443/https, 22/ssh, 23/telnet, etc...
Check out CBT Nugget videos if it's within your budget, you can also get an ICND1 Cert guide book for about $20... it's well worth the purchase
congrats and good luck on security plus. I recently passed security + and I think the best study guide I used was the Darril Gibson book (http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024) wish I would have thought of your flashcards before I think it would have helped quite a bit -- thanks for that.
Personal recommendation, don't shoot for certifications with only Messer's videos and quick notes/questions. You might be able to pass the exam like that but more than likely you're going to be under prepared. Especially important for Network+ and Security+, as if something goes wrong it can cost a lot of money to the company. The in depth books are boring and will take a while, but it will teach you a lot more than studying the questions will.
Personally, when i study I use the 2-2-2 method. 2 Books, 2 Supplemental sources (Videos, tutorials, labs), and 2 Practice tests. Two books to make sure that if one author didn't cover a subject in detail well enough, or if I don't understand them, the other one mostly likely will cover it well enough. The other 2 would be other sources to learn from. I would watch videos on Wardriving, networking centers, data centers, etc. to get an idea of how everything looks in a real world deployment. Network+ won't teach you what to really expect to see in a MDF/IDF. CBTNuggets gets recommended a lot, but I usually use pluralsight. And 2 Practice exams, which I have to constantly get over 80% on them.
Todd Lammle's Network+ book is amazing, highly recommended
Mike Meyer's Book is also a good read.
As far as Security+ goes...
Favorite Security+ Material I've read. Super in depth and organizes topics very well.
Better than nothing for Sec+. After reading this book I did not review it again until right before the exam. Barely touches on a lot of subjects and missed quite a bit compared to the other book.
I don't think my test had any ip config whatsoever. Maybe one question about hosts on a network, but that's about it.
You can't study one specific topic for Sec+. Although it's one of the "easier" certs, it's still pretty rough. But then again, I only studied for about a month before I took it, and I only got an 800.
For studying material I would highly recommend Gibson's book.
That's the only book I used.
Edit: I also used a lot of online quizzes. I'm pretty sure Gibson has quizzes on his website that you have to pay for. The biggest mistake people make with online quizzes is memorizing the answers. You have to actually know and understand the shit that you're being tested on.
Start here: Create a homelab. This will help with testing out multiple paths.
System Admin: Create a domain controller and VMs using Docker or virtualbox and start looking at Active Directory and Powershell.(Windows Server 2016 Trial)
Azure Cloud: Here you can test out learning Azure Cloud(for free). You can use your Homelab to test free alternatives like Proxmox or KVM(Linux Bare Metal Hypervisor)
Security+: Secure your cloud or local homelab. Also, look into getting a Security+. Even if you don't go into security, I believe a SEC+ is required for government IT jobs(This is what I've been told).
&#x200B;
Most of those are free to try and only cost your time. Start there and see what calls out to you.
If you're going to take the Security+ I was told this book was the holy grail of Security +, and it was: https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059
I passed my Security+ today and that book was a large reason why! I purchased the Kindle version for 10 dollars and just read it wherever I could. Professor's videos were extremely helpful too. I also used the examcompass.com Security+ exams! Hope this helps and good luck!
Career path:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux
and
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z
It's never too late, you just have to show your willingness to learn. That being said, you should read the CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, 8th Edition (Exams 220-801 & 220-802) https://www.amazon.com/dp/007179512X/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_-Wznub1NKQ5X0. This book is very in depth for someone who doesn't have a lot of experience.
Also watch Professor Messer's A+ videos on YouTube. http://youtu.be/v6sJjIQzdbE
Also, go through the posts in the sub. You will find a lot of helpful information within it.
College made me a more well-rounded individual. Science, philosophy, literature, mathematics, history, all these things helped me learn how to think.
College did absolutely nothing whatsoever to teach me how to be a systems administrator.
Want to get ahead in IT, out of that lowly helpdesk position? Here's what you do:
Get this book. Study it for a few months. Next, save a few hundred dollars and schedule an appointment to take the A+ Certification.
Congratulations, you are now professionally qualified to work a series of contract jobs or maybe a full time position fixing computer hardware all day. You will get these jobs by spending a lot of time on www.monster.com and filling out your resume completely. Update that resume every few days by moving words around to ensure your resume continues to be on the top of the new resumes list for recruiters to see. Congratulations, you've just advanced your career. It's still not a lot of money, but it's more interesting, and pays more. Regardless, you will be making significantly more money than at a helpdesk, and it's a lot less frustrating.
After this, I recommend you get this book and repeat the process. I should caution you, the Network+ is more difficult than the A+. With an A+ and a Network+, a hiring manager deemed me qualified for entry level at a web hosting company, where my career really took off. I learned everything I could, focusing on Linux administration.
Why Linux? Because there's too many Windows administrators and not enough Linux administrators. Your opportunities will be more lucrative and easier to obtain because there will be less competition.
My certifications, in order of receiving:
I just bought this book the other day and begun reading it. If you have any understanding of computers at all, it will be very easy to understand (so far).
It may not be a source as simple as just a link, but I have been studying for the CompTIA A+ exam and they go over a lot of this stuff pretty well. If you get any of the textbooks or look up some of the online study guides, they will have a decent amount of information on these topics.
This is the textbook I have been reading recently. It has a ton of information about the different technologies and standards involved in each component, and can really make those specifications you see on your hardware make sense.
I have been really happy with my new-found ability to look up something complex, like a motherboard, and understand the advantages and disadvantages almost immediately.
Professor Messer also has a popular guide for the A+ in a pdf format, but I have not used it and cannot vouch for it being what you seek.
Good luck!
I used Linuxacademy (the labs were great),
this book (mainly for review):
RHCSA/RHCE Red Hat Linux Certification Study Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams EX200 & EX300) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071841962/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_APKGAb828V3VF
And this video series right before the test to get the feel for it:
http://www.sandervanvugt.com/course/red-hat-certified-system-administrator-exam-prep-video-workshop-download/
All that plus labbing and I was able to knock it out. Good luck!
As you can imagine everyone's extremely circumspect about how to study for the test due to the NDAs: advice about what to study can be viewed as tantamount to saying "X, Y, Z is on the test."
Since you have RH 7.2 coming in your shop (congrats!) the best advice comes RedHat themselves: RHCE exam candidates should consult the RHCSA exam objectives and be capable of RHCSA-level tasks, as some of these skills may be required in order to meet RHCE exam objectives.
Having said that Jang's guides get pretty good reviews (Amazon.com). They're comprehensive although as always with a book this size there are inevitably errata. I've never used them but my several of my employees have and liked (CertDepot). Since you have this much time between now and the exam I'd dig deep into the (exam objectives) and make sure you can do those in your sleep.
Exam objectives aside all the shiny new stuff in 7.2 like systemd, networking and selinux are where you'll probably find the biggest gaps in your knowledge as 7.2 rolls out in your site. As a fellow old-schooler I just work under the assumption I'm going to get paged out of bed at 3 AM, I'll be shivering in the datacenter standing at the console of a downed production system and my cellphone can't get a signal, so all I have is what I remember and if I'm lucky the man pages.
Or if that seems unrealistic pretend you're going for a job interview at RedHat and that you must be able to describe commands and procedures to accomplish your job without referring to any external sites like Google or stack overflow.
Michael Jang
here
Here is some information. Note that I still haven't taken my Net+ but this is the information that seems to be widely used:
All Hail Professor Messer:
http://www.professormesser.com/network-plus/n10-006/n10-006-course-index/
ExamCompass Practice Tests:
http://www.examcompass.com/comptia-network-plus-certification-practice-test-1-exam-n10-006
Crucial Exams Practice Tests:
https://crucialexams.com/
AioTestKing:
http://www.aiotestking.com/comptia/
Also, if you want hardcopy material look into Mike Meyer's series. I think it is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1453823065&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=mike+meyers+network+%2B
Good luck and happy studying!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0071848223/
Grab a book, find a project. Bunker down and nail it out.
I have a simular background; I learnt AS3, went onto JS/HTML, c#, java, python, c/c++. For my C, I picked up unix networking and for c++ I picked up modern c++ design.
From there, it's just a matter of getting dirty.
Both Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment and volume 1 of Unix Network Programming are out in updated editions by other people. (Stevens has unfortunately died.)
"Source code fuzzers". Wow. Unless you're fuzzing a compiler/interpreter, it doesn't make any sense at all. Really, you should start by finding in Google about the subject.
In any case, I recommend you to read the book "The art of software security assessment" [1] and a Bug Hunter's Diary[2].
[1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Software-Security-Assessment-Vulnerabilities/dp/0321444426
[2] http://www.amazon.com/Bug-Hunters-Diary-Software-Security/dp/1593273851
Maybe try Head First Java. I read that a while ago and found it pretty good.
Head First Java is a good resource for new Java programmers that want to get a firm grasp on the language. Some people dislike the "cartoony" presentation, but if you can get past it, you can really learn a lot.
Beror helt på kursen. Vill du förbättra dina odds så kan du börja i förväg.
Då jag antar att det är javaprogrammeringskursen du ska gå så kan du t.ex. skaffa den här boken http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1425634948&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Head+first+java och blädra igenom den i förväg.
Dont you dare give up and throw away a year of efforts. Maybe its time to evaluate your study material. What are you using? I don't know if money is an issue, but here is what I recommend:
Buy this hardware lab: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cisco-CCNA-CCENT-Massive-Lab-KIT-5x-Routers-3x-Switches-Selling-1-Lab-on-eBay-/300984685985?hash=item461415d5a1:g:sDMAAOSwMmBV6f-T
Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1458000390&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=CCNA
Buy this book too: http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Success-Mastering-Binary-Subnetting-ebook/dp/B00G6L06VU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1458000418&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=subnetting
Build that lab, study the labs it comes with, read the book and recreate as many scenarios as possible. YOU CAN AND WILL DO IT.
I've heard that Head First Java is a good book, but I belive it caters more
to the beginner programmer rather than someone with OOP experience like yourself.
Here's the PDF so you can check it out anyway.
I haven't used it but at university my lecturer used to recommend Head First Java as a gentle introduction to Java and for any students who found themselves struggling to keep up with the pace of the class. It contains lots of practical examples and is pretty unintimidating.
I've used the Head First series for other topics and always found them useful.
I recommend getting this book it helped me a ton
Thinking in Java - Bruce Ekel
Head First Java - Kathy Sierra
Stanford's Programming Methodology Lecture Series
Head First Java. I learned how to program from this book when I was 12 if that says anything about how great it is.
Also, /r/learnprogramming.
As a former programming teacher, I'll have to second Udacity here (over coursera and codecademy), but I'll admit Java isn't my first choice for teaching how to program, and Udacity seems to share my view by teaching mostly python and javascript courses.
Honestly, mobile development is one of the harder areas to work in, so to start with it is gonna be a steep learning curve, but I'm not gonna try and dissuade you from it if that's what you want to do, just mentioning it to comfort you by letting you know that it'll be completely normal if you end up feeling frustrated and lost for a good while. Hopefully it won't take too long for things to 'click' though.
That being said, one of my favorite teaching resources is Learn Python The Hard Way (don't mind the name, it's written for total beginners, but has a unique teaching style that I really like). Obviously it's not in java, but it's great for giving you a general idea of what programming even is.
As for Java specifically, Head First Java was my bible when I was first learning it ages ago. Really accessible style, mostly conceptual, but all very important.
Once you have that down maybe you can tackle more Android-specific stuff, but looking too deeply into Android code before you have a firm grasp of major programming ideas might confuse/frustrate you more than necessary, so don't worry too much if it happens. Just my precautionary advice, but feel free to make your own path...
A good book. For instance Head First Java.
Here are a few helpful resources to help you out.
Firstly, you probably need a beginners grasp on Java. For that, I would highly recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208
You do not need to go through the entire book, But it would be more helpful to you.
Secondly, I highly recommend this android book:
http://www.amazon.com/Android-Programming-Ranch-Guide-Guides/dp/0321804333
They literally walk you step-by-step.
However, if you do not feel you can teach yourself programming there is always this option:
http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/
I haven't personally messed around with it but it doesn't require any programming experience.
Here is a free online class that starts tomorrow if you have the time.
https://www.coursera.org/course/androidpart1
or this one that is already finished but you can still access the material.
https://www.coursera.org/course/androidapps101
You could also go at your own pace through it.
Here is also a udemy course that also teaches you java. I would get it now before the price goes back up to 200 bucks.
https://www.udemy.com/android-lollipop-complete-development-course/?dtcode=hfFhrtG2ans8
I haven't personally taken it, but a friend of mine has and he loves it.
Basically, just start reading and learning. The big nerd ranch book that I listed has some really great beginner apps that teach you the basics.
Persistence is the key. Don't give up, fight through the pain. Google like crazy.It's worth it, trust me.
First, RDBMS software has a lot of hugely portable skills and concepts, so regardless of if you choose MySQL or Oracle or M$SQL, you'll be learning approximately 90% of the same skills.
So in regards to actually learning SQL, you would just follow the certification path for one of those 3 and you should be good to go.
http://www.amazon.com/Training-Kit-Exam-70-461-Microsoft/dp/0735666059 would be a good place to start for M$SQL, and there are similar books for getting started on the certifcation paths for other RDBMS products.
The certification paths should diverge into actual database administration and data mining/modelling/business intelligence. The data mining/modelling/business intelligence skills are a tiny bit more portable than the database administration stuff.
http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/webtech/sqlguru/
http://www.sybaseteam.com/rdbms-interview-questions-and-answers-t-43.html
Those are good representations of the sort of problems that SQL admins deal with and the questions you'll get asked during an interview.
The reason techies frown when somebody mentions w3schools is because it provides only the basic syntax without any soft of context. It would be like learning the Spanish language but only focusing on 40-50 vocabulary words without regard for advanced composition.
Yeah, job-title wise, things were similar. My background is a bit more technical, I did get a degree related to databases, and by the time I was interviewing other places I had passed both the 70-461 and 70-462 MS certificate tests. Certificates are definitely useful, mostly because you will be more confident in answering interview questions.
If you do want to do a cert, I would highly recommend the 70-461 test. The book is really good for that one, and it will set you apart from lots of others in your experience range. You could start by asking your boss if he would pay for the book (https://www.amazon.com/Training-70-461-Querying-Microsoft-Server/dp/0735666059). It will take some time to study it to be ready for the test. I think you should be able to get a new job without having passed the test. From my experience, not too many employers know about/are impressed by me having the 70-461 completed. But they are impressed by the amount of knowledge I have about databases, most of which came from that book.
Start studying, but really, networking is going to be very very valuable. You made it to the final round of interviews, imagine if a buddy was telling them that they HAVE to hire you? You would probably be a shoe-in. How does your network look on LinkedIn right now?
You can download all the training kits books and only give all the tests.
70-461
70-462
70-463
You are getting some good advice from others but I'll give a slightly different take. One of the MS SQL exams is on querying SQL. Now take the exam or not - your call - but the book is a great way to introduce yourself to some advanced concepts like windowing functions.
Now other exam books (looking at you administering sql) are steaming piles of crap but the linked one is readable and you actually use what you've learned. The other issue is the old 'you don't know what you don't know.' The book will give you ideas and terms you can use to get better google results.
Since you are looking into entry level tech support your best bet is to look into the CompTIA certifications. Start with A+ certification ( https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-220-901-220-902-Exam-Cram/dp/0789756315/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1501947087&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=a%2B+exam+cram ) . Even though you might be able to fix 99% of problems on your own with Google's assistance it might be hard to sell that to employers at interviews, especially if you don't have anything 'concrete' to back it up with (previous work experience, certifications, schooling for IT), which is why I recommend looking into that route. Also keep in mind Linux is a very very small % of the market share out there and is more of a niche market. Sure, you can get Linux certifications but I don't think it will help you at this current stage in your career getting into IT, so focus on the stuff that actually applies to entry level tech support (A+ certification). Feel free to private message with any more questions. Good luck!
I used Exam Cram by Prowse as my main book. It has test questions at the end of each chapter, and a very useful electronic version of the tests in DVD. You have to register the book online to be able to use it.
My only issue with the book is that the 901 and 902 topics are not separated. However, the objectives are clearly mentioned at the beginning of each chapter, so it wasn't really a big concern.
Good luck!
You can get your certification in about 30 days depending on what knowledge your already have now if you really buckle down and take this serious.
More info here
Do a chapter a day and you'll finish the Mike meyers book in 30 days or less if you read more.
Since you are homeschooled, I'm assuming you are a good self-starter/learner. I think I may have found a "senior year course" in networking for you:
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=1YRWH5V1041MGJBT4ZEM
https://www.google.com/#q=used+cisco+2600&amp;safe=off&amp;tbm=shop
https://www.google.com/#q=used+cisco+switch&amp;safe=off&amp;tbm=shop
The 2600 router is the standard router to learn on. You can find one for under $100 usually. Any used 2900 series switch will do, too, for under $100.
Some may say you need to be on IOS 15 (the newest rev), but anything you will be studying will be supported by 12.4 (the last rev). At least that is what this dude says:
http://www.ccentskills.com/labgear03/
So, for around $250-$300 you've got a 2-semester long course. If you like it when you are done, then spend the extra $400 and go for the test!
I would recommend using this book:
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1396382315&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna
While it covers both exams, it's probably the best way to learn networking (it's how I did it at least). Todd lays everything laid out in an easy to understand way.
Also I would highly recommend using Packet Tracer:
https://www.netacad.com/web/about-us/cisco-packet-tracer
It has enough features to get you through your CCNA and most of the CCNP and is very easy to setup and use.
My suggestions would be to augment it with other tools. It is a great book, but you want to study from more than just one source.
A couple of tips on preparing are as follows:
www.youtube.com/user/ccie12933 , TrainSignal and the like.
There are also some good places to find free study material. I will list a few here with what they provide...
http://www.freeccnaworkbook.com/ Free CCNA Labs
http://www.freeccnastudyguide.com/ Free CCNA Study Guide
http://www.ccnaskills.com/ Wendell Odom's Blog
http://www.ccnablog.com/ CCNA Blog
http://www.certificationkits.com/blog/component/wordpress/?cat=60 Blog of sample CCNA questions
http://ciscoiseasy.blogspot.com/ Cisco is Easy Blog
I hope all those resources help you in your studies and definately feel free to ask questions here on things you get stuck on.
I've seen Todd Lammles books for CCENT/CCNA highly recommended. Using them myself right now, just passed ICND1 today. http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/
Here is the CCNA path as printed on Cisco's website. My recommendation would be to take the 100-101 (ICND1) to earn the CCENT, then after passing that test take the 200-101 (ICND2) for the CCNA. I own the OCG books intended for the seperate tests, I am not sure if the OCG for 200-120 has it split for single tests. In the Sybex CCNA Routing and Switching book by Lammle, it does split into sections for the CCENT and CCNA.
There is a composite test that will get you the CCNA in one test, it is more expensive ($250 USD I think), versus the ICND1 and ICND2 being $150 USD each. I recommend the seperate tests, you can think of splitting up the CCNA test into two exams as using a checkpoint in a video game. No sense in starting over if you make a mistake or don't fully understand a topic. I think most here will agree, and most taking the 200-120 will be doing it for a re-certification or have years of experience in the technology.
Also keep in mind the questions on the exam are likely different than what you are used to. There are multiple-answer multiple choice, matching, simlets, etc. If you make the mistake and click Next before answering all the sections on a Simlet it will move to the next question. To get used to the question format, I would highly recommend investing in the Boson practice tests for your exam. They will help link all of the topics in your head and prepare you for success in your endeavor. At the Boson site there should be some sample tests if you question their quality. Good luck.
Thanks for the feedback.
On my first pass to the CCNA Exam, I used the following approach:
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Note: If you buy the book then you get free access to the first 7 video training modules. You can buy a subscription on the web site to get access to the other 7 modules. Or you get it for free when you register to the live or online class.
The three big lessons learned from the class were:
I failed the first time that I took the test. I ran out of time with 5 questions not answered. I invested a lot of time on the sim's and test-lets. I was lost in the test platform with many windows opened learning to navigate to the proper pannel to answer the questions.
On my second pass to the CCNA Exam, I used the following approach:
I took the test and got a perfect score. I also had 25 minutes left on the clock.
Summary:
One needs to use the right tools, resources and approach to study very hard. The number one key is to focus on the test objectives and practice doing many sample tests.
This approach helped me pass the CCNA 200-120 test. Anything else is just busy work and nice to know for the real world application and not to pass the test.
Please note that each person learns in a different way or may have special networking skills and may not need to use the same approach.
I hope this information is of value to help you get the CCNA certification.
May you all have an awesome future in the Data Networking industry.
JM
Basically, here's what you need to get your CCNA:
The official certification guide
The Todd Lammle CCNA study guide.
The CCNA lab manual. Especially work on the troubleshooting labs.
And you'll need a copy of Packet Tracer software, on which you can do all of the labs and everything you'll need for the exam. You don't need real world hardware to do the CCNA. It's nice, sure, but can be costly. If you want a copy of Packet Tracer, try to find a torrent because it's normally only available to Cisco students and whatnot. If you really would like, PM me and I will find you a copy once I get home from work.
Anyways, with all of this and a good amount of studying and self-discipline, you should be fine. You don't need this online course (That expires after a year, too!)
Since you've dipped your toes in the M$ stream, I would suggest working towards the 2012 MCSA. It's 3 exams and is the go to 'asked for' cert on sys admin jobs. Each exam is $150 and it will require you to lab on your own, among other things.
You mentioned Linux...the CompTIA Linux+ is comprised of two exams but you end up getting 4 or 5 certs altogether (but only 2 [L+ and LPIC-1] are worth a shit). If you've never worked with *nix before this one will be a challenge. Interesting fact: this cert never expires.
And then...the easiest of the beginner certs--CompTIA's Security+. This is also a standard for many junior security positions and is required for many federal government contracting gigs. Just buy Darril Gibson's book and watch Professor Messer's videos and you'll be good to go. This is only one exam.
The CCENT is the entry-level Cisco networking exam. I recommend Todd Lamle's book for that. Some might suggest getting CompTIA's Network+ first but I would recommend going straight for the CCENT, then CCNA if you like the material and want to get deeper into networking.
For all of these...yes, you will have to study. The MCSA 2012 will take the longest and the Security+ should be the shortest. Use your downtime wisely.
Edit: unless you're in a dire financial situation, certs are by far the easiest and most economical form of resume boosting...invest in yourself.
Andrew Crouthamel has a good series on youtube for videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQZc6wrc__wo9oYOqvi9N_Q
They are a little dry, but free.
Install Gns3 (with some IOS images if you can get some) or packet tracer you can find a copy here http://getintopc.com/softwares/network/cisco-packet-tracer-6-1-free-download/.
There are some practice labs here http://www.packettracernetwork.com/labs/packettracerlabs.html.
You can get Todd Lamel book for self study as well.
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Hope this is helpful. Best of luck.
Good but Better......
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1118749618/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1420235695&amp;sr=8-1&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=511QYVZWp0L&amp;ref=plSrch&amp;pi=AC_SY200_QL40
Offical CCNA books and Lammles.
That really depends on what you mean by "absolutely no computer knowledge at all".
Do you mean you have no experience on the technical side of things, like programming, scripting, architecture, networking, web dev, etc? Or are you one of those people who sits down at a computer hesitant to do anything at all because you've never used one?
It also depends greatly on the resources you have available to you. I think you can definitely succeed in the field without a degree, but if you're able to go to university I would recommend it. Not only will it help you get your foot in the door but it will also give you a decent overview of a lot of the different technologies in play. The paper will always give you an advantage.
If school is not an option I'd simply start looking into different topics. Like I said, networking / cyber security are pretty straight forward as far as certs go. Cisco's website shows you just how deeply into the topic they cover. I think the CCENT/CCNA should be enough to get you an entry level job if you can demonstrate a decent understanding of the topic. From there the deeper you go the more you'll learn about network design and maintenance, which is a whole field of IT in and of itself.
As far as cyber security goes as I said the basic understanding of networking knowledge (Network+, CCENT/CCNA) is essential. From there, you can expand on your knowledge with Security+ and Certified Ethical Hacker. As someone who works entry level in the field I think having all of those will put you above and beyond most others. As far as I understand it most people will start as a security analyst which frankly can be incredibly boring depending on where you work. But once you have your foot in the door and you're able to learn more you can move to more exciting things.
To really round out your basics you can also pursue a COMPTIA A+ cert which teaches you about all the basic hard wares of a computer and how to maintain & repair them. At bare minimum you can use this to get a job doing help desk support and that can launch you to better places.
Honestly I would recommend diving into coding / scripting to. You might go your entire career without using it but just having a breadth of knowledge in all different aspects of IT / Computer Science will give you a huge up and helps you understand everything better to boot.
I think the most important thing to remember is that as far as Computer Science / IT is concerned the resources for just about everything you ever need to know are available online for free, or cheaply, or illegally (buy them when you can afford it). The key issue is you. You can research free materials on the internet. You can buy a extremely dense, all encompassing CCENT/CCNA book for $20 (CCENT is actually the first half of CCNA. You can take the CCNA all in one or split into twos). The real question is will you dedicate the time to it? You need to take charge of learning and spend at minimum a few hours a day learning new stuff. Not just to get an entry level job but to go beyond as well. The resources are there.
Tell me a bit more about your background, experience, and goals and I can give you less generic advice. But that's pretty broad and inclusive for anyone interested.
Edit: Speaking of taking "charge of learning", I've had this bookmarked forever and never used it. Supposedly a really good, focused list but I can't personally vouch for it as I've never used it.
The Cisco Press book is good for the exam. This One is what I purchased when I planned to take the exam. However, my focus changed so I never sat the exam or completed the book. I got a few chapters in and found a new job that pushed me away from networking and more on the systems side so my focus is on Linux now. But what I did read was very well written and easy to follow and understand. r/CCNA will be a great sub for you as well.
head over to /r/ccna and look around. ccent is a good entry exam and not too hard. grab the official cert guide from amazon. study, then test.
another option is a safaribooksonline subscription. you can sign up for a free trial and see if its worth it for you. ($40/month) it gives you access to hundreds upon thousands of books (including the cisco cert guide mentioned above) as well as the INE videos from kevin wallace. these combined with some initiative will get you through the exams.
best of luck!
Either get Lammle's Book or Odem's Book. Lammle is easier to read and understand in my experience, but Odem goes deeper into some topics. You can read a few pages of the books through Amazon, and see which one you like better.
You can get Chris Bryant's Video Series through Udemy for ~$10 since they're always on sale. There's also CBT Nuggets. The monthly subscription is a bit pricey, but there are ways to get them "cheaper".
If you have a predominantly Cisco environment, Wendell Odom's 100-105 and 200-105 CCENT/CCNA Official Cert Guide is the definitive guide to learning networking. I reckon you could learn and pass the exam from his two books alone.
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-125-Official-Library/dp/1587205815/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1537360541&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=odom+ccna
(200-125) is the name of the accelerated exam. 100-105 is CCENT which is one-half of a CCNA. You can take one exam (200-125) or two exams (100-105 & 200-105) to certify as CCNA.
Thank you for the very detailed reply. Where does VMware and other virtualization fit into that as well if you don't mind, a lot of the entry jobs around here will probably be dealing with that as I'm near a port city and heavy industry is huge here. Everything they do is on VMware usually to train their employees, etc. Is a CCNA/CCNP cert going to cover most of the bases on virtualization? They also just opened an Amazon warehouse here one reason why I thought the right thing to do was to pick the brains of some seasoned IT professionals and ask about AWS.
Here is what I was looking at picking up to learn.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1587205815/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1587205904/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SA7XKZC/
Let me start by telling you that InfoSec jobs are in-demand now more than ever and that's not likely to change as more and more of the world are starting to use computers, computers continue advancing, etc. So, barring any sort of impending dark ages and assuming you're putting enough effort into your education and continuing education, you should be able to work your way up without too much trouble. Focus on getting your foot in the door and be professional.
&nbsp;
Now then, I'm currently an Information Security Analyst in the US, so this information may be completely irrelevant to you out there in NZ. I initially only graduated with an Associate's (2-year) in Information Security & Computer Forensics. I managed to get my job before I had even graduated as I worked hard in school (a stressful amount, really) and knew how to conduct myself in a professional manner. They actually paid for my certifications, and a lot of companies out there will as well. Here's the tiered structure we followed - all InfoSec related certifications:
&nbsp;
Within the first 6 months, we are sent to training to obtain our CompTIA Security+ certification. This is roughly a 1-hour, multiple choice test and you need at least an 80% to pass. I would recommend any of these three books to study from:
This is the book that my company had provided me to study from
This is the book my friend had given me. Both her and I studied from this and passed successfully
This is the book we are currently learning from in my Bachelor's program
Take your pick, they'll all achieve the same essentials, mostly. I am awful at studying and mainly just crammed the few topics I wasn't sure about in the night/morning before my test and passed with an 86%.
&nbsp;
Next, we're sent to get our GSEC, which is the GIAC Security Essentials Certification. The Security+ focuses on several main topics and gets in-depth with the information, whereas GSEC covers a wide span of topics but doesn't get very in-depth. This test takes about 5 hours to complete also, compared to the 45 minutes that it took to take the Security+. It's important to note that the GSEC, while 5 hours long, is open-book. My company sent me to a training class that provided 6 different books to cover any topic on the GSEC, however you also need an index. The books themselves don't have a table-of-contents, so you need to make an index yourself that covers just about every topic on every page. In my case, a coworker sent me his that he had used, and it turns out it was out of date so not a single page was correct. Much to my own surprise, I passed with an 82% (the minimum passing score is 74%) so while the index/books are important - they're not completely necessary as long as you paid attention in your classes. It should also be noted that I did not actually study for this. Most of it was just common-sense stuff like "Which of the following does an Intrusion Prevention Device do?" and knowledge that I had obtained from school/work.
&nbsp;
After GSEC is the GCIH, or, GIAC Certified Incident Handler. I haven't taken this yet, nor the next one, so I can't speak to their difficulty or process, but I've been told by other analysts it's roughly the same as GSEC, just different information and more hands-on like capture the flag runs.
&nbsp;
Finally, after GCIH, we are sent to get our GCIA, or, GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst. Same with GCIH, I have not been sent to obtain this cert just yet, but I can only imagine it's somewhat similar to the last 2 as they follow GIAC's tiered structure.
&nbsp;
So TLDR - as a current InfoSec Analyst - the recommended certs are Security+, GSEC, GCIH, and GCIA. There are many more certs out there, though, these are just the ones my company values currently.
&nbsp;
Good luck!
Your plan looks solid. Here is Security +. Working on N+!
Secure Link Established.... Accessing Library... SCP initated....
Darril Gibsons Security +
Mike Meyers' Security +
GTS Learning Security +
....Deconstrucing Tunnel...Link Terminated.
VPN constructed... UDP Session Initialized...Buffering...
Professer Messer Security+ *Free
Mike Chapple Security+ Free
..Session Terminated...Warning:VPN Deconstructed
*Hydra initialized...SSH Cracked.. SCP exams.docx /all
[Professor Messer's Pop Quizes Free](http://www.professormesser.com/popquiz/)
[Crucial Exams Free](https://crucialexams.com/exams/comptia/security+/)
[ExamCompass Free](http://www.examcompass.com/comptia/security-plus-certification/free-security-plus-practice-tests)
[GoCertify Free](http://www.gocertify.com/table/comptia/security-quizzes/)
[Darril Gibson's Exam/Study App Paid](http://learnzapp.com/partners/darrilgibson/)
Warning IPS Activated.......Sub7 payload deployed....Ending Session
Simulations Initialized......
[Darril Gibson's Sims Paid](http://blogs.getcertifiedgetahead.com/security-blog-links/#Performance)
[Testout Paid](http://www.testout.com/home/it-certification-training/labsim-certification-training/security-pro)
[GTS Learning Paid](https://www.gtslearning.com/comptia-securityplus-ebook-plus-labs-pm/#1468334556896-4996a61c-f05d)
Lab Broken.... Rebuilding....
Native applications loaded...
SoundAGiraffeMakes Pass Post
Tennyson24 Pass Post
Deathrus Pass Post
Thank you for The Community Post..**
Just passed Sec+ last week. I’m military so it doesn’t do me much good in a civilian sector (at the moment,) but I know people that get it and are able to get well-paying jobs right off the bat. It’s definitely difficult, but easily passable. If you’re interested, I recommend the Darril Gibson book. Took a nine day course studying that, and passed with almost no professional IT experience.
Best of luck to you and I highly recommend getting more certs!
Copying and pasting a guide I made for my friend:
Security +
How I got it:
First, get the objectives. They describe the test, and everything on it. Print this out and have it with you at all times when you’re studying: https://certification.comptia.org/docs/default-source/exam-objectives/comptia-security-sy0-401.pdf
Darrel Gibson’s Sec+ book (like $10 on kindle): https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1471899256&amp;sr=8-1-spell&amp;keywords=darrel+gibsoin+security%2B
Another book that was good: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com.libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/book/certification/securityplus/9781118922903/chapter-1-network-security/9781118922903c01_xhtml
Lots of books through school library
Before each chapter, read the objectives covered in it. For each objective, watch the appropriate videos from this playlist. If the chapter talks about section 4.3 in the Security+ objectives, then make sure you atch those videos. It’s a guy named Professor Messer who will basically give you a primer on each topic. There are a lot of topics though, so there are two playlists you will have to look through. They are all labelled though, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.
Playlist 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv7I0SkF6P8&amp;list=PLG49S3nxzAnkcKd71N4OjSv4cUXNhoPlQ
Playlist 2: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG49S3nxzAnlhMM1KV5ST1qi3kI87hMpY
After watching a video, mark off that section from your copy of the Sec+ objectives. Then read the chapter. By the time you’re done with the book, all of the objectives should all be marked off.
After you read the book, take the practice tests in the book. The actual Sec+ requires about 83%, so shoot for 90% to give yourself a good cushion.
After that, just start quizzing yourself as much as possible
http://www.examcompass.com/comptia/security-plus-certification/free-security-plus-practice-tests
http://www.getcertify4less.com/_images/products/downloads/comptia/CompTIA%20Security+%20SY0-401%20Practice%20Test.pdf
http://www.gocertify.com/table/quizzes/comptia/page-5
http://www.certiology.com/comptia-certification/comptia-securityplus/free-security-plus-practice-tests.html
http://www.proprofs.com/mwiki/index.php/Comptia_Security%2B_Certification_Exam
https://crucialexams.com/exams/comptia/security+/sy0-401/
Quizlet. Quizlet is your friend. Just type in Security+ in it.
Really just look for anything related to the Sec+
For CompTIA Security+:
Training: self-study this. Kindle version is $10.
Exam: Try seeing if the school you got your degree from is an academy partner. You might be able to get a discount. If not, it'll be a few hundred bucks to save for :\
CISSP isn't realistic for your situation i think. Way more training and exam $$$. + other things.
I'd say that Darril Gibson's GCGA (Get Certified Get Ahead) book is a common favorite around here. I'll leave a link here for you if you'd like to check it out.
If you'd like some online study resources that will put you ahead of the game as well (by a long shot), I'll also link you to my Evernote list of everything I used for the Sec+. Study right and you'll pass with flying colors 😊
For a book: https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1540341090&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=sy0-501
Online resource: https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-501/sy0-501-training-course/
I have CCNA and Sec+ at this time. Just passed Sec+ a few weeks ago.
My work forced me to take the Sec+ 501 last minute without studying. I bombed it with a 538. I took it just a little over a month later and passed with a 810. So I agree that it would probably be possible if you bust your ass and study.
I had no IT experience (other than a 6 month military school) prior to Sec+ and used the book below after hearing everyone on here talk about it. In addition to the book I went through a week and half course my job provided so I think that helped also.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1542473247&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=get+certified+get+ahead+sy0-501&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51MZNH9iP7L&amp;ref=plSrch
I don't have course suggestions, but all you really need is Darrell Gibson's textbook on Security+. You can run all the labs on your own hardware (you need the experience setting that stuff up anyway). His textbook is comprehensive, and his well-maintained blog fills in any gaps.
I went in with very little security knowledge and was able to blast the Security+ exam out of the water. It's not an easy exam, but his material hits all the necessary check-marks.
Edit: He also has an Android app with test questions, flash cards, and other crap. Worth it.
My first attempt btw was 597
Links:
http://www.gtslearning-courses.net/
https://www.cbtnuggets.com/learn
Book I read by Dariil Gibson
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3OQ0RW0P5085E&amp;keywords=security+plus+sy0-501&amp;qid=1551138675&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=security+plus+%2Caps%2C157&amp;sr=8-3
Security+CE. It will be the easiest of the exams listed. Here's my recommendation on a study guide:
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=security%2B&qid=1573946942&sr=8-3
There's not better starting point than: The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
I've referred back to this book more than any other in my library and I absolutely love it. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have!
I'm currently in the process of revamping my help desk. I'm pretty much following the guidelines set out in this book. I didnt really agree or understand it at first, but after really taking a step back and looking at how things were done, defining the policies and guides he recommends has really helped.
You can also run through the first couple questions of this test. It's done by the same guy who wrote the book, and is a great self-evaluation of how things are currently running for you.
The Practice of System and Network Administration. Learning how to do things is a necessity, but learning why is what will move you forward.
It never hurts to read this: The Practice of System and Network Administration
Also stick to this subreddit daily and pay attention to the career help threads, they might be useful as you plan your path.
I currently have a computer science degree (coding) that I got after 5 years working in IT and I found that there's a lot of concepts that you get from studying computer science that you would never get learning to code on your own unless you were very motivated. A lot of the stuff I learned really helped me put the things I already knew into perspective. For instance, learning about different data structures like trees and heaps really locked down my networking and DNS knowledge in particular. I can script circles around most other sysadmins I've met, and i'm far less afraid of tasks I don't know how to do after being told things like 'what's the big deal, it's just a different programming language' in some university classes. I find the computer science degree will teach you how to think in a more structured way, and teach you how to tackle much larger problems. In an IT degree, I'm not sure you'd pick up much that you couldn't get from The Practice Of System and Network Administration. The Cisco stuff... Buy yourself a couple switches or one of those home lab kits and practice with the gear - this way you'll learn the most important thing a sysadmin can learn: how to teach yourself. If you go the sysadmin route, you'll end up needing to learn how to code none the less, so you might as well get that the hard way. My advice though, is spend your off time in university coding or playing with systems rather than playing video games... The guys I know who are really good with all this stuff learned to make it a game for themselves rather than just doing it as work.
i cannot recommend this book more for a beginner. technical stuff written simple and interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1345523658&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+practice+of+system+and+network+administration
Thomas A. Limoncelli has written some really good books for SA's. Check out his time management book and The Practice of System and Network Administration are both two very good reads.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596007836.do
I say this all the time, but: Who would have thought that in the 2012, the greatest OS war of our day would still be BSD vs SystemV (iOS vs. Android)?
Generally, a focus in Windows is going to take you into corporate IT, building internally-oriented tools to support organizations. Here you'll want to learn bout VMWare, the full Microsoft stack, and look closely at tools designed for Enterprise support. There's less demand in this arena for nix, but also less chance to make a real impact on the world. Sure, there's something to be said for helping maintain the compute clusters inside of banks, or using Altiris or similar tools to manage hundreds of desktops for gigantic offices. I've done this myself, but I didn't have very much fun.
For my money, where you want to be is in web operations, building the systems that drive popular websites. Think about Instagram, Etsy, Netflix, companies that move enormous amounts of data around on the cheap, with relatively tiny staff. Read the blogs by the infrastructure team behind Etsy, and you'll realize quickly that these guys are geniuses.
Here you'll want to learn about how to interact programmatically with cloud compute providers, such as Amazon AWS, Rackspace Cloud, and the OpenStack providers that are starting to pop up, like HP. (A cloud provider is generally not just virtualization, but virtualization coupled with an API. It may sound small but it's a big difference!)
Here's some reading: If you want to learn a lot about nix operating systems, check out The Armadillo Book and The Practice of System and Network Administration.
If you're interested in learning web operations-oriented sysadmin, which is a VERY interesting place to be, also check out The Art of Scalability -- well, the first 2/3 anyway -- and the followup book, 50 Scalability Rules.
And especially, especially read and understand this, because there won't be many web-oriented companies still in business by 2014 that don't follow this process: Continuous Delivery.
Good luck! You picked a GREAT time to get started in the industry. The 00's were pretty boring by comparison. :)
EDIT: I KAN SPEEL
As soon as is practical, get your hands on a copy of "The Practice of System and Network Administration" (Your college library may have it, or try Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668 ).
One of the earliest chapters covers taking control of a situation like this, and walks you through how to dig yourself out.
The rest of the book is great too.
Glad you asked!
I asked the same question on my blog a few months ago.
Then that blog entry hit slashdot. There was a big discussion.
I think it all boils down to the size of your network. Smallish, and cute names are fine. Biggish and you've got to use functional names.
Also, you should find The Practice of System and Network Administration somewhere and buy it (or check it out of a library until you convince yourself that you have to buy it).
Also, feel free to submit things like this to the sysadmin subreddit
If you're looking for a good book, I highly recommend "The Practice of System and Network Administration".
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
Read it, every page, cover to cover. It'll be a phenomenal crash course for you in system and network administration. Then if you need to dive into more intricate technical details later you can start looking at technical certifications. But again, this book will be a great start.
Book https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
Stick around. Lurk. Comment. Grow.
The Practice of System and Network Administration
Get this book. And go through it. It should outline various things you'll need to be comfortable with. Ticketing system, even if it is just for you, is invaluable. You can go simple with something like trello to get started. Limit the amount of stuff you are doing at one time. Manage your 'work in progress.' The more things you are trying to multitask, the less you'll get done.
Everyone else is spot on about this being typical for a first job. Fake it till you make it. Don't take it personally that you don't know things. They know this. They paid you less on purpose, so they defo know this. Don't neglect your health, mental and physical.
Oh. Also. You ARE in over your head. But so am I. So is just about everyone else here. If you aren't in over your head, your learning stops, then you stagnate, then the job market moves on past you.
We are the shepherds in the valley of darkness, and shall fear no printer. . .
From OP:
>The exact four books I read are:
>Learning Obj-C
>Learning Java
>iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide
>Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide
>However, I would now recommend learning Swift instead of Obj-C. At the time when I was looking into iOS books, good books on Swift were few and far between.
From u/AlCapwn351 in regards to other sources to learn from:
>www.codeacademy.com is a great site for beginners (and it's free). It's very interactive. W3schools is good for learning stuff like JavaScript and HTML among other things.
>When you get stuck www.stackoverflow.com will be a lifesaver. Other than that, YouTube videos help and so do books. Oh and don't be afraid to google the shit out of anything and everything. I feel like an early programmers job is 90% google 10% coding.
>Edit:
>It's also good to look at other peoples code on GitHub so you can see how things work.
Forget Android studio for a time being, start with Eclipse. It's been around forever and most beginner tutorials use it, once you get the gist of how to integrate tools with IDEs you can proceed to AS.
Eclipse might complain about missing JRE (Java Runtime Environment) because although you have downloaded JDK/JRE, it doesn't know where to find it. Eclipse is integrated very close with Java(written in it to be exact) and it needs any JRE up from 1.5+, just for it to launch. If your particular project uses different Java/Runtime (like when you will use Dalvik VM and Android JDK for your Android projects, which are a somewhat different from Standard Edition Java) you can enter the ones you want later in Eclipse using Project settings).
When you first launch Eclipse it needs to load a JVM and complains if it doesn't find one. Search your computer for folders like jdk and jre, if you have none, download Java SE 6 or 7 64bit suitable for your OS. Extract to a folder of your choosing.
If you already have Java installed on your computer, you'll just have to update system-wide PATH environment variable to include the freshly-extracted Java subfolders which contain the executable (javaw.exe and jvm.dll if you're on windows, google "set up java path" if you're on Mac or Linux).
I would recommend practicing with plain Java first though. Android is an immensely complex framework and it heavily relies on such concepts as OOP and various design patterns which you have to understand or it's gonna be deer-in-headlights every time you read a new doc. You don't want your development experience to consist of copying and pasting other people's code, right? You'll have to do some homework then.
First, you need to have a solid Java/OOP foundation. Head First Java was a great OOP book for me, it's really intuitive and fun to follow (you don't have to finish all of it, for example, feel free to skip the applet and chat client parts, and bookmark serialization to revisit it later). You can download free pdfs of earlier editions, too. Then if you have the patience, follow up with "Head First Design Patterns" from the same publisher, again, familiar format, easygoing content structure, - once you get the hang of these two concepts you're somewhat good to go. I know some people will be all "you kidding right, TWO books before you even touch the thing? screw that just start coding" but I you will seriously need this knowledge if you ever want to even start navigating Android framework with some level of confidence.
It's a steep learning curve for someone learning or re-learning after such a long break (same here by the way) but it's so freakin' satisfying once you get the hang of it. Don't give up, most of these problems have been solved a hundred times before.
Head First Java
Depends on what you mean by being "paid to code." IMO it would be very difficult to get to a level expected of a professional software engineer in that amount of time. I do honestly believe you'll learn to code, it's just that there is so much more to it. You'll also need to learn algorithms and data strucutres at a bare minimum, as well as things like version control and design patterns.
I do think you can get to a level where you could potentially be some sort of administrator, potentially writing scripts or SQL queries, and work your way up from there.
Things you can do:
I think Head First Java is definitely what you're looking for.
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
It's designed to be fun, interesting and pretty fast paced. Also, it's very easy to skip around chapters to find info on what you need. I don't think it goes very in-depth regarding data structures, but that is mainly what your class is for! This book should easily get you up to speed regarding the core of the language, and OO programming in general.
Thinking in Java and Head First Java are also really good.
I've worked with computers for a really long time too, but I never did a lot of programming. Believe me, I struggled my ass off with Java. A lot of people do. There's a currently free Udemy course for Java that I'm actually taking right now, just to brush up. I'd recommend it. I think it's one of the top posts in /r/learnprogramming right now. Please check it out. You might also look into Head First Java as well. I bought the book and really liked it. Explained everything in a more friendly way.
Don't use Codecademy if you want to learn Java because they don't have a Java course.
I am a fan of the Head First series. http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208
And if you are looking for free resources there are a ton online.
I suggest going over to /r/learnprogramming and read the FAQ on the side bar.
In my experience, Barnes and Noble tend to have absolutely pathetic selections for technical books, aside from garbage like "Make Money using (Facebook/Twitter/Youtube" or any of the generic "X for Dummies" tomes.
There are plenty of online resources for learning at least the basics of things you want, like:
If you want a physical book for Java, though, many beginners tend to like Head First Java.
Head first java
A little bit old but still useful: Head First Java
I saw someone posting Head First Java and you might want to take a look at this thread and this thread in regards to that book. Here's my opinion from those threads:
Headfirst Java was published in 2005. It's 13 years old. If you're looking to learn Java, there are plenty of excellent resources that also cover the latest features of the language:
by Y. Daniel Liang (2017) - It's a textbook, but very well written. You could probably get by with an older version as well. I got my start with his book and you will learn a lot of core programming fundamentals along with the Java programming language. I highly recommend it.
Eventually you'll want to pick up Effective Java, 3rd Edition by Joshua Bloch (2018) - This is the 3rd edition of his book which is regarded as somewhat of a bible for advanced Java techniques.
You should check out the official Java Tutorials.
I suddenly found myself developing Android apps as part of a career shift, and I didn't know Java very well. I went through those tutorials and felt pretty comfortable afterwards, I don't think it took me more than a few weeks. That said, I already had a background in software, so YMMV.
Regardless, they'd probably be a great way to get your feet wet before diving in during the semester.
If you're looking for a lighter intro, pick up a copy of Head First Java. Can't really go wrong with those books, they're always an easy read and lead by example; a good thing for someone who's learning for the first time.
First, read our Wiki. It is very thorough and answers a lot of these common questions such as
day to day? The Practice of System and Network Administration
And the topical reference books listed below.
Books to help in shaping a sysadmin? The above &:
The Phoenix Project
Time Management for System Administrators
Topical Books I see mentioned often and have been very helpful to me:
Powershell in a month of lunches
Learn Python the hard way
Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook
Windows Server 2016: Inside Out
Group Policy
AbsoluteBSD
FreeBSD mastery:ZFS
CCNA
RHCSA/RHCE
Pro Puppet
SSH Mastery
On my docket:
FreeBSD Mastery: Advanced ZFS
Michael W. Lucas and Thomas Limoncelli are very good sysadmin writers, you can't go wrong with a topic they have chosen to write about.
Most of the *nix stuff assumes a baseline knowledge of how to use a unix-based system. I learned as I went but did pick up an old copy of Unix Visual Quickstart Guide not too long ago at a used books sale, which seems like a good starting place for someone overwhelmed with sitting at a terminal and being productive.
I notice I don't have any Virtualization books, perhaps someone else can fill in good books. Most of my knowledge regarding virtualization and network storage has been a mix of official docs, video training, and poking at it. Seems innate but it isn't.
I used this book for my exam in May 2016 and I found his writing better than the Cisco Official Text.
From the sticky post at the top of the forum it seems the general consensus is that Lammle is an approchable, easier to read author as opposed Odom who is more technical.
Might I suggest you go for [this book instead] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119288282/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1) seems to be more or less the same cost but covers all the material for CCNA + ICND1 & 2.
Just an idea.
to answer your actual question, I'm a beginner and I like Lammle's books
Here is a Cisco guide I found about the subject of IP addressing and subnetting. Just the first link on Google though, I bet there are a lot more. (Quickly glancing over it, it seems they explain things in a pretty difficult manner.)
I'm currently studying for my Cisco CCNA certificate and I'm reading Todd Lammle's book for this. Very much overkill if you just want the basics, but everything is very thoroughly explained here. It's very interesting stuff imho, if you're into that.
I used this book:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1119288282/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1503224194&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=todd+ccna&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51yYfht4EtL&amp;ref=plSrch#immersive-view_1503224202882
It pretty much has everything you need to know. I would 100% recommend doing CCNA, I feel SO much more knowledgeable now.
Also used CBT Nuggets, at 84$ a month it is pretty expensive. It is a great service however.
You will also inevitably need to use GNS3 which is a network simulator. It is annoying to setup, but a must. Unless you have a home lab which most people, including myself use. It is best to do both.
great news! I have mine booked for Jan but am also terrible at exams. I've completed the CBT Nugz videos and am looking to purchase a study guide.
Do i go for:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CCENT-ICND1-Study-Guide-100-105/dp/1119288789
or
http://www.ciscopress.com/store/ccent-ccna-icnd1-100-105-official-cert-guide-premium-9780134440972
I completed a CCNA course back in 2010 but never took the exam and am also getting back on the wagon!
congrats again!
Not OP but I used:
https://www.professormesser.com/free-a-plus-training/220-901/comptia-220-900-course/
https://www.youtube.com/user/professormesser
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1
The Mike Meyers book for the 901/902 has a decent set of test questions. Can be found here
It all depends on what kind of personal experience you've had. Most people would find the A+ to be easiest. It requires 2 exams (220-901 and 220-902) on a wide variety of topics such as hardware, networking, mobile devices, and security, but it doesn't go too deep into any particular topic.
You can use the Professor Messer videos on Youtube, Mike Myers' book, and the practice tests at examcompass.com and crucialexams.com to prepare.
About a month.
This is the book I studied with this book, I did the first 15 chapters took the first test, studied the second half and took the second test to get my cert.
glad to hear it.
btw, here:
clicky A+
clicky Net+
clicky Sec+ <--careful, this test is being updated soon, the next version should be coming out in late 2017, with exam guides dropping early 2018. This specific book will be outdated, though still a fantastic resource. Might want to hold off if you're serious about taking the Sec+ exam until the next version, this one comes out.
grab a hardcover copy and start learning!
Buy a few cheap switches and routers (cisco, adtran, avaya, etc.)
buy a few books. https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official-Guide/dp/1587143852/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1468378819&amp;sr=8-13&amp;keywords=networking+book
learn subnetting, vlans, routing (static, dynamic, OSPF, BGP,EIGRP, etc), Port security, etc.
oh yeah, buy a console cable and download Putty.
Hello,
I am going to put a link up for the 100-101 which is the CCENT but if you scroll about half way down you will see the other books related to CCNA. Also, you should check out CISCO, and scroll down to exams and recommended training, this will show which exam you need to pass to obtain said cert.
Self studied myself and just passed my CCENT yesterday. You are correct, passing the ICND1 will get you your CCENT. Following that, completing the ICND2 will give you your CCNA cert.
I personally studied with the Offical CCENT guide by Odom. Heavy book but a good reference guide. I also used a deal I found on Groupon for video training which helped immensely. On top of that, bought physical hardware though all you will need is Packet Tracer through Cisco.
Book - I used this one (https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official-Guide/dp/1587143852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1467135295&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccent)
You might want to use this book though, seeing as V3 of CCENT will be implemented soon (https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1467135295&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=ccent)
Groupon - I believe this is the same deal that I purchased (https://www.groupon.com/deals/career-academy-us-kalamazoo)
This will have videos for ICND1 & 2, as well as video training for CCNP
Packet Tracer - https://www.netacad.com/about-networking-academy/packet-tracer/
As /u/trivvium suggested, videos are a great way to start and to visualize some of the more foreign topics you may not know about. Videos, like bootcamps, only cover so much -- you really need to read some books (Lammle and Odom have published some pretty decent CCNA texts) and do some lab work (GNS3 labs, routergods, ect) in unison with videos to get something out of the cert.
Remember, a cert is just a piece of paper, if you don't know your actual content, you're going to look stupid; the true value in a cert is the stuff you pick up while studying for it, and as a bonus, you get a piece of paper that says you passed an exam.
Odom's CCNA Book
Lammle's Book
This is a study book by Wendell Odom. I'm also just beginning to study for the CCENT and about 5 chapters into this book. So far it's been a good introduction, but it also feels like a review of the CompTIA Network+ so a bit boring at some points (personally). I hope this helps in some way!
Download and install CentOS. It's the built-from-source version of RedHat Enterprise Linux. They are identical for all intents and purposes. Almost every business that's running linux is running either Cent or RHEL.
Use it as your primary OS, but that's not going to get you the experience you need to be a sysadmin. Use the RHCE Book to learn how to set up an apache server & other sysadmin tasks. Seriously, read the book & do the labs, you'll learn a lot about linux. (If you've got the $800 to spare, you can take the certification exam but IMHO the certifications don't get you much.)
Once you've got that down, check out the BASH Programming guide on tldp for shell scripting, and then maybe MIT's Introduction To Computer Science and Programming - completely free online course.
That ought to be a pretty good start. Good Luck!
This author and this book is a somewhat standard text:
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-RHCE-Red-Linux-Certification/dp/0071765654/
Yes, Michael Jang's book - RHCSA/RHCE, this book is not cheap BUT it may be one of the best I have ever used. I've almost finished this and am hoping to try for my red hat cert in December. The book is literally step by step. http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-RHCE-Red-Linux-Certification/dp/0071765654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1414968544&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=michael+jang+rhcsa
Definitely go with RHCE. It's a hands-on lab exam vs. LPIC which is multiple-choice. If you can pass it, you prove that you actually know your way around a Linux system.
I strongly recommend this book.
www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654/
I used it to it brush-up the last time I re-certed, and I've given it to two people who both passed their RHCSA on the first shot, and one who went on to pass his RHCE.
For A+ I always recommend Mike Myers' book and Professor Messer's videos.
CCNA, I used Wendell Odom's books and the CBT Nuggets videos.
If you are going to be a one-man IT solution, your work will break down four ways, each of which are a specialty unto themselves and will require different amounts of your effort at different times of the year. I'm going to go into a bit more than reading material, because frankly, you should have some warning about what the future might bring.
All four will require setup, upgrade, and troubleshooting in event of breakdown or customer complaint. The exception here is that your other coast's IT department probably has an inventory system already in place, you'll just want to get to know it well. Also, learn all about how your company handles shipping (which shipper they use, how they charge, who has authority to approve shipping, etc) and what security rules are in place for storing company equipment and data.
In terms of Hardware, get and read just about any A+ book. It's going to be boring--I warn that in advance--but I've learned a ton of useful things from every A+ book I've looked at. The best one I've read is CompTIA's own A+ book because of how well put together it is, plus its written by the guy who writes the tests. There are a lot of things you may never use, but it makes a great reference, and your IT department might cover certification. Which becomes a great argument point for receiving a raise later.
As for Software... that will change based on every software package you ever handle. Ask the distant IT team if they have a knowledgebase, and if so, what it will take to access it. If they don't, compile yourself a bookmarks list for the forums of every piece of software you will use regularly. If its Microsoft software, Google will work just fine. The problems tend to be so widespread that answers will jump up. They won't always work, but it'll help you troubleshoot. Also find out how the company handles its software licenses. That can be a real headache.
Now the networking... That gets a bit more complicated. Depending on what your office is using for their network, it could be as easy as flipping power on and off on a few boxes hooked up to a broadband connection. If its more complicated, you'll want to learn about what solution is used for network administration. Good odds if its a major company that they'll be using Windows servers and Active Directory. Find out and learn about their account management solution. As for network hardware... you'll probably need to lean on the bigger IT team for awhile until you get comfortable with it. Proactively learn about routers, switches, domain controllers, DNS servers, and anything their Wikipedia pages link to that doesn't read like a Latin textbook. Most of your job won't be dealing with the theory, it will be trying to figure out where in the hose it is kinked, so that you can keep the Internet flowing and computers talking to each other. Learn about LAN cables and the different speeds, that'll help as well.
For inventory, well, hopefully that's all in place. If not, secure a locked space if one isn't already in use. Talk to whoever is in charge of your facility and at least try to get a secure closet with a lock. You'll probably want to request a small supply of replacement parts or whole computers, dependent on what your overall IT department uses as their policy. Find out if they lease the hardware, and track everything you receive, ship, or disburse in a log. Keep that log backed up somewhere really safe. Track inventory info, serial numbers, company designations (if they're tagging hardware), dates of activity, and notes on things like shipping numbers. This will save your butt often.
Good chance that for the first while, your job will be the same every entry level IT person ends up doing for awhile... You'll be someone else's hands. You'll have a problem, you'll try to fix it, you'll find out you can't or don't have privileges to do it, then you'll ask for help... then that person who would normally fly out to you will have you do the things on your end that they normally would, so they can finish things at their end. You'll be their hands in place. It can feel like monkey work, but eh, it can be a lot worse. You could be Migrating XP machines to Windows 7 for 3-10 months on 3rd shift, locked in a basement or storage unit. Folks all across North America have been enjoying that experience over the past 2-3 years.
Training, and learning nix. Alrighty.
So, first thing's first, check out DCCCD and Collin College for some good classes. I've taken the shell scripting and intro nix classes at Richland and they were helpful. I'd already been a sysadmin for a year or two and learned a few tips and tricks from instructors who'd been there a few times already.
LPI - Linux Professionl Institue - lpi.org - Check out the essentials and LPIC I. A bit deeper than Linux+ (more on this in a minute), I hear, and a bit more respected in the circles I run in.
CompTIA - Linux+ - Because of course CompTIA is going to offer a moneygrab...err...entry level certification on Linux. It's basically, I understand, an LPI Linux Essentials with CompTIA's logo. Is that a bad thing? No, not really if you're looking to get your feet wet.
And if you're so inclined, I'm a big fan of Michael Jang's books (i.e. http://smile.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Seventh-Edition/dp/0071841962/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=0714AZZ2G0DT3926CJTS ). Practical, no-nonsense, and it will take you from little to no experience, to ready for your RHCSA/RHCE session in a couple of months, if you're willing to put in the time. Two of my cow-orkers and I all used Jang as our primary reference followed by an RHCE bootcamp and got our RHCSA and RHCEs. And, I'm about to use my Amazon Smile account (you're using Smile, and benefitting TheLab, right? Ask me how if you're not!) to pre-order the RHEL7 update that's going to drop soon.
Hope this helps, feel free to get in touch or grab me at a meeting if you have other questions.
-I5
No, I'm not Init6.
RHCSA/RHCE Red Hat Linux Certification Study Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams EX200 & EX300) (Certification & Career - OMG) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071841962/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.qoQzbMPYYEZT
Red Hat RHCSA/RHCE 7 Cert Guide: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (EX200 and EX300) (Certification Guide) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789754053/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VsoQzbCCZTJ17
And lots of practice
I worked in IT from the age of 18 (well, 14, if you count the freelance PC building work I did from 14-18) to 30, at which point I decided to re-skill and move into another career.
My advice about uni would be: unless you're planning on becoming a programmer, and maybe not even then, don't do it. Seriously.
IT is a lot like a traditional trade in that the most efficient way to learn best practice is to actually experience it on the job. Almost everything they will teach you in uni will be obsolete by the time you finish, or it won't be industry best practice.
I got my foot in the door at a company at 18, while my mates went to uni. By age 20 the company I worked for sent me over to the UK for 3 months to work in their new subsidiary as a senior technical advisor. Meanwhile, my mates hadn't even finished their degrees yet. When they did finally finish, they were taking help desk type jobs, while I was being employed as a systems engineer. And it's not because I was fucking brilliant or anything like that -- there's much more skilled individuals out there than me -- it was because I had 4+ years work experience over them by that point.
If you really do want to study, I would advise finding the industry standard certifications for your chosen area of interest, and doing them instead. For example, if you want to do networking, study for the CCNA exam, then go sit for it. With a CCNA you will get your foot in the door just about anywhere and it's much cheaper than a uni degree. You can find some study materials and exam guides at the following sites:
allITeBooks.com
Udemy / Udacity / EdX
Google 'moocs list reddit' for lists of even more free and paid online courses
I'd also advise you to get some sort of Linux cert. To do that you can get this book:
https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1523303112&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=jang+linux
Do all of the exercises, labs, and so forth, then go through each portion of each test on https://www.certdepot.net/.
Finally, understand that in order to succeed in this industry, you are going to have to do a lot of self-learning. That means creating a lab at home and fiddling with different equipment/products. If you don't have that sort of natural curiosity and love of learning, then I would suggest you find another career. IT is a field that is constantly changing and in order to stay on the cutting edge, you must do some learning outside of your job.
I hope this has been of some use to you.
You sound motivated! First off you definitely won't stay at the same company. You certainly don't "need" to go to college. Get yourself a book for red hat certification, or whatever you think you might be interested in, like this https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962
And then get to reading and implement everything in the book on a computer at home in your free time. You can easily setup a CentOS VM(google!) to practice everything in the book. By the time you're done you'll have a a decent concept of how everything in the book works. Then do the same for Microsoft if you so wish, MCSA book+practice. Cannot stress enough that you have to actually make the thing work on a real server(s) or it won't stick with you and it won't make a whole lot of sense. It's time consuming, but it's still going to be way faster(and cheaper) than a college course and the struggle of figuring out things yourself will make you remember it.
As far as attracting employers, well, someone's gonna have to take a chance on you. If there's internal positions you can apply to that would be good, you aren't an unknown entity and if you ramp up your knowledge on the tech it will be obvious to those who are in a position to give you a chance. If you go internal, you won't get a raise worth a crap, you're gonna have to change companies, but by then you'll have some real experience under your belt and can command a higher salary. If you actually go and take the tests and get the certifications, you have a better chance of getting hired somewhere else in a junior position. What I like to ask in interviews is "how much opportunity will I have to work with X technology?" If it's a straight taking calls day in day out with no interfacing with the engineering groups then pass, but if it's a closer knit type of deal where you're just one cube over from the guy deploying production servers, jump on it!
You can get the CompTIA certifications through self study. Took me 1 month and this book to get mine.
It took me about 3 months to get my Net+ (but I wasn't studying everyday like I did with the A+), using this book.
Both will help you in sprucing up your resume for applying to IT jobs and will only cost you the books and the exam costs. Best of luck out there!
Mike Meyers' Network+ Certification Manual is a great read, and will give you a fairly comprehensive understanding of all basic networking concepts.
Honestly, I was a little overwhelmed when I started Lammle's book, so I decided to go for the Net+ first. I'm glad I did because it was a lot easier to understand all of the basic concepts going into the CCNA studies. You don't have to actually take the Net+ exam if you are planning on going for the CCNA, but this book would be a good read either way:
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1523392020&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=network%2B
The book Unix Network Programming by Stevens is the seminal work on network programming. It will be C but the Unix API is C. Then there is the actual network protocol specs which are published by the Internet Engineering Task Force. Those two sources cover the low level technical details and there is a lot of material to learn there.
Tokio has a tutorial which introduces tokio and futures.
There is a guide started by Aaron Turon, but it hadn't been updated for a while.
For more deep introduction to network programming I'd recomend Steven's book on Unix network programming, but it is not Rust, but C.
Training or not, the only way to get good at it is to do it. When it comes to discovering and exploiting vulnerabilities in commodity software, I'd say there are four aspects: 1) knowing what constitutes a software vulnerability; 2) facility with vulnerability discovery; 3) facility with software exploitation; and 4) dealing with issues of scale.
As for 1), I'd suggest reading books on the subject (e.g., The Art of Software Security Assessment) and following conference presentations to learn about emerging trends. For 2) and 3), Capture The Flag challenges (e.g. /r/SecurityCTF) provide a font of both small targets to practice on as well as write-ups from people who have completed them. Also, follow blogs and conference presentations to learn about exploit techniques. This will help you only somewhat with 4), which is where having reverse engineering skills are especially helpful. 4) is a matter of experience -- trying to apply what you've learned from practice on smaller targets (like CTFs) to larger, real-world software, failing, and keeping at it until you start to succeed.
Also a classic is "The Art of Software Security Assessment"
http://www.amazon.com/The-Software-Security-Assessment-Vulnerabilities/dp/0321444426
The Practice of System & Network Administration.
Basically this is a crash course on the non technical aspects of being a sysadmin. It tells you what to do and why, leaving the how out as it changes every few years.
In short...yes. But there are a few things I would change given the chance. As others have said, either get certified, MCSA, MCSE and/or Network+ / CCNA. Or get a 4 year degree. The 4 year degree is more of an HR filter than anything, but now that I'm older and have a family it's a lot harder for me to go back to school and complete it. Small companies or managed service providers are great for a short term to get your feet wet in the industry. This is a great book The practice of network and system administration It is not very technical and it is kind of dry but it gives a lot of really good insight with how business IT works, things to consider when working on a particular type of project. For example moving an office, there is a chapter on office moves and what to think about... Some say it's a lot of common sense stuff but I found it helpful early on in my career.
Sure, I used the well known books from Michael Jang, both the RHCSA/RHCE one and the one containing the practice exams and virtual machines, I also used this resource sometimes, it contains useful information in a clear way.
Hope this helps!
Also Red Hat study guides like this one.
As an additive to this, if you cannot afford the training, the RHCSA/RHCE book by Jang is an incredible resource:
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654
I will be taking the test when I can afford it from only studying this and real-world experience through my job.
I'd also like to add on that if you want some easy real world experience setup a cheap VPS to host websites on, this will give you a fantastic taste in troubleshooting issues, installing software, securing stuff, etc... It's also an easy way to make a small extra income. :)
For that particular cert I took a job where I'd be leading an effort to spin up an entire linux environment from scratch including centralized config/package management, etc, and I had no formal training at the time so my employer put me through the 5 Day Rapid Track course you're probably looking at. It was pretty good, but I probably learned more from just following the course material on my own and working with my environment. I didn't actually take the exam until a couple months after the class.
This book is pretty universally revered as an excellent resource. I still break it out once in a while. Disclaimer: there might be a new one but I believe this is what I have.
https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Guide/dp/0071765654
If you get through all of that and most importantly learn to effectively use the man pages and the existing in-OS resources (remember its a test on a live system so all commands are available including the documentation!), even if you come to a task in the exam that you've never done you will be familiar enough with "figuring shit out" to figure it out.
I rate this Redhat RHCSA and RHCE study guide which covers pretty much everything you'll need to know about Centos/RHEL. Maybe even take the RHCSA or an equivalent exam when you're ready (ie LPIC 1, Linux+), it'll certainly help you learn and get hired.
Ignore the gui tools as much as you can, typically they're not going to help you learn any quicker and you'll likely end up not bothering with them at all down the line anyway.
Once you have a grounding, just get out and find yourself a linux admin job as that's where you'll really cut your teeth. Don't be afraid to start looking sooner rather than later, just be honest about your level of experience.
Good luck!
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654
I had professionaly been a linux admin for 10ish years before i took my rhcsa. I found it very easy but still learned some in my two weeks of classes before the test.
http://www.amazon.com/Linux-System-Administration-Handbook-Edition/dp/0131480057/ref=wl_it_dp_o_piT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&amp;colid=12MNX8P4AJLZY&amp;coliid=I3AKRESKO8PAOP
http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Commands-Editors-Programming-Edition/dp/013308504X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&amp;colid=12MNX8P4AJLZY&amp;coliid=I2HFBSVXDY6AFF
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654/ref=wl_it_dp_o_piT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&amp;colid=12MNX8P4AJLZY&amp;coliid=I2P3ILHN0013L1
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&amp;colid=12MNX8P4AJLZY&amp;coliid=I3H6KNRFYQI1QC
> what is the best distro for this
You will get a lot of answers based upon a lot of opinions with that question. But if you want to be practical, go for CentOS (which is just a Redhat clone) as Redhat is one of the most widely used distros in the corporate IT world.
If you can do everything in the first 9 chapters in this book without much thought, you will be ready for your first full Linux Admin role. It's designed to help you get RHCSA but everything in it is hands on and very practical.
You can pick yourself up an RHCSA/RHCE exam study book, like http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654 for instance, or you can just follow the online documentation and start from a blank system, then format and install the distro of you choice, then configure it and install the software of your choice (apache, mysql, python), configure the network interfaces and the firewall. I keep recommending FreeBSD, Gentoo, and Slackware as starting points. Then you might want to move on to Debian or CentOS/Scientific Linux. Linux From Scratch is good if you really want to dig deep and understand things from another level.
I can recommend Jang's RHCE study guide as a good comprehensive introduction to RHEL, and it does a good job of going through the details of the installation process so you can be sure you didn't miss anything. Also check your support contract! You may be paying RH to help with this kind of thing.
If you've failed it 5 times, you know you are studying the wrong way. What are your study methods? Did you read the A+ holy bible by Mike Meyers?
Read this from front to back. All of it. I know it's going to take you while. It is a freaking huge book...but you can do it within a few weeks. Even if you've already read it before. Read it again and take notes. And if you're already computer savvy, you don't have to read line by line. Scan through it, anything you already know you can skip. The parts that state 801, you can skip, since I assume you already passed that.
Make sure you watch all of the 802 Professor Messer videos right before the exam. They don't cover absolutely everything on the exam objectives in depth but the majority of it is there. The few days before you take the exam, find and take every online practice test you can find on the internet. Google: Comptia A+ 802 free practice exam and make sure you're getting scores of 90% or more.
I got a mid-800 score on the 802 on the first try but I can tell you know it's not a cakewalk like most people will say. It's only easy if you study the proper way. I can't imagine acing without studying...and I've been been building my own rigs, setting up SOHOs and installing/configuring windows for 20 years.
Change your study habits because it's not working.
Seems really expensive for what should be a maybe a 1/3rd of the price.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X
Ok, I just passed the A+ a few weeks ago (didn't need it, but figured I needed something to get me over the hump and actually start getting my certs).
I used Mike Meyer's CompTIA Cert Guide (I took the 2009 version of the test btw)
I used Transcender test prep (it was provided for free as part of the 5 day class I took)
I watched all of the Professor Messor videos on youtube.
I took a class (more on this below)
I used Exam Cram
The first exam is the difficult one. It's not difficult in that you'll need to have a lot of experience or that the questions are tricky. It's difficult in the sense that you'll need to know a little about a LOT of stuff. For example, do you know how many pins are in a centronics cable? Do you know if it's serial or parallel? Do you know what device it's primarily used for? (36, parallel, printer) I studied for about 2-3 weeks pretty seriously (daily sample tests, questions, etc...did it during free time at work and after work at home). This study took place after I had read both of the books cover to cover (it's boring).
The second example (practical application) is cake walk if you've a) passed the essentials and b) have worked in IT support at all. Just a bunch of scenario questions. I studied about 3 hours for this exam.
I passed both exams on the first try about 2 months apart (I took a vacation in between).
The class was pointless knowledge wise. I've been in IT for a long time so it really was just for people who have ZERO experience. It helped since my work paid for the class and it included the Exam Cram book, transcender test prep access, and vouchers for both exams.
So to summarize my huge wall of text.
There will be people who disagree or study differently. More power to them. This is how it worked for me though. I will say that it's probably possible to pass the exam without doing some of this, but I really hate wasting money and would have been devastated if I had to re-take the exam.
Anyway. Here are some links. I'm sending you the 800 exam stuff since I imagine you'll be doing that instead of the 700 series (which is discontinued in a few months).
Mike Meyers
Exam Cram
Transcender test prep
Professor Messor videos
Just scored 827 on the 220-801 exam. I'm using this text though I hear great things about the Meyers book. Watch these videos and puchase his study guides they're excellent value. Read a chapter then watch the appropriate video, a few a week is a great pace. Then once you get through and are somewhat confident in answering the questions in the book, book your exam and have a week where you really blitz the material (around 3 chapters a day). Practice exams would be bonus, I used the ones that came with this but that was a loaner from a friend.
Obligatory Professor Messer link.
Those videos and a good book like this one or this one seem to do the trick for most people.
I passed 801 on Friday and 802 on Monday.
Yes, they did have random questions about pins of RAM. IIRC, the question was, your lab has 184-pin memory sticks, what kind of RAM is it?
The most random question of all on 801 was identifying, in order, the colors of wire on an RJ-11 pin. WTF? I just guessed and moved on.
I used the Mike Meyers book and this practice exam book.
The Meyers book is good for learning the material, but the questions are kind of easy. The Practice Exam book has much more difficult question, but the difficulty of the questions helps you learn more.
Problem with both books is that they don't cover simulations at all. I had no idea they were going to be on the exam until I took the exam on Friday. Turns out that the Practice Exam book does mention simulations, but does not actually give you a sample situation.
The simulations on 802 actually aren't that hard, because everything that is not relevant is disabled. For example, there was one question where you have to set a password for a user and everything in control panel was disabled except for the way to set the password. So even if you couldn't remember exactly how to get to the user account page, it's easy to find.
Feel free to ask any other questions while it's fresh in my mind.
I'm in a similar situation as yourself, studying for A+ and onward from there. I've heard Micheal Meyers All-in-One Exam Guide (8th edition) is very good. I'm not nearly through it enough to give my opinion on it, but I have never heard someone speak poorly of it.
I'm also going through Professor Messer's A+ videos. You can buy them, or you can watch them all totally free right on his site. I think it's a very good resource, and again I've only heard good things. They're broken down very well, and easy to handle in small chunks.
Beyond that I'm just a noob myself and can't offer much else.
Ah! Okay. Now it makes a lot of sense. Also Is the book you were talking about?
Yeah, I got my A+ back in May to get my foot in the door with IT. There are two tests that aren't that difficult if you have a decent understanding of computers. The first tests you on hardware, the second is focused on the Windows OS.
To study, I used the Mike Meyers A+ Cert guide and Professor Messer's videos. I cannot speak highly enough about those videos.
I find them very helpful. I'm also studying the Mike Myers book, All In One Exam Guide CompTIA+ Certification, 8th Edition. Using both interchangeably is helping me really grasp the material.
A+ study guides are probably the best text books for learning about computers. I used the Mike Meyers guide somewhat when I took the test: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007179512X/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1535523722&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_i=0782142435&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_r=1H8DP0ZA3TBNDB81D5FG
Should be available at your local library.
It covers a hell of a lot more than just PC hardware though. Networking, windows, mobile devices, printers, etc.
Hey man, I took the A + recently. There is some awesome study material online.
For studying material I used the following:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/007179512X/ref=pd_aw_sims_2?pi=SL500_SY115&amp;simLd=1
http://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG49S3nxzAnnmMVTdd4v4ryJ7_qoQCrF4
http://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG49S3nxzAnlfszEOQ-Ih03S6MsnZLd6k
For practice exams I used the free ones in Mike Myers book and the following sites.
http://m.crucialexams.com/exams/a+/
http://www.examcompass.com/comptia-a-plus-practice-test-1-exam-220-801
Also look at the comptia subreddit, you can get some good advice on studying for simulation questions.
I used one called RHCSA/RHCE Redhat Linux Certification Study Guide, 7th Edition.
It's this one: https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962
When I studied for the RHCSA, I found that Sander Van Vugt came highly recommended. Best of all? $Free (i.e. get the free trial and go for it)
https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/red-hat-certified/9780134723990/
I also got the Ashgar Ghori book because the Michael Jang one wasn't out yet.
Jang's RHEL6 books were highly regarded, so I would expect his RHEL7 stuff to be held in similar esteem. Ghori's book seemed perfectly capable, though.
Linux, I assume?
Studying for the RHCSA is a pretty good way to learn the basics of *nix administration. This book could be helpful.
You could also read through this PDF to get a handle on the fundamentals before branching out to deeper stuff.
Cisco has a nice guide for networking basics here.
SysAdmin work is a fairly broad field, so I couldn't really think of any catch-all guides to cover most of what you'd potentially need to know. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a breadth of nice beginning tutorials like programming does. So, you're more than likely going to lean heavily on reading, hands-on experience, and your Google-fu to fill in the blanks. It may seem overwhelming at first but once you get the core concepts down, things start to snap into place. Trial-by-fire tends to be the ultimate learning method that most of us had to go through in order to really learn any of it.
Some useful subs:
I recommend you get Michael Jang's study guide and then setup a lab and practice, practice, practice.
At the risk of a self-plug, I'll offer up ELLIS (Enterprise Linux Lab Installer Script) for setting up your lab. It will give you all the infrastructure needed to practice for the exam on a single lab machine.
I recommend you complete your LPIC-1 learning, whether or not you then take its exams, before starting RHCSA.
I'm currently going through this recommended book by Michael Jang to learn RHCSA and RHCE, and also this book by Sander van Vugt for RHCSA and RHCE.
In the book by Michael Jang, at the end of chapter 1, he writes that the LPIC-1 exams "cover a number of related commands that we believe are implied prerequisites for the Red Hat certifications" and also says "Passing the LPIC 101 and 102 exams provides an excellent foundation for the RHCSA and RHCE exams."
It's wise to know everything at the LPIC-1 level whether or not you choose to buy the two corresponding exams for the LPIC-1 certification. If you do want to buy & take exams to get an LPIC-1, you might as well buy & take the two current Linux+ exams, and then have them tell LPI so that you also get LPIC-1. But it doesn't work the other way (if you get LPIC-1, you don't automatically get Linux+).
It might be worth it for you to pick up a good study guide for the new material to give you a better idea of what has and has not changed. I have a copy of this one, it's very well laid out and covers a lot of ground.
"Free" material outside of raw experience may be hard to come by. You can prepare for practically any test scenario on a RHEL server by downloading and utilizing Centos as an operating system, which would be free. To the same tune you can sign up and download as a RH developer and get a free copy of RHEL Workstation.
The objectives for the exam can be found on the RH site for the exam: https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/ex200-red-hat-certified-system-administrator-rhcsa-exam#Objectives
Other training options include purchasing a book, people really like Michael Jang's guide, or enrolling in the RH124, 134, 200 classes to prepare for the exam.
Coming from a seasoned (5year+) sysadmin with strong network knowledge, please don't expect a $105k salary within 2 years. Not being an ass, just being realistic (I am in Sydney, Australia on a roster of 40hours/week which usually does exceed 40hrs/w, but less than 50hrs/w. The salaries are slightly higher due to the cost of living here being stupid).
I work with CentOS on a day to day basis, and have been using OpenStack for well over a year now. I originally "learned the ropes" by doing the RedHat training and Certification for OpenStack on IceHouse.
Since then, I now use OpenStack with Kolla backed with Docker (containerised OpenStack). For those wondering what Kolla is, it uses Ansible playbooks with Jinja2 templates along with Docker.
Just a bit of background knowledge from my perspective.. Our implementation started with 6 utility style servers (ie. nova, neutron, glance, cinder, ceilometer nodes with redundancy), and 3 Ceph + nova-compute "beefy" nodes.
It's very specific to our company, thus requiring custom modifications based upon sable release of the current non-development release of OpenStack ("Kilo"). It's not recommend doing this as you are venturing away from standard, this was also highlighted by several speakers at the OpenStack Summit in Tokyo last year.
Being attracted to OpenSource has it's pro's and con's. You as a person, think it's great. But as a company, it's generally harder to get across the line due to the following (see this as an example):
The list can go on. :)
Anyway, I can safely say that you need strong Linux and Networking skills to understand a lot of the concepts that OpenStack has (As an example, have you heard of Network namespaces before? Heard of VXLAN? Heard of OpenvSwitch? Do you know what tcpdump or tshark is? Heard of LACP?).
I very much agree with a lot of the other comments in regarding to focusing on your Linux skills before even attempting to tackle OpenStack.
I would say an ideal method to build up your skills is to go through the support channels and work your way up.
You gain very valuable knowledge from the perspective of "feeling the pain of the customer" in the scenario of an outage. It'll help you one day to put away the cowboy hat, and double check your work or write an additional if statement in a bash script. :)
Passion should give you drive. You don't attempt to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro without knowing how to walk up a hill first. 5 years+ in the job, and I still study new things (heck, even old things to sharpen the skills - waiting on this to arrive: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071841962 ).
Sorry for the wall of text, I just hope it helps. Feel free to contact me if you wanted some direction~
I honestly have no idea between the differences of the two without looking it up. I took my Net+ back in 2007. The new test and objectives should be fun because it covers all the new things out there to include SCADA. Pretty good stuff.
From my experience doing certs, I really love the "All-In-One" series books. Mike Myers has been authoring the Network+ (and other books) for a while now and he has a book on Amazon for the n10-006 version. I would highly recommend getting that!
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223
I'm currently studying for my Net+. I took a class for Net+ a few years back at a local community college, and now I'm using this book as a refresher. What I also do is putting in notes from the book into a study program called Anki, and use that to further nail down my knowledge.
Working as a Network Tech only gets you this far.
I second this! Network+ Guide
Literally everything you would need to know from making cables to routing tables.
ISO/OSI is a comprehensive architecture for networking. TCP/IP are the protocols that are actually used in the internet. One can view TCP/IP as a (partial) implementation of OSI/ISO, but, IMHO, while valuable conceptually I feel you're better off studying TCP/IP. In addition ISO/OSI doesn't specify an API like sockets which you need to write programs.
I'd make sure I have a really solid understanding of systems and networks, e.g. how Linux works. This book seems like a great overview and I love No Starch Press. There's also this book which is used by Carnegie Mellon's introductory systems course, though that might be a bit too deep to dive into straight away, more like something that could be used if you want a deeper understanding of how systems work. You should have some familiarity with C just as foundational knowledge. The guy who wrote Learn Python The Hard Way also wrote an intro to C, Learn C the Hard Way. He's added a lot more material than the last time I checked (~Dec 2012) which looks like it covers a lot of topics so it would be great to work through it.
Some more technical books on this subject that are well regarded and can be used as reference books are Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment, Unix Network Programming, and The Linux Programming Interface
Also in addition to Python I'd also suggest learning some Ruby (Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby and Programming Ruby 1.9 & 2.0 are two resources I'd recommend), it's what Chef is/was implemented in and is fairly nice to work with.
I believe this is the bible book when it comes to network programming:
http://www.amazon.com/Unix-Network-Programming-Volume-Networking/dp/0131411551
I recommend Stevens' oeuvre starting with TCP/IP Illustrated (for the concepts) and UNIX Network Programming (for the C-level programming details):
https://www.amazon.com/Unix-Network-Programming-Sockets-Networking/dp/0131411551
https://www.amazon.com/TCP-Illustrated-Protocols-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/0321336313
Also, Beej's Guide to Network Programming (background and C-level programming details): http://beej.us/guide/bgnet/output/html/multipage/index.html
If you're doing web work, you might be interested in High Performance Browser Networking: https://hpbn.co/
TCP/IP Illustrated will cover some of it, but you might want to read the networking chapter(s) of a sysadmin book. I don't have a ready reference.
These don't cover load-balancing or CDN, although the other textbooks mentioned in the thread probably don't either, at least not in detail.
Sure, Programming with POSIX threads and Unix Network Programming, Volume 1.
The mother of all auditing books, better than Jon Erickson's jack of all trades - master of none approach imo.
The shellcoders handbook makes for an excellent accompaniment, too.
Anyone utilized this book or others like it?
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=systems%20administration&amp;qid=1465486795&amp;ref_=sr_1_1&amp;sr=8-1
I have come to terms with the fact I am a terrible SysAdmin though I have been in the job for two years. I work at a place that literally has nothing in place other that 2 ADs in terms of administration and I have implemented nothing new to assist in support of a small network of 14 windows servers, about 30 win clients, and 40 switches. I start several projects but they fall by the wayside. I need to mentally reboot and get myself and systems into gear. Any suggestions for resources when dealing with small shop IT (just 1 person) would be greatly appreciated.
Being too busy to inundate oneself with nuances of a specialty =! helping a specialist understand your issue.
>If you've done a good job, your coworkers shouldn't even know you exist, TBH.
Please read "The Practice of System & Network Administration ...
Visibility is incredibly important.
Time Management for System Administrators: Stop Working Late and Start Working Smart
The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition
Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed
Windows Server 2016 Unleashed includes Content Update Program
The Practice of Cloud System Administration: DevOps and SRE Practices for Web Services, Volume 2
The Practice of System and Network Administration: Volume 1: DevOps and other Best Practices for Enterprise IT
Network Warrior: Everything You Need to Know That Wasn't on the CCNA Exam
This book may address your problem of trying to make traction in an interrupt-driven environment.
Two books
I would learn the basics of how to be a sysadmin/network admin first!
you are going to pick up a ton with hands on - Windows info is adundant and easy to find - I would study for a CCNA - knowing what the network is doing has made me a better sysadmin.
Read a lot. Man pages, guides, examples, source code. Experiment. True, with only one machine you probably won't get to get exposed to, say, networking stuff (you can emulate complex networks using VMs, but you still need to know a lot to set up such an environment). Still, there's a lot of things to learn about the system just by mucking with it. Having a machine you can reinstall whenever you want helps a lot, get an old PC or laptop and use it as a test bed if you don't have a spare server, making it a webserver today, a mailserver tomorrow, a firewall the next day and so on.
Take any problem as a challenge to dig deeper and understand why. Granted, in the Google age, the solution to most problems are just a search and a copy-paste away, but getting to understand what happens with the machine and what's the most elegant way to control it takes a lot of research and practice and failures. Learning "why" is way more important than learning "how", since tools evolve and change and the manuals are always close, but knowing what to look for is a skill that takes time to develop.
Speaking of failures, try to come up with as many ways as you can to make things fail and try to find solutions to most of them. Good sysadmins understand failure and actively explore ways to prevent or handle it.
If you don't mind reading thick books, I heartily recommend Evi Nemeth's Linux Administration Handbook (pretty hands-on) and Tom Limoncelli's Practice of System and Network Administration (about the mentality and processes and non-technical stuff). You might find the latter a bit boring, since it has zero scripts and commands in it, but sooner or later in your career you'll love it.
I'll stop because I ranted too much already, but as a final word, keep in mind that SA is primarily about maintaining infrastructure that helps people, so don't get too caught up by the tech to forget that service availability comes first, shiny toys second ;)
Just got these 2 for xmas.. I'm still in the process of figuring out where I want to go within the industry, but both provide a good foundation for Administration and Networking. Plan is to get at least CCNA to help with the networking fundamentals.
Practice of System & Network Admin
CCENT
I've been doing desktop support for about 3 years for my university.
I just accepted a full-time offer for a Jr. Sys Admin position, and I'm currently reading this book which was recommended by my future supervisor. A lot of the topics covered in the book are things that I already know, but definitely good refreshers. It covers in great detail the things that any good sys admin needs to understand. If you've got time to read 1200 pages I'd recommend it.
A Jr. Sys Admin position is definitely the way I would go... You'll learn a TON (I know I'm going to and I haven't even started yet) and it can potentially pay very well; mine certainly is.
You may want to check out /r/sysadminjobs if you haven't already. That's actually where I found the job I'm starting in September. :)
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
My friend, like/know it or not, you are a SysAdmin. Read this book and check out things over at /r/SysAdmin and you should be okay.
Well I'll be the first one to give you generic information that you could have found with the search function.
You just do the needful.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/032194318X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;colid=3IXCECMPTZ0C5&amp;coliid=IJFXHOHENJ2FH
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321492668/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;colid=3IXCECMPTZ0C5&amp;coliid=I3J2AR8V86JZMD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0596007833/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;colid=3IXCECMPTZ0C5&amp;coliid=I2OPTI4J0S4UG2
Good screwdriver set.
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/64-Bit-Driver-Kit/IF145-299
A network tone tester in case you need to map out your network and document everything. Also functions as a basic cable tester.
https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-MT-8200-60-KIT-IntelliTone-Toner/dp/B00N2S6RPY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473701817&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=fluke+networks+tester
A punch down tool.
https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Punch-Krone-Blade-TC-PDT/dp/B0000AZK4D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473702091&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=punchdown
An ethernet crimper.
https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-RJ-45-RJ-12-RJ-11-TC-CT68/dp/B0000AZK4G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473702137&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ethernet+crimper
A quick cable stripper.
https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Stripper-Cutter-Cables-107051/dp/B0069LRBU6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473702190&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=ethernet+stripper
A usb hard drive dock.
https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Duplicator-Function-EC-HDD2/dp/B00IKC14OG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473702021&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=usb+hard+drive+dock
A notebook.
https://www.amazon.com/Rhodia-Meeting-Book-Made-France/dp/B001DCDSW6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1473702220&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=rhodia+meeting+book
Your necessities may vary, this applies to more of a one-man shop, and there's plenty of other things you'll want to get that I don't have listed here depending on your job.
I dunno how much you should get paid.
The cloud is just other peoples' computers.
AWS, Azure, and other cloud providers give you magic cloud computers that just magically work... except they have all the same constraints and failure cases that every computer has.
Unless you understand what goes into maintaining those computers (HINT: it's traditional linux admin skills), then you will fail to design your applications and services appropriately. Your shit will break, you will scramble to find out what's wrong, and the only solution available to you will be to turn it off and back on again, or to build a new one and kill it.
If your solution is to turn it off and back on again, or terminate the instance and press the make-a-new-computer button, then you're not a sysadmin. You're a technician.
And if you're writing the dockerfiles that get hooked up to the make-a-new-computer button, that doesn't make you an infrastructure engineer. That's a technician writing the build instructions in advance.
It's UNIX / Linux all the way down. Read The Practice of System and Network Administration. Learn the old ways because without them you will not understand why the new ways are what they are.
> All the linux admin i know that is good, are excellent coder as well; they have no problem working on AWS, learning go and mess around with kubes.
Go is just a tool. Kubernetes is just a tool. AWS is just a business selling computer time.
Anyone can operate a pneumatic drill, but a dentist understands teeth and the mouth. Anyone can use CAD and make a 3-D model of a building, but an architect understands the properties of the building materials under stress.
My application may be located in AWS, but if you can't build a resilient service on bare metal then you have no business administering my system.
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1517591045&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=The+practice+of+system+administration
Instead of buying tons of books, you might want to look at Safari Books. I have the 10-book bookshelf subscription, and it is seriously plenty. Pros, you have instant access to a massive library of tech books. Cons, you are stuck reading on your computer/tablet/phone (I did try reading a few chapters on my Kindle, but the didn't care for the experience).
Books I would suggest:
I'm not a huge fan of training videos, but generally watch recordings from conferences. Although, I do really enjoy the format of vimcasts though.
As for general advise, I did see someone recommend looking for an MSP. If you are looking to be a Linux SysAdmin, I wouldn't recommend this route as you are going to be supporting MS installations. Personally, I started doing help desk for a web company and moved up from there. Also, I worked hard to create my opportunities within each position. You'll have to put yourself out there and be patient, It took me 4 years to earn the official title of Systems Administrator (in a small-ish town). The key to this is finding a good Sr. SysAdmins who are willing to mentor you, and some environments/people aren't conducive to this.
EDIT:
BTW, I have a B.A. in Political Science, so don't be ashamed to rock that Philosophy degree. You will see a lot of posting that are looking for a B.S. in Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Rocket Surgery, but seriously don't even worry about that. Most job postings are a list of nice to haves, and most places really only care that you have a degree.
I've been recruited by and interviewed with some very respectable tech companies. I just usually have to explain how I got into tech with a political science degree. In an interview, having the right attitude and knowing your stuff should say more than your major in college. But, you will also run into elitist douche bags who knock your degree/doubt your abilities because you don't have a B.S. in CS/CE. If you work with these people, your work should speak for itself. Don't try and get caught up into a pissing match with them. If it is an interview (as in someone you might work for), practice interviewing never hurts.
So, architecture can be hard without things to architect, it's very true, and expectations of a junior candidate are going to be lower here, since a lot of junior work is implementing or maintaining things other people have designed and architected. That said, work on finding things to build that have some sort of practical use, whether it is running a site for some club or organization you're a part of, setting up a media streaming system at home, or building some home automation. Then—the important part—be able to discuss intelligently why you made the decisions you did, e.g., "why did you use Apache instead of nginx?" or "why did you use a pair of 1TB hard drives in raid 1 instead of a home NAS?"
An understanding of operational principles also really only comes with actually operating things, and, as a junior, hiring managers are usually going to be mostly concerned with whether you understand that certain concepts are important, rather than whether you can implement them adequately. Some examples of the sort of questions you should be able to talk about confidently, even as a junior:
Team play and project work, however, are not tech-specific, and you certainly already have experiences of some sort in these areas. Anything where you had to work with a group of people over a period of time is relevant experience you can learn from. It doesn't really matter whether you're talking about a school project, helping your aunt build a deck, or defeating the evil lich lord with your motley band of D&D characters. What's important is whether you can talk about good and bad experiences working with other people to accomplish a long-term task that involved planning and coordination, along with what you learned from the experiences.
For example, while interviewing for my current job, I talked about getting fired from an on-campus job at college for flat-out telling my boss in front of my coworkers that I wouldn't do a particular task. At first blush, you'd think that would immediately get me rejected, but I explained
That example and the job it relates have nothing to do with tech, but it's still an example of how team play is important.
You should check out The Practice of System and Network Administration; it discusses a lot of concepts in a general manner and should help provide a basis for talking and learning about them competently.
> What knowledge do you carry over from the history of our field that you can't easily learn or discover now?
and
> Instead of one system to do everything for the business, I am starting to see a trend towards many specialized systems that are built to interface with other systems.
Go together nicely. This is how things were before the PC took over. What did the old-timers do? What approaches to system design need to be taken into consideration when dealing with multiple vendors that are not interoperable? What about support contract management? These things haven't changed much. And they are hard questions to answer through a book.
Books to read? Hmm. I generally suggest:
And yes these are written by old people.
Here you go
Sounds to me like you need a good reference. Something to guide your thought processes and help you evaluate your position from not just a technical stance but a logistical and political one as well.
It sounds to me like you need to hunt down a copy of our bible: The Practice of Network and System Administration
You know, there really isn't a real good 'comprehensive' guide to all this kind of stuff. All I know is there is way more out there then anyone would realize.
A little about me, this is sort of my specialty. I've been doing application and system monitoring for over 10 years now and was an MVP for MS Operations Manager (MVP is a joke. Here's an MSDN sub, now work tech support for us). Anyway..
As for books, the only one I've found even remotely interesting about all this is The Practice of System and Network Administration. I actually bought it and am going through it now - seems like a good read so far. I'm tired of monitoring, rather go back to good ole system admin.
If I was in your shoes, here's what I'd do.
Combining a free powerhouse monitoring tool like Nagios, with a graphing tool like Cacti, is all you'll need. It's even overkill for your network, but once they're all setup it's dead simple and you'll look like a rockstar - suits love graphs.
Yes, you'll need a linux box, but a simple P4 workstation with a gig of ram is more than enough for it, and you probably have them lying around.
And once you get into powershell (On IRC we hangout in #powershell on Freenode) you can do a lot of amazing things quickly with it - especially combined with WinRM.
I could go on and on about all this, I've been doing it forever - and I can even help you with the setup of it all and answer any questions. Just send me a PM and I'll give you my email.
As for SNMP, it's very well supported by all the major manufacturers - HP, Dell, etc. So in your RAID failure scenario, if you have a Dell server with a Dell RAID card, then you could have polled the machine to ask its RAID status and if there was a failure it could have sent a trap to your monitoring box to let you know. It can also handle all of the hardware info like drive capacity, processor utilization, etc etc. The only downfall SNMP really has these days is the fact that it can seem almost mystical to those looking from the outside. But once you get the hang of it, it's great. Nagios also has an add-on called NRPE (Nagios Remote Plugin Executor) that you can use to run scripts and such on local machines if you can't get the info you need out of SNMP.
If you're interested in doing environment monitoring as well, a decent inexpensive device is the Weathergoose from IT Watchdogs. I've got one at home that I demoed years ago and it's still going strong. At $500 its a good price for what it does plus there's a ton of addons you can get for it or even make your own since its just I2C
Anyway, this is probably a shotgun of information to your face, but like I said just ping me and we can talk about it. I'm recently unemployed, again, so I have the time.. again.
Not all of these are in our core training/ required knowledge, or related to our day to day functions as a university A/V department, but They are all available to my team for knowledge building and professional development. Additionally , and our job ladder includes Infocomm certifications, so the library is a little biased towards infocomm resources at the moment.
Books I use are
http://www.amazon.com/Master-Handbook-Acoustics-Alton-Everest/dp/0071603328)
just ordered digital video and hd
based on a recommendation in r/videoengineering
infocomm's audio and visual systems design, essentials of the av industry, av best practices, AV installation hand book
white papers/ online training from extron, JBL, Dalite, surgeX, bluejeanscable, and others. (out of the office and do not have the exact list and links with me
For a non-techincal resource, I would read Limoncelli and Hogan's seminal work on being an IT person:
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
Really good, and describes WHY you would do things in a certain way. I understand there's a Cloud System Admin/Devops book out there, but I haven't read the two volumes yet.
Buy Limoncelli, Hogan and Chalup and read it: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
This. Plus:
The Practice of System and Network Administration, Second Edition
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321492668/
I heard the practice of network and systems administration is a good book for people starting as system admins. I placed a link below that has a few sample chapters. You can get the book on amazon 👇
http://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/9780321492661/samplepages/0321492668.pdf
My CS study advises Head First Java, which is a great book with many code examples and exercises, while not being your default "page full of text"-type of book.
Personally, I recommend the book: Head First Java.
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
The other answered enough abuout 1&2. Apart fom recommending Head First Java I'd advise you to go to Coding Bat and try to solve at least the beginner puzzles there. We got a student here at work who learned (or should've learned) Java in university but the professor was so stuck on high minded patterns and theoretical stuff that none of the students actually learned a bit of coding. Those puzzles are perfect for getting to know strings, loops and all the beginner stuff that you should know inside out. And depending on what you do at uni help you with your exams a lot.
I realize these are older titles but java is still built on the same principals.
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208
http://www.amazon.com/Ivor-Hortons-Beginning-Java-Horton/dp/0470404140/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1407753555&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=beginning+java
I have found the Head First C# book is really good and has a nice mix. Have not tried the Java book but think it should be along the same lines.
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1411697697&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=head+first+java
I've heard really good things about this text if you'd like to give it a shot.
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208
I'm aware it isn't face to face but just thought I'd throw in my $0.02.
Actually, I am helping out a friend fresh out of school with his programming :-)
I recommend starting with a good beginner's book in the programming language of choice. Such books walk you through the basic steps - from getting set up (installing IDE/Compiler) to writing the first program that prints "Hello World".
For Java, I highly recommend "Head First Java"
In fact, all "Head First" series books are written in an engaging way (lot more pictures, liberal use of humor/puns). The style/language of these books might feel a bit silly to some but it's way better than the dry/dull language of most books that instantly bore the readers.
Also, whatever book/tutorial/online class you choose, make sure that you type all the code out and run the program. Just reading a chapter through is a terrible way to learn. You won't remember it beyond a day or two. Yes, it's slower to type the code samples/exercises out but you'll understand it much better that way.
Try Head First Java or Hello Android.
Head First Java. It's a book, so it's not free. But it's good, if a little basic. If you want to actually learn Java you will need to spend some actual time.
I'm sure your company will let you expense it.
Well, Android apps are written in Java, so it's probably a good idea to start with the base language itself. I don't think it's generally a good idea to jump into a specialized use of a language without any programming experience whatsoever.
The most suggested book for beginners learning Java is Head First Java, though there are plenty of great resources available for free online that can be found with minimal googling. The search function of this subreddit is also a good place to start.
Once you get the hang of Java (which will not be a nominal task, mind you), head over to the Android Developers Center to find information and resources for applying your newfound knowledge of Java to the Android platform.
I recommend the head first java book http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208. It would help a lot to read through some of it before starting your class, or while taking your class. The whole Head First series is great and an easy read. It will make some of the trickier programming concepts easier to understand.
Read a lot of books. Everything is usually available as a pdf on the internet and the ones that aren't are $10 to rent on Amazon. Here's the ones that I've read that relate to this project.
Java
Android
Programming in general
https://www.amazon.ca/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
Caveat: Book is for Java 6 and not Java 8, but I doubt that will matter much for 210. All of the basics will be in there, and they haven't changed since then.
Umm, I think Python is a good language to start with. It's forgiving and low on boilerplate code. I haven't read it but Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw is supposed to be decent (and it's free online). I didn't like Learning Python published by O'Reilly. I'd just read reviews on Amazon if Learn Python the Hard Way isn't working for you. Whichever you end up with, I recommend typing all examples from the book into the computer by hand. Something about doing this really helps make things stick in your head. You'll also make the occasional typo and have to debug your program which is something we programmers spend more time doing than any of us care to admit.
I think it is important to try to think of something you want to make and have it in mind while you are learning the language. It can be any software but I recommend a video game. They are really good for this because you can just think up a simple concept or implement your own version of an existing game. Having a goal makes it so you are constantly solving the problems you will encounter while trying to reach that goal which is the most important part of programming (more so than learning the syntax of the language). This is actually the highest rated Python book on Amazon and is all about gamedev with Python.
After you've learned Python to the point where you are comfortable (no need to master it), learn other languages to grow as a programmer. Once you've gotten a couple languages under your belt it's actually really easy to learn even more languages (unless it's a very odd language like Haskell, Lisp, or Brainfuck). The problem solving skills you've acquired often work in any language and you learn some new techniques as you learn new languages.
Head First Java is a good book for beginners.
Head First Java, 2nd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0596009208
Might be a little more of a learning curve for someone without no experience but if you stick too it it's very doable.
I would recommend doing the code academy java tutorials as a good basic introduction.
If you prefer textbooks there is a great book here that my highschool students are using for learning Java.
This might be something to do for you over the summer in your spare time.
I've heard good things about these two:
My first Java book was:
Although I enjoyed it a lot it's extremely weak on exercises (besides teaching java 1.5 (iirc)).
The java tutorials are quite good, but lack on the exercises area, which is sort of crucial to learning how to program.
It's good too keep those tutorials in mind though because they're great as a first read on a particular piece of the java language and/or library.
I think the best mix of learning java and learning how to program among these books is in the one by Paul and Harvey Deitel.
Another good one on Java is the "Core Java" two volumes pack:
Although they're also weak on exercises, I remember the second volume being filled with examples.
By the way, don't get discouraged by the sizes of those books. They're big not because they're difficult, but because there are lots of things to talk about. Generally speaking, all these books are mostly easy.
Might be one of the Head First books? Head First Java is a light-hearted and informal approach to learning Java, for instance.
> I'll definitely check out that mooc that you mentioned.
I recommend this too. If you want a book to compliment the course I recommend Head First Java. Maybe pick it up at a library first and read a few chapters to see if it fits your learning style.
The online course is more practically oriented giving you tasks to do, while the book focuses more on explaining things using really good real-world examples.
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208/
Here you go ;)
Curious, why Java? (I'm not saying that as a bad thing, I personally love Java, I'm just wondering why you landed on that)
If you are looking toward application development(games or otherwise) I'd suggest looking at more practical beginning programming books, don't even worry too much about making a game yet or building complex algorithms. I've found the Head First series fairly good in the past, so maybe try out https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
Once you get your head around basic application development a bit more, I would highly suggest learning design patterns and can fully recommend the Head First book on that topic.
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Design-Patterns-Brain-Friendly/dp/0596007124
You can follow that up with the Game specific book on patterns, https://www.amazon.com/Game-Programming-Patterns-Robert-Nystrom/dp/0990582906
With all of that you should have enough to start asking more pointed questions and being able to Google up useful answers and tutorials that will get you on the road to building games.
Edit: That said, if you are looking at doing to extensive AI programming, specializing in engine design or other systems type development, start looking for books on the topic that interests you most. It's pretty easy to Google up book lists on these kinds of topics, and from there you can cross reference recommendations and should be able pick out ones that will help you get started.
You are on the right track. The most important to understand is the fundamentals of any programming language. You mentioned Java. Java is an object-oriented programming language. In order to write good code in Java, you will need to learn what is an object? What is object-oriented? Like, what is inheritance, polymorphism, classes, interfaces etc etc. Once you learn the concept of OOP and you want to learn Python (another OOP language), it will be that much faster, because you already understand the concepts. Python has its nuances but you learn as you go along. I think you should start with the Head First series by Oreilly. They are sooo good at teaching this sort of stuff. I will give u the links below:
Head First Java
Head First Object-oriented Analysis and Design
Head First Design Patterns
Buy just the one book and start from there. Checkout the Head First series, you may like other books too. Also, google 'design patterns' and read about it. Some people mention Algorithms and that is all great stuff and you will learn as you write good code. There is another book I would recommend:
Pragmatic Programmer
I would also suggest that you should try different types of programming languages as well. Like functional (LISP or Scheme) or procedural (C). When you do that you will start to think differently and it will expand your knowledge. LISP was created in 1958 by John McCarthy. My friend works at Google and he told me that they are using LISP behind Google Maps.
If you just starting, my suggestion is to start Head First Java book. This is one of the best book for beginners (It's still in my collection).
Once you have basics, you can start looking in to web resources to more advance tips and tricks.
This, as well as any tutoring services the college makes available. If you're just looking for an easily understood Java book I've been reading through this book and it's a very approachable book.
You're right that the way to solve this is to read a reference book. You should probably only focus on one language (there are idiosyncrasies between java & C#)
The head first guides are a good start.
C#: here
Java: here
Head First Java
Thinking in Java
Effective Java
Java Concurrency in Practice
Best $150 you'll ever spend. Read in order listed.
>I want to make more applications...but I don't have any ideas..is there any reading you would recommend me to do?
Have you read Head First Java?
Head First Design Patterns?
The pragmatic programmer?
>I want to be employable...after 3 years doing a computer science course, I feel like I still only know the basics. What Java books do you value most and feel helped you become a much better programmer?
In my particular case, I didn't read books. My interest has been developing web applications, so I have gotten more information from frameworks' documentation an tutorials than from books.
>What are some examples of programs you made when you were 1 or 2 years into your Java programming career?
Hmm... I created some plugins to check on the availability of some servers and services. When it detected those were unavailable, it sent email and SMS alerts to our system administrators. Things got interesting when the email server was down tho.
>What resources would you recommend me reading to understand how to make my android applications able to access the internet..so that users can compare high scores and achievements?
>I have the drive. I love programming and I want to be a successful one. What advice can you give me?
Code as much as you can. Check what kind of applications you want to develop and find which frameworks can help you build them. You don't need to re invent the wheel (unless necessary). Follow the developer's guide and check if there are any tutorials that you can use to improve your knowledge and make better applications in the better way possible.
>Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it. I've felt stuck for days and i honestly did browse a lot before I came here. I've seen a lot of Java developer jobs paying £20-40k but i feel i don't have the relevant experience to even apply to them yet. I feel like i know very little..I.e I have no idea what J2EE is and what it's used for.
From wiki:
"Java Platform, Enterprise Edition or Java EE is Oracle's enterprise Java computing platform. The platform provides an API and runtime environment for developing and running enterprise software, including network and web services, and other large-scale, multi-tiered, scalable, reliable, and secure network applications. Java EE extends the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE)[1], providing an API for object-relational mapping, distributed and multi-tier architectures, and web services. The platform incorporates a design based largely on modular components running on an application server. Software for Java EE is primarily developed in the Java programming language and uses XML for configuration."
If you want to build enterprise web-enabled applications, this is what you should start reading:
J2EE 6 Tutorial
And I always recommend these as well, they helped me a lot when I was learning Java Server Faces:
http://balusc.blogspot.mx/
http://www.mkyong.com/ (He has an Android tutorial that might help with with your interest to develop applications for that OS)
http://www.coreservlets.com/
Dunno about game-specific stuff, but this book is really really really good, and will get you up to a very reasonable state with Java. Doing that, then getting onto the game stuff once you properly understand the basics is probably the best way of doing this :-).
I recommend Head First Java to get started learning the Java language. From there he can go on to more complex texts and resources; but this would be a great way to ease him into learning it.
Any further questions, don't hesitate. Best of luck.
Sto se tice posla ostali su ti odgovorili detaljno, generalno ima posla, ali se trazi znanje, tako da samo uci, uci i uci.
Sto se tice Jave, ja bih ti preporucio da nabavis ovu knjigu i da je proucis dobro.
E da, zaboravio sam da ti pokazem ovaj sajt. Ovaj sajt ce ti dosta znaciti ako si spreman da posvetis vreme izucavanju oblasti informatike kao da si upisao fakultet.
Java is a great language to start out with and I would recommend two books to get you running. Since you are new to the language and programming in general, start with Head First Java. Then, move on to a more advanced treatment like Core Java. Thinking in Java is also very good but it's dense and some people have a difficult time digesting it.
Once you have the basics of the language down, learn about working with databases. Then, move on to server-side development as that's where the jobs are.
Despite the similarity of their names, Java and JavaScript are not similar and cannot be used interchangeably. JavaScript is primarily used in UI development in web browsers, although server-side implementations have existed for almost as long as JavaScript itself. Currently, the most fashionable of these implementations is node.js.
Lastly, since you are looking to work professionally but without any formal education, know that you are going to have a difficult time getting work for the first several years. You might find that learning JavaScript (and HTML and CSS) are a quicker route to finding a job as front-end web developers often do not require a college degree, whereas Java programming jobs invariably do.
Note the stupid errors that I made that the others pointed out.
In your actual code what seems to be the problem with Paddle is that you've declared a return type for the constructor.
Your code:
public void Paddle()
While a constructor should look like this:
public Paddle()
Since there is a return type in your code, java does not see it as a constructor and will not invoke it when you use new.
Hopefully that's where you're having troubles. If not, copy pasting the errors would also help.
Also, as far as resources, I've heard good things about Head First Java.
take a look at head first java and head first c#. i learned object-oriented programming from head first java, but was implementing object-oriented code in another language, which is one example of how good the book explains the general concepts. it is far better than head first c# in terms of explaining object-oriented concepts and is likely better than most books, but head first c# gets you a lot of hands on experience with visual studio and c#.
reading head first java first and then moving to head first c# wouldn't be a bad approach, in my opinion.
Yeah, I've been doing that a bit more. If I can't find a suitable course in real life, I'll continue down this path. I just thought it would be worth asking if anyone knew of anything special.
It may just be that I need to spend more time training myself on the design stages, and I need to spend a lot more time thinking about how to structure simple applications.
I suppose I could search github for some simple java programs and have a look at their codebase to try to get the hang of things.
I've been reading Head First Java which isn't bad, but perhaps you have other suggestions?
I knew it would take a while for me to learn the thought process, as that is one of the major reasons I am trying to teach myself programming. I don't have any plans to become a full time expert developer (although I do plan on being able to make crude prototypes of some of my ideas). :)
I'm very grateful for any and all advice.
Itzik wrote the book
It's good.
You can check following blog post which has various topics on SQL Server 2012 categorized at one place: http://sqlwithmanoj.wordpress.com/denali-2012/
Also you can check "Training Kit (Exam 70-461): Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012" book: http://www.amazon.com/Training-Kit-Exam-70-461-Microsoft/dp/0735666059?tag=651998669-20
Microsoft Press release books for each exam
See the list of certs https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/sql-certification.aspx
Here's the book for the first exam in the MCSA SQL 2012 http://www.amazon.com/Training-70-461-Querying-Microsoft-Server/dp/0735666059
Seconding the video review: they were a complete waste of time for me. to pass 462 I used the MS Prep book (good for a baseline prep), then Trascender for the real studying. As seriously as I can say in text, open transcender tonight, get cranking on the questions and keep on it everyday for at least an hour or 2 (pick # of questions based on time you have, divide time in half so you have time to review what you got wrong. Practice understanding why each of the incorrect options are wrong.
While I hear and appreciate not wanting to just memorize the questions, your back is against the wall, memorize the questions. The secondary benefit of memorization is the information pieces will eventually fall into place, converting to actual knowledge, not just random memorized facts. If you to take the time to review and understand why each incorrect choice is incorrect, you will be fairly prepared for the exam.
FWIW, I would not have passed without Transcender. It prepped me better than anything else.
Edit - added book link
Hello!
I've been doing a lot of searching for this answer as well and what seems to be the most common answer is the official book.
Training Kit (Exam 70-461) Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (MCSA) (Microsoft Press Training Kit) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735666059/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_FFPuzb4B1KYF5
It's dry but apparently it works
I personally have been using the book and a course on udemy. The course is specifically for the SQL SERVER certification.
Also another common answer seems to be to use multiple resources. Hope this helps some. Good luck
Are you talking about the CD from here?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0735666059/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1404265021&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=SY200_QL40
Check this out for the Querying T SQL 2012 exam.
Let's go at this in an order that I feel is appropriate:
Frames Per Second (FPS) are how many frames of an image that is being loaded, rendered, and output to the screen at a given time, specifically seconds. A number, which for most computers and applications is around 1-100+, represent the amount of frames that were loaded in the current second. More things to render means that it will take more power from the graphics processor (GPU) to load the image in front of you. More particles, more 3D objects, and even more moving "entities" and "objects" can create difficulty on the GPU. Adversely, if the GPU is too powerful, and your graphics are too low, it will overcompensate and take longer to create frames, resulting in a choppier/"laggy" screen.
FPS is basically summarized as, "how smooth the video is run." 60fps is always optimal.
In short, Comparing CPUs/GPUs is simply comparing numbers. They both have a "clock speed" measured in Hertz (typically Gigahertz). A CPU is best represented through Clock Speed, Cores, Hyperthreading (Threads), and performance, the last is best measured through real performance tests viewable on most websites. cpuboss.com is one such way to determine the stats and comparison between two CPU chips, and rough estimates for benchmarks.
Graphics Cards (GPUs) are a little crazier. They're measured best by their clock speed, Floating Point Operations Per Second (GFLOPS), Rendering Processors, and RAM. Yes, GPUs have their own RAM. They eat it like spaghetti. Gpucheck has a fairly comprehensive comparison list based on average framerates (FPS) for each card. Obviously, more is better.
It's also good to note that there are Server cards, or Workstation cards, that are usually modified versions of existing consumer graphics cards for certain kinds of performance. In most instances they're much more expensive because of their optimization, but not much else.
Overclocking is the art of pushing the technology to their limit. I don't know too much about it personally due to some of my own concerns.
Linus Tech Tips also has many videos on Comparisons and Build guides, and overclock guides. I'd recommend him first and foremost due to the in-depth level he and his crew ensure for content. Just search on their page "Overclock" and there's a few full-fledged guides.
Everything else is best learned by actually looking it up and having real-world examples. The best place to find just about all of that information is the CompTIA A+ books. The one authored by Mike Meyers is a popular choice. You don't have to take the test accompanied with it, but the book is full of everything you might have questions about, and considered must-know for most techs. I have the Exam Cram variant, and it has everything in the aforementioned copy in a more textbook-like style.
Hope this helped!
I've only passed the 901 and putting the A+ on my resume as "in progress" (listed it literally as "Certifications: CompTIA A+ (in progress)") has already gotten me a possible job opportunity. Guy knew right away what that meant and he just asked when I planned on taking the 902.
So yeah it'll definitely help with getting hired.
As for studying, look over the exam objectives and see how much of it you know. If it's less than half, buy the Mike Meyers book and read it front to back. If it's more than half, buy the Pearson ExamCram book and read that instead. Watch Professor Messer's videos in either case and use CrucialExams, ExamCompass, Professor Messer, and ExamCram practice tests. ExamCram had questions most like the ones on the actual test, ExamCompass is the hardest, and Professor Messer's pop quiz collection is the one that gave me a score closest to what I actually got (846 on the real 901 exam, 847 adjusted from a percentage on Professor Messer's pop quiz collection).
Good luck.
This is exactly the comment I was coming in to make. If you browse through r/CompTIA you'll see the same thing said over and over.
I'll also throw in the ExamCram book
As you describe your knowledge, you just don't qualify for this role. You are going to need to get some skills first. I bet if you can knock out the CCNA, you would way closer to qualifying.
CCNA exam info here:
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccna
Book here:
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1406143888&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=CCNA
That would be a great start to a career in networking.
If you are serious about getting into networking then you need to read the following to start with:
TCP/IP fundamentals
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0201633469/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
Ethernet definitive guide
http://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Definitive-Charles-E-Spurgeon/dp/1449361846/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397246249&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=ethernet+the+definitive+guide
Then install GNS and create/break stuff.
Then get a CCNA under your belt, will take about 2 months of study after work to pass the exam.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118749618/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
Having the CCNA under your belt should easily get you a foot in the door.
However to understand networking you will be spending your working life studying to stay current...
Get off work at 330, Get back from the gym at 630. Eat dinner. Study from 8-9. Practice concepts and ideas from 9-10. Rinse and repeat everyday. I'm reading http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;redirect=true&amp;ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 and did all the Micro CBT nuggets in the book. I also used the boson exam to practice.
I got a 900/1000 about. I only re-read chapters that I struggled with after I finished the first 14 or so for the ICDN1 and will do the same for the ICDN2
Most people start out on the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. It's important to keep in mind that this is just Cisco's version of networking, but it's good basic introduction.Todd Lammle's book (https://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618) is a good place to start. Jeremy Ciora has a good video based program called CBT Nuggets to start in CCNA (https://www.cbtnuggets.com/certification-playlist/cisco/56440).
While you are doing that, download GNS3. (https://www.gns3.com/software). This will let you get hands on and start configuring stuff and let you actually program virtual routers and switches and actual follow along with your lessons. You'll have to get router images to use. Some are free, some have to be "found".
After you've gone through the lessons and done a lot of hands on, go to your local Pearson Vue test center (there is generally one on every base) and take your CCNA exam. It's like $250-300. All in, you'll probably be around $400.
If it's a great opportunity for you then figure out a way to learn it. CBT Nuggets, youtube, download packet tracer and start looking. You can get study guides online or at amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618
$42 and some time seems like it's worth learning.
Subnetting with anything just takes practice. There are a ton of sites that will give you example ips and you have to subnet them. That's how I learned.
As for resources:
Chris Bryants Udemy CCNA boot camp, best $30 you can spend for CCNA study. Easy to watch on the ipad, EXCELLENT quality and updated frequently. Try 1.5x speed if you feel you can grasp the subjects at that speed.
For books, I used:
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1587143879/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687462&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_i=1118749618&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_r=08JZCBWB78DCC6VF0R4R
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1587143852/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687462&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_i=1118749618&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_r=08JZCBWB78DCC6VF0R4R
Probably overkill, but I really wanted to get into the nuts and bolts of networking so I enjoyed reading the books.
Labbing is crucial. Reading and watching is one thing, entering the commands and working through the videos in real-time either in GNS3 or real equipment is where you master the material and pass the exams.
As for what you will need? A pair of 2950 switches will serve you well for CCNA: R&S. A single 1841 router or pair of 1841's will also work. You can skip the routers (unless you want to sim/test sub-interfaces/ROAS config) and just use GNS3 for that. I know GNS3 can do switching, but when I tried to set it up when it became available it was a nightmare to get working...so I went with hardware for my labs.
Good luck! And come back when you get stuck.
I mean todd’s a pretty cool pothead from boulder and breaks it down fairly well.
CCNA Routing and Switching Study Guide: Exams 100-101, 200-101, and 200-120 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118749618/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cyIQCbGB3NFJ6
There is a bit of misinformation here that may lead to some confusion for someone who is an absolute beginner so I will try to clarify.
The base level cisco cert is the CCENT (cisco certified entry network technician)
Above this there is the CCNA, CCNP and CCIE, in that order.
There is only one kind of CCENT but for the other kinds of certifications there are different specialties. There is no such thing as a "CCNA" cert.
There is however, CCNA - Routing and Switching, CCNA - Security and CCNA - Voice. Along with other less common CCNA certifications including video, wireless, service provider and data centre. The first three I mentioned are the most common though.
When somebody talks about the "CCNA", what they are usually talking about is the CCNA - Routing and Switching certification and that is what most of the discussion on this sub seems to be about.
This book is probably right for you IF you already know how a network actually works. If you are not comfortable that you already have sufficient knowledge about networking I would highly recommend going for the R&S cert before you attempt to learn about security.
Here is a list of cisco certs:
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/certifications/index.html#~Cert
I would go with the book /u/slappypappyj posted unless you are absolutely certain you want to go straight from the CCENT to the CCNA - Security
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1118749618/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1420235695&amp;sr=8-1&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=511QYVZWp0L&amp;ref=plSrch&amp;pi=AC_SY200_QL40
We have some Packet Tracer labs we offer for those who purchase Todd Lammle's book - https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1509575939&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna
Kindly send us a copy of receipt (screenshot) to [email protected], we'll get those to you.
Hope this helps!
Get both of these, they aren't released yet but will be shortly:
Lammle's [v3 CCNA study guide][1] (set for release in September)
Odom's [v3 CCNA study guide][2] (set for release in July)
As for labs, check out [this thread][3] for starters; Packet Tracer isn't perfect but it'll get you started.
[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/r "v3 CCNA study guide"
[2]: https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-125-Official-Library/dp/1587205815 "v3 CCNA study guide"
[3]: https://www.reddit.com/r/ccna/comments/4phbns/psa_packet_tracer_70/ "this thread"
I just passed this test on Monday. I thought the material was very good for this course. Especially the practice exam and labs from boson. I did pick up the Lammle book as well and it is great.
CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119288282/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_SO3ZAbZ38V0BX
> I asked for personal recommendations.
No. No, you didn't.
Scroll back up there and read the actual words you provided to us.
Here, let me help you:
> I am looking for an additional resource (preferably a text book because for some god forsaken reason, text books are the only books I enjoy to read) for a secondary CCNA source.
That is not a personalized request. That's a shotgun blast.
What resources have you discovered on your own? Which resources seemed interesting to you? Can we help you choose between a specific list of things you've found?
When you read the FAQ over in /r/ccna what did you think of their recommended reading list?
When you ask a broad, unfocused question like that and don't provide any evidence or indication that you've done any research or put any effort into it, it comes across as laziness.
Compare these two sentences examples:
"I want to get my CCNA. Can someone suggest a book on the subject?"
or
"I want to get my CCNA. I read <blog> and <article> and I see lots of positive comments for these two books <URL> and <URL>, but I also hear good things about CBTNuggets. Can someone help me choose? I really only want to spend about $100 on this."
See how that first example gives us nothing to work with, and makes us ask all the questions & do all the work for you?
See how the second example puts more of the work effort on you to explain the situation and help us understand what you've already done to find this answer on your own?
That is what effective communication looks like when you are communicating via electronic text. You might make a note of it.
-----
The two most popular books on CCNA R&S are:
The two books from Wendell Odom, part of the official Cisco Press offering:
ICND1
ICND2
And the Todd Lammle books:
CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide
First things first: go download the exam topics from Cisco and use them as a checklist of things to study.
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccna/icnd1/exam-topics
Next, I recommend the official certification guide book from Cisco, written by Wendell Odom:
CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-105 Official Cert Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1587205807/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_MaG5CbAJWWE0D
Pair this with videos from either Pluralsight or CBT Nuggets depending on your budget. Udemy has some too but I didn't have luck learning much from those personally.
A practice test from Boson is also a good investment to have.
http://www.boson.com/practice-exam/100-105-cisco-icnd1-ccent-practice-exam
My tactic was to first speed read through the entire book once, then go through in detail a second time chapter by chapter. As I read each chapter I would watch the videos corresponding to that topic and take practice tests configured to questions about that topic. Only once I felt comfortable with a topic did I move on to the next.
Something else to consider, and this entirely speculative, is that the current 100-105/200-105 series CCENT and CCNA tests are three years old and Cisco may announce sometime in the next month or so whether they will get replaced with a newer version in keeping with their usual three year cycle. Keep an ear to the ground on that and look for any announcements out of the Cisco Live conference in June.
This is the official Cisco ICND1 book
CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-105 Official Cert Guide, Academic Edition https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1587205807/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_4LrzCbCBQ20A2
https://www.boson.com/netsim-cisco-network-simulator
The All-In-One: https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-125-Official-Library/dp/1587205815
Or
Separate: https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-ICND2-200-105-Official/dp/1587205793
31 Days Before (Refresher): https://www.amazon.com/Days-Before-Your-Routing-Switching/dp/1587205904
Udemy - Chris Bryant: https://www.udemy.com/ccna-on-demand-video-boot-camp/
I heard Stormwind Studios has a nice course. I haven’t looked up the price.
https://smile.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1535935354&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=wendell+odom+cisco
Is this the book you're talking about?
Hmm I would suggest Introduction to Networks v6 Companion Guide or ICND1.
I learned at school but Cisco is the reference for networks, and getting CCNA is like having the common basis that every IT Network guy should know. Well, not exactly having the CCNA as a cert but knowing all the stuff they talk about.
Be careful though, ICND1+ICND2 = CCNA, so the 2^nd book isn't enough.
If by chance you know French, try this one. He is the reference for any beginner as he explains the concepts. Unfortunately I found no translation of it, only for his most recent books (which are more specific). And this website.
Good luck
Odon books https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807
You can start with the same book I did... seriously
https://www.amazon.com/Networking-Dummies-Doug-Lowe/dp/111925776X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1503420588&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=networking+for+dummies
There was a line in the forward from an older version of the book that stuck with me; "From this moment on everything is your fault"
The Cisco CCNA books are actually pretty good for reference
https://www.amazon.ca/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1503420668&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=ccna
https://www.amazon.ca/Routing-Switching-ICND2-200-105-Official/dp/1587205793/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1503420668&amp;sr=8-6&amp;keywords=ccna
It would be much better if he had some real structured learning. You could spend five years googling shit on networking or you could just read ICND and have more complete coverage.
Look into both Odom and Lammle's books:
https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1526780171&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=odom+ccna
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1526780192&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=Lammle+ccna
It's best to use more than one resource.
As far as books go, they don’t cost $750 I think you were looking at a kit or a combination of things that has books maybe and simulators. The books cost if I remember correctly $24 to $30 each.
CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-105 Official Cert Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1587205807/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MRv7Ab1WQ22CS
CCNA Routing and Switching ICND2 200-105 Official Cert Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1587205793/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_8Rv7AbZF8A1A5
The website you'll want to look at is this one:
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-certifications/certifications/associate/ccna-routing-switching.html
It says at the top that the v2.0 tests are being revised to v3.0. Currently you can take either one, but only until August 20th (200-120 & 100-101) or September 24th (200-101).
Also, the CCNA can be taken as either one combined test (called CCNA) or two separate tests called ICND1 and ICND2.
100-105 is the ICND1 v3.0 test. It's the first half of the new version of the CCNA. 200-105 is ICND2 v3.0. It's the second half of the new version. You'll need both for the CCNA certification.
The book linked is the textbook for the 100-105 ICND1 v3.0 test. That'll help you for that test. You'll still need a separate book to study for the 200-105 ICND2 v3.0 test to get the CCNA certification. The books are also available as a set.
(edit): the test you mention, the 100-101, is the ICND1 v2.0 test. That's the old version, that's gone next month, of the first half test.
(edit edit): Corrected. August and September are actually different months than July, and occur at separate points in the future.
I'm also studying for the ICND1... Some may suggest this or this . Some may suggest this .. Download Cisco Packettracer and GNS3. If you have the cash, there is CBTNuggets and Boson.. Also look into Neil Anderson's ICND1 Bootcamp on Udemy, or Bombal's Packet Tracer prep lab. .. I started Neil's bootcamp yesterday and I love it... But hey I'm a noob, others may have better suggestions, but that's what I'm doing to prepare for it
>CiscoPress Official Cert Guide
I am also looking to become a network engineer. Should I buy this and start studying it?
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-125-Official-Library/dp/1587205815/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=cisco+press+official+cert+guide&qid=1556740750&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Si, ci sono i libri e molto altro materiale da poter integrare:
Libri ufficiali: Link Amazon Guida Ufficiale a prima vista possono sembrare enormi (e lo sono, quasi 2000 pagine se non erro), ma imparando ad usarli sono la miglior fonte di studio possibile per prepararsi, dividendo l'esame in due (come i libri appunto).
Guida per i comandi: Link Amazon Comandi è appunto una lista di tutti i comandi per iOS (il sistema operativo di cisco) con una breve spiegazione per ognuno.
Ripasso finale: 31 Days before your exam libro ufficiale per il ripasso partendo 31 giorni prima dell'esame.
Molto utile per ricontrollare tutti gli argomenti.
Per fare esercitazioni e lab scaricati Packet Tracer dal sito di Cisco, in rete o su udemy troverai vari esercizi da poterci simulare.
Ti consiglio inoltre questo video corso su udemy, ti fornisce anche molto materiale di test (domande, fac-simili, esercizi) per soli 10€ Corso udemy prima parte
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Per quanto riguarda l'esame, è un mondo a se rispetto a tutti gli altri esami che probabilmente avrai già fatto: gli esami Cisco pretendono un punteggio molto alto per passare (generalmente sopra l'80/85%) e spesso le risposte non sono quelle più giuste ma quelle che Cisco ritiene che lo siano. Ti consiglio di prendere un simulatore di esame, ad esempio il Boson, e fare esercizi con quello...
Per il resto, in bocca al lupo! Spero di non averti messo ansia ma è un esame "particolare" :)
I swear by Odom's guide. You can find the 2 book package cheap on Amazon, and it comes with practice tests and simulation software, both of which should be decent representations of what you'll see on the exam.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024
Go for the Security+. You will get much more out of that then the A+ cert, specially if you are a DoD contractor. That's what I did. I used this book and CBT nugget videos.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1483416496&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Security+%2B
I took the Net+ and then Sec+ 4 weeks later. There was some overlap from Net+ on the Sec+ exam, so that helped me some. I don't come from a security background and scored an 860 on the exam with heavy studying during that 4 weeks between exams. Get your hands on Darril Gibson's most recent Sec+ book, it was the best money I spent for any exam book. His practice questions are worded similarly to what you'll see on the exam.
Gibson's Book
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024?ie=UTF8&amp;*Version*=1&amp;*entries*=0
Don't worry about the 2 year experience in Security+ Cert. They don't check that, they just say it's required to have to better understand the materials. But if you study hard enough, you will be fine. Get Darril Gibson's Security+ Book and use Professor Messer Security+ Videos it helped me pass my Sec+.
No problem asking for study material. I personally used the Darril Gibson ebook
no, this one here ya filthy irishman!!
**EDIT
actually you are correct, the one you reference is the updated version of the one I linked..
aka 501 v/s 401
so we are both correct you dandy englishman!!
I know this is a couple days old now but I've worked for a couple companies as a security analyst, and I feel like a lot of the answers so far are geared toward pen testing, which isn't what the interns at either organization do/did.
There's no question that knowing all the stuff others have suggested will come as a help, but most of our interns needed information more along the lines of the Security+ cert. The Security+ won't make anyone an expert but it contains a whole lot of information that will be used on the day to day. Things like tcp vs udp, common ports, terminology like IDS and IPS. Discussion about host based vs network based protection. I'm not really saying "go get this cert" so much as, "understand the general domains of this cert".
If you want to look into it, this is a pretty decent book, $10 on kindle (more in print) or you can probably find it at a library for free.
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1425426900&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=security%2B+book
A tool that I've used every single day at both places is wireshark. You don't need to be a Jedi to use it, but knowing some simple stuff with it really will help.
Like others said, a background in Linux will help. Wget/curl are convenient for analysis.
Hello,
I have a few questions if you don't mind:
http://gcgapremium.com/pass-the-security-sy0-401-exam-the-first-time-you-take-it/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1939136024/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=mc00-20&amp;linkId=f26dbc813be02e9a94f686c8ae0ff973
I would highly recommend Gibson's book, it's very solid and covers the exam incredibly well in my experience. Here's the Amazon link to the book so you can check it out (they also have a Kindle version for $10):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1939136024/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=
For videos I'm a fan of CBT Nuggets. It's a bit pricey but you can get your first week free and cancel renewal before the week ends if that works best for you. Here's the link to their Sec+ course:
www.cbtnuggets.com/it-training/comptia-security-plus-sy0-401
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1939136024/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1526108431&amp;sr=8-4&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=comptia+security%2B&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51g-tyqmEPL&amp;ref=plSrch#
401 is still being offered till end of july, i also used boson for test exams, i used boson for my ccna and security+, will use when im ready for ccna security.
I’ve been in the industry for a while and don’t have any cert’s. I’m currently studying for my Security+. I’m 90% sure I could pass the test even without studying but I don’t want to have a chance of wasting the money. I’ve got this book and I think it gives a good overview of the industry.
CompTIA Security+ Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-501 Study Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939136059/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wkayDbJYN4DMW
Hi, just wanted to let you know, Darril Gibson's SY0-501 book is out on Amazon now!
CompTIA Security+ Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-501 Study Guide:
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=&amp;dpID=51MZNH9iP7L&amp;preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&amp;dpSrc=detail&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=mc00-20&amp;linkId=01a46a8bd50b8bcc9097183c71cdde6b
I'm taking the test in a month and using this book: https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=5H0WSYWQ700X3F7F19FM
Flashcards
The Certmaster
And Professor Messer's videos
Watch the videos here:
https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-501/sy0-501-training-course/
Buy and read this book:
CompTIA Security+ Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-501 Study Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939136059/
With sufficient study you should be able to pass the exam within a month.
Good luck!
Get Certified Get Ahead. Pretty much known as the gold standard in terms of reading material for the Security+ test.
99.9% will tell you to get Darril Gibson's Get Certified Get Ahead book. It is definitely worth the buy. linky
GCGA or "Get Certified, Get Ahead" is the title of a series of books by Darrel Gibson you want the Security+ one.
This book really helped me:
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059
Also mainly just take practice exams and beef up the areas that are lacking. No need to over study things you already know. Stay calm during the exam, sleep well the night before, eat something before you go.
You will get it, you definitely seem dedicated and willing to work for it.
People have recommended some good things, but as a student myself i will tell you this: Before moving into advanced things, PLEASE - learn the basics. Learn how operating systems work and how to use them in an administrative capacity (Yes, that means Windows AND Linux. I notice a lot of my peers are uninterested in Windows administration but from what I've gathered most organizations are windows shops). Learn basic to intermediate networking, this is a MUST. Programming is not a requirement to going into security but i'll tell you this; it'll really help you gain a better understanding of how computers work, as well as give you that extra set of skills to pull out of your pocket when trying to solve a problem. If anything I recommend learning something like Python, or C.
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Also, a personal opinion of mine is: Only learning what college teaches you is not enough for security, regardless of if you want to go blue team or red team, or do malware analysis/reverse engineering. You should be self learning outside of school as well. Set up a home lab (/r/homelab) to familiarize yourself with different systems, and to get hands on experience with different technologies. It will teach you so much, and when you go for that first entry position your interviewers will be impressed with everything you know. Mine certainly were, and not to sound cocky but I'm still in school to graduate next year and I got an internship, got hired on part time during the school year because they were impressed with my performance during the internship, which is to be converted to a full time employee should I wish to continue working there when I graduate.
Put in the work and you'll be rewarded. So many people skip the basics because it's not as "fun" or interesting, but especially in security- you can't keep building on top of something that doesn't have a good foundation or you'll end up with a mess. If you know the basics you'll be able to work on basic things, and then the more advanced things as well once the ground is solid.
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Also, don't listen to everything they teach you in school. Depending on your school a lot of the information security curriculum may be very outdated (10-15 years old). Learning older things is useful, but you really need to learn newer stuff as well because new things pop up every single day. You can try getting your CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ to cover some of the basics. That will really help you - it's pretty much first year curriculum.
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Edit: NoStarch books are some of my favorite security(and programming) books
and CompTIA Security+ Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-501 Study Guide by Darril Gibson is one of the best books for the Security+ test. Professor Messer's free videos are absolutely amazing.
This is the academic store that you can buy discounted exam vouchers from at the cheapest price. Requires a .edu email and you can only buy one voucher per test. You cannot buy retake vouchers at the discounted price.
https://academic-store.comptia.org/certification-vouchers/c/11332
The academic store will give you a coupon code that you will use to redeem your exam when registering for the day you will take it.
https://home.pearsonvue.com/comptia
It is suggested to schedule your exam date few weeks out and to arrive a half hour early before your scheduled exam time. Make sure to bring all forms of ID required for the test.
https://www.weber.edu/TestingCenter/lindquist.html
Students should prepare for the exam by going over the course objectives and making sure they adequately understand each subject on these sheets.
Official Sec+
https://certification.comptia.org/docs/default-source/exam-objectives/comptia-security-sy0-501-exam-objectives.pdf
Unofficial Sec+
https://www.certblaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CompTIA-Security-SY0-501-Exam-Objectives.pdf
Official Network+
https://certification.comptia.org/docs/default-source/exam-objectives/comptia-network-n10-007-v-3-0-exam-objectives.pdf
I would suggest you do not purchase the official study guides and labs offered by the CompTIA store because many people have had mixed opinions on their cost and effectiveness and find them to be useless.
I would suggest using free sources such as Professor Messer and other books with practice exams such as the "CompTIA Security+ Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-501 Study Guide" . Professor Messer has monthly online study groups to personally ask questions from for free, he also has free videos that take you through every aspect of the test.
Security+
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939136059/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_BADzCbXJR8TGC
https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-501/sy0-501-training-course/
Networking+
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1260122387/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HCDzCbXY08434
https://www.professormesser.com/network-plus/n10-007/n10-007-training-course/
Each certification test is comprised of a maximum of 90 questions on a 90 minute test that requires a passing score of 720 out of 900. The test will include common networking or security tools, Linux and Windows command line commands and theoretical and implementation questions. The test may also include common port numbers used by everyday services so knowing a large amount of them will help during the test.
The test will also include performance based questions such as dragging and dropping, matching, etc.
https://www.examcompass.com/comptia/network-plus-certification/free-network-plus-practice-tests#
https://www.examcompass.com/comptia/security-plus-certification/free-security-plus-practice-tests#
https://crucialexams.com/exams/comptia/security+/sy0-501/
The CompTIA tests are designed to be rigorous and intense, during the exam, you may feel like you are performing terrible and are about to fail, but you may be doing just fine. The test is designed to make you doubt yourself and sweat.
You only need the minimum to pass. A 721 score is the same as a 870 score.
If you study hard and know everything on the CompTIA lists and their intracacies, you will pass
Hey there and welcome! I'm IT focused with a 4 year in networking and security. I work as a Tier 2 lead for software / analyst type stuff. I started networking in the Army and said I was going to get my CCNA back in 07. I was off by 10 years. ;P
The lost feeling is ok!
The biggest thing is to not psych yourself out and feel overwhelmed. Focus on studying your books, using packet tracer or whatever you are comfortable with. Do the written questions at the end of each chapter, and takes notes on anything you feel is important. Also practice the acronyms!
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Your version comes with labs and flash cards as well as 3 different practice exams. Also comes with a network simulator. (Don't know how good that is, haven't made it that far and am comfy with packet tracer but will try both) Only on chapter 3 after a week of focusing on it at LEAST 3 hours per day.
Don't worry about sprinting to get this cert but stay studious and hard ferocious on it. Remember why you are doing this and keep pushing. We are right there with you.
As far as the theory goes i personally liked todd lammle
You can also do cbt nuggets and look on youtube for free ccna videos.
The lab part you have to go boson. I loved their lab environment and labs. I know not everybody can afford to pay for it , so you can always substitute for packet tracer, or gns3.
Just be prepared lab wise. I failed the first time around because i forgot certain commands and wasted my time sifting through show runs.
This one is the one I used since I am studying for part 2 now.
I am just starting my test prep and this post will be a huge help to me with your list of study materials. On the Lammle Book did you get just the
CCENT ICND1 Study Guide: Exam 100-105 or
CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125
I like this CCNA book.
As Epic has already stated the best book is Lammle, but I also like Odom's ICND1 & Odom's ICND2 as well. I would also suggest doing ITProTV or Chris Bryant for training videos.
Bryant lacks any lab documents, but you can download packet tracer and just pause the video and screenshot anything you need to do the labs.
If you spring for the high plan from ITPro you get access to labs and practice tests. I would skip the practice tests and spend the money on Boson ICND1/Boson ICND1&2
Sure.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1119288282/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1482189424&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;keywords=lammle&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=512jdnkQdfL&amp;ref=plSrch
Official Cert Guide. Frankly it's a very difficult book to read. Routers need RAM because they're essentially computers. Their entire OS is loaded into RAM which takes around 32MB of that on its own. They do retain information in a number of ways. A good example is the configuration which while it can be saved into NVRAM that is just a way to save it over a reboot. It is saved into RAM and any changes to it, by default are only saved into RAM. The routers have to retain a surprising amount of information and can run a huge number of services beyond just basic routing packets between broadcast domains. I suggest the Lammle book for studying ICND1 (it's what i'm using)
Hey! I started studying for the CCNA about a month ago. I'm currently using CBTNuggets, Udemy, and a few books. For the Udemy course, I really have enjoyed the Neil Anderson ICND1 bootcamp. For books, I've been trying to read the CCENT study guide by Todd Lammle and the official certification guide by Odom. If you use that Neil Anderson bootcamp, he will also have several lectures that involve using GNS3 and Packet Tracer (these will help simulate a physical Cisco lab environment). Both applications have versions for Mac OS X, but GNS3 is a bit resource heavy, so I'm not sure how well it will run on your Macbook. Good luck getting that better life for the furbabies!
Your most important starting step is to make sure that you have the foundational knowledge, at least at a conceptual level. I'm a big fan of books, so I would recommend a few to you.
Pick ONE of these. Exam is not necessary, but recommended:
Mike Meyers CompTIA Network+ All-in-One Exam Guide
Todd Lammle's CCENT Study Guide - ICND1
Pick ONE of these. Pay attention to business terminology as well. Again, exam is not necessary, but recommended:
Mike Meyers CompTIA Security+ Certification - SY0-501
CompTIA Security+ All-in-One Exam Guide
Darril Gibson SSCP All-in-One Exam Guide
100% read this. It's the Bible of Python scripting. Second edition is brand spanking new too:
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python
This is a good all-around Penetration Testing book that teaches Linux too. You don't *have* to use Kali, Ubuntu is probably less intimidating to those new to Linux, but you will have to install your own software/packages. This is the only book on this list I haven't read, but I often see it recommended:
Penetration Testing: A Hands-on Introduction to Hacking
While you read these books, you should install some kind of Linux distro on a home computer and use it for practice. I would also recommend doing HackTheBox(first challenge is to hack the login page) and starting with the easy boxes. Do as much as you can on your own first, but if you get stuck, watch IppSec's YouTube walk-through for the box you are on. Might be a bit overwhelming until you get through most of the books on that list though.
You should also start looking towards either the eJPT/eCPPT, the OSCP, or GPEN at this point, as those are the best value certifications in this field and will hold a lot of weight at an interview. There's some stigma with certifications in IT/CS, but the ones I listed are all baseline knowledge and/or high value for those in this field. At the very least the knowledge will go far. But definitely avoid anything from EC-Council like the plague.
You keep saying "A+ exam" in your post so I hope you are aware that there are actually 2 exams you have to pass to get the A+ and they must both be from the same series. Be sure to look over the exam objectives (listed here and here) and keep in mind that you only have 9 days as of today (21 June 2016) to pass both exams before they expire and the 900 series takes full effect. If the classes you mentioned don't start until fall semester you may as well start studying for the 900 series exams instead and give yourself some time. I highly recommend The All-In-One Comptia A+ Certification Exam Guide by Mike Meyers and Professor Messer. They're fairly easy exams but they're not that easy and they included a few topics I hadn't been exposed to before I started studying for them.
I started reading the course material for CompTIA when I started looking at getting into IT but never got round to the exam. There was a fair amount of good stuff in the book I was reading, also a lot about stuff you really didn't need to know (like the max voltage of an IBM PCXT power supply from the last millennium).
If you are someone wanting to get into IT at ground level, with minimal working knowledge of a helpdesk, troubleshooting process or how IT as a field hangs together, I'd recommend at least reading the course material for CompTIA, then if you're still keen, do the exam, if nothing else it shows willingness to learn to an employer. After that look at the Networking+ and Security+ qualifications, or a Microsoft accreditation. Anything Office 365 these days is a licence to print money if you're looking to contract as an IT person (here in the UK as of the last 2 years or so at least).
This was the book I read, though that was about three years ago: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/125958951X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_R30vxbJ3FQJT2
Been in IT for just over three years, currently 2nd/3rd Line Engineer/Consultant and looking to go contracting in the next year. Any queries, let me know.
Hi, All of those things are an excellent start, but I think you need more. Do the free practice tests on the Exam Compass site (http://www.examcompass.com/comptia/a-plus-certification/free-a-plus-practice-tests). Some of their questions are VERY picky, but overall they're good prep. Do the tests on the Crucial Exams site, too (https://crucialexams.com/exams/comptia/a+/220-901/). See if your library has the new Mike Meyers book (http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X). Go through the questions at the end of each chapter. Use the CD that comes with the book as a source of more questions. Good luck to you!
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X
Mike Meyers A+ 901 edition
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1463150745&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=mike+meyers
As for the courses it's up to you. I'm going to take the 901 next week and I self studied using Messer, Myers, and practice tests.
This is what you need. CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902) https://www.amazon.com/dp/125958951X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_47KnzbN70YMGA
it's good for getting your foot in the door as a basic repair tech or helpdesk.
AFAIK Mike Meyer's book has been, and still is, the gold standard for books:
https://smile.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1497277667&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=mike+meyers+comptia+a
Woof, that's a whole lot of questions, here's some answers!
https://www.reddit.com/r/CompTIA/comments/9yieto/general_exam_tips_and_tricks/
Me personally, don't look at the whole of the cert, it's a mountain, take it one step at a time.
Also, the current edition of the A+ is going to be replaced shortly(start of the year) and there is a grace period of about 6 months. I would very much focus on the new edition, the 1001 and the 1002. My philosophy is this, whatever new stuff shows up on the 100x, you can't change the info you learn from the 90x series. a USB port on the 90x is going to be the same on the 100x, understand? https://certification.comptia.org/certifications/a#buyoptions
Also, just review some of the free options for study, but be prepared to throw some money out there for study materials https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542683036&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+meyers
CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902) https://www.amazon.com/dp/125958951X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_k6t2Db13MHWWP
If you can get your hands on a PDF of this guys text, you'll be glad to did. Well written, well structured, easy to digest and thorough.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/125958951X/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_ap8yyb8SMDVVZ
Awesome! I'm feeling more and more confident about this now! I'll most likely attempt a networking certification through CompTIA as well, but later on. I believe you're referring to the book that I saw on Amazon:
CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902)
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/125958951X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nTIlybCJWQ4J1
It's the one I was considering buying, but I saw 2015 somewhere on the page and didn't know if it was still applicable.
A common study tool is the Meyer's book. https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1526814491&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Mike+Meyers+a%2B
This looks, verbatim, like the CompTIA A+ certification study guide, and I strongly recommend picking up one of these: CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide by Mike Myers - I used an older edition a few years back before I took and passed the cert, and it was all I needed. This looks like an outline of this book for sure and will help you in this endeavor.
Good luck!
The Mike myers book is great if a bit wordy and half the price.
Not sure what the difference is per say but I have this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/125958951X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1517975927&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=a%2B&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51Vogw4seHL&amp;ref=plSrch
I'm around 880 pages in of 1288 and I liked it pretty well it's just A LOT of material.
The disc questions are lame...they try to force you to buy stuff they are just sample stuff. The key to the disc however is that it includes a free copy of the entire book on PDF! I put the disc in and put the book on a flash drive to read at work during lunch. So it works out that I didn't buy a ebook version.
I would also suggest to go to udemy and buy his lectures they're for the 901 and 902...they should be $10 each and they complement the book perfectly....they like overview each chapter.
Once I finish the book I plan to rewatch the videos on udemy as a refresher as well as watch professor messer videos.
Honestly, apply for everything. Shoot for those two and help desk. You can sort of get in the door with call center work, but let's call that a last ditch effort.
For learning about the field, Network Warrior is pretty much the bible of generalized network "stuff". It's fairly vendor independent and covers a lot of things that are off the beaten path (load balancers and such).
Cisco's CCENT book and the above one will supplement each other well.
I can't really speak to the server side these days. I've been over in Networking for a while...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cisco-CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official/dp/1587143852/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=books&amp;amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;amp;qid=1395742274&amp;amp;amp;sr=1-2-fkmr1&amp;amp;amp;keywords=Odom+w+ccna
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Routing-Switching-200-120-Official-Library/dp/1587143879/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&amp;amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;amp;qid=1395742274&amp;amp;amp;sr=1-1-fkmr1&amp;amp;amp;keywords=Odom+w+ccna
Cisco CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-101 Official Cert Guide
Cisco CCNA Routing and Switching 200-120 Official Cert Guide Library
They are based on the new material and are written very well.
Odom 100-101
Lammle 100-101
There are 200-101 and/or 200-120 versions of both books, but I'm sure you can dig those up pretty easily on your own.
The material I mentioned (and hated) in my first post were from Cisco's Net Acad. The classroom pace is really slow for the most part. I can't speak too much for the Lammle book, but Odom had me up and running really quickly. Lammle's is probably easier to digest.
I think I get your issue, I had a similar one. Best thing you can do is take things into your own hands. Do your own labs / exercises and experiment. I'm sure you've heard of Wireshark. If you have the hardware in class (or use VMs) do some simple packet captures. An easy one would be capturing the traffic from a telnet session from your machine to a router / switch. You'll see everything (and I do mean everything) and it'll hopefully solidify your understanding of the basic (important) concepts. Don't know the current curriculum but if you're early into the course you'll recognize Source / Destination IP and MAC addresses action along with port #s. Could do a topology like VM --> Switch --> Router to poke around and see how switches forward traffic. It's easy to do and enlightening.
And if by wiring switches and routers is an issue (I'm assuming straight vs crossover) what helped me was thinking about the layers of devices. This isn't 100% accurate, but for the basic devices (routers, workstations, hubs(lol), switches) use a straight if the devices work on different layers and use a crossover for same-layer devices. Hub is actually Layer 1, but group it with the switch for cabling.
Layer 3: Workstations / Routers
Layer 2: Switches
Switch to switch = crossover (both work on the L2 level)
Switch to hub = crossover
Router to workstation = crossover (both work in the L3 level)
Workstation to switch = straight
Router to switch = straight
And for CCNA you'll mostly care about Layers 4 and down, layers 2 and 3 are most important. 4 = ports / TCP or UDP. 3 = IP. 2 = MAC. 1 = physical (fiber, ethernet, serial)
Apologies for the small novel. The more you work with it (self labs!) the better you'll grasp the concepts.
Do you have your ccent? The ccna is quite tough and assumes some pre-requisite knowledge.
As for a book, I used this.
Good book with alot of examples
I would not recommend getting CCENT first. I was not planning to get Net+ and I was going to go strait for CCNA. Then my schooling required I do Net+ (Western Governors) so I went for it. Getting my CCENT first has made taking the CompTIA tests seem WAY easier than the Cisco test was. I already had a superior knowledge of subnetting, IPv6, routing, ACLs and probably some other stuff that Net+ touches on. I mostly had to study the WAN and other cabling technologies for Net+.
For CCENT I just used the current official cert guide. (http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1587143879/)
I would also recommend you check out /r/CCNA when you start studying for that test.
Personally I think so. Whether or not you can apply what you learn in college classes will heavily depend on the courses themselves. Just realize you will need to learn a lot of information and technologies, and from those you will need to be able to put together a fundamental understanding of networking in order to progress in this field.
If I were you I'd start by picking up the latest Cisco Press CCENT book (Wendell Odom ICND1) and see what you think. Also if you have any friends in the field hit them up and (if they're willing) bounce things off them. It's amazing sometimes how a simple explanation from someone who has already digested the information can help.
Amazon Link
Edit: Grammar is hard w/o coffee.
The new updated book is available on the 27th.
http://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;ref_=tmm_hrd_swatch_0&amp;sr=
Good job! It will definitely change your career and your life. I studied software engineering at the college and worked 2 years as web developer but now im working in education and not IT. I started to study for ICND1 around 8 months ago by watching CBT nuggets videos and i am now almost ready to take the exam but it took me a long time, so i want to change study strategy for ICND2 if i pass ICND1. I want to study mostly tests as quicker way rather than watching vidoes and taking notes. I want to buy Pearson Test Prep Software that you mentioned it came with OCG. Can you please check this link and see if it would be the same book&software for ICND1? Thank you
https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=ocg+pearson+ccna&amp;qid=1562544635&amp;s=gateway&amp;sr=8-1-fkmr0
Official Certification Guide. It's written by Wendell Odom, and many say he is a bit dry and better to use his book to go in depth on topics, rather than try and learn them in their entirety from the book.
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Official Cert Guide
Lammle is an engaging writer, while the ODOM books come with practice tests and is the official Cisco training guide. Lammle will put it in comprehensible terms for you because Odom comes off as robotic and emotionless, text books and training manuals are notorious for having technical writing style in them (The form of writing where you try to leave all human elements out of writing, which means excluding opinions, real world anecdotes etc, just get to the point in the most intricately written way as they can. I hate that textbook writers are highly and strictly encouraged to write this way since it makes the learning process much more difficult). Reardless, it's best to have multiple sources. Also if I were you, I would get the complete set for the Lammle side of things. You'll spend less money when you don't buy them all individually since everything is there. As for the Odom side, you're stuck with buying all of his books if you want the practice exams and his bland writing style.
Remember one more thing, Youtube is your friend.
I can help you out. I am a recent graduate just graduate this past spring from the Information and Computer Technology program with concentration in security. What you want to major in really depends on what you are most interested in. If you like coding and writing up programs then Computer Science is for you. If you don't like coding that much as want to focus on areas such as setting up firewalls, networking, where you subnet and assign computer's with ip addresses than yeah go with the Info. Comp. Tech. With the ICTN program it will prepare you for a industry certifications such as CCNA , Security +, CCNP, CCNA- security, RHCSA, RHCE. Do a google search on these certifications and look at the topics covered within the certifcation exams especially the CCNA. The cisco classes the prepare you for the CCNA are the hardest classes and are the washout classes. Where after people taking those that dropout of the program. If you seriously want to do the Info. Comp, Tech, then google the CCNA study guide and look at such content. Or click on this link
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1495502742&amp;sr=8-4&amp;keywords=cisco+ccna
This is the type of stuff that you will be going over when you first start taking ICTN classes. The classes in the program are not hard as long as you put a good amount of work in. It really requires a lot of dedication and understanding. Because there are gonna be days you are going to be having problems in labs and its gonna force you to troubleshoot and think outside the box. The ccna certification itself is required if you wanna stay in the networking track. The certification itself is diffcult but do able. I myself do not have CCNA but have comptia Security+ .
Now i personally can't speak for computer science but if you are good at coding in such things such as Java, python or other programming languages then i would recommend Comp. Sci. Go to code academy google it gives you code lessons and see if you like that.
I can't really tell you want to do. But personally i would choose Info. Comp. Tech. over comp sci any day.
If you have any questions just PM
Can I pick your brain again? For learning resources I was thinking of Pluralsight (used them for my MCSA Server 2012 and loves them) and Todd Lammle's book:
https://amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1491569673&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna
I took the four netacad Cisco Learning Academy classes over the course of four semesters at a community college and that helped give me a basis. I also read all of Wendell Odom's CCNA book and then I read Todd Lammle's CCNA book as well. Odom's book is dryer but he explains it in more depth. Lammle's book is easier to read, so I might read it first to get a good overview and then read Odom's book for a stronger foundation.
I also had homelab with 2 Cisco 2950 switches and 2 Cisco 1841 routers to get use to physically configuring the devices. I also used Packet Tracer extensively.
I would get these books and read them while doing lots of Packet Tracer labs. That should prepare you for the tests. I would also do the CCENT first and then the ICND2 to fully get your CCNA.
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486146136&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-125-Official-Library/dp/1587205815/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486146136&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=ccna
I took a boot camp and used this book
CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119288282/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_R6XDCb1BYWZY0
Looking for PDF of book - $5 PayPal
CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125, 2nd Edition, ISBN: 1119288282, 9781119288282
&#x200B;
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=pd_sbs_14_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1119288282&pd_rd_r=13868709-bcc6-11e8-9fc4-81eb294f983c&pd_rd_w=UWAfl&pd_rd_wg=SWrbB&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=53dead45-2b3d-4b73-bafb-fe26a7f14aac&pf_rd_r=3Y66GCFVJWBT0GYBFM8W&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=3Y66GCFVJWBT0GYBFM8W
Essentially yes. You will have to pay for the test though, it's how they make money. I would also recommend acquiring a book specifically for the test or buying a video set online.
There are also the Comptia certs which tend to be more entry level. Professor Messer has some decent free courses on the Comptia certs A+, Network+, and Security+.
I recommend Todd Lammle's books in addition to packet-tracer and gns3 for labbing. There are other routes you can look into for all of this stuff without spending an arm and a leg, but Todd made the most sense to me when I took it years ago. This is the newer version of course:
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1522267711&amp;sr=1-1&amp;refinements=p_lbr_one_browse-bin%3ATodd+Lammle
I actually have this one. The first half is geared toward the CCENT, and the second half is the CCNA.
The new exam is 100-105, and it's the icnd1 v3. Anything published after August 2016 should be up to date, but double check before ordering. The book I'm looking at getting is this.
I got [Lammle's book](CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1119288282/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Ma0xybFM9NW38) this past week so I'm glad to start that one. Everyone recommends Odom's book too.
I went to amazon books and searched CCNA, and selected the first entry:
Description from the page (emphasis mine):
CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide, 2nd Edition is your comprehensive review for the CCNA exams. Written by the leading authority on networking technology, this guide covers 100% of all objectives for the latest ICND1, ICND2, and CCNA Composite exams. Hands-on labs help you gain experience in critical procedures and practices, and the network simulator provides a realistic lab environment so you can practice at your own pace. Gain access to the Sybex online learning environment, featuring a robust set of study tools including: practice questions, flashcards, video instruction, and an extensive glossary of terms to help you better prepare for exam day. The pre-assessment test helps you prioritize your study time, and bonus practice exams allow you to test your understanding. Need more practice? Get 20% off a year subscription and free access to premium Cisco Labs—providing hands-on, real-world experience using Cisco Routers, Switches, and Firewalls.
There may be a better or more technical term. I simply replied with what I have always called them, and heard them called by others in the profession. Granted it's networking rather than programming, but I did a quick search on what I what used to, sorry.
I have CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125 by Lammle and am using it to accompany the ICND1 course I am doing this week.
Sorry, I couldn't link it on Amazon.don't know if this will work:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1119288282/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_mazUzbX3A7BAR
This is not impossible to but, nearly. Some may object and there are example of people passing in less time. However, they usually have a background in networking, or advanced mathematics.
Get Todd Lammel's book.
People have read only this and passed. That would never work for me. Use it with other resources like CBT Nuggets.
I got the lammle guide that covers all three for thirty (obviously I won’t need the composite, but it’s there)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1119288282?psc=1&amp;ref=yo_pop_mb_pd
How does it compare to Odom
I would get these two books to start.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119288789/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item_image
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119290988/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item_image
These are Lammle's books and are good for the new V3 of the exams and are highly recommended by all that have passed their CCNA exams.
Make sure you also focus on subnetting and VLANs.
I've been wondering about a similar thing. Don't know which Lammle book to buy.
Is CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125 the bundled version of
CCENT ICND1 Study Guide: Exam 100-105
and
CCNA ICND2 Study Guide: Exam 200-105 = CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125 ?
I put the one I think is a bundle for pre-order just now. Hopefully it's the correct one.
I'm not sure. If you buy the 200-125 study book, all the topics should be covered and it would make sense to put them in the first half, but you should check with the blueprint to be sure.
He also makes a CCENT book.
https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-Study-Guide-100-105/dp/1119288789
Woohoo! new book out! :)
shipping in a couple weeks I think (dunno for sure!)
http://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-Study-Guide-100-105/dp/1119288789/ref=sr_1_60?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1463743182&amp;sr=1-60&amp;keywords=ccent
This one right:
https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-Study-Guide-100-105/dp/1119288789/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1495900893&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=Todd+Lammle%27s+105
this one?
Odom: https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807
Lammle: CCENT ICND1 Study Guide: Exam 100-105 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119288789/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_L1Y6Bb9KJMGB1
Hope it helps!
Todd Lammle is the go to author for Cisco study guides. Whatever books you purchase, make sure it is for the 100-105 exam, which is the current version. You'll find some stuff for 100-100 exam, but that's the old test and it may be missing some information. Here's a good book to read I found on Amazon.
It wouldn't hurt to read the Net+ stuff too, since it will reinforce some of the stuff you'll read on CCENT and may contain some different information, but if you're studying for CCENT, focus on CCENT books.
Lynda.com has some good Cisco certification training videos on it, and you may be able to get free access. Check with your local public library. I am able to log into the lynda.com site using my library card number and access everything for free.
When I took the CCENT, about 2.5 years ago, I used the videos on Career Academy. I ended up using it because I got a Groupon for a cheap year's subscription. Those videos, mixed with using Packet Tracer for labs, got me through the exam with a high 90's score. YMMV, since I already had around 15 years of experience when I took the test, so I knew a lot of the information already.
Thanks for the reply! Mostly I am just looking for the NEWEST book, and i'm not sure which on that is? Do I wait till January 13/17 and grab this or do I just get the older Lammle book? Just wasnt sure if this book was before the test updates?
Thanks again!
I was thinking about purchasing lammle
Is this the one you are using? https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-Study-Guide-100-105-dp-1119288789/dp/1119288789/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&amp;me=&amp;qid=
I actually knew the 800 exams were retired. I was planning on getting either this or this, which are both study guides for the 901 and 902 exams. Which one do you recommend on getting?
MIT Intro to coding and Computer science
This course gives fairly broad knowledge and allows you to learn coding from an excellent prof, all for free! I haven’t finished it yet but its fairly useful and I was able to follow along without prior knowledge. Granted, I still have to work hard and it is a decent time commitment.
Also, if you want to try for Certs, Mike Myers is an author of a bunch of textbooks, and they read like a novel (he has a sense of humor) Start with this one, provides general IT knowledge.
Mike Myers A+ Guide to tech support
Ps, I’m dx’ed ADHD- Predominantly Innatentive, Diagnosed at age 20. Medication has been one of the biggest help’s to me. My only regret about medication is that I didn’t start sooner.
https://www.amazon.ca/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1518114357&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=mike+meyers&amp;dpID=51Vogw4seHL&amp;preST=_SX198_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&amp;dpSrc=srch
This is the same book, that one is usually found as a classroom set. But this one is cheaper.
Not sure how basic you are wanting to go but before programming, maybe look at some of the more popular A+ certification books. Not saying you need this specific book but this is just an example of A+ book: https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1495601834&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=comptia+a
I used Meyers' All-In-One book for 800 series, very good and looks great on a shelf too -.-
Comes with a free pdf copy so you can put in on your ereader too, much more convenient to carry around. Oh and there are practice exams and some video training with it too.
If you are looking for a good foundation in computers then read up on the comptia A+ certification.
https://certification.comptia.org/certifications/a
This will give you a basis to build on for almost anything in technology. Here is a good book to get started.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1540790156&amp;sr=8-2&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&amp;keywords=a%2B&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51Vogw4seHL&amp;ref=plSrch
If programming and computer science is what you are after the I suggest this book.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_21?k=python+programming+an+introduction+to+computer+science%2C+3rd+ed&amp;sprefix=python+programming+an&amp;crid=25229NYRVDMH6
It is a good book to learn programming from to get a start.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1538853165&amp;sr=8-2&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&amp;keywords=a%2B+all+in+one&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51Vogw4seHL&amp;ref=plSrch
The book I used for A+ 9xx comes with a pdf ebook format and practice tests.
Not at all. Comptia, here is the guide I was going to buy. CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902) https://www.amazon.com/dp/125958951X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_JOJSBbE0TQG0B
Mike Meyers helped me get my A+
Im looking to buy the videos / practice exams for A+. Should i just buy the practice exams if i plan on using messors videos? Or should i watch both?
Im just trying to gain more efficiency here.
Edit:
Also is this the book i need for the course?
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=comptia+a%2B+901+and+902&amp;qid=1557626616&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=comptia+a%2B+901&amp;sr=8-2
All depends on how much time you put into studying and how quickly you pick it up. Then the harder part would be finding your first job after that, as you just need someone to give you a chance. You'll be competing against lots of other people for the same positions, so how quickly you could make the switch likely will depend on your interviewing skills and how you tweak your resume (i.e. by emphasizing the computer-related aspects of your current position). I'd pay close attention to how you do throughout the studying process if you go this route to make sure you are even interested in it. Switching careers to something you do not enjoy any better will just make life more difficult, so keep that in mind.
Some good study sources to get you started:
Study guide:
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/
Professor Messor A+ videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG49S3nxzAnmlC1ZsppuM7yleDuYCMHrv
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG49S3nxzAnmLq5TLtC0udUaXSaRiPc4v
> Right, because there's totally enough of these jobs for everyone.
There are plenty of jobs in IT, Medical and Accounting field to name a few.
And while saying all you do is push buttons is a generalization, none of the other jobs like making food, filling orders, cleaning tables and taking out the trash is very thought intensive. Hard work yes, do you need to know a whole lot not really.
Look if your working in the fast food industry you should be learning that the job sucks and you need to get an education in something other then fast food. The lesson you need to take away from that is this I don't want to do this anymore.
Take some of your money and buy a study guide for IT work, get a few certs and get a job on a help desk some where, then you can study more and take some more high level certs and move up to a better paying job.
The CompTIA a+ 901/902 Test is around $225. Here is the guide you'll need. It goes for about 30 dollars.
The Network + guide Here is 40 dollars. The test is around $300.
So for $600 dollars, while not exactly cheap if you work fast food, you can get a better paying job that you can work into a career if you want to. The jobs and opportunities are out there if you look over that chip you have on your shoulder.
Here are 181 jobs that pay anywhere from 45K to 100K a year. Civilian Contract work pays real good. You just have to have actual skills a clean record and be able to pass a drug test.
> I'd love to see these people that are against higher minimum wages work at McDonalds for 7-8 hours or more a day during lunch and dinner rushes. Having to deal with asshole customers all damn day.
If that were indeed my life, I'd have to sit back and rethink it.
I just got A+ certified last month.
Back in May I was in the same boat; wanted to take A+ classes through continuing Ed but just missed the boat, so I did self study instead. It honestly wasn't bad, and I feel like I still learned a TON. I know you said you want a classroom environment but I would encourage you to consider self study. I used a combination of this book and this guy's A+ videos/quizzes and ended up passing both exams after about 3 months of studying
I can at least vouch for two books I used to help pass mine.
This one I found to be very thorough, but also can be a bit of a slog to read if you're starting from scratch. While not as in depth this one helped me with some parts I was fuzzy on, as it put it into much simpler terms. Also for practice tests I can definitely recommend total seminars.
This sub, but also this book. Goes in to good detail, and doesn't bore you to death. Explains a lot on hardware, and believe is a must read for all who build computers to truly understand what each piece of hardware does.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1502133612&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=a+certification
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1501801312&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=a%2B
Here is the Amazon book that I used. I found it to be pretty good overall, but the author is wordy and includes information that is not required to pass the A+.
https://www.youtube.com/user/professormesser
This Youtube channel has an A+ 901 and A+ 902 playlist, among many other useful videos. I watched the entirety of both playlists in addition to reading the Meyers book. I also bought the notes for these videos at:
http://www.professormesser.com/220-901-902-course-notes/
I found them to be very useful. They are straight to the point, and consist of bullet point style information.
My study plan was to first read the Meyer's book completely, watch the Messer videos, take practice exams on Examcompass.com, and then utilize Messer's notes and flashcards to memorize or reinforce whatever the practice exams showed that I was weak on. It seems like a lot, but it really wasn't that bad. I passed the 901 with a 759, and I am hoping to pass the 902 tomorrow. To pass the 901 you need a 675, and to pass the 902 you need a 700. These scores are out of 900.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1452705338&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=MEYERS+901
Is this the Meyers book everyone is talking about?
Mike Meyers 901/902 Guide
It's apparently out now. http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Edition-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X
I would start with Comp TIA A+ Certification.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X
It's all the hardware inside and how it works, networking, and security. There are a ton of books with varying levels of detail and knowledge once you become familiar with the basics.
here’s the book it’s got a cd with practice software and typical programs you should use to monitor your PC
And yeah I need MAJOR upgrades for my PC. You don’t wanna hear what I’m running in my rig lel. I suck
while i agree with pauly there, if you wanted an actual book I feel mike meyes all in one does a great job at going over the exam objectives
Here is the link for the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/125958951X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1466024954&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;keywords=comptia+a+220-901+and+220-902&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51MOkR2TvsL&amp;ref=plSrch
> what schools offer courses where I can finish within a few months?
The School of Hard Knocks. Read a chapter a night and work through the exercises. Please don't go to school for a year and throw away a bunch of money to get an A+.
> seeing what I am good at and improving on within 2 years. I have three different areas where I might be able to get into (pharm, business, computer) and the experience and knowledge as well as room for improvement and the speed of getting really good at one of them and finding whether I enjoy one of them or not.
This is exactly what I advised you not to do. Deferring this decision for another two years is the easy way out, and it's going to hurt you big time.
For the sake of argument, say you do end up in IT. You're 25 years old. Most of your peers entered the workforce 2-3 years ago, so they already have a considerable amount of professional experience compared to you. Extend that out another two years, and you're already half a decade behind everyone else right out of the gate. On top of that, most of those people have had a lifelong passion for technology and spent their formative years immersing themselves in the subject matter so that when the time came to start their careers, they were already ahead of the curve.
How do you intend to win the race by delaying your start even further than you already have? You're already behind, and the answer is not to sit at the starting line and debate what brand of running shoes are most comfortable while your opponents begin lapping you.
If you start now and focus exclusively on one field, you still have a chance to catch up. If you keep waiting around and waffling for much longer, you'll be left in the dust. This isn't just true in IT - it applies pretty much universally in the professional world.
Why don’t you buy one of the textbooks for the exams? Textbooks ground you when you study, because they have a plethora of information. Perhaps this textbook. You’re already going to spend $400 on the tests. Why not spend 33 dollars and get a great textbook with all the objectives right there, highlighted for you by the author?
Also, consider studying for one exam at a time. That could be one of the sources of your stress. If you do one at a time, it’ll be easier on you and less stressful.
https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official-Guide/dp/1587143852/
Yeah.
http://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official-Guide/dp/1587143852/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1409268234&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=100-101+odom
This copy? http://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official-Guide/dp/1587143852/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
If you wanted to throw it up on either ebay I'd buy it right now for 10-15$ or diirect paypal maybe or by another safe payment means
This probably a better textbook then the official textbooks for the the CCNA courses
http://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official-Guide/dp/1587143852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1412741127&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=icnd1
youtube has lots of videos that will cover the basics on any subject you need for the test.
CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-101 Official Cert Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1587143852/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_iuD3wb362FTH5
Whoa Whoa slow down there Dingleberry.
First off. Good that you are interested in IT. But IT is huge and there are so many aspects to it. I suggest starting off with something like the CompTIA A+. That will give you the base knowledge you need to know to be able to troubleshoot many everyday end user problems. By base knowledge I mean the thought process and methodology. IT isn't predictable. There are 100s if not millions of cases where following X directions is supposed to give you Y results but it doesn't because something that seems completely unrelated is causing the issue. The A+ helps put you in the correct mindset.
The CompTIA A+ you can just pick up the book for it, sit and read it. It isn't a class and is very entry level. There are classes for it but I personally advise against it. I read the book and took the test my first year in college. But I was already fixing problems on my own. It just supplemented what I knew and taught me more.
What ever anyone says about the A+ being easy is semi true. I can promise you that anyone who thinks they know their stuff does not know everything. That also includes A+ material which again is basic. Everyone who reads those books will learn something. But for seasoned people it can be boring since a lot of it is rehashed info they know from experience. The A+ is conceptual and the methods taught are not written in stone. Also the test is performing troubleshooting the ComTIA way.
For example a common troubleshooting tip for network connectivity issue such as not being able to get online is something as simple as checking to make sure the ethernet cable is plugged in. And CompTIA says that should always be the first thing you check. This is something basic that many people overlook because in my experience very rarely the issue is the cable not being plugged in.
Don't skip it. It will be your building blocks. You don't have to take the test. But it will help you get your foot in the door into a help desk position.
The Cisco Net Acad is good for getting fundamentals of networking in the Cisco world and is training toward the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). Meaning the scope is very limited. You will learn how a network works in general. Meaning the how information gets from point A to point B and theory behind why it works. But then it will take a sharp turn on to Cisco network equipment. I suggest reading a Sybex's Net+ book by Todd Lammle. The Net+ is also by CompTIA but focuses on a MUCH MUCH broader spectrum of networking and troubleshooting networks. For example, the Cisco course isn't really going to dive into this like token rings, MAUs, ALOHA, DSL, DSLAMs, Cable, and other tech. The Cisco learning path is more, here is what a network is, here is why it works, here are some general things that apply to all networks, and now let configure a Cisco switch and a Cisco router, and finally let's troubleshoot common Cisco problems that people run into.
Use the Cisco classes to build on your Net+ knowledge. I'm not saying to take the CompTIA A+ and Net+ exams, but at least study the material. Because it sounds like you aren't really sure what you want to split off to. If you go straight for the Cisco class, you will learn nothing about computers because Cisco doesn't care about what desktop/laptop/server you use for this level of information.
Being well rounded in IT is more valuable than being a specialist who only knows one thing in terms of job opportunities. But from what I've seen specialists make more money if you can find a job for that specialization.
Now to answer your 3 questions.
The composite test is meant for those with experience and is generally harder because you need to know less about a lot of topics where as the ICND1 and 2 you need to know a lot about less topics. You should take the 2 test route.
These are the books I read. These are also the ones I mentioned above.
Sybex ComTIA A+ http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Complete-Study-Guide-Application/dp/047048649X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1372738911&amp;sr=1-3&amp;keywords=sybex+a%2B
Sybex CompTIA Net+ by Todd Lammle http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Study-Authorized-Courseware/dp/1118137558/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1372738836&amp;sr=1-8&amp;keywords=todd+lammle
Start off reading these two. These will teach you everything you need to know to understand what you are getting your self into. From there you can go into specialization such as Cisco. For that I used the Wendell Odom books which are the official Cisco books. Warning, the writing is dry.
Cisco ICND 1 100-101 by Wendell Odom. http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official/dp/1587143852/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1372739094&amp;sr=1-2&amp;keywords=wendell+odom+icnd1
Cisco ICND 2 640-802 http://www.amazon.com/ICND2-Official-Certification-640-816-640-802/dp/158720181X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1372739138&amp;sr=1-4&amp;keywords=wendell+odom+icnd2
NOTE: I did not see the ICND 2 book by Wendell and Odom for the new exam objectives that will take effect later this year. So the first ICND 1 book will be valid for the new test. The second book will not be but it would not hurt you to read it until Wendell and Odom come out with an updated ICND 2 book.
I've also heard good things about the Todd Lammle CCNA book but I do not see one for the newer exam objectives.
If someone hasn't recommended it I would start with the ICND1 & ICND2 exams from Cisco for the CCENT and the CCNA respectively.
If you do decide to become Cisco certified, you may want to make sure you purchase the correct books, as the CCNA is changing later on this year.
I'd recommend Wendel Odom's books:
ICND1 on Amazon
and:
ICND2 on amazon
EDIT:
And if you have good discipline I'd start working on a bachelor's degree online.
I'm working on my IT Security degree at Western Governer's University www.wgu.edu.
They're fully accredited and have a very well thought out approach to online education.
Tuition is $3,000 per 6 month semester, and you can take as many classes as you can a semester.
My advisor has stories about people who are laid off and get their 4 year degree in just a year in order
to get back into the job market.
The updated version is already released. Look up the 100-101 and 200-101 exams if you want to take them in 2 parts or the 200-120 exam if you want to take it all at once.
The two-part books that cover everything:
http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official/dp/1587143852/
http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Routing-Switching-200-101-Official/dp/1587143739/
You probably don't need to build up a lab if you're going to stop at CCNA. Cisco's Packet Tracer is included with the books and you can use GNS3 to virtualize routers to practice on. That said, if you'd like the hands-on experience, feel free to grab hardware from ebay. Decent stuff to go with:
Of course, check /r/ccna
For syllabus and other info about the tests start here: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/ccent
I used the official certification guide book from Cisco Press, but there are other books available too. Here is a link to the official book: http://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-101-Official-Guide/dp/1587143852
The testing is all done on a computer, no physical lab.
First you should be aware that Cisco is introducing new exams at the CCNA level. The 640-822 and 640-816 are being replaced by the 100-101 and 200-101. So make sure you buy study materials for the correct tests.
Suggested study guides: 1 and 2
If you can afford it, pay for CBT nuggets. It's $100 per month for access to their videos. Yes, that's a lot of money, but you get what you pay for.
You will need something to practice configuring IOS routers with. Option 1 is to find a copy of packet tracer. You'll have to figure that one out for yourself.
Another option is a program called GNS3. This program allows you to emulate Cisco routers, but you will need to provide your own copy of the IOS. Also it doesn't support emulation of switches.
Your final option would be to use real gear. For a few hundred dollars you can build a home lab that will allow you to practice everything you need for the exams. There are many pros and cons to building a home lab. At the CCNA level packet tracer is usually a better idea.
Hi Suren130 and Valkkon,
Thanks for responding.
So ya, I actually bought my 2 book kit at the bookstore (Chapters in Canada).
____
For example, here on Amazon is one of the books I got in last year's NEW 2013 kit.
____
But also here on Amazon, I think I found what appears to be yet the even newer version of that book.
____
As you can see, both the "older" and "newer" books are for the exact same exam (100-101).
But the older one (which is the one I bought) is now on sale! Which is usually a sign it is missing some newer info, I think!?
As for the newer one, it has added a second author's name on the cover, and also mentions a training simulator.
Not sure if you can tell at a quick glance by looking at those 2 Amazon links, what the difference might be?
In the meantime, I'll look over that link that Suren130 mentioned to see if it might mention the changes.
As someone else said, the second link is for both exams, so I would just go with that. Personally I like physical books, and Cisco Press has a few published that are handy
http://amzn.com/1587143852
http://amzn.com/1587143739
However, I would HIGHLY recommend going for the single 200-120 exam
Odoms books are sold together but broken up by exam
The books combo is cheaper and you still get both books separated.
http://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-120-Official-Library/dp/1587143879/
I'm just a beginner for the most part. But, I did pass my net+ with a 749 (i think). For network+ i used Professor Messer. I watched his (and took notes) for both versions of the exam and certmaster as a last defense. I only bought certmaster so I could have a free retake if it went south (it did not). I wouldn't suggest paying money for it unless you do it for the same reason. And, that's all i used for net+.
However, I'm currently working on my CCNA which is much more difficult from what I've learned. For that, I'm using:
Lamle: http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618
And, I'm going back and forth between reading that and watching DansCourses on youtube. He uses Cisco's packet tracer so it gives you a lot of hands on (without needing physical equipment) especially accompanied with the book.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL33E07ECCA73C0755
Instead of Lamle, I do hear a lot of people suggest Odom. http://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-120-Official-Library/dp/1587143879/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459299586&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=ccna
I don't know if you want to get indepth as much as the CCNA, but I figured I'd throw it out there. Net+ alone was mainly just Professer Messer.
My .02 would be to start with the CCNA Route/Switch curriculum and then branch from there. It will give you a very strong foundation to start and allow you to move into pretty much anything (Unified Communications, Video, Security, Service Provider, Data Center ect.)
Get your hands on the following books as well as these lab manuals:
http://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-120-Official-Library/dp/1587143879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1381429380&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna+routing+and+switching
http://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Essentials-Manual-Companion/dp/1587133202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1381429405&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna+routing+and+switching+lab+manual
Next, you will need either some gear or something virtual for you to practice with. If you can't afford actual hardware, get GNS3
http://www.gns3.net/download/
GNS 3 doesn't really do switching (VTP, Spanning Tree, VLAN's) but you can do pretty much anything routing related you need to (especially at the CCNA level).
For switching, you need find Packet Tracer. Packet Tracer will allow you to do pretty much everything with the exception of Frame Relay and more in depth security.
Sorry to promote so much Cisco, but I do draw a paycheck from them every two weeks and they do a great job of making their entry level stuff accessible. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me.
probably not, you would want to look at
http://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-120-Official-Library/dp/1587143879/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1420240398&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=ccna
or
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1420240398&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=ccna
for your ccna. There are also some good video courses online from CBT Nuggets, Udemy, and INE.com.
Edit:
Chris Bryant @ udemy.com has his CCNA 200-120 course on for $10 right now:
https://www.udemy.com/ccna-on-demand-video-boot-camp/?dtcode=gVx0N3A296Ur
Keep in mind, you're not really "programming" with IOS, it's just a command line operating system like Unix or Linux. There are a TON of resources. CBT Nuggets has a great video series on Cisco fundamentals. I'd recommend checking out GNS3 as a simulation tool, it lets you run real live routers in a virtualized environment. I'd also recommend this book by Wendell Odom http://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-200-120-Official-Library/dp/1587143879.
Any training that you can find that relates to the CCNA Route Switch certification is where you want to begin. The three resources I listed earlier were 100% of what I used to get myself up and running with IOS.
It's an invaluable platform to learn, everyone needs a good network engineer.
My advice would be to not take a class for CCNA. Just go ahead and self study (I pretty much did this up to CCIE level). If you are a software developer, you will not have any issue.
Its great to have a good handle on the top vendors like Cisco, Juniper Arista. However, you can stand out by focusing more on vendor neutral stuff once you have the basics under your belt. I see the demand right now for network engineers with software / automation skills to be absolutely huge - it can take you ANYWHERE you want to go.
Some recommended learning resources -
Internetwork Expert - check out their all access pass. Its a fixed monthly fee and you will get access to all of their training videos. The quality is second to none and the owner / instructors are very helpful - even by direct email.
CCNA Study Guide - for a basic grounding, check this out and go ahead sit the exam once you have completed it and watched some training videos - even if you don't feel like you are ready, you will gain alot of knowledge / insight.
Juniper Fast Track Certification Program - you could use this to look at going after the JNCIA. The material here mainly focuses on people with a "CCNA" level knowledge and helps them to transition and apply the same skills to Juniper devices. Its very easy once you've completed the CCNA.
In terms of hands on time on equipment, if you really want you could buy a lab but I would recommend trying out something like GNS3 to get started with.
If you have any questions on resources or how to attack this, feel free to PM me.
Hope that helps some how.
I personally took the composite exam. I have heard ICND 1 and 2 is easier than the composite. I'm not quite sure how accurate that is though as I don't really see any reason someone would take both. I take a two year Cisco only Networking course in college, and from personal experience I can say it doesn't come close to preparing you for the actual exam. I could not recomend these books highly enough. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1587143879?psc=1&amp;redirect=true&amp;ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 . There is one for ICND1 and ICND2. I read both and took the composite and passed with a 937/1000. They have practice labs, practice tests, and really hit the obscure wierd crap Cisco asks you on tests.
You can get the ccent and ccna accreditation books off amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1587143879/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
I can't stress enough that I'm only about to be a senior in college. That said, my classes revolve around networking. My courses were Cisco related. My massive industry internship uses Cisco. I personally don't see why you WOULDN'T do Cisco. The foundation spans across platforms, so you might as well do a big name like Cisco. I would recommend this book a million times over. With this book and CBTNuggets, I was able to get a fantastic foundation. I personally am not worried about any programming languages. Man anything you want to learn will NOT hurt you. I plan on learning some python soon just for the heck of it.
Get either the book by Todd Lammle or the book by Wendell Odom. Either of these will suit. I also recommend some video series. CBT Nuggets or Chris Bryant are well received.
Note: The Odom book I linked is for CCCENT or ICND1 only, while the Lammle book is for both. Odom has a book for ICND2 also.
Oh... So I want these | two, then. Correct?
CCENT
https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=TPNKFGNQW8GHT9VDWV4Y
Wendell Odom's Official Cert Guide. here is a link.
I personally haven't used any other books besides Odom's so I can't say if the others are any good or not.
There are a ton of practice tests out there, but most of them cost something. Boson's tests seem to be generally accepted as high quality, and they're the only ones I've actually used besides some free ones I found floating around out there. GoCertify is a place that comes to mind. Also, CBT nuggets and INE have some practice tests, but like Boson, they are premium so expect to pay a good price for them.
Actually, here is a link to a recent post from /u/judoisonattack who just passed ICND1 and shared what he used to study. It is very similar to what I would do.
Hmm that's a hard one.
Not Java specific, but more than anything I'd tell them that they should just try to code as much as possible and work on a variety of different projects rather than just reading. Practice, practice, practice. Make use of resources like StackOverflow when you get stuck, and get good at Googling your problems/figuring out the right way to phrase a query, etc. Learn from your mistakes and try to understand things on a deeper level conceptually, etc. A lot of this is common sense but it makes a big difference. There's way too many people I know who seem to have a serious aversion to this for no reason and it holds them back big time. Even just reading the compiler errors - a lot of people for whatever reason just seem to switch off and assume it's unintelligible when really it's usually telling you in pretty certain terms what's wrong with your program...
If they don't have any previous programming experience I probably would recommend Python over Java.
In terms of Java-specific stuff I mostly learned from the Java docs and through trainers at my previous work place. I also used this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459085575&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=java+head+first
Honestly though if you don't have access to any kind of training I'd probably sign up for the codeacademy course. I haven't used that specific course but in general it's just way easier to learn when it's interactive, rather than sitting down and going through a book chapter by chapter. I did that for C++ and it was really boring and took at least 3 times as long as it would've done if I had some kind of interactive course. I think books are good for reenforcing concepts, or getting a more exhaustive understanding of concepts you already have, but usually when it comes to retaining information I need to actually be able to use said concept in some practical context to remember it and appreciate it. I'm not sure if I'm making sense.
Compiler wise I'd just use the most up-to-date runtime environment from Oracle... I'm guessing you mean IDE? I use Eclipse but for beginners IntelliJ or netbeans might be better. Or even just a standard text-editor at first and compiling through the command-line. Any good tutorial would cover all of this.
Really none of this actually matters. It helps, but the big thing is just sitting down and coding and learning through experience. Any online tutorial in the first few pages of a google search result will do if you stick to it and try to create your own side-projects.
> I can recommend them too but where do you go to take it to the next level?
Was this done in Java? Head First over Java is a good place if you're looking for object oriented programming. I don't know where to find good object oriented programming resources for Swift, maybe someone on here can post some good OOP Swift resources.
Head First Java is pretty good: http://smile.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208?sa-no-redirect=1
If you want a guide to JDK 1.8: https://github.com/winterbe/java8-tutorial
The free course on Udemy by John Purcell is a good place to start - https://www.udemy.com/java-tutorial/ . If you are considering reading a book, I would recommend Head First Java - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208 . Once you get the fundamentals of programming, looking through documentation on the Oracle pages should be much easier!
>Why is it so hard to figure out where to start?
>
>It's no secret that software development has exploded in the past 20 years. New software startups pop up like dandelions in the spring. It then follows that a lot of people think software development is a good career choice and are afraid of missing out on a lot of great opportunities.
>
>Software developers are, in general, pretty opinionated. I doubt this is unique to developers, but it gets tiresome when you've dealt with it for years. If we're not fighting over what operating system is better, then it's what language is better. If it's not that, then it's code editors, or databases, or frameworks, or bug trackers, or development processes, or...or...or. It's like we enjoy fighting.
>
>In a time where more and more people are becoming developers, it's not enough to be just "a developer" anymore. No, to feel superior now, developers need to somehow differentiate themselves from both the non-developer “rabble” and their fellow developers.
>
>This mentality has lead to more coding languages being developed that purport to "fix" issues with other languages. New frameworks are built to "fix" issues with previous frameworks. And on and on.
>
>All this leads to a huge amount of choices, opinions, and resources. Naturally, that makes starting to learn, daunting.
>
>Since I'm a developer too, I'm susceptible to the same opinions and biases that I just railed against. The difference is, I'm right. I'm kidding, seriously, calm down everybody. Here are my suggestions.
>
>Choose your
weaponlanguage>
>As someone once said: “the weapon doesn’t make the man.” It’s probably a quote from some B martial arts movie or Dragonball Z, but the philosophy holds true for programming languages. A good developer is a good developer regardless of language. However, you need to start someplace, and if you pick your first language wisely, you’ll drastically shorten the time to hit your goal.
>
>Picking a language boils down to what you want to do. This is a quick list of general development goals and what language(s) are your best options to get there:
>
>1. Front-end web development (user interface and interaction): Javascript, HTML & CSS
>1. Back-end web development (services that front-end web apps and mobile apps call out to): Ruby, Python or Javascript
>1. Mobile development: Swift (iOS) or Java (Android)
>1. Windows development: C#
>1. MacOS development: Swift or Objective-C
>1. Operating systems, file systems, embedded systems, etc: C/C++
>
>Naturally, there are other options for each of these. Javascript is useful for items 1-5, for instance. But the list is a good starting place as-is.
>
>How to find good resources to start learning
>
>There are a ton of resources to learn to code out on the web. How do you sift through the chaff and find the real gems?
>
>Most resources fall into the following categories:
>
> Books
> Videos
> Blogs/tutorials
> Courses
>
>Books are the traditional go-to resource. Search Amazon.com for your topic and read reviews. Make sure that any books you're considering are new. Languages change and older books could slow your progress.
>
>A lot of people have gravitated to videos to learn coding and other topics. YouTube is the first place most people look. Fair warning, this is going to turn up a bunch of crap. Look at how many subscribers a given instructor has, and watch some videos to see if their style and method works for you. Another possible issue is that because video is more difficult to update for new versions of a language (or corresponding tools), some videos might be outdated.
>
>For blogs and tutorials, a simple google search like "best python tutorial" or "best swift tutorial for beginners" is a great place to start. As with videos, you'll have to try a few to see how they work with your learning style.
>
>Online courses are the newest resource on the scene. Codecademy is one that a lot of people find immediately. However, after I talked to a lot of people who tried it, none really thought it did a good job. Free Code Camp or The Odin Project are both highly regarded for web development. Udacity, Coursera, Udemy all have courses in different genres. Each has reviews so you can compare and only look at ones that helped others. My specific examples follow in the next section.
>
>Where you should start, specifically
>
>Each development goal in the above list is different enough to require different starting points. I’ll list the place that I’d recommend you start for each one. I have not personally tried all of them, but have come across them when doing research. There also might be better ones, and so if you know of any, let me know and I’ll update this list.
>
>1. Front-end web development: Free Code Camp
>1. Back-end web development: Ruby (for Rails), Python (for Django), Javascript (for Node)
>1. Mobile development: Swift Lynda’s Swift Essentials (check your local library to see if you get a free Lynda account with a library card) or Flatiron school’s free Swift course, Swift Programming book or Java Head First Java, University of Helsinki’s MOOC
>1. Windows development: Head First C#, Pluralsight’s C# course
>1. MacOS development: Cocoa programming for OS X, or the same courses for mobile Swift
>1. Operating systems, filesystems, embedded systems: C++ How to Program book, C++ Tutorial for Complete Beginners
>
>Once you pick your language and starting point and you start learning, some things will be obvious, but others will be difficult to understand. You’re going to run into trouble and with concepts and code errors. That’s normal. We’ve all been there. Getting unstuck takes practice too.
>
>How to get unstuck once you’ve started
>
>Once you start learning to code, you're going to run into problems that you don't know how to solve. This is normal and part of the process. You don't really learn unless you struggle through it. That said, you won't always be able to move forward without some help. So how do you find that help?
>
>First off, forget books. They aren't a great place to start here, because the number and types of errors they can cover is so small.
>
>Online is the easiest place to find help. Most devs look for solutions on StackOverflow or just google the error message (if they have one). Other solutions are to find newsgroups or forums dedicated to the language you're using.
>
>How to use Google to get unstuck
>
>When you first try to google an answer to your problem, you're going to run into the issue of what to search for. Experienced developers are really good at this part, but unfortunately, it's hard for beginners, who need it the most. So here I'll give you some expert hints on how to improve your search results.
>
>1. Always include the name of the language you're using. If you're using a specific tool, database, or framework, include that as well. Don't include all of them, just the ones that you believe are relevant. This will take practice.
>1. If you're getting an error message, include that in quotes. Edit the message to contain only the core of the message so it doesn't reference any files, classes, path or filenames that are specific to your program or computer. The trick here is to make the error message as specific as possible while still being general enough to apply to others who are using the same language/tool/etc. but in a different context.
>1. If you're working through a publicly-published problem from a book or course, add that information to the search.
>1. Explain what you're trying to do, with the fewest words. This is tough for developers of all levels. For a beginner, you may have trouble coming up with the right terminology. This is where the books, tutorials, and course materials come in handy. They should use the right language if you're doing something similar to what's covered in them. If not, you're going to need to try some different wording. Remember, other beginners are going to be having problems too and might explain the problem the same way.
>
>Here are a few examples I’ve used (minus the quotes):
>
I haven't read Head First Java, but I see it recommended often.
I personally learned from reading
The Java™ Tutorials and Effective Java.
If you're completely new, you'll still need some type of guide or reference, but you can definitely use BlueJ to run your code offline. It's a lot more basic to use, and I always would recommend it to a beginner. Once you get the hang of it, you can move onto a more feature rich program like https://eclipse.org/.
As for guides, you could try and find a PDF online somewhere or save tutorial pages from websites for offline use to refer back to. You could also probably pick up a Java book of some sort, or ebook even.
This is an excellent beginners book:
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/
Thanks for answering, noone on this sub is actually answering me :(
Thanks for your input!
Yes heres the reviews i saw: http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208
head first java
ok so at school we worked with Big Java . Good book for beginners but it doesn't seem as comprehensive. Thinking in Java is the best book in my opinion, it is covers an insane amount of topics, but it is more of a challenge in case you have a short attention span (it tends to be more serious than the others, rendering it more boring in return).
Now in case you want something more playful Head First Java is a fun one, it uses pictures , and jokes and uses day to day examples in order to make things stick better to your brain. In case you find that kind of stuff better, than it is recommended, but it does cover less than both of the predecessors.
For later inquires, you can check out the books on this list
I've bought some udemy courses (not particularly in java) though some are pretty good to at least understand what the technology is or what you can do, I've found that reading the online documentation will provide you the same knowledge (at least for some of the JS frameworks I've studied through the site) while this is not the same for a more complex language like Java, I would suggest you to take the MOOC listed in the tutorial section of this sub, as for books I would say "Head First Java" and one that I'm currently reading and have helped me to understand some of the language concepts better "Core Java Volume I" for fundamentals and volume II for advanced topics
https://www.amazon.com/Core-Java-I-Fundamentals-11th-Horstmann/dp/0135166306/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=core+java&qid=1571173232&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=head+first+java&qid=1571173566&sr=8-1
Hope this helps
Python - http://learnpythonthehardway.org/
Java - http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208/
C++ - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/388242/the-definitive-c-book-guide-and-list
The best way to learn is to practice.... code as much as you can. write lots of small programs (rather than get bogged down and lost in a big idea)
It's been a while, but I remember really liking the "Head First" books, like http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208. Maybe not necessarily this one, they might have a more generic or rpi one now.
Also, check out https://www.humblebundle.com/books. They have a Raspberry pi focused bundle ending tomorrow.
This course is too hard for anyone who doesn't know computers, I recommend this book instead:
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
Actually, any book written by Kathy Sierra, it will literally make your head pop thinking how easy that she made every single CS concept is, even the harder topics like concurrency and references checking and stuff like that.
The one day she decides to write a book on data structures is the day I will shit my pants.
I would suggest that the carlh programming guides is not a bad idea then!
I would heavily suggest learning C well - this is a language that was designed to stay close to the hardware while being portable, and is a very small language. So, buy a copy of the K&R Book, ever C programmer has one.
Then, Patterson's book is a tome for computer engineering. It'll show you assembly, all the way down to NAND gates.
I would suggest you start by watching and working through Berkeley's CS61C course. It's the logically second course in CS, and after a quick overview of C it dives into the machine itself. Website here, videos here. Also, Dan Garcia is an excellent lecturer.
Once you have all the machine details down, you'll probably feel hampered by your actual program wizardry. This is where you start looking into algorithms and data structures. Your go-to guide here is probably Cormen's Introduction to Algorithms since it handles both data structures and algorithms. It's definitely more of a theoretical/CS-ey book, so if this is not what you want, then Head First Java will teach you a new language (and learning more languages is one of the best ways to grow as a programmer!) and also do many data structures. In fact, you can get both those books and have the light side and the serious side of programming books.
At this point you should be well equipped to go off in whatever direction you want with programming. Start contributing to open source projects! Find things that interest you and try to solve problems! Being a part of the programming community will be your biggest aid in both learning programming and starting to make money through it. People pay for programmers that they know can deliver, and success in the open source world means a lot, and you don't need to go to school for it to get to this point!
Lastly, many CS/programming folks hang out on IRC. If you have questions, find the appropriate IRCS channels and go talk to people. Good luck and welcome to programming!
Second the site. The android documentation is fantastic and will get you right up to speed.
I've been doing some Android development since around April. I have experience with C, a little Java, assembly, and python and started my Android learning with the Head First Java/Design Patterns books.
http://www.amazon.ca/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
There a little childish in some respects because of the games/exercises, but I found the material and coverage was quite good.
I found knowing about threads and the protection of data through mutexes and semaphores was really helpful to understand the Android UI model.
Good luck. Have Fun.
Back in my AP computer science days in high school, Head First Java was a great book. Really breaks down the topics and explains them very well. Here's an amazon link
Honestly I'd just stick to one language to begin with and try to get as close to mastery with that language as possible. Learning two at once will slow you down as you get confused by the different semantics for each language.
I would probably recommend Java as you seem to have learned some already and it is a great starting language. Also most of what you learn through Java can be applied to most modern languages.
In terms of effective ways to learn, well that varies, I did it with the API and a lot of trial and error, some prefer a book. I hear a a lot of good things about the Head First books. Either way your goal should be to write as much code as possible, when you get proficient head over to sourceforge or codeplex and start contributing to an open source project.
Best of luck.
Here's a link to a pdf version of Head First Java. I'm relatively new to java and I think it's a fantastic book.
https://www.quora.com/Where-can-I-get-a-Head-First-Java-pdf
If you want to purchase it on amazon it can be found purchased for $20
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8
to further the conversation on the forum and offer some assistance to everyone out there.
If you do have a beginner textbooks worth of knowledge on Java then I would recommend starting with Android Application Fundamentals
and familiarize yourself with the content or use this as a reference.
if you are new to programming and you want to get started with learning Java then I would recommend (again) Head First: Java 2nd edition, this book is very good if you want a k-12 approach in that it isn't word heavy and it makes you find the solution more often than not.
if you do love word heavy content and love taking notes then I would recommend: Core Java Volume I--Fundamentals (9th Edition)
free pdf versions of both books can be found so please do not limit yourself.
Thank you for taking the time to read and please Never stop moving forward.
edit:spellcheck and link added
This book is really cool: https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
Different people have different learning styles.
I was strongly recommended by my lecturers in university to get a text book, its great for referencing and is something you can pick up quickly, usually with working examples. This one is one of the best all rounders
I just started learning Java and found Head First Java very helpful.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0596009208?pc_redir=1404484364&amp;robot_redir=1
Head-first Java is really easy to run through. Hello, Android is a good primer, though I kinda skimmed a lot of it. After that, maybe Java in a Nutshell and Android in Action to supplement the Cookbook?
Headfirst Java is an excellent book that would teach you the basics of what OOP is, how, and why they work. They are iOS articles out there like Raywenderlich that would teach you the OOP concepts but honestly; I believe this book would teach you in a way you would want to learn them.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0596009208/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1501095615&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=head+first+java&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51Gsycdh-TL&amp;ref=plSrch
Also as for Algorithms the best algorithm course I have ever taken was from Coursera, Algorithms part 1. With the headfirst Java book, you should proceed with this course nicely. Cracking the code interview book as well would be great after learning the algorithms/data structures fundamentals.
https://www.coursera.org/learn/algorithms-part1
I started out with "Learn Python the Hard Way" (link). I'd probably still recommend it as a basic learning resource, but you'd be better off learning Python 3 now. Py2 is going the way of the dodo eventually. Maybe "Invent With Python" is better now.
While doing LPtHW, I also interspersed it with doing the Google Python class. After those, I dicked around for a bit, made a few web scrapers just for fun, to download some webcomics I was trying to catch up on at the time, and eventually also made a scraper to pull the full text of the online web serial book Worm, so I could convert it to mobi and read it on my Kindle.
After all that I felt pretty comfortable with Python, so I decided to try something different and dug into Java for a bit with the University of Helsinki MOOC and various documentation, books, and so on (Official Oracle docs, Headfirst Java, and just a whole lot of Googling for info).
Turns out after all that, I hate Java. Go figure. Okay, hate's a strong word. It's actually a really cool language, but sucked the joy out of programming for me, for reasons that are still unknown to me. So I went back to Python, got a cheap VPS on Digital Ocean, and cobbled up a quick and shitty website with Django. Then I blew it up, and did it again, but with Flask, to make a simple, very basic blog page. That's kind of just sitting now, not doing anything. Dunno if it's even still live, I haven't been on it in months, so the payments may have lapsed (edit - holy crap, it's still there, heh. We must have paid for six months or a year up front or something). No biggie for now, I can always do it again later. I also converted one of my small older scraper projects to Python 3 at some point just to make sure I had an idea of the differences.
That's about where I am at the moment. I've spent the last several months getting comfortable in the Linux world at home, first on Mint and now Ubuntu after needing to install a new SSD. I have KVM set up and am running a few VMs now and again, trying to set up a dhcpd and named server so I can set up a VM-hosted PXE boot machine for shits and giggles, and then see where I can go from there. It's been a blast so far, and equally a pain in the ass, but nothing worth doing so far has been easy, so there it is...
Seems like it goes from types and operators through to multithreading. If you're set on learning Java first (though I'd suggest C or Python) then I suppose it's not a bad place to start since I think a lot of Java books would assume some previous programming knowledge. Personally, I liked http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596009208 since it was quite an easy read but I think that one assumes too.
You might find /r/learnprogramming has a lot of useful stuff for you.
You're welcome!
Here's the amazon preview link
Yes, learn Java first. Without having a good foundation with it you will have a lot of trouble thinking outside the box to come up with solutions. I would suggest this book, http://amzn.com/0596009208.
If you do all the practice examples and download the adventure works db, this book will help you achieve your goal. DO NOT, however, rely on it to pass the 70-461 exam because you will not pass. This book boosted my skill set from advanced beginner to high intermediate, but left me woefully unprepared for the Microsoft certified exam. Good luck!
http://www.amazon.com/Training-70-461-Querying-Microsoft-Server/dp/0735666059?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=sql%20server%20exam%2070%20461&amp;qid=1462299171&amp;ref_=sr_1_1&amp;sr=8-1
I'd check out 'Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012', it's said to be one of the best - and it's also an exam prep book for 70-461.
Unfortunately OReilly no longer carries it, as MS apparently took back all of the MS Press rights from them - but if you happen to be in Canada it's ridiculously cheap on Amazon.ca right now, has an exam prep on the CD, and a 10% off coupon for the exam as well.
Assuming you mean this book, which is an excellent resource. There are other 'training' videos/classes that can help, but they aren't nearly as thorough.
Live and breath what the book has to offer. The only way to pass the exam is the practice and understand how the system works. You, maybe, could pass the exam by studying alone, but that is taking the hardest route I could think of to do so; not really progressing yourself either.
This book is designed specifically for the test. It covers everything on the test, and some things that aren't specifically on it but may help for other questions.
It also comes with practice test software that is very useful.
The test goes well beyond writing queries.
Be prepared for (not meant to be comprehensive):
Good luck!
As far as your queries go they all use T-SQL. There are a lot of differences in layout on disk.
The Developer edition of SQL server 2012 is super cheap ($30) and can be installed on Windows 7 or Windows 8. (http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Microsoft-SQL-Server-2012-Developer-Edition-license/2669399.aspx)
You will want to start off with Querying. It's important to know how you're getting information into and out of your database: http://www.amazon.com/Training-70-461-Querying-Microsoft-Server/dp/0735666059/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1426879298&amp;sr=8-6&amp;keywords=sql+server+2012
After that you'll want to get into the actual server management. Maybe even dip into high availability. http://www.amazon.com/Training-70-462-Administering-Microsoft-Databases/dp/0735666075/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1426879298&amp;sr=8-8&amp;keywords=sql+server+2012
If you're going to actually shoot for your MCSA and want to do big data stuff in the future start looking at datawarehousing. This is more of a future thing.
From the querying book know these chapters inside and out: 1-4, 8-10. That will give you enough information to go into the server administration text. In the administration text know chapters 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
Really focus on 11. Backups/restores are critical. I don't want to diminish the value of the other chapters, but a majority of your function as a DBA will be in the chapters I mentioned. I encourage you to learn as much as possible, but if you're going to commit a limited amount of time, or need to ramp up very quickly, the mentioned chapters are the most critical.
I ran into a similar conundrum. If you read the 70-461 or T-SQL Fundamentals, they have practice problems that are related. The 70-761 does not contain practice testing material.
Apart from that, it's recommended to do the more official practice tests if you decide you need one. They are supposed to be more difficult than the real test, but I do not have any experience taking the practice tests. I am thinking of trying the 762 practice test though.
I did use one other resource that was a practice test and I'll list it below, but here's a copy from my site that lists my favorite resources from when I studied for my 761.
My favorite resources:
https://www.cathrinewilhelmsen.net/2015/01/28/preparing-for-and-taking-exam-70-461-querying-microsoft-sql-server-2012/
https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/4644/sql-server-exam-70761-study-material-for-querying-data-with-transactsql/
https://www.amazon.com/T-SQL-Fundamentals-3rd-Itzik-Ben-Gan/dp/150930200X
https://www.amazon.com/Training-70-461-Querying-Microsoft-Server/dp/0735666059/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1513628070&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=70%3D461
https://www.amazon.com/Exam-70-761-Querying-Data-Transact-SQL/dp/1509304339/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1513628083&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=70-761
http://www.accelerated-ideas.com/70761-practice-test-questions.aspx#.WeeTWVtSypo
https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/4015/introducing-json-for-sql-server-2016/
https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/4073/sql-server-2016-advanced-json-techniques--part-1/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/json/json-data-sql-server
https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/3680/introduction-to-sql-server-2016-temporal-tables/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/queries/select-group-by-transact-sql
https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/1958/sql-server-cross-apply-and-outer-apply/
The training books and transcender tests are your best indicators and study methods. This blog gave a lot of good information, the general consensus is that all three tests are pretty hard.
http://www.cathrinewilhelmsen.net/2015/01/28/preparing-for-and-taking-exam-70-461-querying-microsoft-sql-server-2012/
http://www.cathrinewilhelmsen.net/2015/05/26/preparing-for-and-taking-exam-70-462-administering-microsoft-sql-server-2012-databases/
http://www.cathrinewilhelmsen.net/2015/04/30/preparing-for-and-taking-exam-70-463-implementing-a-data-warehouse-with-microsoft-sql-server-2012/
I've been doing DB work for 6 years, but there's a lot of things I have never done or tried. For example, I don't or have ever used pivot / unpivot and only recently used a combination of STUFF and XML for work.
I also tried the w3 test you linked, the cert tests are exponentially more difficult than that. Still fair and achievable, but you need to know your stuff.
461 I recommend reading through and doing the practices a few times from books:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735658145/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;smid=A3ADN03F2ABAVW
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735666059/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
They are also updating the exams soon to be 2016. There's also a deal you can get for 225 that gives you a practice test, the test try, and 4 re-takes. Exam price is 165. So another 80 gets you at least 4 re-tries and practice test.
Here's the book I used and it was great.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-220-901-220-902-Exam-Cram/dp/0789756315/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1474082915&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=exam+cram
i was given this book by my instructor
Pocket Prep A+ from the app store/Google Play store.
Crucial exams app
*gocertify.com
If you have any books on A+, they should either come with a testing CD or have mini tests after every chapter.
May I recommend David L Prowse' 901 & 902 Exam Cram: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789756315/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_uxKDAbM0H1BEY
Hope that helps!!
Haha, honestly I did study for it using this book but I skipped all the printer stuff. I mean I skimmed it but that’s it. This comes with a descent cram fact sheet and a few practice exams with the physical book. Idk about the ebook. When I took it i realized I built it up to be more than it is.
Professor Mike Meyers is pretty good. He does what I like to call KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid. Follow his videos on Udemy with his textbooks. He's my main source but I'm also using this Exam Cram book and this one with practice questions. There are Kindle versions for both if you want, and they're cheaper than the physical copies.
I tried to get through a chapter of the lectures each night but it didn't always happen that way. Not because they weren't intriguing enough to capture my attention (because that's definitely not the case), but because life got in the way.
I haven't read his book but I did buy the Cram Exam on Amazon.
is this the correct book?
Sure thing. I used the cd that came with the book and it had I believe 735 different questions it could ask
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-220-901-220-902-Exam-Cram/dp/0789756315
Hi Lisaintech,
I used exam cram. Here is the link. It's around 28 bucks. The practice questions are 13 bucks.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-220-901-220-902-Exam-Cram/dp/0789756315/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1482029560&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=exam+cram+prowse
It was too much for me too; I liked David Prowse's Exam Cram a lot more. It was more to the point and straightforward in my opinion. It comes with a lot of tips, practice exams, simulations and a cram sheet that all really helped me. https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-220-901-220-902-Exam-Cram/dp/0789756315. Professer Messer videos I recommend as well. Also, Mike Myers has his book on Lynda.com as a video presentation, which I preferred to the book: https://www.lynda.com/signin/organization; try to login with your public library info or college to watch it for free. A lot of larger libraries are contracted with Lynda.
CompTIA A+ 220-901 and 220-902 Exam Cram
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789756315
I would also suggest supplimenting with this book, if you're looking for more books:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0789756315/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_0789756315
I'm in a 902 class right now, and it's helping me a bunch. I wish I'd grabbed it for my 901 class.
I don't unfortunately. Here is the book though, Todd Lammle ICND1+2.
I started with the Odom ones as well, but this was an easier read and has labs you can work along with pretty easily. Also did various studying on like /r/networking, cisco.com, podcasts, and anything that answered a question I would have.
I wouldn't suggest taking an expensive boot camp. I got my CCNA just by studying this book for a couple months and practicing on some routers at work (GNS3 is also a great program to practice with).
Also, i highly doubt that a 1 week boot camp will teach you enough to actually understand, in depth, what you are learning. They'll probably just teach you the questions and answers.
If you want some videos, this guy has a bunch on youtube.
Which CCNA track are you looking at? They've broken it down to a number of different specialties now. If you've already done the CCENT the all-in-one test for Routing and Switching might not be too bad for you. It's a hell of a test, though.
As for resources, I used Lamle's CCNA book (http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1463000524&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=lammle) and worked my way through it before taking the exam. He provides all sorts of labs and his own simulator to download. CBT Nuggets are also useful too.
Best of luck.
200-120 CCNA, 100-101 ICND1, 200-101 ICND2
Using Todd Lammle's book, and I have access to some simulations etc as well for after we finish the book.
Using http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1411224543&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=ccna+todd+lammle
Location will be near downtown. Possibly the public library, before I go thru the work of securing space I wanted to know if there was interest. So far, not much.
If you study for it seriously, it's very doable. I'd also suggest CBT nuggets (though it is a bit on the expensive side, but Jeremy Cioara is an excellent teacher). Also, I consulted Todd Lammle (http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618) book for my CCNA and I personally think it's the best book that I came across for the exam. You should consult a few books and see which one works best for you. I'd highly suggest GNS3 or packet trace for lab-experience at CCNA level. Good luck with your plans.
I would highly recommend Todd Lammle's book. I like this book because it's split into two sections, one for each exam. I took the ICND1 a few weeks ago and missed it by only one question, everything I missed on the exam was certainly covered in this book. I have about two years of helpdesk work and in the same boat you're in, comfortable with a reputable enterprise environment but nonetheless, a dead end. The exam puts a heavy emphasis on subnetting and using show commands to troubleshoot simple issues though every chapter you read is extremely important to understand before going into the exam.
I would highly suggest getting some experience with the Cisco IOS by doing labs through packet tracer or GNS3 so you're not intimidated by the simulator questions. It really isn't as bad as it looks and after finally taking the exam for the first time, I am no longer intimidated by it.
I used Todd Lammle CCNA study guide for exam prep - http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=la_B000APOJ5M_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1412759956&amp;sr=1-1. I think it's one of the best study guides I ever read.
And, yes, lot of practice in subnetting
this is a great book IMO
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1419215795&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=todd+lammle+ccna
Oh sounds cool, is the GNS3vault all free or paid?
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1418258815&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=CCNA
I hear ya man. I guess I'll vent with ya sorry for the long post.
I'm in the same boat 25 and don't know where to fully go career wise with a shitty job. I work in a call center scheduling boiler inspections, while dispatching for inspectors who also do an insane amount of driving at ridiculous times. But god damn 130 miles fuck that, and I thought my 40-45 min commute was bad! My hat is off to you guys for putting up with that amount of driving.
So after graduating college with a BA degree telecommunications thinking that I would get a job in that field such as network engineer/technician, line installer, PBX tech doing MACs (term for moves, adds and changes when programming telephones and other equipment) within the first 6 months of graduation. Yep that was a naive rookie mistake to when I found out all about CCNA certifications and all that other shit where you have to spend around $120 to take an exam after studying this book or you could spend another $3000 for that education. I wasn't ready for that after graduating in 2013. I was exhausted learning after 5 years of college (it was a 4 year program but I took it easy my sophomore year in college trying to figure what I wanted to do along with what would most likely get me a job that I could live off of while working part time).
All I can say is this after 2 years from graduating find what you can to get by, if you can't tolerate that job anymore find something else. It's really fucking hard I know I've been trying to get out of this call center position for nearly 7 months now. Before that call center position I was delivering pizzas for 8 months. Then when you can find a position that you can live off of and tolerate for a while then pursue that in your free time what you need to do for the career you want. Lately I've been getting into the crazy wonderful world of coding and web development. It's hard of course which means it's worth something, but I learn most of the material for free. If I told my 20 year old self that he would've said "Yea right grizzly adams had a beard." (feel free to end the joke). However, I haven't been learning that much code since I can't take this call center position anymore so I'm focusing on finding a new job away from this shitty boring area I'm in (King of Prussia, PA area it's boring suburbia). When I find a new position that I can tolerate where I'm not on the phone all day, then I'll pursue and develop skills on being a web developer and build a portfolio of a couple websites showing exquisite HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python and jQuery skills then I'll start applying to web developer jobs.
So build my friend, it takes time but build there is still time.
Even though I wish colleges could help us out more career networking wise they just throw us out on the fucking street and ask oh do you want football season tickets? Then I say sure how about you get me a job you pricks and I may be entitled but when I pay $86,000 I expect results. I remember going to a college savings plan meeting and hearing the presenter saying "Colleges are first and foremost a business". Yea well I'm the customer, I went to college to get a career in telecommunications not to deliver pizzas and work in a call center.
check out the sidebar at /r/ccna a guy did a youtube series on passing ICND1 & 2. You'll want at least to take some practice tests which you can find from Googling and I find it's nice to have a book around for reference (I'm old school I guess) and they can be found for pretty cheap, hell you can rent this one for $25! I'd invest up front in study materials, failing a test when your employer is paying for it doesn't look good.
I don't have the personal bandwidth (or teaching ability) to set up a class, but INE has a decent CCNA class on youtube. It's now slightly out of date because the ICND2 2.0 just became the only option, but that's only significant in that you shouldn't use it as your only training material should you want to get your CCNA.
The Lammle text is also good, and if you're familiar with networking you can probably just skim for overarching concepts and commands.
The new edition isn't out yet, but it will be soon: http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/
I've used Todd Lammle's CCNA study guide and his Certified Ethical Hacker guide. It's incredibly informal making it really easy to read and still teaches you everything an official Cisco print would teach you.
EDIT: I have Lammle's latest CCNA study guide, supposed to be released tomorrow but Amazon shipped it 3 days early. It's fantastic, complete with review questions. Still not the same as the CCNA questions (I don't think) but it's still incredibly close and teaches you the same content.
http://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Study-Guide/dp/1118749618/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1382644141&amp;sr=1-2&amp;keywords=CCNA
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1118749618?pc_redir=1411972593&amp;robot_redir=1
I apologize if this turns out to be a mobile link.
This is the newest book by Todd Lammle. I just got it in the mail and I am on Ch.2. It's really good so far. Whichever book you decide on, ensure that it was published after August 2016.
Get the all in one study guide
https://www.amazon.com/Routing-Switching-Complete-Study-Guide/dp/1119288282/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1509555836&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=ccna+todd+lammle
I used this for my study and passed with a great score. http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Guide/dp/0071765654
I just did the RHCSA/RHCE for 6, so I'm not sure how useful my opinion is.
HOWEVER, I would suspect that the "standard" RHEL6 objectives that you can find elsewhere (I would definitely recommend the Jang book: http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-RHCE-Red-Linux-Certification/dp/0071765654) mixed with systemd and firewalld stuff should be enough. Here is the formal list: http://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/ex300-red-hat-certified-engineer-rhce-exam
The big ones that seem different from RHEL6 are:
That actually seems like a hell of a lot of material to add. However, the RHEL6 exam was only 2 hours, and the new one says it's 4 hours.
I also don't really enjoy coding. I got into the industry by studying for (and not quite passing) the Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator exam. Took me a year on my own to get through this prep book cover to cover (note that the current version for the current test is here, though.) Of note, I only had about a year's worth of linux experience when I started studying. At that point, I had: stood up a basic LAMP stack, implemented Apache and Postfix/Courier/Roundcube. At the time I was working as a (not so successful) photographer, and my goal at that time was to create a web hosting company that would let models host their website portfolios and send/receive IMAP email through their own domains. A month after I got the whole platform running, a little site came along called https://www.modelmayhem.com/ . Oops. I'm still super glad I did; working as an infrastructure engineer is the most rewarding job I've ever had.
Anyway, I'm just saying that you don't have to be a programming guru, but you'd do well to at least master bash, and become intermediate in one scripting language (I usually recommend python.)
I think you can only still take the test for 6 at the kiosk locations, which are more limited so depending where you're at you may have to take the 7 test anyways.
I think the Jang bookhttp://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-RHCE-Red-Linux-Certification/dp/0071765654/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415830084&sr=8-2&keywords=jang is still a good resource, especially if you want to get a good foundation of preparation, just keep in mind you'll need to also familiarize yourself with the changes in 7.
This has some useful information: http://www.certdepot.net/rhel7/
I have ordered these two books.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/111821854X/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0071765654/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item
I read some of the linux bible in a pdf and really enjoyed it so decided to order the two books.
I have also picked up the centOS CBT nugget videos and will VM it at home and hopefully in a couple of months I will know whats going on in RH.
lol, i should probably link to the study guide that's out and not the practice exams that aren't. XD
Fix't link
I used this book to study for my RHCSA and RHCE:
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Guide/dp/0071765654
If you studied this book for a month or 2, I'll bet you'd KILL the RHCSA test.
I see. I was looking at buying this book I figure it would be a good read as well.
Pretty much the defacto for Red Hat training. The best part is that much of it can be transferred to other Linux variants.
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Guide/dp/0071765654
Not really the forum for this question, but I'd say the easiest thing to do is buy this book (or even just borrow it from a library if you can find one, the books Edition (age) probably isn't that important): https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X
Read it.
Sign up at https://home.pearsonvue.com/, schedule an exam at a nearby location. (Probably costs you something like $150). There's practice tests you can find online if you just google them.
Now, granted, I've not taken the A+; I've take Cisco exams. I would imagine the entire thing is you, at a computer, answering multiple choice questions. Most exams go like that. So if you can read and remember and understand that book you can tackle the A+ easily enough.
Check out the links in the right hand column, especially Prof. Messer's Cert Videos.
As far as books go, I'd pick this up: Mike Meyers CompTIA certification guide.
Also, go to CompTIA's site and grab the 801/802 objectives PDF. Once you've read the Meyers book, or whichever book you decide to pick up, focus in on the objectives.
There are many resources online for free 801/802 testing. Google is your friend.
Finally, I recommend using Quizlet for flashcard-style drilling.
edit: additionally, there are lots of free Android/iOS practice test apps available.
This is what I used. Meyers and this one are also very popular.
Since you already have that school one, I'd wouldn't worry too much about it though. Though I do recomend a practice book, like this one. And remember that aside from multiple answer questions, there are also a few "labs."
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If you are just starting out, begin with A+ (not for the certification, but for the knowledge). Buy this book, get some old desktop PCs, and learn everything about computers. Then, buy the Network+ book by the same author and learn about networking.
This gives you some basic knowledge of computers and networking. From there, try to do what I did, if you like. Just get a basic "office job", and then see if you can either work your way into their IT department, or offer to fix their computers for them.
For A+, try Professor Messer's site. His videos are an amazing resource. I do a chapter in book study then watch the corresponding video on Messer's site. Works pretty well.
Also try Coursera, they have a lot of classes you can take for FREE from major universities. I am currently waiting on a networking class that starts June 24th. It's a high level class that offers a good amount of knowledge. No degree, but the knowledge is what you will need during interviews. And like u/esmith3498 said, F.R.E.E.!
Professor Messer - This is for 800 exams for a+, he also has training for net + and linux and the like.
Coursera - Use it!
A+ book - I love this book, very thorough.
GOOD LUCK!!! I am in the same boat as you. I am currently trying to get into the field too.
Yeah man, no problem.
Before I find some specific books, I wanna mention one series that you've definitely heard of: Blank for Dummies. From my experience, if you want to start from no knowledge and work up to an intermediate level of understanding, For Dummies books are great. A lot of experts beg to differ.
But, to be frank, people who are experts in their field are just that: experts in their field. I have friends who are excellent in their fields, but they are terrible teachers. They expect people to pick things up as quicky as they did. We're not all wired that way, and For Dummies books get that.
So, for my first two recommendations, here ya go:
Networking for Dummies
Building Your Own PC for Dummies
Both of those are less than 20 bucks on Amazon, and I'm sure you can find them at a library.
Now, if you really want to get into networking, and you want to get in to the IT field, you should read the A+ and Network+ certification books from Comptia. These will be harder to find in a library, but there will probably be some older editions lying around somewhere. If you know someone who works in the field, they probably have a copy, or can get you a copy, for free or cheap.
These books are more expensive, and more difficult, but they are peerless if you want to jumpstart a career in IT. I'm not going to claim that getting an A+ and/or a Network+ (or a Security+) certification is going to guarantee you a job. However it will definitely help you get your foot in the door.
Other books that you'll want to eventually check out if you want to check out things from O'Reilly. Most of their books are not meant for beginners, but they are the quintessential reference books in the IT field, including computer science, networking, and security. To give you an idea of just how many books they have, check out this picture of the programming section at the Noisebridge Hackerspace in San Francisco.
That band of colorful books in the middle? Those are (some of) the programming books they have available. They have just as many on every topic of IT. Here's their networking section. 19 pages. Of just networking books.
I hope that gives you a good idea of where to start.
Professor Messer for the best free online resource and videos.
Mike Meyers' Exam Guide for the best print resource. It's a book. Whatever price you decide to pay for it, or not, is up to you.
Of course there are other options and resources, but these were great for me. And there could be something else out there that works better for you. Either way, hope this helps and good luck!
Don't let it intimidate you. YouTube is infested with IT info. Check this guy out [ELI](https://www.youtube.com /playlist?list=PL6B10FA35AACFA6E7). If you want to get certified start HERE. This BOOK will help.
Sorry I didnt realize that the book said it was the fifth edition. I have the eight edition. Is that the most current one you have at the moment? THis is the one i have http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Edition-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=1M6D4MYVV84RNV1CH443
A+ is pretty entry level so I'd suggest teaching from an A+ course book. Michael Meyers' book is where I'd develop lesson plans from. He goes above and beyond so he covers A+ plus additional helpful skills. Buying used textbooks off of Amazon can help as well. I even use them to give myself "refresher" courses.
Here is the one I used link
I used this book and really recommend it: http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X
I read everything for the 801, took the exam, passed, and then read all the 802 stuff, took that exam, and passed. I found the 801 easier than 802, but that's just me.
I used this one: http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Edition-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X
But honestly if you have been playing around with hard ware and know the windows OS well, you'll pass without too much studying.
I did read the Myer's book (Specifically the All-in-One. He has others that are essentially the All-In-One book but with less crap.). I initially made the mistake of just trying to read it cover to cover, but there's too much material and it doesn't follow the order of the objectives, and that bothered me. To each their own ultimately.
I really must emphasize using the Objectives List as your guide. It even has a list of acronyms. Don't bother making a list from the textbook -- use the materials that CompTIA has already made available. There are also acronym and definition flashcards all over the internet. Just start looking around for study materials. You'll find piles of them.
/r/learnprogramming has a lot of great articles pinned. Python is a easy language to learn to start off. But if you want to hit the ground running, either learn web development languages or C++. From what I know though, when people refer to IT, they are referring those working in Networking or Help desk. With Networking, you learn a lot about computer/router hardware in the beginning, and then move onto learning protocols and best practices. Granted that second part is massively understating what there is out there to learn. But the sky is the limit when it comes that field. Help desk is the entry level for IT personnel. You help people over the phone or in-person with their computer related problems. Lots of networking guys don't like this because you loose whatever faith in humanity you have left, some like myself, really enjoy it. I like helping people either in a jam, or just generally better understand how to do their job with the aid of technology.
Sorry for the length.
TL;DR
Grab a A+ certification and then try for a Help Desk position. Here is a good book to get your education started, [Comptia A+ from Amazon].(http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Edition-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1382805315&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=comptia+a%2B+certification+all-in-one+exam+guide+eighth+edition+exams+220-801+%26+220-802)
The go-to answer for "what should I use to study for the A+?" is either Professor Messer's video series (available on Youtube) or Mike Meyer's massive tome
Neither covers the 90x series yet, though.
I just got certified in June. As many people have recommended in here already, I bought this book, did a couple chapters a night for a couple of weeks, then took several practice tests. Once I was consistently passing the practice tests I could find, I took the actual test. If you end up buying a book, make sure it's for the right test. They're starting the new test in October I think, which is probably the one you should takes since it's the most relevant. One word of advice I would give is do a search for a website that offers discounted testing rates. I was able to save something like $80 by doing that. Lots of places sell vouchers, just look around a little and I'm sure you'll find something.
I just took mine last month. I borrowed this from the library:
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Edition-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1375413680&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=a%2B+certification
I think it's an excellent guide. It details what you need to know for each exam (801 & 802).
this book
So far I've been happy with this. It comes with a digital edition and a discount for the exam fee, so it pays for itself.
You might also want to look into a local community college course if you'd prefer having a class.
The first half of this book will tell you everything about computer hardware that you will ever need to know.
http://www.amazon.ca/CompTIA-Certification-Edition-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X
It is definitely something that you can pass without taking a course. I used this book back when it was in it's 4th edition haha It is really good though and had a disc with loads of practice test questions.
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Edition-220-801-220-802/dp/007179512X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1368555413&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Comptia+A%2B+Certification+All-In-One+Exam+Guide
I went through Mike Meyers' All-in-One A+ Certification exam guide in about a months' time of reading a couple chapters a day, and averaged 95% on the tests. Started off feeling like it was mindlessly simple, then ended up learning a lot. Not to say this is the best exam guide to use, but it worked great for me.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007179512X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
EDIT: The book also comes with the basic exams, that I took a bunch of times throughout. That helped a lot (but isn't a substitute for actually learning the material, because the practical application questions require you to actually know what you're doing).
should i do more research before buying this book you think?
i have watched a lot of professer messers videos too.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007179512X?psc=1&amp;redirect=true&amp;ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&amp;smid=ANN4GKF47H0QL
Definitely! I've been studying from Mike Meyers All in One Exam Guide, Professor Messer, Carey Holzman from Tech-Vets, and the Exam Cram Practice Question Book. They are all great resources, especially Carey's hands-on build videos. Which will help if your never built a PC yourself. I will update you tomorrow on my opinion of the test and things I came across.
Book One
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Enterprise/dp/0321919165
You won't need book two until you start looking at cloud based deployments or have a need for scalability.
There are a number of books for RHCSA I personally found Michael Jang's to be more digestible but that is more of a personal preference. I'd see if a local B&N has either and see which looks better if its an option. Also be aware that if you do intend to go for the cert; Redhat will be upgrading their exam to use the newer version of the Redhat distro which would make some of the material less relevant.
https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962/
The only way to know is to try the test, or practice tests/questions. This book has some of each for RHCE and RHCSA: https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962
Exam is administered largely one of two ways:
You only get a single try. If you fail, you have to pay $400 again.
I've read this same author's on version 6, and I'm going through version 7 now.
What Michael Jang book are you guys referring to? Is it this one?
https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1523426860&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=michael+jang+rhcsa
I got my RHCE certs pretty easily with Michael Jang's excellent book.
Trying to address all your questions.
For more in-depth, study like you're planning on taking the RHCSA/RHCE exam. The objectives (RHCSA/RHCE) do a good job of covering the fundamentals. The book by Michael Jang is an excellent resource for this.
If you want a "fuck you, eat linux" type approach, I'd recommend doing a Gentoo or Arch install. This won't teach you everything, but you will learn about some of the lower level parts of the OS that make it tick. I'd still recommend this (especially the Gentoo install) after you get the fundamentals down.
There are definitely some distros that are more "enterprise" than others. Generally I see mostly these deployed for enterprise use:
Other distros like Mint, Fedora, Gentoo, Arch, etc. are only really used for desktops unless you really hate yourself or your admins. I have seen some Gentoo or Arch servers out in the wild before that customers have deployed.. but it's rare. Generally the big three (RHEL/CentOS, Ubuntu and Debian) are what are in demand skill-wise. There are some specialized distros used in enterprise that aren't as common (Scientific Linux, CoreOS, etc).
CentOS is essentially RHEL with all the proprietary bits ripped out (some other small differences). I was able to study for my RHCE with CentOS without issue, they're that similar. You will run into trouble if you start going for some of the more specialized RHEL certs using CentOS.
I hope this helps!
I've been using this book. If you join the rhel channel here in reddit, you will see a lot of people recommend it. RHCSA/RHCE Red Hat Linux Certification Study Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams EX200 & EX300) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071841962/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_sLY2Bb0ZTNBMM
Good luck.
The Linux Documentation Project is a great free resource:
http://tldp.org/LDP/Bash-Beginners-Guide/html/
A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming (4th Edition)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0134774604/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_bh7QAb518JBC8
The first two are for learning Bash; this is an awesome resource for learning how to administer RHEL/CentOS7:
RHCSA/RHCE Red Hat Linux Certification Study Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams EX200 & EX300)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071841962/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_wj7QAbX8M0DG5
I believe they removed the Linus System Administration Essentials course. The Linux Foundation Edx page only show these two courses.
I think the industry standard is still RHCSA/RHCSE which might be cheaper than the Linux Foundation Course. Going for RHCSA is $400 USD for the exam, and you can probably attain the training material for about 60-70 USD.
I think going for RHCSA would better suit anyone who might want to pursue a career in Linux Admin work because the name would get picked up by HR filters or listings. Whereas the LS cert is still new and not really recognized by many companies.
This book, and the practice companion is about $30 USD each.
Or has there been a shift where Linux Foundation certs aremore valued over RedHat certs?
I can tell you the Professor Messer videos are good, but in my opinion nowhere near enough to pass the Network+. I recommend the Mike Myers book and Darril Gibson's practice questions . Good luck!
CompTIA Network+ Great book as an introduction all around view of the subject.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=J31ZQ595HVHBVTPGV8SZ
Not a video, but this book taught me a lot. https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223
It was a little paragraph at the end of the IPv6 chapter in this book.
Alright -- given that, you have a lot of learning ahead, and hopefully your friend/mentor/referral truly understands that.
Don't ever try to claim you know something when you've never heard the term -- never be afraid to ask questions and always seek to clarify things proactively rather than figuring you'll catch up on it later. Be prepared to drink from the firehose constantly and to feel like you're inadequate, that you know less than everyone around you, and to question whether you're doing the right thing daily. But be careful that you recognize when you are making progress to avoid the lingering effects of Imposter Syndrome as you grow your career. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome
If you're into reading and don't mind reading 500+ pages in the next 3 weeks, I'll recommend the following books. Understand that reading these will merely expose you to the topics discussed in order to have the training not be the very first time you're ever hearing basic terms. Don't try to actually do all of the exercises in the books or you will never finish them -- this is exposure and consideration only; if you have enough time, go back and re-read things you struggled with or want to learn more about.
2-book CCNA study guide: https://www.amazon.com/CCNA-Routing-Switching-Complete-Certification/dp/1119375126/
Network+ study guide: https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223/
I don't know much about blogs or videos available, but keep an eye out for those.
Good luck!
Many people may disagree with me, but as a Linux user on the younger side of the spectrum, I have to say there was one thing that really worked for me to finally switch for good- books.
There's tons of wikis and forums and of course Reddit to ask questions, but it is hard to get good answers. You may end up paying for books (unless you look on the internet for books) but it doesn't beat having a hard copy in front of you. It boils down to a time vs money trade off. The only wiki I would follow is one directly from the developers that act as documentation, not a community wiki. Also worth nothing certain wikis are more tied to linux and the kernel than others, meaning some are comparable/interchangable with the distro you may be using. Still, a novice would not easily put this together.
Forums are also useless unless you have the configuration mentioned in the post or that forum curates tutorials from a specific build they showcase and you as a user decided to build your system to their specifications. There's way too many variables trying to follow online guides, some of which may be out of date.
This i've realized is very true with things like Iommu grouping and PCI Passthrough for kernel based virtual machines. At that point you start modifying in your root directory, things like your kernel booting parameters and what drivers or hardware you're gonna bind or unbind from your system. While that does boil down to having the right hardware, you have to know what you're digging into your kernel for if you dont follow a guide with the same exact parts that are being passthrough or the cpus or chipsets are different.
Books are especially handy when you have a borked system, like you're in a bash prompt or an initramfs prompt or grub and need to get into a bootable part of the system. Linux takes practice. Sometimes its easier to page through a book than to search through forums.
Another thing about being an intermediate or expert Linux user is that you don't care much about distros or what other users or communities do. It wont matter as under the hood it's all the same, spare the desktop and the package managers. Once you're out of that mentality you just care about getting whatever you want done. I'm not one of those guys that's super gung-ho FOSS and open source. I just use what gets the job done. Also from a security perspective, yes Linux is in theory MORE secure but anything can be hardened or left vulnerable. It's more configuration tied than many uses and forums or threads lead it on to be.
My workload involves talking to servers and quite a bit of programming and scripting, in a variety of capacities. That's what led me to linux over the competitors, but I'm not so prudent to never ever want to use the competitor again or have a computer with it. With understanding Linux more, I use it more as a tool than to be part of the philosophy or community, though that enthusiasm pushes for new developments in the kernel.
I'm assuming you're a novice but comfortable enough in linux to get through certain things:
In any computer related thing, always TEST a deployment or feature first- From your linux system, use KVM or Virtualbox/vmware to spin up a few linux VMs, could even be a copy of your current image. This way any tweaks or things you want to test or try out is in an environment you can start over in.
The quickest way to "intermediate-expert" Linux IMO is learning system administration.
My go to book for this is "The Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook 5th edition"
https://www.amazon.com/UNIX-Linux-System-Administration-Handbook/dp/0134277554/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Unix+and+Linux+System+Administration+Handbook+5th+edition&qid=1564448656&s=books&sr=1-1
This edition is updated recently to cover newer kernel features such as could environments and virtualization. This book also helps when learning BSD based stuff such as MacOS or FreeBSD.
Another good read for a "quick and dirty" understanding of Linux is "Linux Basics for Hackers" It does focus on a very niche distro and talks about tools that are not on all Linux systems BUT it does a good concise overview of intermediate things related to Linux (despite being called a beginners book).
https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Basics-Hackers-Networking-Scripting/dp/1593278551/ref=sr_1_3?crid=396AV036T1Y0Q&keywords=linux+basics+for+hackers&qid=1564448845&s=books&sprefix=linux+bas%2Cstripbooks%2C119&sr=1-3
There's also "How Linux works" but I cannot vouch for this book from personal use, I see it posted across various threads often. Never read this particular one myself.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Linux-Works-2nd-Superuser/dp/1593275676/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/137-6604082-4373447?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1593275676&pd_rd_r=feffef24-d3c3-400d-a807-24d8fa39cd1e&pd_rd_w=8GX0o&pd_rd_wg=3AMRB&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=WBQKPADCVSABMCMSRRA1&psc=1&refRID=WBQKPADCVSABMCMSRRA1
&#x200B;
If you want a more programming oriented approach, if you're confortable with the C language, then you can always look at these books:
The Linux Programming Interface
https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Programming-Interface-System-Handbook/dp/1593272200/ref=zg_bs_3866_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5YN3316W22YQ4TSMM967
Unix Network Programming VOL 1.
https://www.amazon.com/Unix-Network-Programming-Sockets-Networking/dp/0131411551/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Unix+Network+Programming+VOL+1.&qid=1564448362&s=books&sr=1-1
Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment
https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Programming-UNIX-Environment-3rd/dp/0321637739/ref=zg_bs_3866_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5YN3316W22YQ4TSMM967
These books would take you to understanding the kernel level processes and make your own and modify your own system.
As many have mentioned, you can go into these things with "Linux from scratch" but it's also feasible to do Linux from scratch by copy/pasting commands. Unless you tinker and fail at certain things (hence do it on a vm before doing it to the main system) you won't learn properly. I think the sysadmin approach is "safer" of the two options but to each their own.
Personally, I really enjoyed:
Unix Network Programming : The Sockets Networking API
It is dated and all code samples are in raw C. However, I really enjoyed it because it was a great mix between the theory of TCP/IP and the concrete usage of it. Our data communications teacher recommended it highly, so I got it from Abebooks.ca for $5~. Probably the best $5 I ever spent. The issue though is it is dated, so although reading it will help your knowledge and C, copy-pasting code snippets will likely not work out of the box. That being said, going along with it that way was probably for the best, because it meant I had to understand and recreate what he was showing, proving I actually learned it, instead of effectively rewriting his code word for word in autopilot mode.
He is also the author of TCP/IP illustrated, which /u/bobo333 recommends. I haven't read it, but considering it's the same topic by the same author, I'm assuming it would be just as good as well.
http://www.amazon.com/TCP-Illustrated-Volume-Addison-Wesley-Professional/dp/0321336313/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=16S5KZS7PFK44WNBSQ8T
http://www.amazon.com/Unix-Network-Programming-Volume-Networking/dp/0131411551
Have a look around at Stevens' other books and see if you can find something that suits.
The Design of the UNIX Operating System
Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment
Unix Network Programming, Volume 1: The Sockets Networking API
Sams Teach Yourself C for Linux Programming in 21 Days
edit: These aren't books but are GREAT online guides for sed and awk given by IBM
Common threads: Awk by example
Common threads: Sed by example
edit 2: Left this set of books out because I figured it had to have been posted already, i was wrong
TCP/IP Illustrated
While being a self taught sys admin is great, learning the internals of how things work can really extend your knowledge beyond what you may have considered possible. This starts to get more into the CS portion of things, but who cares. It's still great stuff to know, and if you know this you will really be set apart. Im not sure if it will help you directly as a sys admin, but may quench your thirst. Im both a programmer and unix admin, so I tend to like both. I own or have owned most of these and enjoy them greatly. You may also consider renting them or just downloading them. I can say that knowing how thing operate internally is great, it fills in a lot of holes.
OS Internals
While you obviously are successful at the running and maintaining of unix like systems. How much do you know about their internal functions? While reading source code is the best method, some great books will save you many hours of time and will be a bit more enjoyable. These books are Amazing
The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System
Linux Kernel Development
Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment
Networking
Learning the actual function of networking at the code level is really interesting. Theres a whole other world below implementation. You likely know a lot of this.
Computer Networks
TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1: The Protocols
Unix Network Programming, Volume 1: The Sockets Networking API
Compilers/Low Level computer Function
Knowing how a computer actually works, from electricity, to EE principles , through assembly to compilers may also interest you.
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective
Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools
Senior Security Engineer
Hi, I'm Kevin Hock and I work on the DataDog security team.
We are looking for some talented security engineers to join our security team here in NYC.
How Do I Apply
Send me an email with your resume and GitHub at [email protected]
What you will do
Who you should be
Bonus points
Sample interview questions
Hat tip to chrisrohlf at Square, also on this Q1 thread. Random other places you can apply in nyc: Blink Health, MongoDB, Spotify, Jane Street, 2 Sigma, Greenhouse.
I personally applied because I love Python but I like the company a lot so far.
I'm in a similar situation and some resources that I'm finding really eye opening are Trailofbits CTF Guide and the book [The Art of Software Security Assessment: Identifying and Preventing Software Vulnerabilities] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Software-Security-Assessment-Vulnerabilities/dp/0321444426).
I also find other people exploits and presentations inspiring in a sense :)
A little prophecy here - neither WebInspect nor Fortify will actually solve any of your problems, they'll just point you at them. Having bug reports doesn't mean the issues get solved (correctly), and to get the ones which actually matter you'll have to wade through lots of false positives, even with the better tools.
In order to determine what counts and what doesn't and how you fix it if it does, you actually need security competence. Which is something the developers who are often facing hundreds or thousands of bug reports from these tools often do not have, since they were never trained and/or had no time to further look into.
When it comes to pen testing and app sec assessments, it really depends on what you're looking at. If it's web apps mostly, well, I am sure you already know OWASP. I kinda liked the Web Application Hacker's Handbook.
When it comes to other stuff, this is a great book http://www.amazon.com/The-Software-Security-Assessment-Vulnerabilities/dp/0321444426
I am, btw, a CSSLP, and I think the cert is kinda fluffy.
For those looking to write and/or evaluate the security of software, there's also TAOSSA.
Based on reading some of your comments it looks like what you are really asking about is "how do I learn security engineering?"
The answer is by reading resources that explicitly teach the concept, because it is a specific discipline that blends software engineering, systems engineering, and computer security theory. It is probably most properly classified as a sub-discipline of systems engineering, so reading about systems engineering in general can be useful as well.
The following do not teach you "how to hack" they teach "how to look at this system/application from a security point of view" which seems to be what you are looking for.
Resources:
Both of those books can be bought through Amazon or there are PDFs online. I have the first two and am now buying the last one after reading a bit of the PDF I found.
Be warned, the last two books are very large. The second one would probably cover two semesters worth of material. The last one is nearly 1200 pages across two volumes.
The MIT videos are great.
Regardless of the above, Security+ or equivalent would give you a base level of knowledge from which you could get more out of the above materials. You can get Sec+ study guides online cheap/free, either in book or articles or video lecture form. Cybrary has great free cybersec lecture courses including Sec+.
No problem. Recommend reading in this discipline: https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
Enjoy your journey!
The Practice of System and Network Administratorion
A book that might help you sort some of this out is The Practice of System and Network Administration by Limoncelli. He has a lot of advice on how to work smarter instead of harder, how to standardize procedures, and sensible ways to structure workflow for both yourself as well as an IT department. It's a great resource for any sysadmin, and doubly so for someone just getting started.
The Practice of Network and System Administration by Thomas Limoncelli has some good advice, although some of the specifics are a bit dated it's a good reference for general practice and has a chapter on getting out of the hole that you've inherited.
Runlevels and the filesystem heirarchy.
You may want to invest the time into reading The Unix and Linux Administration Handbook and The Practice of System and Network Administration.
I also support performing linux from scratch. It is one of the best learning tools available.
Install servers is a BIG DEAL. Unless you have someone in your shop who is taking charge, you want to familiarize yourself with some of the concepts of systems administration or else you will have a bad time.
Visit /r/sysadmin, /r/homelab /r/itdept.
Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668 <---it is the best book in the world
I have that time management for system admin book as my next to read... currently flying through The Practice of System and Network Administration
Most of it I knew but some of the things have been helpful in some future projects and planning.
> * this book^1 is required reading, period.
1 (Amazon link to the first edition)
Is there a reason for the first edition suggestion or can the more recent second edition be more appropriate?
I few years ago my youngest brother got his first IT job, and he fell right into an admin role. He too is very sharp. I bought him the following books as a gift to get him started...
The Practice of System and Network Administration, SecondEdition - a few years old but has lots of fundamentals in there, still well worth reading. Hoping for a third edition someday.
Tom Limoncelli's Time Management for System Administrators
I see others have recommended this great book, and I wholehartedly agree: UNIX and Linux System Adminstration, 4th Edition. I was sad when Evi's ship was lost at sea last year. :-( You could tell she loved sailing old wooden ships... just look at the cover. A great loss; she did so much for our community.
Additionally, I will second or third anyone recommending works by Brendan Gregg. I got the Kindle version of Brendan's Systems Performance: Enterprise and the Cloud. I really like this book. It was written to be a good foundational book for the next several years. I am planning to get a hard copy version too. While you're at it, check out these links...
Brendan Gregg:
http://www.brendangregg.com/
http://www.brendangregg.com/linuxperf.html
https://github.com/brendangregg/perf-tools
http://lwn.net/Articles/608497/
http://www.brendangregg.com/USEmethod/use-linux.html
Tom Limoncelli:
http://everythingsysadmin.com/
Introduce him not only to books, but online resources and communities like /r/linuxadmin :-)
Cheers!
no sysadmins are operations, we deal with both sides. The new trendy name is DevOps which is more software based than the traditional sysadmin. My job covers Networking, Systems, Security, End-user devices (laptops, desktops, iPad, iPhone) -- these jack of all trades are going away to specializing in each one of the topics, but people generally rotate between them.
Limoncelli has a good book on how to build IT Operations - https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668 a lot of people refer to it as the Sysadmin Bible.
Not white papers, but if you want to be any kind of Sys. Admin The Practice of System and Network Administration and Time Management for System Administrator are musts.
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
Good luck and looks like the 3rd edition is in the making
I agree, this book is great. Although it is not targeted at any specific OS environment, it does encompass a lot of knowledge. Also, the link you provided is for the first edition. [Here is the newest edition.] (http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668)
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
System Administrator.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
Two things:
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668
and
http://jobsearch.monster.com/search/?q=junior-system-admin
I've been struggling with the same thing in my environment, so I'm not sure I can answer this question for you. That being said, I've been doing a fair bit of reading on best practices for this issue and from what I can tell the general consensus is "what works best for your environment".
I've been organizing users and computers into their own OUs by department. That may not work best for your environment though. You may need to do by physical location, both in the office, and nationally/internationally.
I've been architecting mine to best be able to use GPOs and GPPs. Again, you'll want to think about your final setup here. Are you going to have printers mapped by location? Are you having specific printers for specific users or groups? Do your users move between floors? Between sites?
These are questions I've been learning to ask when thinking about AD design. I've been reading The Practice of System and Network Administration and I can't recommend it enough. Another book I've been reading is Group Policy: Fundamentals, Security, and the Managed Desktop. The Group Policy book is a great resource and poses different scenarios out to help with organizing AD which I found particularly helpful.
As for those "migrated" users, you'll likely want to put them in the proper OUs, it sounds like there was a merge or something similar in this environment. It may be best to just start over and rebuild the domain, but that's a big if.
I think people are going way overboard on Gene Kim's great book and are oftentimes forgetting basic system administration that really hasn't changed for decades now probably. A lot of places that are trying to jump into "devops" are honestly not even very good at ops in the first place, and that technical debt will accrue exponentially.
Tom Limoncello's Practice of System and Network Administration has almost everything mentioned here, including the concept of an "interrupt blocker" to help other team members get project work done.
A Good Text book for an overview Sys and Network Admin.
https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=HWTRVPZJ6XH7K4XEEQ19
When you're hired as a junior, you're expected to be asking questions. Your questions sound like you haven't even been given basic training and shouldn't be let anywhere near production gear without supervision. I'm not saying you're stupid, just ignorant. Ignorance is expected, it takes time to learn.
You need to start at the beginning, with some basic materials:
When you refer to networking are you referring to CompTIA Network+ Skills, or info covered in a book like this?
+1 on that. I have "The Practice of System & Network Administration" as well. Highly recommended http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Edition/dp/0321492668/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y/189-6637218-9920665
I found it to be one of the easier tests, just a lot of reading and memorizing their terminology.
Like its been said multiple times in this thread, its really not for you, its just to have it on your resume to catch the eye of Non-IT HR types and get you past the screening process.
I once had a director who claimed to have her ITIL. If she managed to pass it, you can. Trust me.
If you want to augment ITIL with practical knowledge, this book was mentioned a few days ago. I picked up a copy and read a few chapters. Really thorough, I think its probably one of the best resources I've read on the topic.
Ended up tweeting Thomas Limoncelli just to tell him how awesome he is. His sysadmin prowess is legit, the guy replied within minutes. Even at Google, the sysadmins are symbiotically hooked to their smartphone like the rest of us. lol
Check out The Practice of System and Network Administration. It has some useful sections and a whole chapter about hiring.
I love this book https://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
my suggestion would be The Practise of System and Network Administration - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Practice-System-Network-Administration/dp/0321492668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1344431505&amp;sr=8-1
Limoncelli, Hogan and Chalup.
It's my go-to-guide for new (and old) SysAds - covers pretty much everything and is easy reading, different levels of expertise will get different things from it.
Have him read this:
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-System-Network-Administration-Second/dp/0321492668
If he's interested in doing these kinds of processes, and actually finishes the book (it's easy enough to read, just processes not tech stuff), then it might be worth it to just give it a try. Im guessing the expectations aren't very high if the guy doesn't care that he doesn't have experience. This is a job based on experience.
Anyway, thats a good start to the process, then he should start playing around with whatever OS the guy has in a small lab (VMs work great for this).
If it's a real company of any size, it seems unlikely this is going to go great, but it will give him a start in a career, and if he's up for trying it will be a good experience, for experience's sake.
Good for you, you're seeking out your knowledge and it sounds like you're dedicated to learning as well.
You won't get a good sense of what we do alone, especially because it is a very diverse field and can include specializations in storage, virtualization, databases, helpdesk, desktop support, mobile device management, security (which in itself has a number of specializations), operations, project management, monitoring and reporting, copper and fiber networking, firewall management, programming or developing... See my point? You can read a little more on the fields here
Anyway, if your computer is capable I would suggest you at least familiarize yourself with SOME of what we do, try and get Hyper-V running and learn some of the Powershell commands for interacting with the VMs, then use those VMs to run some *nix stuff and learn how to use those.
There is honestly a ton of free stuff, books, documentation and such available for you, you just have to know where to look and what you might want to see. The search bar here sucks but use the google advanced search for this subreddit and there is a ton of stuff to find, here's a few examples you may find useful:
... I've got literally dozens and dozens of relevant links that you might find useful. My suggestion is to start wide and shallow and figure out what you might interesting, then explore that further. If you want career advice I would suggest you focus on programming and *nix administration (there's a great comment on here in the last year with a path of things to accomplish) as these would give you the greatest variety of skills to create programs, apps, shell scripts, admin servers, etc... Also, don't neglect your soft skills or negotiation abilities as they are very valuable in helping you complete work when not working alone. Good negotiating skills will help ensure you don't get a $14/hr job when you're doing the work of a $70k
If you have a degree, look for a junior sysadmin role. Many of these may nonetheless require experience, so you may have to look for help desk or technical call center work, then move to junior sysadmin roles.
There are two essential parts to being a good sysadmin; the first is to READ. Read all you can. Read about Windows, Linux, MacOSX, TCP/IP, DNS, SANs, The Cloud (ugh), SQL, continuous deployment, active directory, C, and HRSP. What you read is important, but not as important as getting immersed in getting all this knowledge. Hell, read and don't bother trying to retain it; the weirdest things come back to you, unbidden, when you're troubleshooting.
The second part is to toughen up. Too many (SO VERY MANY) admins today are barely a step above users-- they see something isn't working and instantly give up. Toughen up, you haven't even started to fight. Get in there and start asking the tough questions; when did it work last? What changed? What are the symptoms of the problem I'm facing and what could be causing them. Think. Act. Do. Don't be yet another wilting admin.
For beginners I recommend the book The Practice of System and Network Administration, and also In The Beginning Was The Command Line. Both are linked below. The latter can be read online and doesn't require a purchase.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321492668?pc_redir=1398522988&amp;robot_redir=1
http://www.cryptonomicon.com/beginning.html
Here is the mobile version of your link
However all the main IDEs are good, those are Eclipse, Netbeans and IntelliJ (as far as I am aware). At university you will probably be learning with Eclipse, BlueJ (which I have never used, but is supposed to be educational) or maybe even notepad. If they give you a choice I'd use Eclipse to learn with since it is used by a lot of companies and open source projects.
==operator. The==operator in Java compares memory address and not content of the strings, a quick google search turns up this blog post with some details on Strings in Java. Basically you should usestring1.equals(string2)when comparing strings in Java.I taught myself it following various tutorials online but the books teach you better practices than those most of the time and are more in depth. Java a Beginners Guide seems highly rated on Amazon and has been kept up to date. When I was at university I saw a few copies of Thinking in Java around but it's a tad out of date now, Head First Java might also be worth a look.
The videos I used to learn Java were a combination of thenewboston videos (these don't encourage good practices but show a basic way of getting started) and some Java games programming related videos by thecodinguniverse.
Once you have the basics of Java down, might I also suggest completing the challenges on /r/dailyprogrammer to help get you more comfortable with it.
Head First Java https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0596009208/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-ZfwDbHAGW75R
Find some modding tutorials and try to do them together. When he gets stuck or sees something he doesn't understand, you guys can research it and learn about it.
IF he wants to actually be a programmer, buy him a java book and have him work through it. Head First Java is excellent.
You have to find out if it's just about modding minecraft that he seeks or if he wants a more overall knowledge of software development.
Aside from Java, you could also start with python, a good introduction:
http://openbookproject.net/thinkcs/python/english3e/
Apparently the head first books are not that bad:
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208
Since at this point I've noticed we're in the javascript sub:
https://medium.com/coderbyte/50-resources-to-help-you-start-learning-javascript-in-2017-4c70b222a3b9
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/JavaScript
Muchos later, read these:
https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Programmer-Journeyman-Master/dp/020161622X
https://www.amazon.com/Clean-Code-Handbook-Software-Craftsmanship/dp/0132350882
https://medium.com/startup-grind/a-lifetime-of-learning-to-code-df1a9889c403
https://97-things-every-x-should-know.gitbooks.io/
My experience with Java textbooks is the sum total of two, but i did like Head First into Java.
I always recommend this book for a self-study beginner.
Edit: To clarify, this is a programming book, not a CS theory book. Not sure which you're looking for, but learning programming now most definitely will help you with your future CS classes.
I strongly recommend Head First Java. It's written in a very laid-back style and is very conducive to learning.
IIRC, Learning Java jumps you right into a little GUI app. So I recommend Head First Java instead. But I don't think either is suitable for the total newb to programming. Anyway, then onto the official Java Tutorials and Josh Bloch's Effective Java.
We used HeadFirst Java and Data Structures and Algorithms in Java
for my first year
Source:
http://www.amazon.ca/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1405444231&amp;sr=8-1-spell&amp;keywords=HeadFirst+hjava
http://www.amazon.ca/Data-Structures-Algorithms-Michael-Goodrich/dp/0470383267/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1405444258&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=data+structures+and+algorithms+in+java
Hm, probably not. Obj-C is used for developing iOS/OS X Apps. But I have no clue what to use in Engineering, maybe C or C++
Infos about Alfred here. It's basically a better Spotlight Search, to find/launch Apps, find files, quick google search, calculator, etc
About Objective-C: Take a look at the Big Nerd Ranch Guide
For Java: Head First
C: The C Programming Language
EDIT: iTerm2: Terminal replacement, I use it mainly for the hotkey window
and Cheatsheet: Hold command to get a list of all shortcuts for the active App
I had a co-worker that wanted to learn java coming from a Visual Basic background and this book did the trick. Head First Java - http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1302699369&amp;sr=8-1