Some of the stickies are pretty good for where to start.

I think the big question is what are you looking for? For example, my interest is in making my networks stronger than doing pentesting. From what I've read here, I'm leaning toward reading hacking for dummies, follow up with Sec+ for an intro-cert and then follow up with C|EH and OffSec.

(note I've got a lot of the same stuff you do skill wise, just lack any current certs, but doing IT for 13 years).

Welcome Dark Oracle,

If you are interested in hacking, it wouldn't hurt to start with a programming language or several.   While you can learn tools like Metasploit, Nessus, W3AF, etc, you will really understand what's happening with an exploit if you can read and write code.   Linux is also absolute a paramount skill to have in my opinion.   

Unless you are looking for work, I wouldn't start with certifications.   I would learn all I can and then figure out what you want to do.   Besides, there are a ton of posts on this forum regarding the benefits and shortcomings of pretty much every cert out there.

There are plenty of simulated hacking missions out on the web.  They are a fantastic way to learn the art without causing any damage.  If you search this forum you will find links to many.  JHaddix has quite a bit of such information on his blog and has many posts here regarding the same.   Some of the sites you can try are:

www.hackthissite.org - web app missions
www.overthewire.org - rooting missions

There are many others.   Enjoy, learn, and stick around.  There are many people here who would be happy to guide you in the right direction.

Thank you Ketchup and awesec, I am going into the IT field as work when i get out of school for the military, And im going for my sec+, im in a basic class for it right now and understand it, This stuff comes to me real easy, but i want to learn linux is there any free site out there that will teach you step by step how to program and read it, i want to learn all i can about computers even if its just a basic view over of it. I have wanted to learn linux for a while now just dont know where i can do so from. We do not learn that here. I am not to worried about getting certs right now but yet more on learning about how i would go by getting into systems via remote access and stuff of that nature, i know i can us a VM software on my laptop so i do not do any damage to another computer, that is not what im looking for but more of just knowing how to do so and trying those hacking missions i hear and see so much about.

If anyone has a top on this i would love to read about it. I know the basic of using telnet and stuff like that but isn't there other ways to get into another system, i have a hard time just reading others help me with this post and putting that into what im looking for and i havn't found a forum on it yet but there is alot of other information i want to get into at a later time.  But most of all i do want to learn linux in full and i would like to learn something about hacking into another system through firewalls and such of that nature. Sorry if my grammar is bad, not to good at that and English in gen, had bad elementary school teachers lol. But give me stuff with computers and i can learn it like that.

Welcome to EH-Net.

We have a couple pinned topics in the Network Pen Testing Board that will most likely help.

Let us know what you think.

Don