Microsoft Certification

[ynotravid]

Here's the situation.

Graduated with BSCS; Got a decent job as a sysadmin with a large company; The wife is currently in school and as such I have about two years beforw we can afford my going back to school.

I'm thinking tech certs are a good way to go right now (especially since my work is willing to flip the bill). The problem is, I don't really know where to start. Aside from the dissying array of certifications and trying to weigh their respective value, I'm not really sure where I fit in as far as my expertise level.

To sum up:
- What certs are actually useful?
- What certs are going to be the next big thing?
- Where would be a good place to start for someone that's been around the block but never did the certification thing?
- What advantages have you seen from certifications?

If anyone has been in my situation I would greatly appreciate any feedback you might have.

Thanks!

Random facts:
- BS in computer science;
- 2yrs web development (LAMP);
- 10+ years working as sysadmin in various capacities;
- ~4yrs consulting for small/med sized business, building/maintaining networks;
- Currently maintain about a dozen 2003 boxes and two redhat machines;

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: ynotravid
To sum up:
- What certs are actually useful?
- What certs are going to be the next big thing?
- Where would be a good place to start for someone that's been around the block but never did the certification thing?
- What advantages have you seen from certifications?

Random facts:
- BS in computer science;
- 2yrs web development (LAMP);
- 10+ years working as sysadmin in various capacities;
- ~4yrs consulting for small/med sized business, building/maintaining networks;
- Currently maintain about a dozen 2003 boxes and two redhat machines;

1. Certs generally AREN'T useful.
2. VMware is pretty big right now. Get your VCP and you will likely get job offers. ESX server runs on RedHat and VMware Virtual Center runs on Windows...you'd be a natural.
3. Honestly, you should have a reason for certifying in something. If you've never done it before, figure out what will increase your earning potential the most where you live. It varies from city to city.
4. Advantages are for consultants and new hires. The consultants use them to proove to customers they know what they're doing and new hires use them on resumes to prove to management that they're a safe bet.

--BS in computer science is good, but not needed in systems administration unless you code a lot.
--LAMP is good stuff. If you push for a linux certification somewhere and combine that with LAMP you can get a job working with DBAs (unless you want to be one for some reason) to build web applications. Fun stuff.
--10+ years eh? Good job...stick with it, but don't burn yourself out. I'm almost there and I only have about 6 years myself. (of course I do have another 5-6 doing technician stuff...ick)
--If you're predominantly in a Windows environment, I would look into the linux stuff more. It's going to be more and more popular over the next 5 years. I don't value Microsoft certifications after I saw how many idiots got certified in the late 90's. They signed up for 5 day crash courses and passed the tests. I wouldn't want to get stuck supporting a REAL system with any of those guys.

 

[ViviTheMage]

vmware is what we use here, take some classes on it.maybe migrate your existing servers over to it?

 

[TheKub]

Certs are really only useful for getting past HR in the application process. Most IT departments want experience, HR just wants a checklist of letters.

 

[daveshel]

Certs aren't that useful in terms of actual job knowledge, but I've found they have opened doors for me, perhaps just in showing my willingness to jump through extra hoops. I did an MCSA back in 2002 and was going to stretch it into an MCSE, but then Server 2003 came along. I ended up getting the 2003 MCSA, and might have gone further, but I already had a sysadmin job and had found that my certs weren't particularly helpfun in terms of doing that job.

So I wouldn't knock yourself out to get some, but if you can do so with relative ease, they will likely be worth while. I'd go for VMware as mentioned above, or maybe Cisco. Or Project Management.

 

[ynotravid]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi1. Certs generally AREN'T useful.
2. VMware is pretty big right now. Get your VCP and you will likely get job offers. ESX server runs on RedHat and VMware Virtual Center runs on Windows...you'd be a natural.
3. Honestly, you should have a reason for certifying in something. If you've never done it before, figure out what will increase your earning potential the most where you live. It varies from city to city.
4. Advantages are for consultants and new hires. The consultants use them to proove to customers they know what they're doing and new hires use them on resumes to prove to management that they're a safe bet.

--BS in computer science is good, but not needed in systems administration unless you code a lot.
--LAMP is good stuff. If you push for a linux certification somewhere and combine that with LAMP you can get a job working with DBAs (unless you want to be one for some reason) to build web applications. Fun stuff.
--10+ years eh? Good job...stick with it, but don't burn yourself out. I'm almost there and I only have about 6 years myself. (of course I do have another 5-6 doing technician stuff...ick)
--If you're predominantly in a Windows environment, I would look into the linux stuff more. It's going to be more and more popular over the next 5 years. I don't value Microsoft certifications after I saw how many idiots got certified in the late 90's. They signed up for 5 day crash courses and passed the tests. I wouldn't want to get stuck supporting a REAL system with any of those guys.

Scarpozzi, you are the man thanks for the response.
1. I'm hearing you. Not wanting to be confused with paper MCSEs definately played a part in my not pursuing it in the past.
2. I've been eyeing this as a possibility. The company I'm currently working for is, for the most part, a Microsoft shop. It is difficult to get any training that is not subsidized by MS coupons. I did however manage to get approved for some VMware training last year by convincing my customers that they needed a VMware box and convincing my boss that they wanted one. god bless america.
3. Figuring out what type of certs are valuable is exactly the type of information I'm interested in getting people's opinions on. I've seen statistics from various sources saying that VMware, linux, and Cisco certs are on the rise but more valuable I think would be getting info from people who have gone and are going through this.
4. Yeah this is the demotivating factor for me. however, what keeps me going is that I enjoy this stuff. of course deploying some else's app isn't as satisfying as deploying your own but it's still quite enjoyable.

Originally posted by: ViviTheMagevmware is what we use here, take some classes on it.maybe migrate your existing servers over to it?

Good to hear. The VMware training that I got approved for last year was supposed to happen in Jan '08, I got the flu so they rescheduled me for the last week of this month. Very cool. VMware rules!

Originally posted by: TheKubCerts are really only useful for getting past HR in the application process. Most IT departments want experience, HR just wants a checklist of letters.

This is true and kind of depressing. On the other hand it is nice when I'm on a list of people trying to transfer to an open position and I have a cert that they don't. Most of the people that do the hiring around here don't actually understand what it takes to do a job, they either have to rely on the opinion of someone else or try to judge by the resume. It is nice in this situation to have a cert or two, expecially considering how often people change jobs around here.

Originally posted by: daveshelCerts aren't that useful in terms of actual job knowledge, but I've found they have opened doors for me, perhaps just in showing my willingness to jump through extra hoops. I did an MCSA back in 2002 and was going to stretch it into an MCSE, but then Server 2003 came along. I ended up getting the 2003 MCSA, and might have gone further, but I already had a sysadmin job and had found that my certs weren't particularly helpfun in terms of doing that job.

So I wouldn't knock yourself out to get some, but if you can do so with relative ease, they will likely be worth while. I'd go for VMware as mentioned above, or maybe Cisco. Or Project Management.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you say "with relative ease." My employer mandates that we attend a certain number of hours a year of training. I'm thinkin that getting certs is a no brainer. The question I'm really wondering at this point is what certifiacation(s) would be worthwhile.