computer certifications?

[jordank32]

I am looking to further my knowledge in the IT world and boost my resume a bit. I am looking to get at least 2-3 different certifications. What would you recommend? I have heard A+ is a good place to start. I tend to pick things up pretty quickly so let me know what you think.

 

[AFB]

CCNA

 

[WannaFly]

the way i see it is that certifications are not to further your knowledge, they are to prove your knowledge. It's bad to use them to further your knowledge because basically you are book learned and dont really know what you are doing then, IMHO.

 

[jjessico]

CCNA.

Networking is becoming more and more important everyday and the CCNA is a good way to become familiar with networking basics and some good Cisco specific knowledge as well. Grab a book and if you feel like it maybe two cisco 2501 routers, 2 Adtran T1 CSUs, two v.35 cables, two AUI ethernet boxes, and some ethernet and make a little test networking to play with. You could probably get a ccna book, the two routers, csus, and csu/dsus for under $300.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[bleeb]

Forget it... get out of the IT industry~

 

[AFB]

Originally posted by: bleeb
Forget it... get out of the IT industry~

I agree, IT is going farther down hill everyday.

 

[Pex]

Originally posted by: bleeb
Forget it... get out of the IT industry~

retail > IT

 

[oniq]

If you don't know, you're in the wrong industry.

 

[jordank32]

so maybe I was completely clear, I am not looking to get certifications in order to make a career out of it, I pretty much just want to do it for fun and hope that I can learn something new at the same time. Just wanted to know what is out there, I have looked online but there seems to be a lot of them, just wanted some advice as to which you deem important.

 

[Phoenix86]

It's hard to get into the IT industry, if I didn't have years of experience when I got layed off 2 years ago I could still be looking for a job or I would be in another industry. I got REAL lucky and landed a job within 2 months of being layed off, at that time no one was even getting interviews. I also have no certifications.

Experience>certifications

That doesn't mean don't do it, if you good at it and like it, go with you passion. A+ is a start, but it's basic knowledge, and like others said, it's more proof what you know. Passing a certificate test and not having experience to go with it is a bad situation to be in. Only companies like Best Buy require A+, but you have to get experience somewhere...

How much experience do you have?

edit:

just wanted some advice as to which you deem important.

What areas are you interested in? Networking, servers, PCs?

 

[sillymofo]

If you want to get a cert that's relating to the computer industry, try Computer Forensics certs. :thumbsup:

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: bleeb
Forget it... get out of the IT industry~

what he said

 

[RagingBITCH]

So is IT really that bad now? Why abandon ship?

 

[jordank32]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: bleeb
Forget it... get out of the IT industry~

what he said

OK, so like I said, I am not looking to get a job in IT. I have one more year until I have my BS in Computer Engineering and will be pursuing a job in that field (most likely in chip development), however, I will be graduating 3 months early and will therefore have 3 months of free time. (I cannot start work early because I will be moving after my girlfriend graduates at the normal time). In this 3 minths of free time I thought it might be fun to take some IT related classes at my local community college. They offer all kinds of certification courses

Course Catalog

What would you recommend?

Sorry, I should have been more clear to begin with

 

[TreyRandom]

Certification courses != certification. I've not taken a single classroom-based formal training course for any of my certifications.

If you're not going into IT, why bother with IT certification? It's typically $100-$150 per exam.

Finally, although I agree that experience > certification, certification is useful to put you a step above your competition when applying for a job.

For those of you who say that IT is going down the tubes - are you currently employed in IT? Are you currently looking for employment, but can't find any? I've had steady work over the past 7 years in 5 different jobs and haven't been fired/downsized from any of them. I hear of IT jobs (including entry-level ones) becoming available on a regular basis from companies around here. Personally, I think things are a heckuva lot better than they were in 2001/2002.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: jordank32

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: bleeb
Forget it... get out of the IT industry~

what he said

OK, so like I said, I am not looking to get a job in IT. I have one more year until I have my BS in Computer Engineering and will be pursuing a job in that field (most likely in chip development), however, I will be graduating 3 months early and will therefore have 3 months of free time. (I cannot start work early because I will be moving after my girlfriend graduates at the normal time). In this 3 minths of free time I thought it might be fun to take some IT related classes at my local community college. They offer all kinds of certification courses

Course Catalog

What would you recommend?

Sorry, I should have been more clear to begin with

I am on my way to getting my BSEE (actually the ASCEE first) and am taking a set of 4 Telecommunications classes @ my CC that were designed to teach you almost everything for the CCNA and more.
<--has a semester 4 out of 4 final in about 2 wks

I too am interested in designing device shipsets etc, but am really intrigued by networking right now, which is why i took the course. I am also going to try and take mechanical courses just in case I might find automotive engineering more helpful.


Basically, take some classes so you experience the end-result or finished product of the industry you are looking into so can better judge what it is you want to do career-wise.