Which Certs to persue?

[LuckyTaxi]

21 year old college student persuing a degree in Management Information System. Working full time as an IT Support person in charge of two offices in the Philly area. Basically knows the ins and outs of win98 and most of win2k. thought about going for a MCSE, but 7 test = $700. Money isn't an issue, but too much to study for when I have school to worry about.

Then I thought about the CCNA. I love networking, and it would be great if I could get a certification that would boost my credentials. Any advice?

Sam

 

[Marqui]

I would suggest a certification in SAN. They just came out with a certification for this and the field is quite promising... I am not sure how difficult the testing is, but I've been waiting on something like this for awhile. The problem is getting the equipment to learn on, unless you work in the field it may be difficult to learn anything real world.

 

[Buddhist]

ccna and mcse.
but do your ccna first is my recommendation.
Pick up a good ccna book (sybex ccna study guide by lammle, or cisco press ccna examination study guide) and give it a good reading twice and you should be able to pass. I'd also recommend getting a dinky cisco router to play on while your at it so you get used to the commands.

good luck on your track.

-M.T.O

 

[LuckyTaxi]

where can i purhcase one of these dinky routers? I have access to a CISCO 2600 series router, but of course I can't tinker with it at work like I would at home. Which model do you suggest I get my hands on if I could for home? Also, I've seen that there are books that come with a virtual router. Is this good enough for me to past the test?

Thanks!!!

Sam

 

[Garion]

You'll never regret getting your CCNA. You should also have no problem getting your MCP, as well.

A lot of the certs depend on what you want to do - MCSE would be a good start if you're looking for an NT sysadmin job, a good starting point for a high-tech career.

Most of the really good network guys didn't start out that way. We all did the workstation/server/network support and then started to become more specialized. Networks are the glue that binds everything together, so network engineers need to know a bit about servers, workstations, etc.

- G

 

[LuckyTaxi]

I think I'm a little apprehensive when it comes to Microsoft's certifications. I figure, many of the test would require you to have hands on experience on the software. No way am I shelling out money for Exchange, Server, etc...Though they have the 120 day trial, it's not the same doing it at home when there are bigger things to tackle in a real situation. It doesn't compare, and before I even think about doing MCSE, I would like to get a feel for it first.

Much thanks to those who replied. I will purchase the CCNA book from Sybex real soon. I just have to finish setting up my home LAN first.

Thanks again!

 

[Buddhist]

"No way am I shelling out money for..."

Routers aren't exactly cheap either...though you theoretically could resell them afterwords.

i'd say go with a good old 1000 series router for your ccna. they will do the job for basic commands and let you tinker around with ospf if its got a newer ios on it.

you could get one for around 200 bucks. I do believe someone was selling a pair of 1005's on the FS/FT forum. go check that out. =)
-M.T.O

 

[dirtboy]

I don't know if I would greatly pursue a cert if I were in your position. Since you are getting a ManagementIS degree, your focus is going to be on managing employees. If you are in a medium-large organization, so long as you understand networking and OS concepts, you should be ok. If you go to work for a smaller company, the cert could help you do your job. Chances are, they either won't care or won't be willing to pay you extra based on your cert.

The real question is, what do you intend on doing when you graduate? That in itself should dictate what certs you pick up.

I would consider looking into a database cert. MIS Managers that I have worked for found great success with either writing or working with db's.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

While I would love to be in a management position, I also like to be in the mix when there's problems with the network. I was the CTO of a startup company that is currently 'breathing,' but left after because I didn't get much help with our projects. Anyways, long story there.

While it's hard for me to envisioned where I'll be after graduation (May 2003), but I know for sure I won't be any management position once I graduate. Personally, I think I would have to work my way up, and maybe even get a Masters. But, for the time being, I am content with being a support person.

Sam

 

[Shadow07]

Well. You will have to pu to up some money to get where you want to go. In the great land of CERTS, go for the real world experience first, then the CERTS. In the long run, real world experience will help you out so many times. Don't think that just by getting a CERT it entitles you to get a high paying job or to show that you really know your stuff. Hell, I know A LOT of MCSE's and CNE's out there that don't know Jack when it comes to networking or the OS they got the CERT in.

If all you can get your hands on are the 120-day versions, then that is better than nothing. If you know someone who can get you a copy of the program, then try to get it. NOTE: I don't condone piracy, but I do help out people when they need a copy of a program for learning purposes. Just not distrabution or selling of the copy.

To get you going, a CCNA and MCSE certification will help you. But you NEED real-world experience.

 

[67gt500]

I would expand your horizons beyond microsoft solutions for starters.

 

[Shadow07]

While I agree with that statement, a Microsoft CERT is probably the best place to start, unless you already know UNIX or Linux. You could go for a Red-Hat Certified Engineer, but who out there owns a SPARC machine? The RHCE is probably the only other CERT you could go for without having to spend a lot of money. But, then, who is really using massive distrabution of Red-Hat at the corporate level? None that I know of.

And, if you mean the CDE (Novell Certified Directory Engineer), you've got to be joking, right?

 

[spidey07]

shadow do you forget just how many companies run novell? most big shops won't touch microsoft with a ten foot poll.

lilcam,
What certifications really depend on what you want to do. If you want to do networking (switches/routers) then CCNA is a good place to start. If you wanna mess with operating systems then MCSE is another good one.

But remember, you can have too many certifications. After about 5 years experience certs don't mean much at all and actually make you look cheap. To tell you the truth your degree is going to mean WAY more than any certification.

I've got a few certifications but they don't appear anywhere on my resume. The best thing about some of the certs is the studying you do to obtain them. You'll learn a lot just from studying and tinkering.

 

[67gt500]

Red Hat is one of the more popular distros among corporate purchases for server and workstation levels.

It's important to remember that experience is really all that matters. Instead of playing games or surfing forums, download an easy distribution like mandrake. Learn how unix works.. play around with perl, setup an apache or configure a bind server. Just explore.

 

[frankroh]

I agree with 67GT. From my experiences and speaking with IT recruiters, I noticed that they are impressed with what you did outside of your job as much as the job itself. Even if it was just tinkering, everything from learning hardware to writing silly programs to breaking things apart. It shows curiosity and propensity to lean new technologies (great lead-in I think if you are short on experience.)

I know one guy who got a job because he got into a verbal argument over which editor is better, EMACS or vi, with the hiring manager during an interview. The job was a NT network admin position )) and he is basically a newbie when it comes to UNIX/LINUX arena, but he was always playing and tinkering with it.

Hey you never know if some UNIX-head will demand EMACS on a Win2K server.

 

[67gt500]

vi is better

that solves this!

 

[dirtboy]

If you want to work support, then you need to decide where your focus will be. If it is basic PC support, something like the A+ or Network+ will work well. If you want to move up to server level support, look at the MCSE or CNA. If networks are your game, Intel and Cisco have stuff to look at.

 

[Shadow07]

Novell? Most companies use NT instead of Novell. But I know you give love to give me crap, Spidey! I know that I would never use NDS or Novell!

Anyway, having UNIX experience always helps. You should have knowledge in UNIX/Linux and NT. And yes, even NDS.