Long story short- I’m unemployed and I’m a former x-ray tech. I could go back to the x-ray field but I hate it. I don’t want to be in the medical field anymore and I especially hate having to be running around all day. It’s a harder job then one would think and I always went home exhausted. I really don’t know what to do but I like computers and I’m naturally a technical person who likes to fix things.
I found a couple of schools fairly close by that might be good for me getting back to work hopefully doing a job I won’t hate.
Devry in Paramus, NJ has Associate Degree programs in Electronics and Computer Technology and Network Systems Administration.
Anthem Institute in Parsippany has a Diploma program in Computer Networking & Security.
http://anthem.edu/parsippany-new-jersey/computer-networking-security/diploma/
I plan on contacting both schools and going in to learn more, but I figured it would be a good idea to ask here first if anyone knows how interesting these jobs are, which might be a better course than another, pay, opportunities for advancing, etc. One of my fears is starting something like this and discovering that I hate it. Any input will be appreciated.
I don’t know if you’ll hate it or not, but as an entry-level tech, you’ll be the one running around the building to fix LAN drops after the cleaning crew smashed the jack with the vacuum cleaner, bouncing hung switches and routers, and visiting users who probably just need a new LAN cable after rolling over it with their chair for the billionth time, but they called your group because their department’s admin was at lunch and they need to get back online now.
Just wanted to point that out as you mentioned not liking running around all day. At least you won’t be pushing a portable chest x-ray machine around and moving patients.
One thing that will make a radical difference in your job experience and activities is the size of the company. I work for one of the largest companies in the US and people in our technology and infrastructure group tend to be very specialized. One of my main duties is end-user management and functional architecture of a 2000-server *nix system. Someone else manages the physical architecture and yet someone else handles the OS engineering, and we’re in three entirely separate divisions. And that’s not counting the network people that keep it all lashed together, the application developers and support engineers, and the server administrators.
By comparison, I’m the go-to IT guy for my sister’s small business. There, I manage purchasing and procurement of hardware, imaging workstations, installation and configuration of applications, malware remediation, administration of email addresses and oversight of pretty much anything that plugs in.
Thanks gotpasswords. Do you recommend any of the courses in my links over another?
I think both of those are for-profit trade schools. I don’t know how respected they are. My understanding is that a Cisco certification is more respected, although I thought I read somewhere that the Cisco certified security professional course was famously difficult to pass.
DeVry and University of Phoenix are not generally well-regarded. I don’t know anything about Anthem or Bloomfield, but if like DeVry, they warn that credits earned there may not transfer to other schools, watch out.
Most security certifications are difficult. Security is hard and the bad guys are dreaming up new ways to get in every day. Most respected security certifications are also impossible to obtain until you’ve been working in the security field for some number of years. Just as a point of introduction, I hold the CISSP certification, and the current requirement for that is to have a minimum of five years experience in the security field. Similarly, in order to get Cisco’s CCNA Security certification, you first need to hold the CCNA certification. Both are what they call “Associate” level - the one you may be thinking of is the “Expert” level CCIE, which recommends 3-5 years experience and intimate knowledge of Cisco network equipment, protocols and configuration.
For a start, it may be better to find an entry-level helpdesk position somewhere. Most reasonable companies aren’t going to expect tier 1 support staff to come in knowing SAP, CICS, Oracle, Windows Server and Exchange, but they will be looking for someone who they think they’ll be able to train on whatever they’re using. Having an entry-level certification like an A+ certainly can’t hurt.
Any school recommendations in my area of North Jersey?