A+ -- can I get a job with only this as my education?

[Proximo]

Here is my situation. I have a job making $11.36 an hour running machines that make industrial products. It is not real hard. But it is a dead end job and boring. I don't even have a high school diploma or a GED. But I am quite intelligent enough to know how to run, upgrade, install, and troubleshoot computers. I have a lot of experience in troubleshooting computers thanks to all the crap I do with my own. I have learned by my own mistakes. Linux installations, windows problem solving, installing hardware, and such has gotten me pretty confident in computers with all their problems. My problem is that I would like to take the A+ certification, but without anything else in education, would someone hire me with just a cert? I'm not looking to get rich. Hell, anything above what I make and in a nice environment is a plus. What should I prepare for? How should I go about convincing a employer on hiring me? I have had the same job for almost 10 years now. It was my first job and I got stuck with it taking care of my disabled brother and mother. So the money kept me there with no place to expand. My supervisor just graduated from DeVry with a networking or something degree, but like all the people I talk with who have a degree, he is totaly clueless about computers. Man, he didn't even know what USENET was or newsgroups! And he thought you had to have a ZIP drive to program in C++!!!!! I'm no programmer, but I do know that a storage medium has nothing to do with programming! But I degress. Is there a market for guys like me? I know that some kids are still in high school and running unix servers for big companies. So I guess it's who you know and if you have a talent. So, any suggestions? Besides 4-year college, etc? Once I get my foot in the door, I can get more degree's as I move along hopefully. Also, what other small degree's, like MSCE and such would help? I intend to quit my current job about after the end of the year, becuase I will be getting my 401k money out and do not want to pay the penalty tax until 2003. Not to mention I will get all that vacation time!

 

[konichiwa]

A good employer won't hire you based on your certs, but based on your knowledge. You just gotta figure out how to prove to your potential employer that even though you don' have certs or education, you are still very knowledgable and proficient in <foo> computer field.

 

[Mday]

A+ will get you an entry level job as a computer technician or help desk, which could pay less than yours does now.

what i SERIOUSLY recommend for YOU to do is get your GED. it's difficult to get anywhere without it, unless you know people. some employers won't even look at you without it. GET YOUR GED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how old are you?

as for technical schools, they would offer more than what a simple A+ would give. You can get some experience in their courses, and you're not limited to computers. MCSE is NOT a small degree. to become fully MCSE certified, you have to take like 10 tests or something...

experience means a lot in any field. if you have none, certifications help, but not much. your personal experience may get you the job more than a certification. buy one of those practice tests. take them PROPERLY. if you do well, sign up for a test. it's something else to put in your resume.

--



<< A good employer won't hire you based on your certs, but based on your knowledge >>

yeah, but how many good employers do you know? besides it's tough to tell how much a person knows. people just look at resumes and hope for the best (that's what interviews are for.

 

[JonnyDuke]

I agree with Mday...GET YOUR GED!!! Then you can start to worry about certification. I speak from experiance that it is not worth putting it off. The test for the GED is so simple that I would guess you could pass it without a refresher or practice session. I say this because you obviously are intelligent enough to be messing with computers, it shouldn't be a problem. As for the certification, I can't say as I am in a similar situation. Wondering whether or not to just become certified or find some real courses somewhere. Good luck though.

 

[Windogg]

Another vote for a GED. Experience appears to be what counts in the end. When applying for a job, your certs and GED will get you a meeting with HR. Your experience is what will land you a job when meeting with the people you will actually be working with. This final round is what will seperate those that know their stuff and those with a fist full of &quot;paper&quot; certs.

Best of luck.

 

[d33pt]

I am kinda stuck in a similar situation...i do have a high school education but that's about as far as it goes..no certifications.. currently I am working as a contractor for a consulting/staffing company but i am not sure if i should spend the time/money on a 4 year degree.. it's just a bs piece of paper but i think it might take me farther than without. hard decision to make..

 

[Quaggoth]

I have no GED or Diploma and make >$16 an hour, 40 hours a week. I had an MCP cert and I am Dell certified (What a joke), but most employers just look for good experience and good references. I don't think I even mentioned the MCP cert in the interview for this job, and I got the dell cert just so I could crack the case without voiding the warranty. The key is getting your foot in the door to the first job, then use that job as a reference. Wear a suit and tie to your interview, even if you are way overdressed. Try for a job at a tech bench. Do not do phone support, the pay is crap, and it's boring (Form what I hear anyway). Good luck.

 

[RDMustang1]

get your GED and then get some experience... To get a good paying job you either get a good education or get experience and work your way up...

 

[EppyThatcher]

I only have a A+ certification, However I do have a ged and about 4 years of professional expierience and make about 40k a year. You just ned to find the right company, get your foot in the door, get your ged and just gain expierience, it wont come overnight but be patient it will come. Trust me.

 

[BooneRebel]

Another vote for a GED. Even if you get your foot in the door with an A+ cert, you'll run into problems later when it comes down to salary increases, etc. It will really hold you back. Get your GED, and then get your foot in the door as a tech. An A+ will help, but isn't necessary. In fact, many companies will pay for your certs -and- give you a salary increase when you're complete. The job market is still that tight in most places.

 

[SnoopCat]

take a practice a+ test before u take a real one, too bad someone didnt tell me

 

[CollegeGuy]

Getting your GED is a must . . . employers will not even consider you without it. You should really consider getting a degree (be it an Associates or Bachelors) at some point in the future. Without a degree, you will find it harder to advance into upper level positions no matter how much experience you have (To those that will flame this: Yes, I am aware that experience is extremely important - however the experience + education combo is MUCH more powerful on a resume).

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Kewlb]

Wahoo.. a thread on my favorite issue: Certifications


First off.. Get your GED!!!! - Please by all means, even with the A+ and other certifications people might not consider you unless you have your GED.

A+ Certification - This is a great cert and WILL get you an entry level position, I know a lot of companies that hire just based on that certification. It will require a bit of studying but should not prove all that hard, I am sure you can work on that and your GED at the same time and finish both about the same time, now with your GED and A+ Certification in hand you are well on your way to a decent career. With the A+ You should have no problems finding a job (people here in Mississippi do not even have a problem and tech jobs are low here).

What to do after A+? Here is my opinion (note this is not cut out for everyone, some people were just not cut out to be network engineers, its beyond their mental ability)

Network+ - Get this after your A+ Certification it will help you gain the fundamentals of networking and will provide the basic knowledge needed to persue any major certification this is not a very hard exam I made one point below a perfect score when I took it. I have a slue of Network+ resources that I can get rid of (2 books and audio tapes as well as custom exam software I wrote myself (transcender watch out!!!)

MCSE - Please note this is NOT a 'small' certification I have been working nearly a year for mine and now I only have one exam left for full MCSE status. The NT4 track MCSE was pretty simple to get and you could just study to pass it, but the new MCSE is setting a better standard and I know a lot of people who had their NT4 MCSE that can not even pass one 2000 track exam. This is a pretty rough certification to get and just takes time, but it pays off.. pays of pretty well in fact!

CCNA - Cisco Certification.. this is where the bucks are at! You will not see any real money from getting a CCNA Certification as its just an entry level certification, however it will get your foot in the door at some networking firms. This is the first level cisco certification and tests you on basic knowledge of networking concepts and basic routing and routing commands as well as the Cisco IOS (operating system used on routers)

CCDA - this is the cert I am currently working on as well as finishing my MCSE, this is a Design exam that drills you on your skills to design advanced solutions based on cisco products. If you want to get into the network design field this is where its at (I would like to do network design more then implementing it (well actually I would rather do it all) but I will still get my R&amp;S CCIE!)

CCNP - This certification requires you to have your CCNA and pass 4 very very rough exams. With this cert and a few years in the field you can bring in $60-$80K/year easy. This is NOT an easy certification but is also very very doable. This is what I being studying for after I finish CCDA

CCDP - this is the major cisco design cert - you only need to pass ONE more exam to get this cert after completing your CCDA and CCNP, its a good one to have if you want to go into network design

*CCIE* - this is the mother of all certifications first you must pass a 100 question written exam with a new passing mark of 80% after you pass this exam you qualify to take a lab exam. The lab exam is now an extended 1 day (10 hour) hands on lab exam that is extremly difficult. Only 7% of the people that take this exam pass. If you get your CCIE expect to make about $90-$150K/year with benifits, although if they water down the cert liek I think they are starting to do it will be worth less then this, but still a major certification.

CCA - Citrix Certification.. if you want to get into server based computing and handling thin clients then you need to learn citrix as its the best product to handle this (I love citrix and we run it here at work)

I hope this helps you some, if you have any questions please feel free to IM me (kewlb19) or e-mail me: brianc@ieee.org

 

[Dweebinatorer]

Wait, your a recruiter and you don't realize how crucial a degree is? Unless you've networked an entire state of contacts, don't expect any opportunity to demonstrate how &quot;experienced&quot; you are because as soon as they see that on your resume it's going in the trash. Sorry, but that's the way it is. Even being MCP'd is not usually enough for them to even look at you. If your going entry level, it's sinmple; they hire based on attitude.

 

[Squisher]

Let me write that down--K-e-w-l-b --for when I want an answer on certs. I'll know who to ask.

 

[pillage2001]

I'm lost. What is GED??

 

[Kewlb]

lol .. heh - I will also bring my old website back up very soon (I took it down while I redid everything in ASP and added a lot of new features and finished my exam software) - but the site will be: www.techcerts.com once its back up, before I took it down for revamping it was one of the better certification sites, but I lost track of time and its been down for 4 months now because I just have not had time to work on it, but it shall be back up shortly!!!

 

[Kewlb]

GED = General Equivilency Degree (yes I can not spell, I know this) - its looked at as nearly the same as your High School Diploma