How you get from "I want to work in IT" to a real specialty — home lab, certs, first job, and the fork in the road after. This is the route I'm researching and walking myself, not expert advice from the other side of it.
Before any cert
Get hands on hardware, Windows, Linux and a virtual network before spending a cent on exams. Reps with real machines are what make the rest of this stick.
The entry ticket
The baseline cert most help-desk and IT-support roles screen for. Two exams covering hardware, operating systems, networking basics, security and troubleshooting.
Your first IT job
Where almost everyone starts. You trade the cert and lab work for real tickets, real users and the experience that every later role is built on.
Level up
Once you're working, these are the next two CompTIA certs that open doors. Network+ goes deep on networking; Security+ is the one cybersecurity roles ask for by name.
2–4 years in
With experience and a couple of certs behind you, the path forks. Each branch has its own certs, tools and pay curve — these are the tracks I'm researching now.
AWS / Azure / GCP. Certs like AWS Solutions Architect or Azure Administrator.
SOC analyst → security engineer. CySA+, Pentest+, eventually CISSP.
Network engineer / admin. The Cisco CCNA → CCNP ladder.
Linux, scripting, automation, infrastructure. Linux+ and beyond.
5+ years
Engineer, architect, lead or consultant in whichever track you chose. This is where the certs, the tickets and the home lab all compound — and where the pay does too.
I write up every step as I go — the studying, the labs, and what actually works. Start at the blog.