I am just starting in Networking and want to progress to NetSec eventually and I was kind of taken back by OPs advice to work 80 hours a week, I want to have a life, not work all the time, so your comment was pretty comforting.

> 2. Don't get certificates

I am progressing through my CCNP and LPIC-1, mostly because I want to get recognized for my skills, but I also see them as a guideline, what to learn next, kind of like a ladder, maybe one day I will get to the top of the ladder and have no where to go, but for now I think that certifications lay a path for me, what do you think about that?