Advise for someone who is a little lost!

Discussion in 'New Members Introduction' started by Joners, May 7, 2008.

  1. Joners

    Joners New Member

    2
    0
    8
    Hi,

    Just throwing this out to anyone that might be able to offer me a little guideance looking for some ideas and thoughts that any of you might have.

    My story is pretty idiotic really, I started well about 7years ago working for an insurance company in a ok(ish) position, non IT related. Decided that it wasnt for me, and went off to uni. However I made the massive mistake a choosing the wrong course. It was only until the bitter end that I realised that I should of done something in IT. IT has always been a hobby and a passion however I wasnt clever enough to think of it as a career path until now.

    So to end it all, i dropped out of a uni course and im not in a posistion that I can go back and do something else.

    I looked at advent and everyone seems to have conflicting veiws the the general gist of things is that they are rubbish. They tried to sign me up for the MCSE (with half the country by the looks of things.).

    My issue is that I need to get some form of professional qualification under my belt because at the moment ive got bugger all, and i found it a nightmare to get a job that has even the smallest amount of IT related work in it.

    Ideally I want to do something like the MCSE course, pref that is internationally recognised (have dreams of moving to NZ) however Im not well suited to working by myself, I need someone there to drive me. Ideally night school, or even the trips that Advent has to offer seem appealing. However the massive cost doesnt.

    Anyone have any suggestions on how to help this poor idiot?!

    Thanks again for looking at this post, and I have to say that these forums seems fantastic. Im looking through trying to find something suitable but seem to have hit a wall.

    Thanks again.

    Joners
    :D
     
    Certifications: Bugger all....
  2. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

    14,292
    265
    329
    Hi Welcome :)

    First you shouldn't be doing the MCSE until you have a years experience in administering networked and desktop operating systems (Microsft recommend this) most employers would not give someone a job if they had no experience and MCSE because its designed for someone with a vast knowledge and experience level.

    You should be looking at compTIA A+, compTIA N+ and MCDST these are entry level certs aimed at people who are looking to get a foot in the door or have very little on the job experience.

    If you want to do a course look at your local college or you could save £££££££££s and self study for them.

    Good luck
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  3. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

    19,183
    500
    414
    GBL's advice is sound. :) Welcome to the forums!
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  4. Notes_Bloke

    Notes_Bloke Terabyte Poster

    3,230
    54
    146
    Hi & welcome to CF :D

    NB
     
    Certifications: 70-210, 70-215, A+,N+, Security+
    WIP: MCSA
  5. TimoftheC

    TimoftheC Kilobyte Poster

    408
    9
    46
    What GBL said.

    Joners - been in a similar position as yourself in that I made a mistake when choosing academic courses a few years ago (well, about 12 years ago but who's counting). Decided a couple of years ago that I'd had enough of just working for the money and wanted a "career" doing something I know I will enjoy - computers :)

    GBL is right to steer you away from the MCSE - everything I've read on this forum and elsewhere states that that qualification is for Techs already in a networking environment. Start with the A+ and go from there.

    As for not being able to study on your own - I can empathise with that as that is exactly how I felt a few years ago. I actually did my A+ at a local college in the evenings but when the course ended and I need to sit the exams I didn't feel confident in passing so I brought a couple of books and studied it all again. After the A+ I looked at the N+ so I enrolled on a "Foundation Degree in computing (Networking)" at the same college as I didn't think it was something I could do without structure (they covered N+ in the second year of the course). The course itself was poorly organised and delivered so I quit that and made a formal complaint (and got all me money back :biggrin). At this point I thought F&*K this, I just brought a book off Amazon, sat down and read it.

    Admittedly, self-study does take a bit of self discipline, but I found that I set aside certain times to study and stuck to it. Sometimes I studied like a demon, other times I , erm, didn't :rolleyes:

    Why not just get yourself an A+ book off the net for say £20.00 and have a crack at learning it yourself. It's cheaper than spending thousands on an Advent course and you will find a lot more help and assistance on this site and a few others than you ever will with one of those learning companies, who, after all, are only there to make a lot of money.
     
    Certifications: A+; Network+
    WIP: MCDST???
  6. zillmere

    zillmere Bit Poster

    13
    0
    16
    The advice above is spot on. I would only add that you can pick up a pretty solid pc on ebay pretty cheap and you can get virtual server and virtual pc for free to set up a test lab. Start off working through the books.

    Take a long look around the Microsoft site. They have recently made a lot of training available online for free including virtual labs.

    You do have one thing in your favour, there are many small insurance firms around with 10-30 odd computers that are often looking for a support person. Your knowledge of the insurance industry could help you there.

    Andy
     
    Certifications: MCSE x3 MCTS MCITPRO
    WIP: CCNA
  7. Joners

    Joners New Member

    2
    0
    8
    Im well... floored to be honest!

    I never expected such indepth and helpful answers. Thank you all so much its really very kind of you.

    I had a look at the A+ exam this evening and did the sample questions on there website. I had no problems with them and got no less than 80% on them. Im hoping that this is a real example of the type of questions on the paper and not some sort of ploy of 'make it easy real them in'. I doubt that this is the case though.

    Im going to get started with the A+ exam, the price I got off their website was £111.00 which aint bad at all. Im going to get a book from amazon or somewhere and do that I think.

    So im going to do the A+ and setup a virtual server, ive got a spare PC that i can whack that on, never thought of doing that!

    Again I cant thank you all enough what a result!

    Thanks and all the best!
     
    Certifications: Bugger all....
  8. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

    8,878
    181
    256
    Welcome to the forum Joners 8)
     
    Certifications: C&G Electronics - MCSA (W2K) MCSE (W2K)
  9. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

    14,292
    265
    329

    You can get discount vouchers from gracetechsolutions.com (.com I think it might be .co.uk) anyway if you pay pearson vue or prometric for your exam they chage VAT on top of £111 so it comes to about £137 each I think.

    With the discount vouchers you do not pay VAT and all you have to do is pay prometric or pearson vue with the voucher codes.

    Remeber you need to pass two exams for the A+.

    Good luck
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?

Share This Page

Loading...
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.