# Good qualifications for hosting/internet related jobs?



## HostUS-Alexander (Jul 31, 2013)

Howdy y'all,

Whats the best courses that can be taking at college or university which would be ideal for web hosting / ISP related jobs? What certificates/ qualifications are the most handy in your opinion?

What qualifications etc do you have?

- Alexander


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## concerto49 (Jul 31, 2013)

Aren't you a host but? 

Anyway, depends if you want to get into networking or system administration etc - those would be the courses you should be taking.


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## jarland (Jul 31, 2013)

Learn to program. Learn C, PHP, Python, all that good stuff. The real money goes to good programmers. At least that's my take from recent research.


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## concerto49 (Jul 31, 2013)

jarland said:


> Learn to program. Learn C, PHP, Python, all that good stuff. The real money goes to good programmers. At least that's my take from recent research.


Really? At least here, sysadmins / netadmins / dba get paid way more than the average programer.


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## Aldryic C'boas (Aug 1, 2013)

Have a day job, or substantial savings.  Don't expect you can fully (or even partially) support yourself in this field without SUBSTANTIAL investment and a good deal of time.

Seeing way too many people thinking that "VPS Tech" or "Level 1/2 Support" is a legitimate, sustainable method of income =\


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## Francisco (Aug 1, 2013)

Aldryic C said:


> Have a day job, or substantial savings.  Don't expect you can fully (or even partially) support yourself in this field without SUBSTANTIAL investment and a good deal of time.
> 
> Seeing way too many people thinking that "VPS Tech" or "Level 1/2 Support" is a legitimate, sustainable method of income =\


Pretty much this. Even working within a physical datacenter doesn't guarantee you a liveable wage. There's something about this industry that prompts either not getting paid or making very very little, requiring that you have a 2nd line of work.


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## HostUS-Alexander (Aug 1, 2013)

concerto49 said:


> Aren't you a host but?
> 
> Anyway, depends if you want to get into networking or system administration etc - those would be the courses you should be taking.


I forgot to mention, i did just take an Advanced Higher Networking course. 



jarland said:


> Learn to program. Learn C, PHP, Python, all that good stuff. The real money goes to good programmers. At least that's my take from recent research.


I'm not to interested in programming for a living, 



Aldryic C said:


> Have a day job, or substantial savings.  Don't expect you can fully (or even partially) support yourself in this field without SUBSTANTIAL investment and a good deal of time.
> 
> Seeing way too many people thinking that "VPS Tech" or "Level 1/2 Support" is a legitimate, sustainable method of income =\


I have a full time day job running my own business, that's currently enough money to live on. Just looking to get some more qualifications under my belt.

- Alexander


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## Aldryic C'boas (Aug 1, 2013)

> I have a full time day job running my own business, that's currently enough money to live on. Just looking to get some more qualifications under my belt.


Well... it depends on what direction you want to go.  If you're wanting to grow your own company, then you would want to look into HR/PR, Management, and Accounting/Finance.

If you're wanting to expand your skill set for improving hirability with other companies.. specialize.  Pick what you're good at, improve it, and add minor complimentary skills.  Good with networking/routing?  Specialize there, teach yourself bash, perl and python as a cake topper.  Want to focus on coding/development?  Familiarize yourself with design, networking, even various platforms/distros.  The worst thing you could possibly do is 'major in CompSci'... those degrees are just about as useless as Political Science degrees.  Nobody wants a Jack of all Trades that has to constantly retrain themselves on everything... but specialists that _know_ their stuff and have the added bonus of a few extra handy skills can walk in just about anywhere.


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## JayCawb (Aug 1, 2013)

I'm currently working on my CCNA with RobustIT, UK only. But Cisco/Microsoft/Any other industry recognisable certs will suffice and look good on CVs, and also is proof of what you're capable of doing.


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## Jeffrey (Aug 1, 2013)

Going to College/University for the Hosting field isn't needed, but is always a plus.  What is needed though, is experience.  Also, if you are looking into getting into Networking, I recommend looking into a CCNA.


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## drmike (Aug 2, 2013)

Education?   College?  Nah.  That is way too little way too late -- especially in fast moving tech sector.

Best thing you could do is apprentice with someone for a year or two in an existing Linux/Unix shop --- ideally data/hosting centric.  

In lieu of that, get to reading and tinkering.  

But, yes, you are already a provider.  I'd start tinkering in expanded and next gen areas myself to keep up and ahead of curves.


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## shawn_ky (Aug 2, 2013)

Linux certifications. Some web programming and networking certifications can go a long way. Just depends what you want to do like others have said.


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## Francisco (Aug 2, 2013)

shawn_ky said:


> Linux certifications. Some web programming and networking certifications can go a long way. Just depends what you want to do like others have said.


You might as well just be self taught.

I went to a tech college deal over here after highschool and they taught me some basics on linux that I had known for years already as well as MSSQL 2000, ASP 6, & VB 6; All techs that were on their way out the door since .NET was already out.

I went out into the job field and couldn't find any ASP jobs, even in the govnernment. I ended up taking on a job with a local company that paid me a reduced wage to learn PHP as quickly as I could.

Thankfully I picked up enough PHP within a few weeks to finish up my first projects.

Francisco


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## concerto49 (Aug 2, 2013)

Going to do a Cisco course and get some certs for it soon. Going to be fun.


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## NathanielD (Aug 2, 2013)

In order to get jobs in Hosting industry, you need to have the basic requirements of Hosting. And in case you wish to work in technical filed of Hosting, one must have Linux or Windows certifications along with good communication skills.


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## splitice (Aug 2, 2013)

Cisco and VMWare certifications is always valuable for enterprises if that's where you want to end up.

In "hosting" I tend to look more for experience than certificates or degrees (not that if you get one you shouldn't say so). Im sure most people heavily weight experience as well.


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## MannDude (Aug 3, 2013)

Aldryic C said:


> Seeing way too many people thinking that "VPS Tech" or "Level 1/2 Support" is a legitimate, sustainable method of income =\


I've been working as a L1/L2 tech for a couple years now... 

Do I think I'll be doing this a few years down the road? Probably not. But thats only because I would imagine by then I'd have learned more to warrant not being a low-level tech.

College is great if you don't have to pay for it or start a life of debt over it, otherwise just learn what you want to learn.

Basically, just look for work with an established company. The vast majority of 'low end' VPS providers can't afford to have a large staff, and are usually handled by a small team. Moving outside the lowend market, seeking employment from providers who charge more (than the low end market) for their services allows them to pay employees better. There are many hosting companies out there who higher on L1/L2 employees with fair wages, offer benefits such as health, dental, vision insurance and will teach them new things that make them more valuable for the company they're working for. Most of that you won't find in this industry.


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## bdtech (Aug 3, 2013)

I don't see many unemployed CS graduates in the US. But hosting doesn't really require a 4 year degree, just skills and desire to learn in your free time


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## Zach (Aug 3, 2013)

Honestly, if you intend to work in this industry, skip college.  That's exactly what I'm doing.  It's not worth the debt, and most colleges have outdated courses anyway.  See if you can get a small job with a local datacenter and get some hands on training.  Even if it's just setting up servers, doing small management tasks, etc.


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## HostUS-Alexander (Aug 3, 2013)

Zach said:


> Honestly, if you intend to work in this industry, skip college.  That's exactly what I'm doing.  It's not worth the debt, and most colleges have outdated courses anyway.  See if you can get a small job with a local datacenter and get some hands on training.  Even if it's just setting up servers, doing small management tasks, etc.


College would be free for me to take this now.

Thanks everyone for all your input!


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## Zach (Aug 3, 2013)

HostUS-Alexander said:


> College would be free for me to take this now.
> 
> Thanks everyone for all your input!


I've talked to the techs/manager at Colostore and they all personally told me that college is just a waste of time.  One tech went to DeVry and had nothing good to say about it.


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## MannDude (Aug 3, 2013)

Zach said:


> I've talked to the techs/manager at Colostore and they all personally told me that college is just a waste of time.  One tech went to DeVry and had nothing good to say about it.


I'm 25, so my friends who have went to college (Indiana University, not a bad school) and graduated have done some of the following: Nothing, work in retail, or have joined the Navy.

All of that could have been done without the debt. I find it comical, almost, that two of my best friends graduated as history majors then went and joined the Navy. I suspected they entered in at a 'higher rank' than others, since they already had schooling, but entered in at the same low-level as everyone else. What they studied in college didn't apply to their new career in the Navy as a yes-man.

Obviously if you want to be a doctor, or a lawyer, go for it. Go to school. But for most jobs, it's not going to _require_ a degree, especially in this industry.


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## Zach (Aug 3, 2013)

MannDude said:


> I'm 25, so my friends who have went to college (Indiana University, not a bad school) and graduated have done some of the following: Nothing, work in retail, or have joined the Navy.
> 
> All of that could have been done without the debt. I find it comical, almost, that two of my best friends graduated as history majors then went and joined the Navy. I suspected they entered in at a 'higher rank' than others, since they already had schooling, but entered in at the same low-level as everyone else. What they studied in college didn't apply to their new career in the Navy as a yes-man.
> 
> Obviously if you want to be a doctor, or a lawyer, go for it. Go to school. But for most jobs, it's not going to _require_ a degree, especially in this industry.


Yeah, I think it's the most ridiculous thing that all of these highschools are pushing kids so hard to go to college.  Sure, like you said, some professions absolutely require a higher level degree.  But don't even waste your time going to college otherwise.  Spend those 4 years more wisely getting hands on training with lucrative businesses/datacenters/hosting companies/etc.  Get to know the people there and work your way up the ladder.

My cousin went to Ball State and majored in Georgraphy/History and minored in Language (Chinese).  Needless to say he's now a lawn sprinkler installer and at one point was a locksmith.  Sure, you could blame it on the economy or whatever, but college just isn't for everyone.  Chinese is probably his most valuable asset.


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## shawn_ky (Aug 3, 2013)

I'm a college teacher. Good for some, not so much for others. Choosing an appropriate major will definitely help.   Literature, History, etc. probably gonna put you in a soup kitchen unless you are going to be a teacher. Still not necessarily a good thought as there are MANY waiting for jobs.  I have worked in IT for 25 years and most of the time was without a degree.  After getting a degree, I kept going further in order to get where I wanted... I also leveraged my work places and did not pay a dime for school. It is possible to do, but takes more time.  The skill-set I learned most is that of networking - not computers but people.  In each instance it was good to be around those that were in the business (who were coming back to school to get degrees for promotions) and eventually led to teaching.  If you want to be a teacher, get a Master's in IT and see your doors open up -- hard to find anyone that gets one.

I will also say that in most of the classes, I already knew the material and in many cases was the real-world example for the professor. I didn't go back to school until I had already been working in IT for 16 years. In many cases I had more experience that the professors.  I completely agree it's not for everyone. Many times what is being taught is outdated. I highly recommend if you are going to go to school, choose something that will equate into a job. (refer back to lit and history... great if you love it, probably leave you broke)  Avoid loans at all costs. Join the military, use the GI Bill, use your employer benefits to help pay for it, use grants, scholarships, etc.


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## Zach (Aug 3, 2013)

shawn_ky said:


> I'm a college teacher. Good for some, not so much for others. Choosing an appropriate major will definitely help.   Literature, History, etc. probably gonna put you in a soup kitchen unless you are going to be a teacher. Still not necessarily a good thought as there are MANY waiting for jobs.  I have worked in IT for 25 years and most of the time was without a degree.  After getting a degree, I kept going further in order to get where I wanted... I also leveraged my work places and did not pay a dime for school. It is possible to do, but takes more time.  The skill-set I learned most is that of networking - not computers but people.  In each instance it was good to be around those that were in the business (who were coming back to school to get degrees for promotions) and eventually led to teaching.  If you want to be a teacher, get a Master's in IT and see your doors open up -- hard to find anyone that gets one.
> 
> I will also say that in most of the classes, I already knew the material and in many cases was the real-world example for the professor. I didn't go back to school until I had already been working in IT for 16 years. In many cases I had more experience that the professors.  I completely agree it's not for everyone. Many times what is being taught is outdated. I highly recommend if you are going to go to school, choose something that will equate into a job. (refer back to lit and history... great if you love it, probably leave you broke)  Avoid loans at all costs. Join the military, use the GI Bill, use your employer benefits to help pay for it, use grants, scholarships, etc.


And there ya go, first hand experience  

Literature, History, "Communications" will all put you in the soup kitchen


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## NodeBytes (Aug 3, 2013)

That's why I'm working on my IT certifications (Cisco, A+, N+) while getting a degree in Computer Information Systems.


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## MannDude (Aug 3, 2013)

One thing I would recommend though, in an attempt to get this thread back on topic, is to do the following:

Order a dedicated server. Install, configure, secure, break, and fix a SolusVM node. Since it's for testing, a cheap datashack server will do. Give a couple VPSes to friends, tell them to break stuff, benchmark, abuse it. Learn to fix it. They're not clients so take your time and do it right, no need to fix the issues immediately.

Play with cPanel. It's great, I need to play with it more honestly. Transfer accounts from one box to another via command line, learn how it works. Get 'cPanel Certified' (which is something I plan on doing, mainly to say I know cPanel well), etc.

Write a couple small bash scripts to make your life easier. I've got one I use for my personal VPSes but it needs updated, haven't used it in months. Need to get back at it.

Ask questions, learn from the answers.

A server to play with and learn from is much cheaper than tuition. It doesn't include the college parties, though.


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## shawn_ky (Aug 3, 2013)

bcarlsonmedia said:


> That's why I'm working on my IT certifications (Cisco, A+, N+) while getting a degree in Computer Information Systems.


It's what I advise my students to do. The degree is one thing, the certs at times are more valuable within the industry as far as major companies and their IT staffing BUT as specifc to hosting, probably as stated before, not a lot needed but experience and MONEY...


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## concerto49 (Aug 4, 2013)

shawn_ky said:


> It's what I advise my students to do. The degree is one thing, the certs at times are more valuable within the industry as far as major companies and their IT staffing BUT as specifc to hosting, probably as stated before, not a lot needed but experience and MONEY...


Usually no one looks at the degree once you have a few years of experience. Certs are useful if you have no experience or if they are specifically required (some companies/jobs - not all).


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## NodeBytes (Aug 4, 2013)

I'm not going in to hosting, I'm going into IT.


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## amhoab (Aug 4, 2013)

I'd have to agree with a lot of the folks here that college is overrated for a lot of IT-related stuff, but I'd never go back and "undo" going to college.

If you're going the tech route, college in engineering/IT can/will give you a strong leg up.  A lot of folks know how to work with technology, but knowing the nitty-gritty of how/why things work puts you at an amazing advantage.  You can't believe how many times I've gotten to a solution faster or bettered something due to things I've picked up through school.  Sure, perhaps 70% of it will probably be irrelevant, but the mental challenges and the information you learn will be worth it.

I did undergrad in electrical engineering and am doing my masters in telecommunications, the former being super-relevant as a sysadmin.

To top it off, going to school will give you an advantage in the work force.  A lot of big companies demand degrees, and are willing to pay for them (in salary).  My first job out of college paid $72k, and my second job about two years later paid $110k.  Two years later, I'm at around $125k.  None of those employers hired folks without degrees.

If you want to make some good money, go the RHCSA/RHCE route.  It wouldn't hurt to have some basic programming knowledge (e.g. scripting, or things like Chef).  Tons of companies hire hard for things like that -- no degree required.  In my area (near Washington, DC), a mid-level Linux sysadmin makes about $100k.

The VPS industry is cool, but unless you're a big fish, you probably won't make enough to buy that Bugatti you've been dreaming of   .


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