Im getting out of college soon. Lots of employers Ive spoken to said every NT administrator has an mcse and that those kinds of jobs are very limited since the 7 tests in his opinion are very easy. This employer told me that if I want to get into networking, I should go for the CCIE. What is the deal? Are there really hardly any jobs for mcse people out there? I said to hell with it all. Im going for oracle dba cert. Then he said e-commerce development is the hottest field and if I want a job I'll have to know all of that. Puleese!

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I wouldn't believe everything you here from a prospective employer, especially if they aren't willing to hire you. Sure e-commerce is getting hotter, but it's also getting smarter. Maybe the employer was talking about the NT MCSE, but still, those tests weren't easy. What position did the person hold that told you this crap? Was it a recruiter? Remember, recruiters are just salesman in a different field.

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We have 3 (2 after today) admins here. Two of them technically have MCSE's...althogh one of them didnt get it until AFTER he was hired (and it was NT4 and we are on a pure 2000 network now). The third guy not only doesnt have an MCSE, he doesnt even have a degree....he is just that good at networking. (Also has 10 years of experience in IT) Besides, only 2 out of the 7 or 8 MCSE's in our company have 1/2 a clue. Depending on where your going and what the employer wants will determine what you will need. If your good at what you do and/or have experience, that will bode just as well in some cases as an MCSE. (Besides, where do you think most decent people that are MCSE got their training/experience from.)

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I have had my present job for six months as a Network Consultant (It's an accounting firm, where titles mean something, I guess). Basically, I set up networks and workstations for clients. Anyway, they interviewed 37 people for this job, and I recently found out that 22 of them had their NT4 MCSE, but not alot of experience. Our Network Admin is retired Army and only has an A+ and compaq certs. I have A+, N+ and two NT MCPs. I'm working on W2K MCSE now. But the real factor for any position is experience. If you are just starting out in the IT field, don't expect to get an admin job, even with a degree. Start at PC Tech, and move your way up from there. I've been in netowrking for two years. I have a BS degree. After getting my degree, I started in a company as a helpdesk guy. Three months later I got hired as a Network Tech supporting an internal network. Now, I'm working as a Consultant/Tech supporting and implementing client networks. This job will kill me, so I don't plan on being in it for more than two years, then I'll use my experience to become a network admin someplace.

So, understand that the cert can help you, but be reasonable in your search for and IT position.

Just my $0.02, anyway.

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Well I guess I'm about to find out. I basically have 2 months left on my Job. I have 12+ years experience with PC's and networking. I've never had to look for a job, it's always been someone asking me to work for them. So I find out last week that we're having a to the bone layoff. I would have thought I was part of the bone but apparently not. Anyway I'm a bit concerned looknig in at the job market. Any if not all require certifications which I don't not have. I can find a job no doubt but I've also began to realize the need for certs. So I go out and buy the MS Press 2000 core four books. Here we go. I guess I'll be at it for a while so here goes.

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tpntx,

I am in the same boat as you. I had 12 years plus in the IT field but took the certifications for granted. Now I am job hunting, the main porblem is getting someone to pay you what you've been paid before minus the certifications and only the experience. Sometimes I wonder where those days where experience counted the most went. I am now in a dilemma of whether to pursue certifications before looking for another job or just taking any job and huge pay cut while working on getting certified. I appreciate anyone's .02 on this.

thanks

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I was talking to some friends of mine that work for a local school district which is very advanced technology wise. Anyway they have at their disposal all the training materials, classes and OJT for Windows 2000. They are all telling me how difficult the 2000 professional test is. Most have taken the test few have passed.

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The windows 2k professional test is not that tough really. If you have a good grasp on basic networking and a good working knowledge of the app, you will be fine. I used exam cram and transcender to study and passed the 1st time by 200 points.

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