Programming

Busted into this thread to recommend Let's Encrypt, certbot, and my favorite ways to authenticate domain ownership in containerized environments. Not those certs.

Only get the certification(s) you need to get the job you want. As someone who sometimes has to run the technical interview -- I will ask you if you have the cert we require for the position. Regardless of your answer, I'll then see if you can do the job (or can learn to do the job quickly based on similar experience).

If you have the cert but can't do the job, you're fucked.

If you can do the job, but don't have the cert, I'll tell you to get the cert ASAP.

As a network engineer, don't bother with the network+. Go straight to the CCNA, because if you decide to do other network cert the other vendor will likely have a fast track exam to their CCNA equivalent.

As a hiring manager, a candidate’s list of certificates has made very little impact in the process compared to experience. If there’s no experience, like for a junior role, then the certs will help against others with no experience. But so will a portfolio.

For free certificates try letsencrypt.org

Certs don't mean much, if they help open the door that's fine. The goal is to get a job.

Get one job fixing computers, and you're a computer repair technician. Get one job designing networks, and you're a network engineer

No one will be impressed by a long list of certs. Focus on the ones you want for your first job, and once you get it the certs will stop mattering

I'm a recent graduate with an MS IT of Purdue Global, and the classes in AWS were pretty unhelpful. However I wanted to get actually certified in AWS.

I mostly did this by taking practice tests, and putting the topics onto flash cards, and drilled the flash cards into my brain. That's just how I learn though. Drill the definitions into your head until they are down cold.

I passed the certificate in May. I currently have a job, but I have my eye open for a new one that matches my new skills.

With a+ cert and net+ cert, I have taken 10 years and continuously studied related fields to get to a reasonable pay. I should have done CCNA a long time ago, but never could motivate myself.