The Next Chapter: IT Ops
21st January 2024
So… it has been a hot minute since my last blog, but I have been quite busy and I have news.
Today, as I write this, marks 18 months in IT.
It has flown by, but I have learnt so much and somehow it feels like my IT journey has only just begun.
I say this because I have just landed my first ever promotion EVER! Like ever, ever.
How does that feel? Pretty bloody great, I can't lie.
The role is 'IT Operations Engineer'.
After a year and a half, I am moving from a role on the service desk to IT operations focusing things such as system
management and support, project implementation, security and compliance, documentation and reporting, and
Identify opportunities for system optimization and performance improvements.
This is how I did it…
The goal for year 1 was to obtain three CompTIA Certs.
Not just any CompTIA Certs though, the trifecta! (or at least that's what they call it on Reddit).
The 'trifecta' consists of the A+, Network+ and Security+.
Seeing as I had zero previous experience in IT, I thought it'd be a good place to start.
Right back when I started revising for the first A+ exam (core 1) I didn't want to have to pay for study materials, so I began watching the professor messer videos on YouTube.
All started well and I had begun writing down all the info from each slide to refer to later if I needed to.
But there lay my first roadblock. I had become so focused on writing the stuff down that it wasn't going in my brain!
Then I had found Exam Compass, a site with free exam questions to answer, and at the time they were very difficult for me to answer.
I felt time slipping away and finally bit the bullet. I paid for course materials! I can't lie it was the best move I ever made.
Buying the CompTIA sponsored study guide accompanied with like 2000 exam questions. All in all, each exam cost about £50 for the study materials.
For me it was worth every penny.
Then I slotted into a nice routine, reading the book, answering the pop quiz after each chapter, and then smashing through thousands of questions to get me exam ready.
Lo and behold I passed the A+ both core 1+2 first time.
Rinse and repeat for the Network+ and Security+. I bought the same brand of study materials, gave myself three months and smashed it out.
This gave me two cool, stackable titles; CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Specialist and CompTIA IT Operations Specialist.
Whilst cramming for the trifecta I didn't let a little 'extra-curricular' activity slip away. I was periodically checking in with TryHackMe to maintain my 'Top 2%' status.
Managed to polish off a handful of learning paths.
These were; Introduction to Cyber Security, Pre Security, Web Fundamentals, Jr Penetration Tester.
After all this I was eager to see what else I was able to try my hand at to propel me even further so I could be closer to where I wanted to be. This lead me to some 3rd party application certs.
These consisted of; the Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals - AZ-900 certification and the Addigy Academy Basics certification.
Again, once these were secured, I was wanting more exposure to the cyber security side of things and after asking the question I was granted access to the CrowdStrike University and IRONSCALES platforms.
Now it has to be said that the CrowdStrike Certificate is not the actual accreditation, but I completed the comprehensive courses on the site.
These were; CSU LP-A: Falcon Administrator, CSU LP-H: Threat Hunter, CSU LP-R: Incident Responder.
Then the IRONSCALES Technical Accreditation swiftly followed suit.
After these more 'security' focused courses, I have to admit, I was hoping for the call up to the SOC team to start my career in cyber security however this was not to be.
Even though they had been taking me under their wing and I had been appointed as the 'security spearhead of the service desk', there just was not any space on the SOC team.
I completely understood this as even still, at this point, not even 18 months into my IT career I simply could not expect it to be handed to me that easily. Entry level cyber roles are not entry level.
They take years of work and experience to finally be given the green light.
So the wait for my 'break-in' to cyber security continues.
However, and it's a big 'however' because I was not expecting this. As CloudTech24 are a growing, evolving company there is always something changing.
Teams expanding and contracting as required and since a few people had recently parted ways with the company, a position opened up and I was called to see what my thoughts were on where I want to be and what I wanted to be doing.
I made it clear that I am passionate about all areas of IT, it just so happens that pentesting and ethical hacking is the 'sexy', dream job.
That aside I also love networking, programming, and being presented with a challenge and having to think critically to achieve the desired outcome.
As long as there is something to learn and problems to solve, I'll be extremely happy and fulfilled. In addition, for me, at this stage of my career, it's crucial to get as much exposure as possible.
I know before I entered this industry I had said security is where I want to be but it doesn't have to be right away, I have really enjoyed my time on the service desk and I would love to be surprised by an aspect of IT and have it take me off on a tangent into a niche part of the industry because after all, you don’t know what you don’t know.
To paint a picture, I feel that I have just started playing GTA and every new place I go to it unlocks the visibility of the map and I am really enjoying the journey.
This brings me up to where we are today. Tomorrow, I start my new role as IT Operations Engineer and I still can't quite believe it.
I hope it challenges me just as much as the previous role and if I learn even half as much as I have in the past 18 months then I will be in a very strong position to make my next move.
Certs that are in the crosshairs are:
Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate (MD-102)
Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300)
Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert (MS-102)
Perimeter 81 Technical Certification
Kaseya RITSM Foundations - Remote IT & Security Management Program
Here's to my new role and the next chapter in my IT journey!