A couple of weeks ago, I made this post over at !asklemmy@lemmy.world asking if I should go back to university. After some thoughtful consideration, I’ve decided to pursue certs; specifically Comptia A+ and then the Network+. I’m almost done with an A+ study guide I bought and feel almost ready to take the exam. But I’ve also wanted to hear about your experience on getting tech certs and the career that followed. Any advice is welcomed. Thanks in advance.
Definitely take everything I write with a grain of salt, as it might have no relevance to your job market.
If you’re just tired of living paycheck to paycheck, I don’t think those certs will solve anything. Afaik they can only get you a tech support, or maybe some entry level network engineering job. Over here you’ll make more money doing construction, and the only upside of a tech support job is that you’ll be sitting in a chair instead of breaking your back.
A few years down the line, you might be able to transition into better paid roles, but those fields are already quite saturated, and I’ve been seeing more and more companies requiring technical degrees even for junior roles. I know a few people who’ve been doing tech/customer support, and the closest someone came to moving up was getting stuck with managerial duties without any pay increase.
On the other hand, in the EU at least, while the whole IT market is quickly getting oversaturated, skilled blue collar work is only getting more expensive due to a lack of workers. For example my cousin has a CS PhD, he founded and built up a dev outsourcing company, and he makes less per hour than the tiler he hired to redo his bathroom.
And I don’t see that trend changing any time soon. Competent workers are getting close to retirement, and the new generations aren’t interested in replacing them.
Oh, you’ll still be breaking your back. (Invest in a standing desk before it’s too late!)