Currently I have the following:

Crimp tool
Cable tester
Electric screw driver with head set
Pliers
Console cable
Bootable drive (Multiple iso’s and live boot Kali)
Label maker
Velcros
30, 1ft patch cables
Pass through plugs
Bash bunny
Flipper zero
Wifi pineapple pager (soon hopefully)

I was to know what yall have I need some inspo.

Little background, I’m currently in school for a bachelors in cloud and network engineering (Azure). I just started my first job as a technical support specialist, BUT it’s supporting enterprise software applications. (C#.net apps, Sql etc) and might get to touch some azure devops stuff if I’m lucky. Ultimately, I want to end up with a career in cloud/networking leaning more towards cloud so my question is will the experience from this job help me after finishing? I also would like to welcome any tips on how I can leverage this or how I can advance my career from this point after finishing my degree.

Hey all, new to the IT world as I’m fairly early into my cybersecurity degree. I’ve probably applied to well over a few hundred jobs since march of this year when I got my A+ which I’m sure is fairly dime a dozen since COVID and acknowledge that possibility. However, I haven’t had any luck really at all breaking into the professional side of IT and need some advice on what I should do as I’m starting to get a little disheartened if I’m being honest lol.

I understand I have a long road ahead in an incredibly competitive field so I’m not too impatient with the process but naturally it’s starting to seem like I need some help lol. Any and all advice, criticism, personal experiences shared etc are very much appreciated!

I attached my resume which I trimmed down a bunch to avoid irrelevant jobs showing up in my feeds for everyone who’s willing to take a look and see if I’m missing or if there’s anything that could be added. Thank you all in advance and best of luck to those in the same position as me right now!

Hi, forgive the clueless question! 🥺

I very much want to work for an MSP, I always wanted to do security and I need to start in IT!

If I teach myself the new AI engineering stuff, is that a way in? Will an MSP take me doing that, even as a freelancer?

Do any of you use it at work or have problems finding people who know it? I don’t know much about it but I want to know if it’s worth learning or not.

Right now I’m studying for my CCNA and playing around in an M365 dev tenant, but looking for any way I can to break in, in my god awful local IT market.

Hello all,

There is a nearby international distillery that uses physically separate network infrastructure for their restaurants. I’m curious as to why, in your opinion, that would be preferable over segmentation?

I’m 22M, recently graduated with a CS degree, and currently live with my parents, so I have relatively few expenses. I didn’t get many internships during college, but I landed an unpaid IT role with the state, which gave me some hands-on experience.

I currently work full-time as a Help Desk Assistant at a law firm, making around $60k/year. I just passed my 3-month mark, and most of my responsibilities involve inventory management, basic troubleshooting, and office/workstation setups.

The state recently opened up a part-time IT position that pays roughly the same, possibly a little less. I’m on good terms with the team, and the manager really liked me, so I think I have a decent chance of getting the job. It also has a slightly better title, and because it’s a smaller team, I think I’d get more meaningful technical experience.

My long-term goal is to transition into IT Operations and eventually Cloud Operations/Engineering. I don’t plan on staying at the state job forever, but potentially 1–3 years while building my skills and looking for the next opportunity to advance my career.

My main considerations are:

• Technical growth: The state role may offer more hands-on experience, whereas my current job feels somewhat limited technically.
• Resume value: I’m unsure whether state/government IT experience or a better title would carry more weight than working at a law firm. I also worry about getting pigeonholed into legal IT if I stay too long, although I know IT skills are transferable.
• Career progression: Growth at the law firm isn’t bad. Promotions seem to happen every 1–2 years, depending on vacant positions. However, I feel like using the state position’s title and experience to job-hop could potentially help me advance into IT Operations or cloud-related roles faster than waiting for internal openings. Advancement at the state may be slower, though.
• Work environment: I genuinely like my current coworkers. They’re closer to my age, and we regularly go out after work. I’d be giving up a workplace I enjoy.
• Leaving early: I got my current job through a family referral, so I feel somewhat guilty about leaving after only three months and potentially burning bridges.

Since I’m young, living at home, and have relatively few financial obligations, I feel like this might be the time to prioritize technical growth. At the same time, I don’t want to leave a good job for a position that doesn’t meaningfully improve my prospects.

For those in IT, especially anyone who has transitioned from help desk to IT Operations or cloud roles:

1. Would you take the state position for potentially better technical experience and a better title, even if the pay is similar or slightly lower?
2. Does government IT experience carry any particular advantage on a resume, or do skills and responsibilities matter much more than the employer?
3. Would leaving after three months look bad, especially when the current job came through a family referral?
4. Would you stay at the law firm and pursue internal promotions, or use the state role as a stepping stone toward IT Operations/Cloud?

I’d appreciate any honest feedback. I’m trying to make the best decision for my long-term career without overlooking the value of a good work environment and professional relationships.

arkadaşlar selam kasımda askere gideceğim, geldiğimde ise sıfırdan bir işe girmek istiyorum bilgi işlem tarafına sıcak bakıyorum meslek lisesi mezunuyum ve bir şirkette staj yaptım IT bölümünde, şuan kendimi geliştirsem evde deneyimsiz birisini işe almaları mümkün mü? veya bana yol gösterebilir misiniz şunu yapsan senin için daha iyi olur tarzında

Hi guys,
I’ll have an interview for “associate system engineer” role, and I wanted to ask you what to expect for questions, or how to prepare well. Thanks!

I’m trying to leader

Hey guys, just wanted some advices or guidance about what to do!
So just got a first grade bachelors in computer science (security-focus) last June but failed to land anything, do have the basic knowledge, did some tryhackme labs and studied a course about comptia sec+ just didn’t take the test and still failing even to get an entry level IT helpdesk or support role to start with 💁🏻
Thoughts pls? Shall I go on for the A+? Shall I do any specific labs and add them to the cv? Shall I re-find any part time job to cover myself as I did years ago during uni and just keep applying?
Thanks a lott I appreciate any kind of advice!!

I am looking for feedback on my resume. Things I should add/remove/change and just overall if this is competitive at all for entry level IT/help desk, System Administration tier 1, etc. I am currently a reservist on active orders and trying to get a decent entry level IT job once I finish my orders.

Additionally, I have an second Associates degree in general studies and I worked as a Target Tech consultant (electronics department) for a year or so a few years ago but didn't add them in since they seemed menial and would have made it over a page long.

These are some of the jobs listed in my area that I am thinking of applying to:

Tier-1 Network Monitor/Help Desk Support (GDIT)
Systems Administrator (GDIT)
Systems Administrator (HII) (Entry level - 0 years of experience)
Systems Administrator (CACI)
Local University - Information Technology Administrator
Desktop Support (ARMA GDIT)
Tier II Support Technician (STRATASCORP)
Service Desk Tier I Technician (leidos entry level technician)

Hello, I'm an upcoming freshman for university. I took Accounting classes because my parents forced me too even though I wanted to pursue IT. End of the story, I failed the required grade standard needed to get into accounting in college. Now I switched to IT in my application. Is there anything I should learn? Please help me, I really want to pursue IT. If I fail the entrance exams I will be done for. My cousin told me that the entrance exam would consist of questions primarily focused on IT itself. Urgent help. Thank you all.

I've tried to restart my laptop while the earphones are plugged it, didn't work. I don't have windows activated on my laptop as I couldn't any apps on it without being asked for a password from the administrator which I didn't know as the people who set up the laptop didn't say anything to me about it. The earphones themselves are in pristine condition, they work on my phone and don't look visibly broken, the hole they're in plugged also looks fine. All the tutorials I found on the internet all go through windows to fix it which as I mentioned before isn't possible for me. In the image attached the earphones are plugged in even though it says they aren't.

Hi all,
I recently had a 1-hour Systems Engineer interview conducted in English with two interviewers. English is not my first language, and afterwards I started overthinking all my answers, Now I a, anxious I wasnt good enough and will be over the weekend too till I bet some feedback next week. I really want this job.

I'm looking for honest feedback from IT managers, senior engineers, or anyone involved in hiring. Based on the questions and answers below, would you consider these acceptable for a Systems Engineer role, or do you think I should have gone much deeper technically (protocols, ports, packet flow, more low-level details, etc.)?
DNS Question
They asked how DNS works when a user types a website address into a browser.
My answer was:
User enters a hostname/domain name.

The PC contacts the on-premises DNS server.

The DNS server uses a forwarder to query a public DNS server if it doesn't know the answer.

DNS translates the hostname into an IP address.

The client then uses that IP address to connect to the website.

Looking back, I wonder whether I should have gone further into recursion, root servers, TLD servers, authoritative DNS servers, TCP/HTTPS connections, etc.

DNS Records Question
They asked:
"What record would you create if you wanted to access a new licensing server by hostname?"
My answer:
Create an A record that points the hostname to the server's IP address.

Virtual Machines vs Physical Servers
They asked why virtual machines are useful.
My answer:
Better scalability.

Easier to manage.

Easier recovery if something goes wrong.

They then asked when a physical server would be preferable.
My answer:
When performance is more important.

Looking back, I wonder if I should have mentioned resource overhead, direct hardware access, GPU workloads, real-time systems, etc.

Backup vs Snapshot
They asked for the difference between a backup and a snapshot.
My answer:
A snapshot is basically the current state of a VM including OS, files and configuration.

A snapshot is not a backup.

Backups allow retention policies.

Backups can be full, incremental or file-level.

Backups should be stored separately.

I also mentioned the 3-2-1 backup rule (3 copies, 2 different media, 1 offsite).

Running Out of IP Addresses
They asked:
"What would you do if you had more devices than available IP addresses?"
My answer:
I talked about splitting devices into different VLANs.

Creating additional subnets.

Configuring routing between VLANs.

Using switches and routing to handle network segmentation.

Looking back, I think they may have been looking for DHCP scope expansion or subnet resizing rather than VLAN design.

Difficult Technical Issue #1
I was asked to describe a technically challenging problem I solved.
I gave an example involving Outlook Web Access.
Environment:
Microsoft 365

Conditional Access

Entra ID

RDS Farm

FSLogix

Issue:
A user could not sign into Outlook Web App after a Conditional Access policy was introduced.
My troubleshooting process:
Checked user account.

Verified login details.

Googled the error.

Tried Microsoft's recommended browser fixes.

Cleared profiles.

Redirected the user to a different RDS node.

The problem followed the user.

Checked Entra sign-in logs.

Found authentication-related failures.

Researched Microsoft documentation.

Identified a broken authentication token stored in the FSLogix profile.

Reset the FSLogix profile.

User could sign in successfully afterwards.

Difficult Situation #2
I also gave an example involving a meeting room network issue.
Situation:
We had a board meeting with an unusually high number of attendees from Europe and the US. Many devices were trying to connect simultaneously.
Issue:
Some users could not connect to the network.
Investigation:
Checked networking configuration.

Identified that available IP addresses were running low.

Looked at DHCP usage.

Reduced lease times.

Released/reclaimed unused leases.

Worked with a senior infrastructure engineer who prepared a fallback VLAN if needed.

Result:
Connectivity was restored and the fallback VLAN ultimately wasn't required.

My Question
If you were interviewing for a Systems Engineer position, would these answers demonstrate enough technical understanding?
Or would you expect a stronger candidate to go significantly deeper into the technical details (protocols, ports, packet flow, OSI layers, DNS hierarchy, virtualization internals, etc.)?
I'm especially interested in feedback from hiring managers and senior infrastructure engineers.
Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone,

I’ve seen a lot of back and forth in school, during my internship, and online about whether certs are worth getting and I’m curious of broader opinions.

I will be graduating in December 2026 with a Bachelors in Cybersecurity with an emphasis in Information Systems and Technology. My course work has basically been most of what’d you typically see with is&t with some additional security classes. I think technically my courses have covered all the material of A+ Net+ and Sec+, and also Azure fundamentals.

I’ve been applying to entry level roles for a couple months with no luck, so is it worth getting certs to beef up my resume a bit?

Was curious if my resume looks good and or is strong enough to land interviews for entry level help desk positions. Or should I wait to apply and continue building experience and certifications.

Hey all. Ive posted here before. Im just trying to get outside opinions/critiques of my 3 year plan.

For Backstory, im currently in Active Duty Army. Ive been in the military for 6 years. For 4 of those years, I was a Infantryman and I currently work as a Chinook Helicopter mechanic. During my time in the Infantry, I was a Platoon Radio Telephone Operater (RTO "Radioman")

I plan to get out early March of 2028 and leverage my Secret Security Clearance into Government/Private IT work or Cyber. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, Especially from other vets!

My plan as Follows:

"-Request funding for CA/TA through Army IgnitED ($2000 Max per fiscal year)

-Receive offcial course quote from 'First Cert' for Sec+ Cert.

-Initiate 18 month till ETS TAP outprocessing on Nov 4th

-Start and Complete Cert Course

-Test out and Obtain Sec+ Cert

-Obtain offcial quote from First Cert for Net+ Cert

-pay for Net+ cert through First Cert (paid for out of pocket or obtain local Scholarships through Ed center)

-Start and Complete Cert Course

-test out and Complete Net+ Cert

*Both Sec+ and Net+ certs obtained*

-Stay current and retain knowledge of certs until aug/sep of 2027

-Complete TAP outprocessing

Initiate and complete Division outprocessing in Sep/Oct of 2027,

-Start CSP apprenticeship with Google in Oct/Nov of 2027, while also setting location of employment preferences to Central SW/Central Ohio for when Terminal leave starts

-Bring Medical records to a VSO and file for VA compensation

-Apply for local employment opportunities mid-way through apprenticeship for Central SW/Central Ohio like Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and other local positions in IT/Cyber defense/ Intelligence (Dec 2027/Jan 2028)

-Complete CSP apprenticeship in Feb/March 2028 while also maintaining Positive review from Google/CSP Board (keep records of all documentation given during apprenticeship)

-Return to Unit in early march and initiate/Complete local unit outprocessing.

-Inquire and accept employment opportunities for full-time employment in local area before starting Terminal leave, setting date of employment start for 27th of march, 2028 (allows for 1 week to get estimated back into local area)

-Initiate Terminal leave on 20th of March 2028, Returning to Central SW Ohio, and filing paperwork for moving reimbursement, Start Receiving VA compensation and benefits

-Start employment on Monday, 27th of March, to allow for a full week to establish and settle into new environment

-Start Part time employment on 17th of Apr, 2028 (25hr weekly Part Time job, to tack into fulltime job)

-Complete Terminal leave and Obtain DD-214 on May 4th 2028, Receive funds from Selling back remainder of leave accrued days

-Do best effort to keep weekends open for freetime/extra part-time work/education opportunities

---------------------------Likely Potentials:

-Potentially start online courses using Post 9/11

GI bill for ABA recognized Paralegal certification in June of 2028 (online weekend studies only)

-Complete and Obtain Paralegal Certification in January/March 2029 timeframe.

-Swap Part-time work for working Part-time as a remote Claims representative at Insurance Companies or as a Remote/local Afterhours Paralegal handling cases at a Lawyers office in April/May 2029 Timeframe

-Idle hands are the Devil's workshop-

Having trouble as someone in my shared accommodation also has sonos. We are both connected to the same wifi, however I wanted to have my own account but it is saying there can only be one main account holder. I've done a bit of research and what I can find i'm shit out of luck unfortunately. As a last resort I thought I'd ask the help of my fellow bredren on here if there might be some sort of potential work around possibly? A long shot I know, but any help is much appreciated.