advice for a beginner please read :)

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Hello,

I am looking to get into the it field. I am approved for a pale grant.

I want to start by getting my foot in the door somewhere working a help desk.

I don't know where to begin. I am planning to start with a+ net + and then planning mcdst. Is this the right path?

I know even help desk jobs are scarce these days so I would like to know first of all is my path right? Also what other certs can i take to increase my chances of getting a help desk job? Basically beyond the above mentioned certs what else would help my chances of being hired for a help desk position?

I would like to get the mcse before it is retired and i read the mcdst is retiring soon to? Are they replacing the mcdst? What is the most important certs i can get to land a help desk job?

 

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Welcome

The A+,N+ and MCDST is the where you should start do you are on the right path.

However the MCSE is not a cert for a begginner. Someone doing the MCSE should have atleast 12-18 months working as a systems engineer. Having this sort of cert without the relevant experience can be just as bad as having no certifications at all. The MCSE is not going to retire soon but it will at some stage probably in about 4 or 5 years.

THe MCDST is being replaced in June full time by the MCITP and MCTS certs these certs cover vista and windows 7 but being certified in xp is important. Not many companies have the budget to jump to a new operatin system because Microsoft decide to release one this is why many businesses still use XP and will do for years even when Microsoft stop supporting it in 2014. So being certified in XP is a wise move.

You asked which are the best certs. You should rephrase your question to which are the best certs for my experience level and when I say experience level this is on the job experience.

No experience = A+,N+ and MCDST + upgrades

A little experience = 70-680 and 70-270

Vast experience = anything.

 

I would take a help desk support job for sure but desk top support pays more and so In my above post my first goal is for a desk top support job but will take whatever I can get .


I just want to get certs but the government pell grant only pays for a degree so I am getting the education by going to school for a degree to use the pell grant money to pay for my education. I am currently going to school for an a.s. degree a network services general degree. I am going to try and finish the degree, but it may take me a while. I have a family to support and need to get working right away. I do not know exactly what I would like to do but would like to be doing something in the computer field. I hope to get my mcse or mcitp at some point, but not really sure which direction I will take.

Experience: I built a few gaming machines and know my way around a pc pretty well.

 

walk before you run also take whatever you get.

I say that because it does not matter what certs you have, experience does so in that context any experience is good.

Some people on here have started their careers by working for free for charities some are now in very good jobs also do not go into IT for the money because if you are only in it for the money you need to build a time machines and go back to about 1993

 

Thank you for answering my question .

 

Depends what you call good money! How much is "good money" these days? I earn 2/3 times more than some of my friends within the building industry trades In addition i get paid annual leave, bonuses, overtime (double rate) and additional benefits they don't.............. and I also get to work in a heated building which is nice in the winter!

 

That, and good money is relative. I'm on what some would consider a "low" wage (Phoenix/Zeb, I'm looking at you in particular - gits!) but im relatively happy with it. I could always do with more, and it's within my grasp to get more (if I choose to move on), but it gives me a relatively good standard of living.

 

thats what I meant. You don't walk into a well paid job it takes time to get there.

 

No, they are not replacing the MCDST. The sad part is that the direct upgrade i.e. 70-621 is also expiring in march 2011 and the MCDST in june 2011.

As greenbrucelee already said, A+, N+ and MCDST+upgrades should be enough to give u an edge while applying for a starting position in IT.

A+ and N+ from 2011 onwards require renewal, so I would recommend that u do MCDST before it retires. Then u can do the A+ and N+ as required.