Hi there

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Hi new guy here.

I've been interested in IT since I was 10 so 19 years give or take a few months. After a decent amount of time in the forces where I had 3 jobs at the same time, one of which involved supporting users with various software and hard ware issues I felt it was time to leave and try my hand at something new so I chose IT as my new career.

I did a 7 week resettlement course which covered the 70-680, 70-686 and the 70-640 modules as well as Security +. The price of the course also includes upgrading my (eventual) MCSA Server 2008 to 2012 and MCSE Server 2012 Infrastructure.

Sadly being a bit of a slow learner I'm still studying to pass my exams and am planning to draw out the learning so that I can get experience whilst learning so I don't end up being over qualified and under experienced.

I'm also trying to secure my first IT support job.

Any way enough with the life story, so hi again and I promise I'll try not to ask too many newbie or stupid questions.

 

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I wouldn't say you are a slow learner, its just MCSA and MCSE aren't really for people with less than a years hands on, I've been working in IT for nearly 20 years and I'd struggle to pass MCSE.

Some of my certs took 6 months of study and thats with years of experience.

Would you expect a civilian to be able to ace the assault course, abseil from a helicopter, hit a target at 800m or drive a tank in 7 weeks ?

Its a profession, you don't become an expert overnight, 'Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert'. Frankly the way people treat the profession and the credentials has made the phrase meaningless, which is why people won't take an MCSE without experience seriously.

Welcome!

 

Thanks for the reply.

My lack of hands on experience was something I'd identified before I started my course, despite the fact that the managing director of the company was adamant that if I passed my MCSA I'd be guaranteed to go in to a job paying £30k+ which sounded a bit fishy to me. The course was well taught, but, as you say without previous hands on experience it was just a case of trying to remember 600 odd pages of information and hoping that the following modules didn't push it out of your head before taking your exams.

It was never a case of me trying to smash all the quals out as quickly as possible, though I'm trying to get the MCSA Win 7 and Server 2008 out of the way by September simply because that's when my access to the Microsoft online learning portal runs out and I feel that if I don't achieve them then I will have wasted a substantial amount of tax payer money.

The MCSE is something that is very much on the back burner until I've reached the right level of experience with the right equipment, which I fully expect to take several years. Luckily the company didn't give out all the books in a oner as they recognised it takes people years to get that far, so when I'm in a position to start working towards it they will send me the latest editions of the text books.

With the benefit of hind sight I wish I'd gone for some CompTIA qualifications instead of jumping into the Microsoft stuff but I was given some duff info, by people who work in the field and advised against it.

 

Well Comptia quals are like doing basic training, they don't impress anyone in the marketplace, but they do give you a decent foundation to build the other stuff on top of.

You can still go back and study the basics, A+ is a little expensive here as its two exams and we don't get the massively discounted vouchers they get in the US.
However Network+ is probably worth doing as without it you are going to really struggle on the MCSA/MCSE.

IT graduates can land £25k+ starting roles in london, but they have ~3 years training. Salaries can go up fast once you get some decent experience, but that can be tough depending on the market conditions

Goodluck !