"NetworkChuck" is a popular YouTube channel created by Chuck Keith in 2014. Focus on IT career and certification preparation advice. This channel has answers for everyone, whether you are looking to be a network engineer, hacker, cloud engineer, or just to learn how to get started with IT. The channel's goal is to help as MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE get into IT by assisting them to obtain IT certifications.
IT certification is one of the best ways to get started in IT and jump into an IT career. But which one is the best? Which entry-level certification is best to help you get started the best career in the world? Now, not all entry-level certifications are equal and they get you started in different places. The five paths that NetworkChuck decided to look at were 

• 1) Helpdesk 
• 2) Security
• 3) Networking
• 4) Cloud
• 5) Ethical Hacking

Honestly, it's difficult to determine what the best IT certification is. So to make the choice, NetworkChuck Certification considers these criteria.
How popular is the certification? Do people even know about it? How marketable is it? Will people actually hire you? Is this certification going to teach you anything if you had this certification also? Are you gonna develop knowledge and skills from actually taking the certification? And then finally this is kind of redundant to our other points. Is there any job you could actually get with this certification? What are the opportunities? How many people are really looking for this?
 
So without further ado, here are the top five entry-level certifications to get into IT. 

1. CompTIA A+ certification

Get us started with the helpdesk in 2022. Nine times out of ten, your first job in IT is going to be on the helpdesk. Taking calls, learning a lot. It's your gateway into IT. Yep. That's where NetworkChuck started. That's gonna be where you start. And also no matter where you wanna go in IT from becoming a Hat to the Cloud, this is where you start. So the best certification to get you on that helpdesk. What is it? It is the CompTIA A+ certification.
It is pretty heavy. To get the CompTIA A+ certification, you're gonna have to pass two exams. And each exam costs $226 USD.
You can expect to learn about the following topics when going for you're A+,

• 1) Networking
• 2) Operating Systems
• 3) Security
• 4) Mobile Devices

What's cool is you can look for an average salary of about $53,000 per year. This is a great salary for Helpdesk. So to recap, if you're looking to get your start in IT, or you're making a change from some other career, the CompTIA A+ is a fantastic option to help you make that jump. 

2. CompTIA Security+ certification

Let's now jump into the other IT certifications: security and ethical hacking.
Security is one of the hottest areas within IT, and it's been this hot for a long time. Everyone wants to start their career in security. And one of the best certifications to start you out is to get laid that foundation for everything you'll do. What is it? The Security+ certification.
The security+ cert is an entry-level certification that will give you a foundation in cybersecurity, just like the CompTIA A+.
You won't be a hacker expert by completing your security+, but it will help you build a solid foundation. You need to step forward in your security career. And if you are brand new to the security realm, NetworkChuck Security+ believes you'll need it. Cause it'll help you gain the knowledge you need to understand tax vulnerabilities threats. There are many other things.
The reason we chose a security+ is that it is really popular. It's loved by hiring managers. It can help you get government security jobs, not to mention big companies such as Netflix and Target helped out with its development. It's one exam and it only costs $381.

3. Cisco CCNA certification

Let's now talk about the Cisco Certified Networking Associate or otherwise known as the CCNA. NetworkChuck thinks it's one of the best IT certifications out there, period. It's one of those certifications that if you put it on your resume, you are highly sought-after. It is very, very valuable. It is difficult to pass the CCNA exam. There were two tests prior to 2020, but now there is one test, but it is broader meanwhile. Yeah. It's not necessarily as deep, but it still covers most of the important topics that you need for Cisco equipment, networking and learning.
And it also covers other technologies such as security, cloud and even a bit of programming for the dev stuff coming up in networking or DevNet Ops.
As mentioned, there will be only one exam to earn the CCNA certification. And the exam will cost you $300. It is one of the certifications that opens a door to becoming a network admin or network engineer. It is gonna be a crazy value.

4. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

We're now onto the cloud. There's probably no surprise here in which certification you chose, but the best one to get started in 2022 is the cloud.
So the best entry-level certification that NetworkChuck Certification chose for the Cloud is the AWS cloud practitioner. AWS is the largest IT cloud provider out there now. So it makes sense to go with them for your cloud journey, or at least for the beginning.
And if you're new to Cloud, this certification is ideal for you to break into the industry. And it also is the best to not break the bank. Cuz this certification costs only 100 dollars. It's quite affordable. And because AWS is the largest cloud provider right now, it makes sense to go with them to start your cloud journey.
And if it wasn't obvious already, the last in we wanted to talk about is ethical hacking. It's NerworkChuck Certification's favorite.

5. CompTIA PenTest+

Network Chuck recommend PenTest+ as the exam or the certification to jumping into ethical hacking. Network Chuck chose the PenTest+ because it's marketable, people care about it. CompTIA has done an extraordinary job at making sure they are the go-to for entry level stuff. While NetworkChuck doesn't recommend the PenTest+ as your first ever certification, and so does CompTIA, they recommend getting your security+ first or even having just a little bit of prerequisite PenTest+ knowledge because while it is an entry level certification for ethical hacking. After you have completed the foundation, such as CompTIA Security+, CompTIA A+, and Helpdesk certifications, ethical hacking is a more advanced step.
So it's more advanced, but it's still as entry level before that initial step into ethical hacking and just like the security+ this is only one exam. They also have the same odd number pricing structure for the exams which is $381.

 

So that's the NetworkChuck Certification list. If you wanna get started in IT in 2022, you wanna break into this industry because it's by far the best industry in the world, trust me, you don't need college for this stuff. You don't need really anything. Just jump into it. And I'm pretty confident it's gonna change your life.

And also you're probably wondering how do you get these certifications? How do you start studying for these?
We recommend using our Certification Dumps. For real, it's what I use to study and keep up to date. And if you're looking to break into the industry, SPOTO has a training course either. So if you wanna break into IT, that's what we recommend.