Certifications and IT jobs/Salaries - Best Certification Route...

Author

Best Certification Route...

JKeats

2004-04-12, 4:32 pm

Hello. I'm obviously new here and am glad I stumbled upon this site.

I have been tinkering with computers for about 12 years now... I have built my own and do all of own software installation and configuration.

I am 23, a full time employee, and have worked in the University setting now for about 5 years... in NON tech related positions.

I am very interested in jumping into the tech filed inside the College/University setting. I particularly enjoy and would be interested in software support... such as OS installation, configuration, troubleshooting, etc. This goes for other non-OS software as well.

My problem... my BA is in Psychology, which might be great for the communication skills with users, but rather unhelpful with respect to my desired occupation.

I'm unsure what certs I should get in order to get my foot in the door for the type of position I described. I'm looking into some bootcamps, but am concerned about attending one that turns out to be a joke. I prefer hands-on instructor led training and am wanting to make sure I find a reputable company.

Any suggestions on which cert(s) would be best for me to get and which companies are the most reputable and offer the best instructor led, hands on, training would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

JKeats

2004-04-12, 4:37 pm

oh... I should add that the LITTLE job related experiance I have in tech support consists of your classic "oh... he's good with computers, since we can't get ahold of the tech department, maybe he can help us" type of thing.

I often find myself assisting staff members here in my building with various software related problems.

I've also run a few trainings on PPT creation...

DaDnDe

2004-04-12, 5:48 pm

well for getting your feet wet in IT, the de facto standards for entry level are A+ and net+.

A+ gives you the basics in hardware support and configuration in one section and OS install, config, and troubleshooting in the other section.

net+ is a non manufacturing specific course teaching the basics of networking.

these should give you enough to decide where you want to go in IT.

if you decide to go the Cisco route, then net+ might not be the best choice since the Cisco certs will cover all the same areas plus some.

but no matter what course you choose, hands on experience is very important, and it sounds like you are getting some of that now. keep going on that. but also you need to make sure you get out of your comfort zone. it is easy to fall into the trap of "well this works for me so i dont need to look into anything else."

good luck and welcome to the forum.

ubercherry

2004-04-21, 6:42 pm

What he said ^^^

smrkdown

2004-04-22, 9:56 pm

I'd say about 80% - 90% of the Network+ objectives are not covered in Cisco certification objectives and vice versa.

curiousgeorge

2004-04-23, 10:21 am

JK,

I'm a network administrator at a university. I know first hand that university IT departments are always looking for a contact person in every department to help out with desktop support. I would tell your manager that you like working on computers and would like to be the contact person for the department. Then contact the IT manager and tell him the same.

Believe me, they will GLADLY accomodate you. At the same time, you will gain real-world experience. You can also list it on your resume as the IT liason and department desktop support contact. This will help when you interview for a full time IT position.

Like the others said, go for your A+ cert. You'll learn a lot about hardware troubleshooting.

DO NOT waste your money on bootcamps. They are designed to get you certified quickly, and they do not focus on learning the skills you need in this industry.

Hope that helps.

Good luck my friend.

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