@@giovannioro1642 yes because your current societal class should serve as a barrier to your future success. That’s the dumbest shlt I’ve ever heard. A more appropriate barrier would be internship->apprenticeship->general->master. Linear progression through the trade. Sort of like electricians. You don’t need college to be in IT. In fact I think it traps people into one track minds. There’s invaluable lessons learned working with others in one code base that certs just don’t prepare you for. College is just the problem and solution in the same book without any need to experience the problem solving. Certs are just a piece of paper that says you paid your dues to be hired. Some of the dumbest people I’ve worked with in IT have masters degrees with every cert you can get.
@@emptydata-xf7ps Its called working hard to pay for ones education. I did it through college, volunteered, and received scholarships. Education should be earned, not given away for free. Again that prevents mass flooding of the market.
Thank you for this. I have adhd and I feel like I’m not absorbing any information while reading! Changing my mindset to help focus and also using audio to help.
Same i literally just had to press pause and come up with a study plan that will work for me. The videos and practice exams/study questions cause reading the books had me trying to absorb everything🙄
So my tips, write it down! With a pen and paper! Get a whiteboard! Draw the architecture design you think will work then go into the virtual lab and create it! Using your learnt theory in practical ways will cement it in your mind and will clearly identify to you what topics you need more work on!
Thanks for the helpful advice! The problem about having all those certs is renewal time, do you even bother renewing them? lol. One VERY BIG ask from you, have you got a sample study plan? Much appreciated, thanks.
Great question!! And the answer is I used to renew every year and I was losing my mind! I've kept most but let some of the others go! Microsoft make it so easy to renew! For study plan.. I'm working on a notion template that I'll share 👍
I've had a lot of certs over the years and the renewal grind is real. The only one that I ended up maintaining was the CCIE, until I hit lifetime emeritus. I even let my CCDE expire because it wasn't included in the CCIE emeritus, just sick of Cisco recert exams after 20 years of them.
Regarding the Microsoft Learn Documentation mentioned, it's typically very high-level material that won't have the granularity needed to successfully pass the exams. Microsoft Certs require further investigation into the technical documentation for each topic..
LMAO sorry, the last IT exam I passed was Windows 2000 NT server lol, due to my Dsylexia and ADHD, I have never passed any IT or other exam since. I only passed that NT server exam, because I used braindumps for 4 days solid and was lucky that I got the same exam questions in the test. I would really like to pass some Dev languages, basic support and Ai related exams, but cant pass the mock exams.
Wow 👏👏👏 I’m so proud of you buddy 😍👏👏 Congratulations, if you don’t mind sharing your study experience, I just only want to know the Study method you are use . and Deep understanding Do you make a mind map or just focus on the topic headings? How to do u do in notes Please advise me how to start studying network, I do my CCNA now and I feel like floating in with no structure and no strong information and I keep forgetting what I study …. 😢 Thanks
I honestly just work off the exam outline, I break it up into buckets then plan out start and end dates for each (like I'm back in school) 😅 I use multiple courses for each so get a varied learning experience, use books etc! For CCNA use a few different courses, personally I've always used CBT nuggets for Cisco! Jeremy the trainer at CBT is a legend! Oh and do as many labs as you possibly can!! Best of luck
Gerard, ..great vid. I will keep in touch. Who knows, we might have Collab projects in the future. All the best in your channel and thank you for the info. - rei
I've done a few Linux certs already, just find a few different courses, watch them and build absolutely everything.. do it like 4 or 5 times until you fly through it without following instructions
Studied every evening and weekend, built as many labs as I could.. I also had a bit of experience with AWS before starting which helped. Done first exam 6 weeks after starting study.. then done the next one two weeks after that.. then final exam a month later. I did associate architect first, then developer then sysops admin 👍 if you plan it out and stick to it you could definitely do it
Word to the wise! KNOW YOUR STUFF!!! Certs are great, but they are intended to demonstrate your mastery of the topic. There are many shortcuts to getting a certification without mastering the topic. In cybersecurity, don't take shortcuts. KNOW YOUR STUFF!!! Then you will be able to answer ANY QUESTION in an interview and also demonstrate your knowledge. Passing a cert is not designed to replace or provide knowledge. It's designed to demonstrate your MASTERY of it.
I have ADHD (recently diagnosed) and have a hard time on sit down exams even if I know the subject inside out. I learn quicker by doing and put together a Home Lab by watching instruction videos.
24 years here, retired, ADHD also. Learn by doing wass the best for me as well. I connected 26 sites over more than 120 mile spread using broadband and firewalls. Site to site VPNs, VOIP, file sharing, remote support, POS systems. The setup passed PEN testing, audits for security, privacy and protection. Use what works. Test and verify. Good luck
@@iammobenal I was given a server when I started but you can start with an old PC or even laptop with at least 16Gb RAM, maybe i5 or even i3, stick a 500Gb SSD then install ProxMox. There's plenty of tutorials to start with. I did and still going through ProxMox VM installs from Learn Linux TV YT channel. I have Kali Linux VM, Ubuntu server and Windows Server 2019 installed so far for incident response testing.
@@ScottHeasley When did you find out you have ADHD? I recently found out that I have Adult ADHD and it's probably the better news I've had this year. Now I know what's wrong with me. I've learned my triggers and sleep whenever I feel anxiety.
I've done all the things you mention. One thing I'd suggest is take tests. Some tests are better than others, but they get your head in the game. I test, print and research and write on the practice exams after taking them. I've taken a longer route to thoroughly study everything but information is repeating, so I'm hoping a good foundation will be good for the Cloud Certs. I'm on my 3rd cert in 3 years (CompTIA Network+, Security+ and now Linux+) Do you recommend getting CCNA before AWS and Azure certifications? Also, in your progress did you do all the AWS at once and then Azure, or did you do basic AWS and basic Azure at the same time, and then AWS architect at the same time as Azure architect and AWS Engineer along with Azure Engineer?
What area in IT are you focusing on? If its networking then definitely go for your CCNA.. if its not then you can probably skip this, learn the content but only bother with the exam if your going down the networking route. For my cloud certs I started with AWS, I done those associate certs within a few months of each other.... a year later i started with Azure certs and again done of the majority of them over a year or so :) hope that helps!
yeah this might get you in the door for an interview...until the hiring team puts you on the spot, and you demonstrate you actually know jack shit. And if somehow you get passed that stage and managed to get hired, your actual lack of knowledge will be quickly exposed.
I'm a network engineer. Do you think it's a good path to go for cloud networking by taking up aws certified cloud solutions architect associate because I only want to concentrate on the networking portion of cloud.
@gerardobrien yes I understood. My question is, the path to aws advance networking specialty is what u mentioned if correct ? But I am still new to the cloud, which I think the entry pt is architect associate may able to let me have solid foundation first before I can process further. At the same time, I'm preparing for ccnp encore, and there are concentration exams such as 300-440 ENCC . I chose this way may enhance my knowledge on cloud for both aws and cisco . What do u think about this ? I mean hybrid traditional and cloud networks.
Couldn't agree more, you wont be given a job just because you have a cert... they will help (some of the time) you get passed recruiter step and to an interview though
Great video!! Getting ready for the CompTIA Pen+ cert right now. Also, going through your latest server build series myself. I have a Dell T430. It has been great getting things up and running. I can't wait to start doing attacks on it!!
How's the Pen+ going? I thought about having a look at that actually! Great server to have especially for the lab, let me know what attacks you get going!
The problem with a lot of these certs is they expire and the vendors want you to stay current. If you hold multiple certs this means sitting exams almost every year, it's a PITA. 2:10 the answer for everyone should be to LEARN the content!.
Couldn't agree more! Certs are literally a product you buy! I would only renew the cert if I'm getting the full value of having it! Microsoft makes it very easy to renew, 45 min quiz of 25 questions and it's free!
In a roundabout way... yes. In my experience, if you are working for a company and you pass some certifications.. they won't just give you a better salary... That's never happened for me. You usually get a better salary when you leave that company and move to a more senior role in a different company, the certs will help you get passed HR and into an interview.. from there its up to you to sell yourself. In terms of satisfaction, thats a yes too... no better feeling than dedicating time and effort to learn something, sticking to it.. taking the exam and coming out the other end with the good results! :)
What area do you wanna work in? network? security? cloud? Best place to start is with an MSP (Managed Service Provider) that's what I did and honestly .. you will learn so much stuff! You'll probably start on a helpdesk, do that for a year or two then leave that company and get off the helpdesk
@@gerardobrien I have a wierd followup question, which one of the three u listed could make me 200k a year in 5 years? I’m a hard worker and fast learner so I wanna make sure I’m in the right field lol
Unfortunately more certs do not mean more money ☺️ I done my certs over many years as I wanted to learn the technology and keep up with the market. I didn't do them in hope they would bring in more money.. as I knew they wouldn't necessarily do that 👍
How about the genuine pursuit of knowledge, upskilling and making yourself all around more knowledgeable. He’s not making 200k a year but the company he works for would definitely be worse off without him, and if he gets fired(hopefully not) he can easily get a job anywhere. Job security is what they bring added bonus is more money.
@vindicatedafi I have a dozen certs and a bachelors degree. Not one single job interview has ever asked about either of them. Where's the Job security offered by certs or a degree?
@@freerice9595 they probably got you past HR and an interview... If you didn't have them then you might be overlooked. But it's honestly hard to tell, some companies give certs more value and others don't care 👍
You can pass any certification following these 5 steps!! Let me know below if you have any good tips and tricks for passing certifications!
It’s not the passing that’s difficult it’s the cost
Very true 😂
You pay to take the exam and you pay to renew your certs lol
Which is good because it serves as a barrier to entry which limits the pool of candidates.
@@giovannioro1642 yes because your current societal class should serve as a barrier to your future success. That’s the dumbest shlt I’ve ever heard. A more appropriate barrier would be internship->apprenticeship->general->master. Linear progression through the trade. Sort of like electricians. You don’t need college to be in IT. In fact I think it traps people into one track minds. There’s invaluable lessons learned working with others in one code base that certs just don’t prepare you for. College is just the problem and solution in the same book without any need to experience the problem solving. Certs are just a piece of paper that says you paid your dues to be hired. Some of the dumbest people I’ve worked with in IT have masters degrees with every cert you can get.
@@emptydata-xf7ps Its called working hard to pay for ones education. I did it through college, volunteered, and received scholarships. Education should be earned, not given away for free. Again that prevents mass flooding of the market.
Thank you for this. I have adhd and I feel like I’m not absorbing any information while reading! Changing my mindset to help focus and also using audio to help.
Same i literally just had to press pause and come up with a study plan that will work for me. The videos and practice exams/study questions cause reading the books had me trying to absorb everything🙄
So my tips, write it down! With a pen and paper!
Get a whiteboard! Draw the architecture design you think will work then go into the virtual lab and create it!
Using your learnt theory in practical ways will cement it in your mind and will clearly identify to you what topics you need more work on!
Hey man, I've been loving your channel
Thanks mate glad you like it 🙌
Love this boss.. such an inspiration to keep pushing and learning . Thanks for this..
Great advice. Enjoying the videos. Looking forward to more IT videos.
Excellent info, big help, thank you so much.
You’re smart, I appreciate you my guy
Very much resourceful. Thanks for sharing
Thank you @gerardobrien
Appreciate the advice you share freely to your audience. Invaluable resource
Thanks for the helpful advice! The problem about having all those certs is renewal time, do you even bother renewing them? lol. One VERY BIG ask from you, have you got a sample study plan? Much appreciated, thanks.
Great question!! And the answer is I used to renew every year and I was losing my mind! I've kept most but let some of the others go! Microsoft make it so easy to renew! For study plan.. I'm working on a notion template that I'll share 👍
I've had a lot of certs over the years and the renewal grind is real. The only one that I ended up maintaining was the CCIE, until I hit lifetime emeritus. I even let my CCDE expire because it wasn't included in the CCIE emeritus, just sick of Cisco recert exams after 20 years of them.
@@gerardobrien Looking forward to this. Hope you will publish it soon :-)
Great tips! Congratulations on your achievements. I wish you all the best.
Regarding the Microsoft Learn Documentation mentioned, it's typically very high-level material that won't have the granularity needed to successfully pass the exams. Microsoft Certs require further investigation into the technical documentation for each topic..
Absolutely! But it's a very good starting point! 😃
Valid points. Spot on bro.
How can I easily find joob in remote
Great advice! Thank you
Any new mini pc with amd cpu 7000+ series will be beter than any old cheap server. You can load it with 64GB ram, 1 nvme and 1 sata.
I'm working on some GIAC certs. Cheers!
Cool.. I need to get onto them at some point!
Same here. I start my Sans training in Sept. We have 3 certs to get.
VERY GOOD INFO🧠!😃👍
when is the part 8 of ultimate cybersecurity home build video coming.
working on them so quite soon :)
Brill video just found your channel and subbed. Would love to see video on study techniques you use please?
thanks Mr. O'Brien
Cisco and Juniper doing really good job on exam topics. Microsoft sucks at it... must be the spying malware and grew win 11focus over giving quality.
LMAO sorry, the last IT exam I passed was Windows 2000 NT server lol, due to my Dsylexia and ADHD, I have never passed any IT or other exam since. I only passed that NT server exam, because I used braindumps for 4 days solid and was lucky that I got the same exam questions in the test.
I would really like to pass some Dev languages, basic support and Ai related exams, but cant pass the mock exams.
But you can't pass job interview and get hired.
How can remember information from such amount of exams?
Now rest a bit sir, just a few days.
Wow 👏👏👏
I’m so proud of you buddy 😍👏👏
Congratulations, if you don’t mind sharing your study experience,
I just only want to know the Study method you are use . and Deep understanding
Do you make a mind map or just focus on the topic headings? How to do u do in notes
Please advise me how to start studying network, I do my CCNA now and I feel like floating in with no structure and no strong information and I keep forgetting what I study …. 😢
Thanks
I honestly just work off the exam outline, I break it up into buckets then plan out start and end dates for each (like I'm back in school) 😅 I use multiple courses for each so get a varied learning experience, use books etc! For CCNA use a few different courses, personally I've always used CBT nuggets for Cisco! Jeremy the trainer at CBT is a legend! Oh and do as many labs as you possibly can!! Best of luck
the certification final boss
Awesome
Gerard, ..great vid. I will keep in touch. Who knows, we might have Collab projects in the future. All the best in your channel and thank you for the info. - rei
I wonder how you would approach something hands-on exam like the RHCE or LFCS?
I've done a few Linux certs already, just find a few different courses, watch them and build absolutely everything.. do it like 4 or 5 times until you fly through it without following instructions
Nice! How did you manage your time to get those AWS certs in just 3 months? :o
Studied every evening and weekend, built as many labs as I could.. I also had a bit of experience with AWS before starting which helped. Done first exam 6 weeks after starting study.. then done the next one two weeks after that.. then final exam a month later.
I did associate architect first, then developer then sysops admin 👍 if you plan it out and stick to it you could definitely do it
@@gerardobrien wow, will definitely try it! Thank you!!
Can you share study plans?
Do you have a job in the industry?
hey there yep, theres a link to my LinkedIn in the description :)
They expire are they all valid
Pass any IT Certification doing this!
The video above: - Just learn the stuff and you will pass all the time... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
So your making way over 100k a year
💯💯👍👍👍
For noisy servers ... replace the fans with "noctua fans"
Ooohh really thanks for the tip!! The server I have is definitely noisy haha I'll definitely look into these
Brain dumps are also a way 😂
u got money to spend lol
Word to the wise! KNOW YOUR STUFF!!! Certs are great, but they are intended to demonstrate your mastery of the topic. There are many shortcuts to getting a certification without mastering the topic. In cybersecurity, don't take shortcuts. KNOW YOUR STUFF!!! Then you will be able to answer ANY QUESTION in an interview and also demonstrate your knowledge. Passing a cert is not designed to replace or provide knowledge. It's designed to demonstrate your MASTERY of it.
Yes and no
I have ADHD (recently diagnosed) and have a hard time on sit down exams even if I know the subject inside out. I learn quicker by doing and put together a Home Lab by watching instruction videos.
And how do you know your are doing it right ? BECAUSE IT WORKS IS THE WRONG ANSWER
How do you set a Home Lab
24 years here, retired, ADHD also. Learn by doing wass the best for me as well. I connected 26 sites over more than 120 mile spread using broadband and firewalls. Site to site VPNs, VOIP, file sharing, remote support, POS systems. The setup passed PEN testing, audits for security, privacy and protection. Use what works. Test and verify. Good luck
@@iammobenal I was given a server when I started but you can start with an old PC or even laptop with at least 16Gb RAM, maybe i5 or even i3, stick a 500Gb SSD then install ProxMox. There's plenty of tutorials to start with. I did and still going through ProxMox VM installs from Learn Linux TV YT channel. I have Kali Linux VM, Ubuntu server and Windows Server 2019 installed so far for incident response testing.
@@ScottHeasley When did you find out you have ADHD? I recently found out that I have Adult ADHD and it's probably the better news I've had this year. Now I know what's wrong with me. I've learned my triggers and sleep whenever I feel anxiety.
You look like someone who passed 60 certifications
lmao… bro
is that a compliment or what bro
Yea I'm actually confused too 😅😂
I've done all the things you mention. One thing I'd suggest is take tests. Some tests are better than others, but they get your head in the game. I test, print and research and write on the practice exams after taking them. I've taken a longer route to thoroughly study everything but information is repeating, so I'm hoping a good foundation will be good for the Cloud Certs. I'm on my 3rd cert in 3 years (CompTIA Network+, Security+ and now Linux+) Do you recommend getting CCNA before AWS and Azure certifications? Also, in your progress did you do all the AWS at once and then Azure, or did you do basic AWS and basic Azure at the same time, and then AWS architect at the same time as Azure architect and AWS Engineer along with Azure Engineer?
What area in IT are you focusing on? If its networking then definitely go for your CCNA.. if its not then you can probably skip this, learn the content but only bother with the exam if your going down the networking route. For my cloud certs I started with AWS, I done those associate certs within a few months of each other.... a year later i started with Azure certs and again done of the majority of them over a year or so :) hope that helps!
What camera did you use, it looks extremely 4k!
This was recorded on a Canon EOS R 👍👍
yeah this might get you in the door for an interview...until the hiring team puts you on the spot, and you demonstrate you actually know jack shit. And if somehow you get passed that stage and managed to get hired, your actual lack of knowledge will be quickly exposed.
I'm a network engineer. Do you think it's a good path to go for cloud networking by taking up aws certified cloud solutions architect associate because I only want to concentrate on the networking portion of cloud.
Each cloud provider has a network certification, id focus on them if you only wanna do cloud networking! 🙂
@gerardobrien yes I understood. My question is, the path to aws advance networking specialty is what u mentioned if correct ? But I am still new to the cloud, which I think the entry pt is architect associate may able to let me have solid foundation first before I can process further. At the same time, I'm preparing for ccnp encore, and there are concentration exams such as 300-440 ENCC . I chose this way may enhance my knowledge on cloud for both aws and cisco . What do u think about this ? I mean hybrid traditional and cloud networks.
Great! Thanks for sharing your proven records.
Great Guide my friend keep up the good work 😉
Ok fair enough,but did you passed the greates test your live, are you vaccinated or you ve been so strong to stand woth the rest of heros?
Nice Info
you’re missing aws, gcp and kubernetes certifications, aren’t you ?
Great video, really helpful tips.
This will push me over the fence to start using AI. Gonna check out Microsoft Learn, Cisco exam topics, GNS3, and EVE-NG. Your advice is appreciated.
Really nice tips! Appreciated. Only thing is need to dedicate a lot of time.
and depends on the career path your going
I'd love to have LPIC certs
Just remember. Certs don’t mean Job. Not in today’s market at least.
Couldn't agree more, you wont be given a job just because you have a cert... they will help (some of the time) you get passed recruiter step and to an interview though
Thank you
Great video!! Getting ready for the CompTIA Pen+ cert right now. Also, going through your latest server build series myself. I have a Dell T430. It has been great getting things up and running. I can't wait to start doing attacks on it!!
How's the Pen+ going? I thought about having a look at that actually! Great server to have especially for the lab, let me know what attacks you get going!
The problem with a lot of these certs is they expire and the vendors want you to stay current. If you hold multiple certs this means sitting exams almost every year, it's a PITA. 2:10 the answer for everyone should be to LEARN the content!.
Couldn't agree more! Certs are literally a product you buy! I would only renew the cert if I'm getting the full value of having it! Microsoft makes it very easy to renew, 45 min quiz of 25 questions and it's free!
Did your income and satisfaction level increase incrementally with each cert?
In a roundabout way... yes. In my experience, if you are working for a company and you pass some certifications.. they won't just give you a better salary... That's never happened for me. You usually get a better salary when you leave that company and move to a more senior role in a different company, the certs will help you get passed HR and into an interview.. from there its up to you to sell yourself. In terms of satisfaction, thats a yes too... no better feeling than dedicating time and effort to learn something, sticking to it.. taking the exam and coming out the other end with the good results! :)
Quick question, what entry level jobs should I aim for with a network plus, security plus and Linux plus, plus some python experience?
What area do you wanna work in? network? security? cloud? Best place to start is with an MSP (Managed Service Provider) that's what I did and honestly .. you will learn so much stuff! You'll probably start on a helpdesk, do that for a year or two then leave that company and get off the helpdesk
@@gerardobrien I have a wierd followup question, which one of the three u listed could make me 200k a year in 5 years? I’m a hard worker and fast learner so I wanna make sure I’m in the right field lol
Great tips! Thank you.
Love it will follow you Gerard
Thanks for the video Irish bro
Finally someone that doesn't need to use the subtitles 😊
@@gerardobrien My English teacher back in middle school was Irish, and my fav youtuber back then was Jacksepticeye. Glad I don't need subtitles lol!
What good are all those gonna do u? Do u make 200grand a year. If not theyre worthless
Unfortunately more certs do not mean more money ☺️ I done my certs over many years as I wanted to learn the technology and keep up with the market. I didn't do them in hope they would bring in more money.. as I knew they wouldn't necessarily do that 👍
How about the genuine pursuit of knowledge, upskilling and making yourself all around more knowledgeable. He’s not making 200k a year but the company he works for would definitely be worse off without him, and if he gets fired(hopefully not) he can easily get a job anywhere. Job security is what they bring added bonus is more money.
@vindicatedafi I have a dozen certs and a bachelors degree. Not one single job interview has ever asked about either of them. Where's the Job security offered by certs or a degree?
@@freerice9595 there are people who aren’t even getting interviewed in this competitive market. There’s part of your answer.
@@freerice9595 they probably got you past HR and an interview... If you didn't have them then you might be overlooked. But it's honestly hard to tell, some companies give certs more value and others don't care 👍