Renewing My A+ IT Certification...

Renewing My A+ IT Certification

This past week, I FINALLY completed renewing my A+ IT certification from CompTIA. It took a VERY L-O-N-G TIME to renew my A+ certification. Probably too long. Ultimately, my A+ IT certification got renewed.

Working on CCNA

I was in the middle of studying for Cisco's CCNA IT certification, when I realized that it had been almost three years since I renewed my A+ IT certification the first time. I was reading and taking notes on Chapter 8 in the first volume of Wendell Odom's CCNA textbook when I SUDDENLY realized that I needed to renew my A+ IT certification. The realization hit me like a lightning bolt.

As a result, I quickly logged into CompTIA's website to check for the date in which my A+ certification expired. It wasn't easy logging into CompTIA, mind you, as I had to use two or three different passwords to access the website. However, once I logged into CompTIA's website, I quickly went to the section where I look up the status of my certification. There it was. According to CompTIA's records, my A+ certification was set to expire on July 25, 2025.

Despite the time being 2:30AM, I quickly searched CompTIA's website for how to renew my A+ certification. When I renewed my A+ certification the first time three years ago, I took advantage of CompTIA's new online feature on how to renew your IT certifications that have been earned from CompTIA.

Of course, there will be more to follow about this recent development.

Meanwhile, as I take a short break from studying IT subjects, I am planning on WORKING on my blog here at Blogger!!!

Interesting Graphic from Cisco Networking Academy...

Interesting Graphic from Cisco Networking Academy

On Thursday afternoon, I found this interesting graphic posted by Cisco Networking Academy in my LinkedIn feed.

Skills Required in Different IT Specialties

Some Background

Ever since I decided to go into information technology (IT), I have been overwhelmed with all of the various certifications that are out there. After I earned my CompTIA A+ certification a couple of years ago, I tried to study for CompTIA's Network+ certification. It was an ABSOLUTE, COMPLETE, and TOTAL mess!!! Trying to study for the Network+ certification was like trying to study for three or four separate IT certifications at the same time. Let's see, for the Network+ certification, you needed to know about configuring routers and switches, how to configure servers with Microsoft Server, how to use Microsoft Active Directory, and how to use a network monitoring program like Wireshark. The Official CompTIA Network+ study guide that I was following along with used Microsoft's now-defunct Network Monitor program. I even paid $700 to CompTIA for online exercises for Network+ that were WORTHLESS. Ironically, for a certification that was supposed to be vendor neutral, everything about routers and switches was about Cisco routers and switches. Not a single mention about routers and switches from other vendors, such as Palo Alto Networks or Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

As a result, I became HIGHLY DISCOURAGED with studying for Network+. A co-worker at the Tier 1 IT help desk at the Social Security Administration suggested that I give studying for CCNA a try.

Studying for CCNA

At first, studying for CCNA was a breeze compared to studying for Network+. The study guides for CCNA focused exclusively on Cisco routers and switches. Before I got really busy with work, I made slow, steady progress through the first ten chapters in the first CCNA study guide. Perhaps more importantly, the author of the CCNA 200-301 Official Study Guide, Wendell Odom, had a section about career planning in IT. It was an intriguing read. You can read the series of posts about career planning for those going into IT here. I read each post and actually wrote down some ideas on what I wanted to do with IT. Like I wrote earlier, I had a span of time where I got really busy with my job. I put aside studying for CCNA. I put aside my nascent attempts at some kind of career planning.

After moving from Maryland back to Arizona after 13 years, I have restarted studying for networking. Instead of studying for CCNA directly, I made the decision to work my way through the online networking classes available from the Cisco Networking Academy. My original intent was to complete the online networking classes as a way to establish a foundation in networking PRIOR to making another attempt at studying for CCNA. Another factor for studying the online networking classes was that it became rather apparent to me that I needed to add some IT certifications on my resume IOT get out of working at a Tier 1 IT help desk.

Skills Required in Different IT Specialities

Getting back to the interesting graphic from the Cisco Networking Academy that just randomly appeared in my LinkedIn feed, I was immediately intrigued when I saw it. The graphic gave recommendations on what subjects to study for four different IT specialties. Want to be a software engineer? Then you need to study Python, C++, Java, and Scala. In other words, you will want to study the major programming languages. Want to be a web developer? Then you need to study HTML 5, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. Again, you need to know how to use the most popular applications. Want to go into computer networking? Then it gets tricky. The graphic recommends that you study networking (preferably CCNA), have an analytical mind (for problem solving), have communication skills (for communicating with non-technical customers), and be able to read and understand reams of documentation (researching an answer is a valuable skill). Let's see, I have really good communication skills. I can simplify complex subjects for non-technical people to understand. For the analytical mind piece, I already worked as an intelligence analyst for the Army for almost nine years. All I need is that CCNA certification. Want to work in cyber security? Cisco recommends knowing how to use the Linux operating system, know about computer networking (again, CCNA), know how to program (Python), and have an analytical mind. In addition to computer networking, cyber security is also a field that interests me. For whatever reason, I cannot tell you why I never got around to studying for, say, CompTIA's Security+ certification for cyber security. Cisco also has its own cyber security certification. For Linux, I have played around with Ubuntu on a previous Dell laptop. When I had to buy a new Dell laptop back in November, I wanted to install either Debian or OpenSUSE. Unfortunately, my brand new Dell laptop doesn't have enough memory to do so. Currently, I am learining about computer networking. I have tried to learn how to program in Python on previous occasions. I need to try again, but make it my only focus. Lastly, for the analytical mind piece, I worked as an intelligence analyst for the Army.

In Conclusion

The graphic from Cisco gives me a guide on what to study for CCNA. That said, I also should get certified in Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft Azure, for example. On their own, those two certifications will add punch to my resume. From what I have seen, those are the certifications that get noticed on a resume. There is always a demand for those certifications. When I complete my last CCST online course, I just might move over to studying Microsoft Windows Server and Azure. We'll see. Another possible option would be to find a location in Peoria, in Glendale, in Surprise, or in northern Phoenix that offers in-class learning for CCNA. With the new CCNA study guides coming out soon, that might be the way to go. On LinkedIn Learning, I found what appears to be a really good class on the Python programming language. I just might give that a try. Again, knowing how to program in Python is a good thing to have on your resume. Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in a day.

Windows 10: Still So Much to Learn...

Yesterday, during work, I had to sit through the mandatory one hour training class that is given every three or four months to employees that work at the Tier 1 help desk at the Social Security Administration.

One of the topics covered in the training class featured an extended discussion about how to rebuild a user's profile. When I heard that topic mentioned, I suddenly came back to life and eagerly started to take notes in my notebook.

Learning how to rebuild a user's profile in Windows 10 may sound mundane to some people in IT. However, to me, rebuilding a user's profile is something that I never learned enough to be confident in doing myself for an irate caller who wants to know why he or she cannot get back to work. Besides, in my five years working at the Tier 1 help desk, I have probably had less than a dozen phone calls where I had to rebuild a user's profile.

The instructions that were available for agents on how to rebuild a caller's Windows profile were poorly put together and difficult to follow. Looking at the document, I had the feeling that the instructions were primarily for, say, Windows Vista and/or Windows 7. In fact, when I started at SSA, most of the computers in SSA's inventory were still using Windows 7. For the present day, I would say 99.9% of the phone calls that I get are for Windows 10 issues.

After the training class was long over and it was time for me to go to lunch, I started up my LG tablet and opened my Amazon Kindle app. When I buy books to read, I usually use Google Books. However, I do own several books that require me to use the Kindle app. Why that is, I do not know. One of the books I purchased for the Kindle app was Ed Bott and Craig Stinson's massive tome Windows 10 Inside Out (4th Edition). I bought the book because I wanted to learn more about how to utilize Windows 10. When I was studying for both parts of CompTIA's exams for their A+ certification, it became apparent to me that I needed know more about the nuts and bolts about Windows 10. Like many computer users, I would use Windows to write a copy of my resume, save photographs from my camera, or to watch DVDs, for example, but that was about it.

In other words, when it came to Windows, I was still swimming in the shallow end of the pool.

The Windows 10 Inside Out book has rekindled (pun intended) my interest in learning more about Windows 10.

• I have never used Disk Manager to make multiple partitions on a new hard drive. I have a brand new 5TB hard drive that I bought from Amazon several weeks ago. I should connect it to my Dell laptop, open Disk Manager, and practice making some partitions.
• I have never set up a home network using Windows. Now, I should go to Chapter 13 Windows Networking and go through the steps of setting up a network on my laptop. If only to familiarize myself on how you would do such a thing.
• Now, I never used the Event Viewer until I tried to use it for work. I really should learn more about using the various troubleshooting tools available for Windows 10 in addition to using Task Manager.
• I should learn more about using Microsoft Edge than just how to type in URLs. There's so much more that Edge can do. That said, I still use Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome.
• I should learn more about changing personal settings in Windows 10.
• Heck, I never used the Command Prompt to do, well, anything. That has all changed. Now, I am willing to try to use the Command Prompt as much as I can, especially for work. [Yes, I know that I probably should really learn how to use PowerShell.]

I could add more topics to the list, but I think you get my point.

Instead of banging my head against a brick wall over and over and over with CompTIA's awful Network+ certification, I should have taken the time to learn more about Windows.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that I should have taken the time to learn more about Windows prior to studying for A+.

Job Titles and the A+ Certification...

For the past five years, I have been working as a contractor at the Tier 1 help desk for the Social Security Administration here in Baltimore, Maryland.

As a result, I am starting to look for a new job.

Between phone calls on this past Thursday, October 13, 2022, I found myself over at the CompTIA website, looking for inspiration.

Suddenly, I rediscovered the list all of the various job positions held by people who have earned the A+ certification.

The list contains 16 different job titles.

Here is the list:

• IT Support Specialist
• Help Desk Technician
• Field Technician
• Tier 1 Support Specialist
• Desktop Support Specialist
• Associate Network Engineer
• Systems Support Technician
• Junior Systems Administrator
• Service Desk Analyst
• Technical Support Specialist
• Field Service Technician
• Data Support Technician
• Desktop Support Administrator
• End-user Computing Technician
• Help Desk Technician
• System Support Specialist

Looking over the list of job titles, I can see that my current job can be classified as an IT Support Specialist, Help Desk Technician, Tier 1 Support Specialist, Help Desk Technician, or Help Desk Technician.

In other words, there are varied roles that someone with the A+ certification could fill.

In addition, there are all of the various other requirements that may be unique to each job role, such as specialized experience and other certifications.

My next step is to take this list of job titles and start performing key word searches for each job title in LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and the rest.

I also need to update my resume. My job HAS NOT significantly changed in all of my five years, so that should be easy to do.

Lastly, after listing all of the various jobs that require the A+ certification, CompTIA then provided a short list of companies that hire people with the A+ certification.

Here is the list:

• Best Buy/Geek Squad
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Verizon
• Canon
• Dell
• General Dynamics
• HP
• Intel
• Nissan
• Ricoh
• Sharp
• Department of Defense
• Wells Fargo

I would say that the list is probably too general.

However, I am sure that the idea is that there are various companies and organizations that have hired personnel with the A+ certification.

An interesting exercise would be to go each of the companies listed and see what IT-related job openings that are available at each organization.

Another thing that I have been meaning to do for some time is to have my own business cards made. You never know just who you might meet.

Career Planning and CCNA...

As I have mentioned in other posts, I am studying for the Cisco CCNA certification.

After getting nowhere studying for CompTIA's Network+ exam, I gave that up and switched over to studying for Cisco CCNA instead.

Right now, I just completed reading Chapter 5: Analyzing Ethernet LAN Switching in Volume 1 of the CCNA 200-301 cert guide book.

The author of the book is Wendell Odom.

Wendell Odom has a website that can be used in conjunction with both volumes of the CCNA 200-301 cert guide book. The website, Wendell Odom's CCNA Skills Blog, has a lot of really good information about studying for CCNA and networking. I should geat around to reading the supplemental material on his website for each chapter of the book.

Now that I am at Chapter 5, I will DEFINITELY take a look at what he refers to as Config Labs, which are meant to be short exercises about using the command line interface for Cisco networking equipment.

Speaking of the command line interface for Cisco networking equipment, I really should try using the exercises on Pearson Vue's network simulation tool that came with both volumes of the CCNA 200-301 cert guide book.

The Pearson Vue network simulation tool that is included with the CCNA 200-301 textbooks is meant to be an abridged version. If you want all of the exercises, you have to buy the complete version of the network simulation tool from Pearson Vue. That said, Cisco has a rather interesting program called Packet Tracer. Packet Tracer is Cisco's version of a network simulation tool. Unlike Pearson Vue's product, Packet Tracer is free from Cisco. A couple of years ago, you could freely download Packet Tracer from Cisco's website. Now, you have to create an account with Cisco IOT download Packet Tracer. Can you study for CCNA using Packet Tracer? It certainly looks like you could. I have a former co-worker at SSA's Tier 1 IT help desk who told me that he only used Packet Tracer when he studied for CCNA. Over on Amazon, I did find a book that contains 101 labs for Packet Tracer for those studying for CCNA. However, the authors assume that you already know how to use Packet Tracer.

Another interesting feature on Wendell Odom's blog is the section about career planning for networking. Thus far, I have completed the first step of six in constructing my own career plan. Like many people, I just assumed that earning the A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications was the way to go. Since I ran into a roadblock with Network+, I have had to make some adjustments. I can see earning the CCNA certification. I can also see earning Cisco's CyberOps Associate, which is Cisco's version of CompTIA's Security+ certification. Speaking of Security+, I see that ISC2 now offers their own cyber security foundations certification, which looks pretty interesting. Speaking of ISC2, the CISSP certification is rather interesting. A few years back, I had a roommate that was trying to study for the CISSP. He didn't get very far as he gave me his copy of ISC2's CISSP Study Guide. A couple of years ago at my company's Christmas party, I met a GS-12 who works in SSA's Security Operations Center. He told me that the only IT certification that he has is the CISSP. All he did, he said, was to study, study, and study for the CISSP until he could pass the exam. However, from what I can tell, the CISSP certification is meant to be an advanced level IT certification for an individual that has been working in IT for several years. Lastly, I can also see earning the certification for Microsoft's Azure, Google's Google Cloud, or Amazon's Amazon Web Services.

Career planning is a sensitive subject for me. When I graduated from New Mexico State University back in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in Economics from the College of Arts and Sciences, I didn't know what I wanted to do. No one asked. I found myself in Liberal Arts Purgatory. I was one of those people that graduated from college with no idea on what I wanted to do. If I could go back and redo college, I should have been a computer science major. When I was in the Army, I had ZERO career planning. Someone should have councelled me about giving up the dream of attending Officer Candidate School and give serious thought about what I needed to do about becoming a Warrant Officer instead. Now that I am working in Information Technology, it is very easy to get overwhelmed and frustrated with all of the various things that one can do with the various certifications that are out there. Plus, there are those IT certifications that have a high demand (CCNA, Azure, AWS, CISSP, Security+) and those that do not (A+, Server+).

For now, my main focus is to earn the CCNA certification.

My other goal is to get a new IT job. Given all of the competition here in Maryland for IT jobs, I might have to go back to Arizona and look for a new IT job out there. There are all kinds of IT jobs both in Phoenix and in the Maricopa County area. Many of those jobs do not require a security clearance. For someone that no longer has a Top Secret clearance, that is definitely music to my ears.

Working on My CCNA, Part 1...

   

     It's difficult to believe it, but I earned my CompTIA A+ certification three years ago.  Somehow, I managed to pass the 220-901A+ exam with a score in the high 80s.  After cramming for three months, I managed to pass the 220-902 A+ by the skin of my teeth. I'm not too sure where some people get the idea that the CompTIA A+ certification exams are easy.  I can only guess that the exams are easy if you have been working in information technology for several years or more.  When I passed the 220-902 A+ certification exam, I had already been working at the Tier 1 IT help desk at the Social Security Administration for over two years. One of the weaknesses of my current job is that we don't have any hands on experience with physically repairing a laptop with, say, a hard disk drive that needs to be replaced. We don't get to re-image laptops.  We don't get to create new users in Active Directory.  All of those tasks belong to different contracts. 

    After taking a couple of weeks off from studying, I thought that the next logical step was to start studying for CompTIA's Network + certification.  I then opened one of the Network+ study books that I own and began to work my way through the book.

    Talk about a mistake...

    I own at two books for studying for the CompTIA Network+ certification exam.  One book I received from the A+/Network+/Security+ course that I took at UMBC.  I bought the second Network+ book from Barnes & Noble.  After spending several months studying for Network+, I came to the realization that the Network+ certification is a complete mess. From what I could tell, in order to really know the topics for the Network+ exam, one needed to know how to use Microsoft's Active Directory and Server Manager. One of the Network+ books made numerous references to Microsoft's now defunct equivalent to WireShark. On top of all of that, the Network+ exam also covered the usual networking topics such as switches, routers, fiber optic cable, Ethernet cable, and IP sub-netting, among other topics.  Despite focusing exclusively on Cisco products , CompTIA wanted you to know that the Network+ certification was "vendor neutral".  I even paid several hundred dollars for the Network+ online tutorials offered by CompTIA.  Those tutorials were rather underwhelming.   

    After getting bogged down in studying for the Network+ certification exam, I decided to kick Network+ to the curb. 

    Since I was already bored with working at the Tier 1 help desk at the Social Security Administration, I started to look for an IT certification that could get me into a new IT position.

    I tried learning about Ubuntu Linux. I bought one of those glossy magazines at the bookstore that gives the reader a crash course in how to use Linux. I learned to how to install Ubuntu Linux on my Dell laptop. I learned how to use Oracle's Virtual Box. I learned several basic commands for Linux.  The subject was interesting. Unfortunately, I pushed learning Linux to the side because my current job doesn't use Linux. Everything that we do at the Tier 1 help desk at SSA involves using Windows. 

    I tried learning about WireShark. I downloaded WireShark onto my computer.  I bought the 500 page training book from Amazon. I worked through a couple of the introductory chapters.  Network analysis is an interesting subject. One thing that I liked about WireShark was that you could see the different OSI model layers in each packet.  You could actually see the OSI model at work by starting WireShark, play around on the internet for several minutes, and then stop saving traffic.  You could see the source address, the destination address, the port numbers used, the different protocols involved, and so on.  However, my knowledge of networking is very rudimentary.   

    I also tried working on the free online course Microsoft offers for Azure.  Cloud computing is an interesting field. Moreover, there's A LOT of demand for people who are certified in either Azure or Amazon's AWS.  Indeed, someone on LinkedIn, who had read about by struggles with studying for Network+, recommended that I get an IT certification that was in high demand, such as Azure or AWS.  I progressed to the part of the class where you setup your first Azure environment.  As started making progress, other things came along and dominated my time.  

    While studying for Network+, I came across Cisco's Packet Tracer program.  I tried taking the free online course offered by Cisco.  It was a surprisingly user-friendly program to use.  Since I don't have several hundreds of dollars to spend on used Cisco networking equipment from eBay, I liked how you could set up a simple network in Packet Tracer and then "see" it work. 

    I explored further into what Cisco offers for certifications and online training materials.  I went to Barnes & Noble and Book-A-Million and leafed through Cisco's own training manuals. I was impressed with everything that I saw.  I also liked how Cisco has its own version of CompTIA's Security+ certification.  Being a former intelligence analyst in Army, that captured my interest.  As a result, I went on to Amazon and bought both volumes of the CCNA 200-301 certification book by Cisco. 

    While reading the introduction to the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 book, I came across a passage that discussed career goal setting. That's probably the main problem I have.  I'm trying to figure out what my next step in the world of IT will be. After working as a Tier 1 help desk specialist for the Social Security Administration for nearly five years, I need something new.  I have had enough of dealing with callers that lost their PIV card, cannot connect to VPN, are locked out of the mainframe, need to order a new maintenance kit for a printer, trying to convince callers to purchase an Ethernet cable, and so on.  It's mind-numbing work.  As a result, a system administrator position sounds interesting. 

    So far, I have read the first three chapters of the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 book.  Yes, the information covered in the introductory chapters is a repeat. However, it is important to learn about the 5 Layer TCP/IP Model, the properties of Ethernet and fiber optic cables, the basics of IP routing, and so on.  However, I do think that I am starting to get bogged down on the introductory chapters, so it's probably time to move on to the next section of the book.  

    As a result, the other night I started reading chapter 4, where you learn about the basics of Cisco's operating system for routers and switches. As I progress through the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 certification book, I am going to try to post updates to my blog  as I progress.