A lost soul in the IT Industry

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Well Good Evening

Not really sure what Im looking for, advice, help, a kick up the ass or some motivation to propel myself forward back on a meaningful IT career

I started in IT about 5 years back, fresh bright eyed with a spring in my step and wanting to help everyone I could with their IT problem

Studied earning my A+, MCP, MCDST and then about 2 years ago landed a hands on IT Support position, which I loved but was only a 6 month role

Now this past year, Ive wanted to go further and try break into the networking side, with a view to move into IT security specifically Computer forensics, or maybe Penetration testing.

I just feel that Ive drifted down the IT support route, and seemed to be struggling to land a role which can take me back that way towards the servers, the networks etc.

I was the sole IT technician at a small company last year fixing everything from the shredder to setting up Liferay portal from scratch with no previous experience of the Java:|

but unfortunately the company ended up being bought out and as part of the IT restructure, the role was removed from the company with a centralization of the IT down South........and I was offered a 1st Line service Desk ...............or redundancy

Well I thought it was the ideal time for a change so I looked around and went to a new role as 2nd Line support about 4 weeks ago at the new company. But.......I just feel bored and unchallenged as the role seems to be mainly focused around Desktop support, and a quite a bit of first line issues and meeeeeeeh. I know Ive not chosen the right role for me.........Great company, great people and a great job for someone, but not right for me...

Although Ive been told I will be involved in projects etc, it does still seemed to be things like PC builds Laptops etc, and after virtually 5 years, I want to focus mainly on Servers and the networks.

I just feel so lost at the moment, and feel like Ive come full loop from where I was 3 years ago back to the same Position now and the roles being offered by agencies seem to be 1st/2nd Line Helpdesk roles.......

Ive adminstered Servers 2003,2008 SBS 2003, Exchange, BES, supported and troubleshooted when needed but I just seem to be finding it difficult to land that Server/Network type role, that Ive really been seeking since around 2010.

Maybe its my CV, Maybe I need to be more assertive and confident in my own abilities and achievements or maybe I just need to kill the battlefield disk and get my ass in order:|

 

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If you want to break into the network side go get the ccna or the juniper equivelent. For the security side look at security+ . You could nail the sec+ exam in six weeks of study witht the mike meyers guide ..about 400 pages. If you like microsoft what about looking at more serious certs to consolidate what you have learnt so far

I have a question, what do you think working in it networking and security is about?

 

Telling people 'no'? ;)

 

Computer forensics is a difficult area to get into. It was something I was interested in so did a masters degree and really enjoyed it. The problem was the majority of entry level jobs are advertised internally. I've known people who have spent months and months emailing people at companies trying to track down the person in the relevant position / department enquiring about jobs etc. Its tough to even find the jobs let alone get an interview.

 

For a more serious answer from me, you could do with getting more involved in the core infrastructure side of things, so the servers and networks as you've already mentioned. This helps no end when getting into the more operational security stuff as it gives you the know how of how things work and fit together etc.

What I will say is if it's pen testing you want to get into start looking round on some of the big companies sites at their vacancies and see what it is they are asking for (eg Penetration Testing Consultant and Pen Testers).

Get familiar with the tools and concepts, don't worry so much about the programming side. Whilst it's often listed and asked for there's plenty you can do without it. And remember pen testing covers a pretty wide area, generally can be split into infrastructure and application testing but there can be a lot to it.

Sec+ isn't a bad start if your totally new to the ideas and concepts of security, it's useful to get you in the right frame of mind so to speak.

Also security is a pretty wide area, is it networks specifically you were wanting to go into or security in general?

 

Yep, telling people no then been told to do it anyway

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If you are interested in security check out the Sans institute - tons of resources. I work with a few guys that have got some of the GIAC certificates.
Install virtual box and get a copy of backtrack linux. Learn the tools. Get a copy of checkpoint splat/forigate VM There are tons of websites out there discussing exploits (not all black hat).
Check out the riskybiz security webcast to keep uptodate with the latest and greatest IT security failures. Where I live the university often does security talks/forums - is there anything like that around you that takes your fancy?. The last forum was on RFID cards and how bad the security is on these things.

I asked my question as where I work there are lots of areas of security - you could be in support looking after the equipment that provides network security i.e firewalls/loadbalancers/proxy/mail filters etc. You can be in a production team managing all the changes and incidents occuring in a clients network security perimeter. You could be in an integration/projet team, building new security architectures and implementing them at client sites. You could become a consultant expert in network security (ccie recommended )
There is also the avenue of audit/pentesting/ISO 27001, COBIT/Surbanes Oxley compliance. Look at the CISSP certification.

There is a pure network side of things too, the guys and girls that work at the LAN/WAN level. It's here were your CCNP and juniper/Alcatel certificates and experience come in.

Also, there are the datacentre teams that bring all this together, switching, routing, security equipment, loadbalancing, mutlicast, video, storage.

Also, there are the types of role that you do know, ie 2nd line/3rd line, then managing a team of support techies.

 

About time I replied to this..didnt realise it had been nearly a month:| which is a bit rude of me

Demarrer

In regards to network / Security roles...

I kinda saw myself as doing penetration testing, configuring/installing routers, configuring firewall rules etc.

I have done some bits and bobs on these in my previous jobs, even been partly involved in a ISO audits, created risk registers and some other stuff and thats kinda where I want to get back to.

Ive been away from this topic as Ive tried to throw myself into my work and give myself a positive mindset, but its just not working, and Im finding the role is zombifying and frustrating me.

to be fair, it is a great role for the right person, but not myself. I think if I could have moved into this role after my 1st IT role, i would have loved it. But I missing being hands on, Im missing getting in and running my checks to see if the servers, the network connectvity, etc are running as should and Im missing "arrrrrrrrrrgh" the server has crashed moments.


Whilst my most enthralling thing here today has been watching one of the 3rd Line guys show me his dynamic server Active Directory toy that is apparently the "dogs bollocks".............only took him 15 mins to answer my query about a user

Hi bob, as I dont have access to the AD server and not able to run a simple "net user command" to see if a user account has ever logged on............could you do it for me.............

yeah sure, check this baby!.........

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz



Anyway enough with my negativity, I think Im gonna go throw myself back into some books, bring back that wide eyed kid deep within me that loves to tinker with PC's