Preparing to Switch Career Paths

[BlamoHammer]

In about 3 months my cousin is leaving his position as Network Admin and he has told me that it would be a good palce for me to work. While I enjoy working with computers, and have a bit more tech knowledge than your average Joe, I wouldn't say that at this very moment I am quite qualified to be an IT professional.

The company I would be working for isn't looking for someone to come in and change the world, most of the problems I would be fixing would be basic end user questsions, but I would want to be prepared for things a bit more technical should the need arise.

My question is, where is a good place to start as far as learning some of the things I would need to know. I'm fully aware that real job experience is the best way to learn but I would still like to brush up on some basics before I hit the workplace.

Any help you guys/gals are able to provide would be much appreciated.

 

[Passions]

www.anandtech.com

 

[Kaido]

For networking, check out the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. For hardware, check out CompTIA's A+ certification. It all depends on what you want to get in to. Don't waste your time pursuing the A+ if you want to go into networking, because you could get your CCNA instead.

 

[BlamoHammer]

Originally posted by: Kaido
For networking, check out the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. For hardware, check out CompTIA's A+ certification. It all depends on what you want to get in to. Don't waste your time pursuing the A+ if you want to go into networking, because you could get your CCNA instead.

I am WAY more interested in Information Systems and networking than hardware. I think I'll pick up a CCNA book.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: BlamoHammer

Originally posted by: Kaido
For networking, check out the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. For hardware, check out CompTIA's A+ certification. It all depends on what you want to get in to. Don't waste your time pursuing the A+ if you want to go into networking, because you could get your CCNA instead.

I am WAY more interested in Information Systems and networking than hardware. I think I'll pick up a CCNA book.

CCNA Study Guide by Richard Deal is pretty good. It's the book I'm using now. I'm taking the CCNA next month.

Here's what I suggest: buy the book, then cut out all the pages with an Xacto knife. Staple the pages for each chapter together. Read chapter 1 and go through with a pen or highlighter and underline the important things, especially things that you don't already know. Pay close attention because, as humans, we hate reruns and re-reading a chapter stinks. Then, fold chapter 1 up and put it in your back pocket. Any time you have a free minute, like when you're standing in a line or sitting on the john, take it out of your pocket and study. Since you already underlined the key information, it's easy just to skim through and get more familiar with it. Spend an hour or an hour and a half per day studying each chapter, then carry it around with you for the rest of the day. There are 17 chapters, so 17 days, or a month if you space it out just on weekdays. So, a month from now you can have your CCNA if you really want it