Hi all, New and needing advice!

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Hi all,

My name is Rich, 20 years old. I am completely new to the world of IT in terms of looking into certification and qualifications, ive grown up with computers from an early age and have always had an interest, so i thought why not take it further!

Due to unfortunate circumstances im not able to continue my Business degree at university. I figured this would be the perfect time to do a self study course. I have been looking into the National IT Learning Centre and have a telephone appointment with them later today.

I have done a bit of research and looked around on this forum, but im still not fully sure what would be the best route for entering the IT world and which qualifications i should look to be gaining first. So was wondering what others would recommend and also what is the most popular qualifications people tend to go for.

I have been preparing questions last night and also today for my appointment later, im not sure if theres anything im missing which i should be asking the Careers advisor later today, If anyone has any important questions i should be asking and can raise them here it would be greatly appreciated along with any further advice about the world of IT.

Sorry for the long essay, thanks for reading and i will look forward to using this forum more

Rich,

EDIT: Thinking of going down the MCSA route then onto MCSE. Would it be recommended to start off with a MCDST before going onto the MCSA course?

 

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Hi Rich, welcome to the forum.

I am also a little new to the IT industry, i have also done some research... but be careful of Training Providers that promis you the world...

I joined with Joskos and have a BAD experience.

I think it depends what you good at, and what you enjoy doing.

I think for any person doing IT should consider doing CompTIA A+ as a foundation. After that you can go any route, cos that will just give you a good foundation of IT.

You get the 220 -601 and 220 - 602, the exam for this ends on the 31 August 2010. So what you should be looking for would be 220-701 and 220-702.

There are some good books that can help you obtain you CompTIA A+,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Certification-Seventh-220-701-220-702/dp/0071701338

or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PC-Technician-Street-Smarts-CompTIA/dp/0470486511

other than that, I am sure the members can give you a little more advice.

The last thing i can offer is, i would like to join or create a study group. This is a excellenct way to share knowledge, stay motivated and learn. I live in NW London. (maybe twice a week)

Good luck and keep us up to date please... Its always good to hear how things went and what experiences you have encoutered.

DEPENDING ON YOUR LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE... MCDST, might be to advanced and you will find many employers ask for CompTIA A+.

take care

 

Thankyou for the advise and information, my knowledge of IT is quite basic the only times i studied it was during my GCSEs but that only ever covered simple tasks, apart from that i used to solve the household computer problems by trial and error and looking on google.

I am thinking then that i need to do something thats designed for complete beginners at an entry level, i will look more into the CompTIA A+ . The NITLC courses i looked at said i didnt need any prior knowledge and would get trained up, however would it be best if i did start with the A+ course? i noticed a lot of CF members posess this certification.

Also has anyone had any experience with NITLC? and what they thought of it?

Thanks

 

Hello, and welcome to CF!

I have to agree with musa2006, I would definitely start with Comptia's A+ cert. That will give you the necessary groundwork to build up from. Going for an MCSA or MCSE at this point would only be beneficial if you actually worked with that technology.

Best of luck to you!

 

It looks like NITLC is a TP. If you look on their website, you will see that they offer many courses.

Please one thing i need to stress to you is, be careful of TP's they offer you the world and since its home study they have no responsibility to you after they have given you the material.

DO NOT sign up for the first thing that comes your way... They know you are a novice and they WILL use it to their advantage... before you make the final decision. Post a thread on this forum and ask ppl for advice.

You would also find that the person on the otherside of the line is a better sales person that a "career advisor".

If you need any more advice or help dont hesitate to post a thread.

Do you live in london? And what do you think of the Study Group? I think this is a good way and it will save you stax of cash.

take care,

 

Ah right okay, thanks for pointing that out, i will be wary of what is said, i dont plan on signing up this week, just to get more information from the company and what they provide really, are there other alternatives to Training providers? il be sure to ask into the A+ course, i think considering MCSA & MCSE right now would definitely be jumping into the deep end.

I unfortunatly dont live in london, i live in bristol but the study group sounds like a good idea, i could always travel if you do decide to set one up.

i will post what was said on the telephone later, and get further advise etc.

Would be interesting to know how people came to get their qualifications whether it was through a TP or other means. My main concern with NITLC is the price, whether or not the price justifies the quality of service given etc, if anyone did go through that provider, i would be grateful to hear your views and opinions with your time with them.

Thanks

 

My advice is that if you're new to IT then go down the route of self study, I would also suggest that you look at the A+ and N+ because the MCSA and MCSE\MCITP are all designed for people with between 12 - 18 months experience on the product you're testing on whereas the A+ and N+ are entry level certs.

There are too many horror stories of people new to the world of IT being stung by unscrupulous Training Providers. The best thing I can say is that don't spend your money until you are absolutely sure that IT is what you want to get into. Finally, IT isn't the be all and end all, it's not the quick way to get rich that some people think it is.

 

How much did they quote you for the course? and which course are they offering?

Another thing to be aware of is, grey material... ie. IT Fundementals, this course is something they have compiled in-house. It will not help you get any MS Certification, So it is not really relevent in the IT industry.

I have spoken to a few TP's, namely;

Joskos, dont bother with them they are just RUBBISH!!!

JustIT, extremely expensive (over 3999.00) For A+ and N+ and lots of promises.

Firebrand, they offer a 7 day bootcamp, for A+ and N+ (3200.00)

and then you also get lots of independent companies which charge in the range of £195 - £495.

hope this is of use

take care

 

Well, the MCSA and MCSE are designed for people who already have months/years of server administration experience... not just in IT, but actually doing server administration... and that's not something most people start out doing.

The others are right: you should stick to certifications that are relevant to entry-level IT techs, such as the A+, Network+, and MCDST. And I would recommend going no further until you get some real-world business IT experience under your belt.

Let's assume for a moment that you had decided to take an MCSA and MCSE course from a training provider, and they trained you up well enough so that you could pass the exam. Of what good would they be to you in getting an IT job? In my opinion, they'd not be very useful at this point in your career, because few businesses will hire someone with no IT experience whatsoever to administer servers, and server administration certifications don't have anything to do with entry-level IT work.

Here's the good news: you don't need a training provider to pass these certifications. See that list of certifications in my signature? I got every one of them through self-study and/or on-the-job IT administration experience - I have yet to take a training course for any of them. You can do the same!

Sure, you CAN pay a bunch of money to a training provider if you want. But there are plenty of good self-study materials available for the most popular certifications - study guides, practice exams, videos, and simulators. In fact, with the money you would pay to a training provider, you could afford to buy all those materials, build a home lab, and still have plenty of money left over in your pocket.

Hope this helps. Welcome to the forums!

 

Thankyou all for the information and guidance.

After researching and looking around on here the wanting to jump striaght into an MCSA course was abit of an uneducated decision, i will definitely do the CompTIA A+ and N+ to start off with then maybe MCDST?

I had no idea you could get these qualifications without going through some sort of training provider, how did you go about taking the exams? I am concerned that i will lack guidance without having a training provider and therefor lose motivation.

The prices which i quoted seem very expensive, but everything is included in the prices such as materials, workshops, and also exam fees. They were:

Entry – up to module 3 - £4450 * 3 modules are the CompTIA A+, N+ and MCDST*
Intermediate - up to module 4 - £4950
Professional - up to module 5 - £5750
Master – everything! - £6750

They also offer a credit plan:

Entry - £4450 - Deposit £1335 + 24 months @ £129.79
Intermediate - £4950 - Deposit £1485 + 24 months @ £144.38
Professional - £5750 - Deposit £1725 + 24 months @ £167.71
Master - £6750 - Deposit £2025 + 24 months @ £196.88

I am certain IT is the field of work in which i want to go into, i am just lost with how to go about getting into the IT sector and gaining qualifications. Are there any particular companies which train you on the job? Sorry for all the questions!

Thanks


EDIT: Added attachment of the PDF i was sent, im sure NITLC wont mind me sharing this

 

CompTIA exams can be taken at a Prometric or Vue testing center. Microsoft exams can be taken at a Prometric testing center. You don't have to take all your exams at the same center or with the same provider.

That's what this forum is for. ;) In fact, there are quite a few instructors, practice exam developers, and published authors on this forum who can give you the guidance and motivation (see my avatar ) that you need.

Considering a study guide costs $35ish, a good practice exam costs $100ish, and the exams themselves cost between $125 and $250ish, that's insanely expensive.

In my opinion, it's not wise to get buried underneath a credit burden... particularly not in this economy. There's no guarantee that these certifications are going to magically get you an IT job. They'll certainly help... but there's no guarantee.

Buy some books and get started. I'd recommend A+ All-in-One Exam Guide Seventh Edition by Mike Meyers and PC Technician Street Smarts Second Edition by James Pyles (a member of this forum).

There are companies who will train you to work with their particular gear... but there aren't many companies who will train you up from scratch... and some that do will bind you to contracts in exchange for the training. My advice is to take responsibility for your own training, allowing you to be free to choose the job you want (and to be free to eventually leave that job for something better whenever you like).

One last bit of advice: don't put off getting an IT job until you get a bunch of certifications - start applying NOW. Although certifications are often desired by employers, they are not always required. When you get the A+, add it to your CV, start on Network+, and keep looking for jobs. Be persistent - it might take time, but eventually you will get your break.

 

What ever you do, don't sign up for this. It's an awful lot of money and until you spend some time in IT you can't be sure what area of IT you want to work in.

You may not be a Windows Server\XP\Seven type of person and may well be more an IIS or SQL type person.

Don't waste your money until you have a bit more exposure to IT under your belt, instead just do some self study and then decide if you like it.

IT isn't one single area, its broken down into lots of different areas and until you know where you want to be it's pointless spending 1000's on courses.

 

Ah okay thankyou for the heads up, il look to get more information out of NITLC anyway, i will not be signing up for any courses or training providers anyway until im fully confident with what i want to do.

One question, How would i go about getting involved within a job to do with IT or some form of work experience without any qualifications or experience? and if anyone could link me to further information on Self-study or advise on study methods etc would be appreciated thanks. Sorry to seem like a tool and ask for everything spoon fed, when i get home later and after i finished talking to NITLC i will research further into Self-study.

Thanks

 

your reply was very informative Boson thankyou, i will definitely look into self-study, as i currently work part time and just been a student at university the prices in which NITLC has offered are extortionate considering i am currently pennyless! i will get a CV together and start applying for jobs asap. Thankyou to everyone for your help much appreciated.

 

Just looked on their website, these seem to only be available in america. Does anyone know of the UK equivalents?

EDIT: Sorry for the tripple posting, i need to get used to forums more

 

Both Vue and Prometric are in the UK.

 

Ah yes just realised, i had just briefly looked on the website and presumed it was for North America only. I am a complete newbie to all of this.

 

Hi Rich,

I'm new to IT as well and before this forum also thought i could jump into something like MCSE with a training provider. After a lot of reading this forum decided I could go the self study route and i would start at the start (COMPTIA A+)
Here's a few things i have found after lots and lots searching various sites.

You can self study using a combination of materials, including books, online study guides, practice exams and video's.

For the A+ i have found watching professer messer's video's a very helpful addition to my study. You can go there right now and begin the course, no sign up, totally free. Recommend this as a supplement to Mike meyers A+ all in one guide.
http://www.professormesser.com/
Recommend you just get started right away, once i had begun i wished I had gotten stuck in sooner and didn't spend so much time spend so much time searching around training providers sites.

As far as training providers go (and i haven't actually used any so this is based on forum stuff and a few phone calls to a bunch of providers) EZE training seemed to give the best advice on the phone and least pushy into making me sign up right away. Also i have noticed others to recommend them which bucks the general trend.
Still with this in mind i want to self study at least the A+ and N+. Once i have done that i will re-asses and decide next best thing to do.

Hope my experience in deciding a plan of attack, helps you mate
cheers

 

Hi kris thankyou for your input, i had just got off of the phone with a "careers advisor" for National IT Learning centre, as it was a second call which had been arranged i was expecting to be pushed, yet signing up wasnt mentioned once.

The information i was told was very helpful, they offer a CV service as well as helping you to get into a job (if you wish to do so) as soon as possible to gain some work experience and using their partners and recommend you etc.

The only downside to all this which i can see, seems to be the cost. £3580 for the three certifications: CompTIA A+/N+ & MCDST. Which is a hell of a lot of money which i cant really afford right now.

Like yourself i think i will go down the self study route and then go from there seems a lot more cost effective. and as you said i can get started right away. Ill do more thinking and further research tonight before fully deciding on what i want to do.

The careers help they provide is appealing as i currently only work 4 hours a week in a supermarket, due to being at university. Could use the help to try get into the IT sector. However saying this, i have no idea how helpful they will be in that aspect

Anywho i will stop rambling now and get researching, il keep everyone updated with my decision etc.

Thanks for reading

 

Hi Rich,

My advice would be to use a self study book to learn the basics first.. something like the MCTS for Windows 7.. then try to land yourself a help desk role to get some experience under your belt. A lot of I.T firms in the UK usually advertise for Junior roles, thats what i did to get into the industry when i was 19 or so.

When you start getting used to Server support you can start sitting the relevant exams for that, trying to get your head around Active Directory as a beginner would be a bit too much i would have thought, at least it was for me.
There are a lot of 2003 networks still around and will be for years to come. In my experience, companies are still looking to hire MCSA/MCSE qualified professionals although within the next year or two i'd expect that will shift towards the MCITP, i've been migrating and designing 2008 domains a lot over the past 18 months so its going to catch up sooner or later.

Saying that, it may be worth looking at the Cisco Cert path.. Server virtualisation certs like the VCP would be worth a look in the future too so theres plenty of options, its just choosing the right one for you i guess.

Hope it works out for you anyway.

Danny.