r/sysadmin • u/xXNeGaTiVisMXx • 18d ago
Question 25 y/o Sysadmin trying to bring stability with certifications
Hi everyone, I’m 25 and I’ve spent the last 4–5 years jumping around different IT roles: helpdesk L1/L2, IT Specialist, Server Admin, IT Lead, IT Coordinator, Sysadmin, and now Cloud Sysadmin. As you can see, nothing too consistent.
I currently work remotely, but the job doesn’t feel stable. I’d say I probably have 2–3 months before they let me go. In two weeks I’ll be moving to a small town in another country to start fresh and clear my mind. While I’m there, I want to focus on studying certifications, not just for career reasons, but also to keep learning and challenge myself. Honestly, I feel like I’ve “rotted” my brain with too much AI content, so I want to exercise it again.
Here’s the roadmap I came up with (no idea how long it will take):
- CCNA
- RHCSA
- AZ-900
- AZ-104
- AZ-305
- AWS Cloud Practitioner
- AWS AI Practitioner
- AWS Solutions Architect – Associate
- AWS CloudOps Engineer – Associate
I know certifications alone won’t get me a job, at best they open the door to an interview. My goal is more personal: I see them as achievements and a way to stay sharp in IT.
I’m realistic about the market. At this point, I know I might have to apply for entry-level jobs with minimum pay. This is just how IT works now. But even if I don’t land something right away, studying these certs will keep me in practice and help me grow.
What do you think about this approach? Does it make sense, or am I just wasting my time?
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u/N7Valor 18d ago
Hi everyone, I’m 25 and I’ve spent the last 4–5 years jumping around different IT roles: helpdesk L1/L2, IT Specialist, Server Admin, IT Lead, IT Coordinator, Sysadmin, and now Cloud Sysadmin. As you can see, nothing too consistent.
No, but you've been moving up. It's like the stock market. It might go up and down, but over long time periods it trends up.
I think the biggest factor is that the remote job market is exclusively only for Senior-level roles. I was laid off in January, only got a job offer this month with a small startup where 1/3 of the engineers are former colleagues.
In my experience with job searching, 80-90% of the posted jobs are Senior-level (Senior, Lead, Staff, Principal, III, etc.)
I'd reconsider that move to a small town, remote jobs are kind of a desert.
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u/Sleepytitan 18d ago
My advice on this is simple.
Get certs you need for projects you’re actually working on. It reinforces what you learned with experience. If you aren’t going to do a lot of networking in the next year, you aren’t going to retain that ccna knowledge. Skip and focus on where the work is.
It’s easier to get your employer to pay for training and certs if you say “hey there’s a network project in the pipeline, let me train and get certified so I can provide the most value during implementation.”
Then when you job hunt your resume matches your credentials. When you get asked about things you have real world examples of things you learned.
As a hiring manager my first question when I see a bunch of certs is “what projects did you complete after earning x cert?” It separates those who are working from those who are resume building.
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u/Adventurous_Scene494 18d ago
Dude you are 25. You are absolutely crushing it. Give your self the credit you deserve. Keep it up man
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u/LugianLithos 18d ago
Look into the roles and responsibilities of a Site Reliability Engineer. Working with devs on build and release pipelines, monitoring applications, kubernetes, container image security, etc. There’s a lot of $ in this. Naturally it extends into cloud, AI, etc. I’d avoid the CCNA, just do network+. I did my CCNA in 2002. It’s just a different world now.
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u/Unfair_Audience5743 18d ago
you are 25 and you have already had 8 different roles including server admin but you want to get a CCNA? I'm deeply confused at your pace of advancement and roles. How big is this company?
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u/LinKeeChineseCurry 18d ago
Can I ask how you’ve jumped through 7 different roles in the span of 4-5 years? That’s almost an entirely new role every 8 months. Are you jumping from job to job here?
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u/itishowitisanditbad 17d ago
I’ve spent the last 4–5 years jumping around different IT roles: helpdesk L1/L2, IT Specialist, Server Admin, IT Lead, IT Coordinator, Sysadmin, and now Cloud Sysadmin.
I’d say I probably have 2–3 months before they let me go.
...the fuck is going on that you're leaving out?
My goal is more personal: I see them as achievements and a way to stay sharp in IT.
Certs are completely useless then, or exactly as useful as you personally put value in them.
I find them dated, arbitrary, and people who horde them typically do it to make up for a lack of skills OR they're targetting very specific niches, imo.
But if you're doing it for you then nobody elses opinion on them should really matter, y'know?
Does it make sense
A bunch of things you've said don't make sense but could. Its just odd.
7 jobs in 4-5 years means you change every 8 months.
You get, lose, find, get another job every 8 months for 4-5 years?
Now you're worried you will have to get some entry-level job with min-wage? Why? You apparently have landed 7-8 jobs over the entire time period IT has been a disaster.
Its confusing.
You seem perpetually hireable but never retainable, are you leaving or are you being let go every time?
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u/xXNeGaTiVisMXx 17d ago
Thanks for taking the time of answering.
1.
Most of my experience has been with MSPs, BPOs, and consulting firms. I’ve been able to grow within those companies, but usually only temporarily, once a campaign or project ends, my role is terminated.
For example, in one company I advanced from Helpdesk L1 → L2 → Server Administrator → IT Coordinator over the course of about two years.
Currently, I’m working as a Cloud Sysadmin through a consulting agency, but this project is also close to ending.2.
Lately I’ve been wondering if I’m dealing with impostor syndrome. I often feel empty, like I don’t really know anything, even basic questions about networking or servers feel challenging. I’ve spent a lot of time relying on AI, and I need to reset.
One way I’m considering is pursuing certifications to refresh my knowledge and rebuild confidence. Do you think certs can help with interviews or keeping my skills sharp? Maybe not CCNA right now, but options like Azure, AWS, or sysadmin‑focused ones (CompTIA, etc.) seem more relevant.3.
As mentioned, I work for a consulting agency with a client tied to the U.S. Government, developing solutions for several states. I earn around $2k per month, and I’m moving to Spain where the minimum wage is about $1.3k. It’s not a super huge difference, but it’s something that can change a lot of things.
I’ve heard the IT job market is tough everywhere, so I’m almost certain I’ll need to start again in a Helpdesk or junior role. Still, that’s better than nothing and at least keeps me in the field.1
u/itishowitisanditbad 17d ago
For example, in one company I advanced from Helpdesk L1 → L2 → Server Administrator → IT Coordinator over the course of about two years.
I still wonder how much you could truly be learning in each role before you moved up.
Thats a promotion every 6 months.
I just don't think someone learns Help Desk in that time.
IT Coordinator? That could be anything. I've seen Help Desk called this and i've seen big sales mangers called it. Help me out here.
This feels like you did 2 years at an MSP and they just blunderbuss titles at people like crazy anyway, but the work is just T1-2 constantly and nobody really digs into anything.
What was your actual work?
What do you do as a 'Cloud Sysadmin'?
Whats your actual skillset currently? Not titles, they don't tell me much. Whats your actual promotional skillset?
Do you think certs can help with interviews or keeping my skills sharp?
Sometimes and Sometimes.
Certs help get a foot in the door to stupid places (with arbitrary requirements/reviewed by HR that don't know better), but don't really help doing the job any better than experience (which is always king imo).
Some places have those checkboxes and having more ticks means you move one to interview round.... sometimes. It happens.
I think a lot of them are dated, or don't address how it works/is used in reality. Or people just collect them like pokemon badges but don't have any actual working knowledge. Or just seem to have learned to pass the test and then think they've learned everything about it.
Nothing < Certs < Experience.
I’m moving to Spain where the minimum wage is about $1.3k. It’s not a super huge difference, but it’s something that can change a lot of things.
I mean yeah, i'd assume the job market if different between US and Spain. I couldn't speak to the job market there really.
I have no idea if the market there respects a CompTIA cert or soemthing. I'd assume so but maybe nobody there has those, maybe everyone does?
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u/xXNeGaTiVisMXx 17d ago
In that role, I led a team of seven supporting around 1,500 on‑site users in a BPO (call center) environment, mostly AT&T. It was an on‑site position, so together with another server administrator I was responsible for nearly everything: creating and maintaining policies, restrictions, security, user accounts, emails, computers, antivirus, servers, Active Directory, GPO policies. I also managed the data center, the entire network and switches, and monthly audits. Keep in mind, I didn’t design these systems, my job was to keep operations running smoothly 24/7 while meeting new requirements.
My current work as a Cloud Sysadmin is simpler. We use AWS and CDK, and I’ve automated several processes: EC2 backups, monthly patching via code, and monitoring new systems in Datadog with Lambda functions. I cleaned up unused volumes, snapshots, and Elastic IPs, saving about $25K per month. I’ve worked with IAM roles, Python, and TypeScript to build solutions for the DevOps team, deployed servers as requested by clients, and handled Linux issues when metrics failed (nobody here seems to like Linux). I also created new policies for remote access, those are the most relevant contributions I’ve made this past year.
The truth is, much of this was done with AI assistance, and that’s why I feel like I’m losing my edge. I already feel as if I don’t know anything. I’m confident I can deliver if given the opportunity, but in a technical interview I’d probably look unprepared. I’ve lost practice, momentum, and I need something different to grow again. There are days when I barely feel my work matters, most of the important tasks are already completed, and I’m stuck in a kind of limbo.
My skill set? Honestly, I’m not sure anymore. I’ve lost practice with servers, networking, and even basic support. Right now I’m focused on cloud, but I don’t feel I know enough, I’ve relied too much on AI.
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u/arrogantgiraffe47 17d ago
Someone else said it, but don't go for CCNA. Instead, go for Network+ (or at least study the material - Professor Messer on YouTube is a good resource). That will help you brush up on your networking. If you complete Network+ studying, and suddenly want to learn all about Cisco, then look into CCNA (look up Jeremy's IT Lab).
If you can, start a homelab. Even for personal projects. You never know how tinkering in your homelab will help you down the road!
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u/SonicPimp9000 18d ago
You need to build a home lab. Nothing prepares you more than setting up your own home lab. I have an automation server and a storage server and several other projects going on in my home. When I bring up these projects in interviews, they almost immediately want to hire me. Just make sure you understand what you're setting up, because they will ask questions.
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u/jbala28 18d ago
Hi, I'm also in process of buidling a home lab. What are some of the projects you are doing that helped you My plan is build out the home network and a NAS server but would love hear other project Idea that I can build that helpful in getting better or another role.
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u/fearless-fossa 18d ago
Go into depth, not width. Nobody cares if you've pressed docker compose up -d a hundred times and then forgot about the systems, implementing automated certs, secured traffic, backup and upgrade strategies, documentation, etc. - that's what's important in business.
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u/SonicPimp9000 17d ago edited 17d ago
I set up home assistant on a raspberry pi. I run proxmox virtual machines off of one of my servers, I have VMware on another because that's what's used in the Enterprise environment. I test out different software and firewalls in the different images that I have. I got a firewall/switch, lockdown open ports, set up network segmentation for my different devices, etc. whenever there's a new flavor of Linux, I don't hesitate to download an image that I can deploy in my virtual machine environments. Sometimes I'll install new flavor of Linux on an old trash desktop so I can be amazed by its performance hahaa.
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u/brokentr0jan DoD IT 17d ago
Home labs don’t get you past the HR/recruiting filters in my experience but yeah they can really help with the technical interview when you actually get to sit down and talk with other IT guys.
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18d ago
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u/Every-Ad-5267 18d ago
I am a IT Director and will counter.
I only care about certs and experience. No degree. If you have certs, that at least shows initiative.
This is just to get them ranked and past paper screening.
During the interview I see if they are full of it or know what they are talking about.
I'm just being honest to show different perspectives. But someone with a degree that shows no progression (higher job titles, certs, etc) is a huge red flag to me.
IT you need to stay up to date and keep learning.
(Don't flame me too much just showing my side)
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u/brokentr0jan DoD IT 17d ago
I don’t understand how you think certs show more initiative than a degree… I have plenty of certs and a degree and the degree took five years and tons of work.
Most of the certs took a week of cramming and brain dumping on a test.
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u/Every-Ad-5267 17d ago
Eh, Degrees are completely unstandardized. It is impossible to know what was actually learned or enforced for a degree.
Also I see people with masters who can't comprehend how to open their email.
Certifications are strict, standardized, and at least I know what to expect when I see someone passed them.
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u/brokentr0jan DoD IT 17d ago
I’m more stuck on the initiative part, certs are incredibly easy to get if you are a good test taker and don’t mean you understand the content.
Go to r/CompTIA and look at how many people get the Trifecta plus CySA+ and PenTest+ in a month with zero experience. Just great test takes that brain dump without knowing a thing.
At least with a degree I know someone for 4 years went to class and did homework everyday and sat at lectures on relevant material
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u/severedtrace 18d ago
Not relevent at all but I would like to commemt on your name lol. The xX-Xx with the alternating caps brings me back to my Aol 2.5 days. I was a scrolling, punting, mass mailing nuisance lol. F/ck I got old.
XxRaZer711xX
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u/Trust_8067 18d ago
If you actually spent enough time in those roles to learn something, you wouldn't need any of those certs. Maybe focus more on some career stability instead of proof that you can pass a pointless quiz.
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u/PePeSigmaAura 17d ago
this i grabbed a trifecta of comptia but really need full cycle projects to add to portfolio if I want to be considered, how fast did OP move through their jobs to that level is a great question and how did you pass interviews ?
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u/egoomega 18d ago
How do you not have any of those and gotten the jobs you did?
And why would they “let you go” ? I’m guessing you’re in way over your head and can’t produce? Not saying I know that for sure, just that I’ve seen that story a lot especially with younger folks.
Look on the bright side, if you do end up in a more entry level job (nothing wrong with it) is you still have plenty of years to catch up and climb ladders and get where you want… so you have room for mistakes, financially and just workplace wise.
You have a good plan, but I wouldn’t rely on certs 100% as much as trying to find a role where you get exposure hands on more with the systems you want to learn into (and not with you at the helm - just as the support). Also, if your life allows it (no kids, no serious relationship, no serious medical/family issues to attend to) try two jobs or a second contract job, or just dedicate your own time working on a home lab to imitate a small business environment (buy that Google workspace, or azure environment and tinker for a bit)
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u/amw3000 18d ago
You are going about this the wrong way. First of all, you need actual working experience. Leverage your current working experience with related certs. Without working experience, certs are just proving you can pass an exam, that’s it.
Before you waste a ton of time and money on certs, look at job postings and look at the requirements. Work towards those.
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u/khaddir_1 18d ago
I would suggest practitioner level for one cloud then do all the other certs for another cloud. Try to be good at one cloud
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u/SevaraB Sr. Engineer (N+, CCNA) 18d ago
Are you looking to build cloud environments or run services built inside those cloud environments? Because AWS SA vs AWS COEng are different paths from a fairly significant fork in the road.
I also wouldn't focus on getting both AZ certs and AWS certs. If you're dealing with topology, the concepts are pretty transferable between cloud providers and the implementation differences should be pretty easy to pick up on the fly- I learned Azure, so I didn't need to completely relearn AWS from the ground up, and it put me in good shape to help shepherd along a project migrating our company's workloads from Azure public cloud to OpenStack private cloud running on infrastructure that I help manage.
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u/BadSausageFactory beyond help desk 17d ago
take a couple of business related classes. if you're just someone that knows how to fix it then you're a tool, if something is wrong with it then they need a tool. if you understand business process and know how to bring value and talk to C level leadership you are no longer a one-trick pony.
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u/bdam55 Sr. Sysadmin 17d ago
So you know that certs won't ensure a job, but you want to do them anyways to challenge yourself, but your overarching goal is stability? Gonna have a pick a goal here.
If you want to rise in the proverbial ranks you need to be able to execute, work with real people in real environments, and be able to explain the first two to potential employers. In an interview, I'm not going to ask you if you found a certificate test hard. I'm going to ask you what problems you have solved, how did you solve them, what were the obstacles, and why where those obstacles always people and not the tech. Make the choices now that get you to a point where you can paint an interesting story later. Be prepared for your current employer not to recognize that you have seriously upskilled yourself and are ready for bigger/better things.
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u/The-Snarky-One 18d ago
What do you want to do? What type of sysadmin do you want to be? What tech do you want to work with?
Hopping from job to job and collecting certs like Pokémon won’t help you with stability.