From Retail straight to Sysadmin *SKIP HELP DESK*

🔒 Hands-On Cybersecurity / SOC Analyst Training (REAL EXPERIENCE) 🔒
joshmadakor.te...
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In this video, Kyle shares his story about everything he did to go from working at Home Depot to breaking into IT, skipping help desk, going straight into a Junior Sys Admin role

[@JoshMadakor]

🔒 Hands-On Cybersecurity / SOC Analyst Training (REAL EXPERIENCE) 🔒 joshmadakor.tech/cyber

[@coherentpanda7115]

I had a similar experience as an inexperienced software engineer, I drove 5 hours for my face to face interview. They gave me the full tour, had a couple interviews and took me out to lunch, and ended up drawing up an excellent offer. One of the reasons they stated they offered was because I was serious enough to make the drive.

[@JoshMadakor]

I think this really says a lot. Thanks for sharing this!

[@gtarules1]

So are you working remotely or are expected to come in every so often in the year?

[@coherentpanda7115]

@@gtarules1 I am hybrid currently, 3 days in, 2 remote. I was given the choice between both, but ultimately chose hybrid since I wanted the experience learning with the team.

[@gtarules1]

@@coherentpanda7115 No doubt 5 hours was a drive! That's 300+ miles! I take it you moved closer to the job to be hybrid?

[@thefinalflex0_o877]

lol

[@kevingardocki]

Sweet! Being in the help desk position right now , it's inspiring that if you have the skills you can showcase, you can skip some of that entry level headache sometimes!

[@JoshMadakor]

Yeah, just a matter of getting the stats then showing them off enough, haha. This applies to a lot of areas in lift I've noticed. Maybe I'll make a video about this 🧐 lol

[@diegopabs]

I am currently in the same situation as you. I need to have that same mindset as well!

[@horeacio]

This was literally my coworker, kudos to him he deserves it!

[@presendieu22]

Congrats , I actually moved from South Florida to the Dallas area to attempt to start a new career. This was cool to see somebody do it this way .

[@Geomaverick124]

my first salaried job in IT was an hr bus ride from Philadelphia to Valley Forge, King of Prussia, PA. At the time it was such a long ride on a bus for a job...Today, if you are willing to go a distance or work onsite for a job, you will have a higher chance of getting and keeping a job

[@JoshMadakor]

Great point here, I agree. I recommend people expand their geographic region for their first job especially. A bit of a sacrifice to save time on breaking into the field, then after 6-12 months, they got that exp and can do/go almost anywhere:)

[@Geomaverick124]

@@JoshMadakor yup. My IT jobs have always been outside the city. Less competition and more of a chance for those companies to give you a chance

[@arsenal_84]

Most IT jobs are on site like IT help desk, sys admin, database administrator, private cloud engineer, infrastructure SRE, application SRE.

[@perezident14]

Love these interviews. My brother is trying to career switch into Cybersecurity after completing a bootcamp through a local college. This is awesome information!

[@JoshMadakor]

Thanks, I appreciate the comment! Bootcamps sound fun, but I haven't actually been through one yet :\. Always wanted to though, but didn't want to spend money lol

[@perezident14]

@@JoshMadakor 100% understandable. 😅 they can be a decent way to provide structure to learning, but a lot don’t touch up on the job search. Most are way too expensive IMO, but I was fortunate enough to do a Software Engineering bootcamp (a few years ago) that offered a money back guarantee if I didn’t land a job in 9 months after completing the course.

[@shawnmendrek3544]

@@perezident14 Smart move indeed.

[@KiyaWarrior]

Very cool video, thank you Josh. I'm about to start at WGU with the general BS in IT degree and plan to take this route too potentially. You've been a huge help so far.

[@HieuVizzle]

Love these interviews , Josh Madakor. What programing language do you recommend for someone trying to break into the cyber security jobs ?? Thanks Josh

[@JoshMadakor]

Thanks! For Cyber in general, I think the default answer is "Python" lol. I tend to recommend this for people starting out in coding in general since Python obfuscates away a lot of difficult concepts (types, memory management, etc.) and lets you focus more on the logic and flow of code. Hope this helps :D, ty for the comment

[@repairtech09]

Very inspiring, congratulations! I’m currently going to college for my associates in IT and Microsoft administration.

[@JoshMadakor]

:D Thanks, and sounds fun!

[@KevtechITSupport]

Nice work Kyle.

[@JoshMadakor]

I like his execution and willingness to move for the job, at least initially, I think that was a great move 👌

[@KevtechITSupport]

@@JoshMadakor agree

[@reinen9006]

Just what I was looking for, cant do help desk, it pays too low. I'm not young anymore

[@coherentpanda7115]

That was what convinced me to become a software developer. At age 40, there was no way I was going to drop to $16 an hour to start a new career in IT. If I was straight out of college, sure, I'll do the grind, but most adults making a career change can't go that far to the bottom.

[@JoshMadakor]

Word! just gotta get the skills, then make sure to show them off. Check out this video (still not released, but you can see it): kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqjIiGSIrtWdepY

[@reinen9006]

@@coherentpanda7115 I tried Software Dev for a long time, but barrier to entry is brutal compared to IT so had to make a change I just can’t do help desk gotta figure out a way to skip it

[@michaelthompsonparker921]

Definitely in same water if not the same boat. The pay cut would be rough for some of these jobs.

[@metalmayhem007]

Im 6 months into my first helpdesk job, I'm starting to get burned out and the pay sucks. There's endless tickets and not enough time 😭 I need a way out, I hopped from retail and I like helping people but the self entitled folks gets pretty draining to deal with. Felt like I had to rant lol.

[@DR-qk7tp]

Logged in to upvote the 3 hour drive to interview 👍

[@JoshMadakor]

I appreciate that 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️💚

[@rmo9808]

I probably put out about 200 applications and went through 10-15 interviews before I landed something. I definitely reworked my resume a few times.

[@JoshMadakor]

Thanks for sharing! 200 is not too bad ^^, but definitely a decent amount of work 👍

[@rmo9808]

@@JoshMadakor I found that once I started applying directly to companies I got way more responses.

[@shafialanower3820]

@@rmo9808did you take the it support course or the cyber security course? Do you have any advice on how you landed more interviews or resume stuff tweaked if you do not kind sharing

[@shawnmendrek3544]

I wonder how much the degree helped you skip help desk. GJ, it is crazy they still wanted you to certs, imagine going to college and oh you still need more! Crazy man.

[@SixString_J5]

I'm north of Dallas starting the journey into tech and I'm surprised there was a company looking outside the area for employees as there is an in person cybersecurity program at both the collin county college and the Dallas county college (also the major universities in town as well). Either way, Congrats!

[@myvids20121984]

Very good interview. Im ready. Thanks Kyle and Josh

[@kotemanoble1734]

Congrats Kyle!🎉 Josh, great content!❤️🔥

[@Cyrax219]

This has inspired me to focus on projects yo make a portfolio

[@outcastassets6863]

Congrats man

[@JoshMadakor]

Ty for commenting! Proud of his work!

[@TearDroppFX]

Can’t wait for it to be me getting interviewed one day 😉

[@halowaffles]

Kelso? Well damn Jackie, I can't control the weather

[@JoshMadakor]

lmao

[@terrences7022]

Congratulations! Great work 👍🏾

[@JohnE2B]

Congrats! Very inspiring!

[@insidegurtsshorts3274]

Tier II/light Tier 3 Help desk here. My employer says Security plus isn't really relevant to my job for moving up to a sys admin, which I was surprised to hear. They recommended I get more hands on with VM ware, and server related things. VM ware is no longer really affordable recently for home labs, and at work I'm only permitted to jump in 2 servers. Any advice? They're about to hire another sys admin from the outside, and it's frustrating as I've been told by multiple admins I have a great work ethic, always make sure something is only escalated if I absolutely don't have the privileges to solve the problem, or have exhausted all options. Or should I explore other options applying outside the company for a Jr. sys admin.

[@believeume122]

Congrats!!! Inspirational for sure! thank you

[@mrczr8135]

Congrats ! And thanks for sharing !

[@JoshMadakor]

Thanks for commenting ^^

[@jadenkelvar5420]

Congratulations!!

[@lucin2586]

Good job 👏

[@kevinbrown259]

GREAT INTERVIEW

[@monutulani3667]

Hey josh, can you please remake your Live cyber attacks SIEM tutorial.

[@JoshMadakor]

I'm thinking about it lol. I might

[@joshuahillary3312]

Honestly, you can still complete the old tutorial now with a few tweaks. I did it, but I did get stuck in a few places but googled my way through haha. Also there are some good comments to help you out on the video itself from others trying to recreate it too

[@frankvega8240]

Great job keep it going

[@JoshMadakor]

Thanks for the comment!

[@TheGeekSheek]

I'm pretty much gonna do what he did... Google Cyber Cert + Security plus + your cyber course

[@PC-oq6iu]

Hi Josh! Thank you for providing invaluable content as always. I am strongly considering taking your course, but I wanted to ask you if your course still applies to those who live outside of the US? I currently live in Canada and I am highly interested in pursuing a career in cyber security. Those who have taken your course have seemed to have great outcomes, however majority of the success story's are from people who live in the US. What would you suggest?

[@oh_no9594]

Congratulations Kyle!!! Just kinda curious, what was your degree in? Was it a related CS/IT field?

[@JoshMadakor]

I'll show him this!

[@oh_no9594]

@@kylekelso417 Thanks Kyle ^^

[@oh_no9594]

​@@JoshMadakor I have a CCNA and Security+ cert, but my degree is in an unrelated field. Do you think this course would be something I am qualified for, or should I go for an online CS or IT degree first to try to get a job? Thanks for your time.

[@Streetrack]

@@kylekelso417congratulations! Super excited for you! 🤙

[@techvaultacademy]

Thank You!

[@JoshMadakor]

thanks so much for watching!

[@abarbett1]

That's really great! Josh, is your course open to people overseas? I'm American but living in Japan and currently in college for cybersecurity and working full-time. I'd like to learn more though! If you have time, I'd like to know if you would be open to working with someone overseas! Thanks so much!

[@andrevshimself]

When did this course come out????!!!!

[@JoshMadakor]

My cyber course launched in April of this year! joshmadakor.tech/cyber

[@Its29Me1]

This is a great and very encouraging video, question do I need to go for my degree at WGU before I can work with you Josh?

[@majesticviews5397]

I'm pretty sure you just need to pay his course fee.

[@hianimee]

hi josh, are you affiliated with leveld? I see two different websites for your course. so I wanna make sure if I should jus click the one in your pinned. ty

[@yourgod]

This is awesome, is there a link to kyles portfolio anywhere?

[@frankvega8240]

Quick question Josh are you still an instructor at course careers

[@JoshMadakor]

Yep I am! joshmadakor.tech/cyber - LeveldCareers joshmadakor.tech/it - CourseCareers

[@frankvega8240]

Great

[@tylermartinmusic]

Hey, Kyle Kelso - if you’re watching this… may I ask where you gained employment? I’m from north Dallas as well and I’m currently going the CSIA route and taking the steps so I’m curious how close to home this opportunity was. Congrats man!

[@JoshMadakor]

I'll show him this!

[@tylermartinmusic]

@@JoshMadakor thanks Josh! While I have you… I’m almost done with the Google IT Support cert through Coursera in order to gain entrance into the WGU bachelors program. I also want to and intend on taking your course. My question is which one would you suggest I do first? WGU or CourseCareers? Thanks again!

[@hallebrown223]

Did anyone catch what his bachelors degree is in?

[@munyaradzigombarago5655]

hey @Josh , how much do i need to budget for the microsoft azure lab for your course ?

[@JoshMadakor]

Hey! The IT course is less, you can probably complete it for less than 10 bucks if you are diligent about turning off your VMs. Cyber course, probably less than 50 bucks, especially now that I have optimized it a bit

[@richardrose8882]

Yessirrr

[@dzonibrt]

Hey Josh What do you think about Amazon AWS Certifications ? Best Regards

[@JoshMadakor]

I think they are good as long as they are supplemented/used properly. Def check this out to get a full idea on how I view certificates in general (video is still unlisted, but you can see it): kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqjIiGSIrtWdepY

[@nordythenorthman]

Would I be better off doing the IT course before doing the cybersecurity course?

[@irza1]

Could he share the interview questions with us?

[@stevenlucas7930]

Kind of a little dumb question, how do I make a portfolio?

[@JoshMadakor]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJjUl4qCfbN-gs0si=egzEjCXYoa8KUU3_

[@stevenlucas7930]

@@JoshMadakor thank you sir!!!

[@matthewacevedo21]

How would one become a devops engineer coming from help desk?

[@subietechron7530]

I am curious what BS degree from UT San Antonio did you graduate with? CS, IT or BM? Or something else.

[@ariasabe]

Bro bypassed help desk without knowing 👀

[@lucybrice1307]

Can i take your cyber course with out the IT one?

[@paul3734]

In my area the title Jr Sys Admin basically doesn't exist

[@50PullUps]

Congrats, but be aware that by skipping help desk there’s a whole galaxy of valuable knowledge you won’t get exposed to. At my recent job, a manager of IT security had no clue about how to troubleshoot his email and a co-worker of mine didn’t know what ‘RJ-45’ was. Embarrassing to see stuff like that. Both were lifted to their current positions without foundational IT knowledge.

[@CallMeKha1i1]

Agreed. However, a HD gig should only be for 6-12 months.

[@okegs4real]

Well that's what google is for. Or they have people (like you, I presume) doing that job. It's just like when there is a security incident, the helpdesk person goes to the security person. There is no rule that says to go through helpdesk for cheap pay for knowledge that can be read up via a udemy course. Climb the ladder and let the people with helpdesk mindset do your helpdesk work. That's what they are hired for. How many CISOs went the helpdesk way? Not everyone wants or needs the technical knowledge

[@charlesasianya9374]

@@okegs4realyou are right. His IT manager could literally google ‘how to’ lol.

[@papercliprain3222]

You can get the knowledge you mentioned from reading/watching an a plus resource and go over it like you would take the test without paying Comptia 500 dollars.

[@johnmark7361]

There is no rule in I.T you have to start with help desk. If someone smart enough to know about cyber security why hinder their growth with a low paying job as a tech support.

[@Geomaverick124]

Cool. :)

[@JoshMadakor]

😎🆒

[@ehizuelenabhulimen8433]

Does your course have projects for the Portfolio

[@JoshMadakor]

my course has hands-on lab

[@elee9056]

take a shot every time you hear “like”

[@JoshMadakor]

Was I saying it a lot? Sorry :)

[@danpeoples1000]

@kylekelso Congratulations on finishing your degree and working with Josh to land an awesome job! And great advice @15:35 the grind is real - pushing through is tough, I can attest to that as I'm still grinding. Your story inspires Thanks!

[@Samsons121]

❤😊

[@MyWatermelonz]

I thought it was going yo be good info but it was just a sales pitch for an overpriced click funnels course

[@JoshMadakor]

Do you mind emailing me at the address in my channel page? I wanna know more about exactly why you think so. I lean really heavily into providing value vs trying to sell too hard. It’s really rare to receive a comment like this so I want to hear more of your thoughts.

[@brownsense1]

Wow.. so you can get a sys admin job taking up cybersecurity? I'm currently studying Linux. (RHCSA and RHCE)

[@wreckingtestes2885]

Interviews like this is so motivating! Josh your amazing person your changing lives in a major way! ❤🫶💪