Looking For a Career in IT
Discussion
Long story short, I will very soon be leaving the RAF after 8 years of service. I've identified IT, particularly IT security as a potential career path, as part of my resettlement package I've been offered the following CompTIA courses;
CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+
Having spent the last few months scouring the job market I'm starting to think that those qualifications wont be enough to get my foot in the door so to speak.
Can anyone advise? Any IT recruitment firms worth registering with?
Any help would be much appreciated.
CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+
Having spent the last few months scouring the job market I'm starting to think that those qualifications wont be enough to get my foot in the door so to speak.
Can anyone advise? Any IT recruitment firms worth registering with?
Any help would be much appreciated.
The IT industry as a whole is somewhat flooded so experience is the biggest seller for someone looking for a job.
Having said that, you are looking at a niche specialist area, and you are coming from a certain type of background so play on that and look at specific industries, perhaps Oil and Gas, specialist IT Security consultancies etc. the sort of places that will like an armed forces background ofer 10 years on the treadmill in a call enter in Bangalore.
Qualifications wise, a PM cert of some sort may help too.
Having said that, you are looking at a niche specialist area, and you are coming from a certain type of background so play on that and look at specific industries, perhaps Oil and Gas, specialist IT Security consultancies etc. the sort of places that will like an armed forces background ofer 10 years on the treadmill in a call enter in Bangalore.
Qualifications wise, a PM cert of some sort may help too.
Experience is everything, does your service give any relevant experience? There are alot of people with paper certificate who just dont know how to do the job. Myself, I am a bit behind on qualifications but have little issues finding work due to my experience. You are going to need to find a place that appreciates your skills gained in service over your it skills. Don't tie yourself down to a specific skill in it first, you need to be a jack of all trades these days
What experience in IT do you have? Security isn't something you can do a course on and walk into with no relevant experience of before. You need a comprehensive understanding of TCP/IP, Windows/Linux/Solaris, LAN/WAN, Routing, Firewalls, AntiVirus, Cloud Computing, AD, Encryption, etc. as well as non-technical skills such as Event & Project Management.
It's where I'm aiming to be in a few years but there's still a lot I need to hone before I become comfortable in that role.
Those CompTia courses will certainly be a good start, maybe aim for a Network Engineering role to being with. Long term you'll be looking at perhaps CCNA Security, CISSP and similar qualifications. Becoming familiar with ISO27001 is also desirable from what I've seen.
It's where I'm aiming to be in a few years but there's still a lot I need to hone before I become comfortable in that role.
Those CompTia courses will certainly be a good start, maybe aim for a Network Engineering role to being with. Long term you'll be looking at perhaps CCNA Security, CISSP and similar qualifications. Becoming familiar with ISO27001 is also desirable from what I've seen.
Edited by Art0ir on Friday 9th November 22:13
What's your current IT experience? That will determine what sort of entry point into the industry you can expect.
IT security is a great area but does require both in-depth and broad knowledge so it might not be a first step but it's a good direction to aim in. I'd agree with the above and say a network engineer job is the best place to start but also try to get experiences with both Windows and Linux servers.
A big advantage that you have is i'd imagine you should easily be able to get SC cleared by the defense vetting agency. Perhaps the RAF can sponsor you? Could open a few doors...
EDIT: Just another thought. Physical security is a big thing in the IT security world and I'd imagine you'd have experience of that in the RAF environment which would be a plus. I mean things like disposal of servers/disks with confidential data or secure access to data centers and so on.
IT security is a great area but does require both in-depth and broad knowledge so it might not be a first step but it's a good direction to aim in. I'd agree with the above and say a network engineer job is the best place to start but also try to get experiences with both Windows and Linux servers.
A big advantage that you have is i'd imagine you should easily be able to get SC cleared by the defense vetting agency. Perhaps the RAF can sponsor you? Could open a few doors...
EDIT: Just another thought. Physical security is a big thing in the IT security world and I'd imagine you'd have experience of that in the RAF environment which would be a plus. I mean things like disposal of servers/disks with confidential data or secure access to data centers and so on.
Edited by CoopR on Friday 9th November 20:48
It security is not just firewalls and data monitoring, it's command centers, emergency response rooms, running command centers for when commercial incidents happen (deepwater horizon for example), monitoring of news media for incidents that affect the company, CCTV, secure conferencing, physical building security etc etc.
All areas that do not actually require a huge amount of IT skills, but understandings of managing situations.
You get a lot of ex armed forces guys doing this sort of stuff all over the world.
All areas that do not actually require a huge amount of IT skills, but understandings of managing situations.
You get a lot of ex armed forces guys doing this sort of stuff all over the world.
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