Greetings to all.

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Ayup!

I`m new, and I need advice.

Ok, heres the situation.

I am have been employed as a Registered Nurse in the NHS for the past 15 years and think that it is time for a change.

I have an interest in all things IT, especially network administration.

Having trawled the internet for months I have ended up with a full brain which will no longer work correctly.

I have studied Comptia A+, Network +, and CCNA via the usage of study guides, but have not entered for any examinations yet, because I am too tight .

Basically I want to know where to start, before I part with any cash.

I have even looked at BSc in IT and Computing from the OU, but it seems that graduates still only get offered positions on the first tier of the IT career ladder.

What about the CIW certs? are they any good?

Yours Confused,

Dandelion..

So please assist..

 

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The bad news is, degree or not, the first rung is the only realistic option for you.
The good news is that the A+ and Network+ are good entry level certs to have. The CCNA is most definitely not an entry level cert though.
Are the CIW certs not website design/administration related? Probably not what you're looking for.

 

^ this ^

A+, Network+ and MCDST are the entry level IT certs. Leave the CCNA.

And the CIW certs are all web design/development focussed.

 

Yep. Hopping to the second tier of the IT career ladder requires one of three things:

- an insane amount of luck
- a relative who is an IT manager who is willing to take a risk on hiring someone without experience
- IT experience

And 99% of people have to take the latter route.

There's no quickie shortcut. A BSc won't do it. A MSc won't do it. A bunch of training classes won't do it. A bunch of certifications won't do it. I had a BSc, 18 years of "messing around with computers", and 6 years of being the "go-to computer guy" at work, and I started at the first rung of the ladder.

Everybody starts at the bottom. Nobody says you have to stay there forever.

Best of luck to you!

 

Hi and welcome to the forum. The only thing I would add to what has been said is whilst it is good to have a good foundation try to decide which road you want to go down - this may change at a later date, but for the time being CCNA and CIW stuff is quite different!

Good luck with your career change.

 

Ah yes, certainly the fast track route to promotion in my experience...

 

Well, it's true; when you're at the bottom, it's easy to start rising to the top if you're any good. ;) Heh!!!

Oh, wait... you meant...