New Cert Junkie

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Hi all , ive been looking at this site for several weeks now and have been contemplating undertaking some certs and after some research have come to this conclusion .

i am looking to achive the MCITP databse certification , i have been adviced by advent training that i should untertake these certs to achive my goal

Certs in order

A+

MCP & MCDST

MCTS SQL

MCTIP

Advent have Quoted me 4 and a half grant for this course , looking at the advice on this form i have realised that this charge is to much and self learning is the way to go .

The querys i have is how do i book these certs and how fast can i achive them.

do i book them with microsoft?

also any feedback on my cert path would also be greatly apriciated

 

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Hi and welcome to CF!

A+ isn't Microsoft - it is CompTIA. See www.comptia.org.

How fast you could do them is up to you and your experience.

If you are an expert in all areas you could do them in a few months. If you are a novice then it could be a few years!

Harry.

 

How much real-world IT experience do you have?

 

i achived my avce computing gnvq course 4 years ago and am in the final stages of finishing my computing degree , when i fisnish im hoping to get a job asap thats not neccsarily an it based job so that i can learn how to drive , my plan over the next year is to learn how to drive and continue learning it ready for when start appling next year

i would say my computing knowledge is strong but general ( a little bit of this a bit of that)

 

Hi Welcome

Have you thought about doing your certs by self study, that is just getting the books learning & practicing the concepts then taking the exams. It is possible and you will save yourself a few grand.

 

yeh ive seen you post the same on toher people querys , the idea of saving a couple of grand is very actractive espeically when im finsihing uni in 5 weeks it would be great to semless move on to leanring more about something else .

the only problem i have with self learning is what body do i goto to start this process , who do i book with and are my cert choices wise?

 

if your booking compTIA exams visit pearsonvue.com there you will have to register and you will be able to find your nearest test centre you can pay pearson vue directly or buy voucher (you dont pay vat with a voucher) form gractech solutions.com and you enter the voucher number in the pearson vue website as payment for the exam.

If you are doing Microsoft certs you do the same process with prometric.com

All you need to start the study process is the books and some determination and some legal trial or real software depending on what you are doing.

 

Your spelling is killing me. I would recommend getting an old PC that you can tear apart while you are pursuing your A+. Also if you have a desktop or laptop with a good amount of memory you can run operating systems virtualized via Virtual PC/Server or VMware.

 

In the U.S. you can take Comptia exam through Prometric as well. Do they not offer it in the UK?

 

First things first - sort your spelling & grammar out!

Second things second, self-study is definitely the way to go - glad to see you've made the right choice Seriously, you've just saved yourself about three grand by deciding to go it alone. It might be tough along the way, but there's a thriving community of people here willing and ready to lend you a hand with stuff you may find tough, and encourage you when you're feeling down about everything.

A lot of people post on here with no IT experience at all, wanting to know how to 'get into' IT after being sold a line by Training Providers. It seems like you may have a leg up over some of them with your Computing degree - though I guess written English wasn't a substantial part of the exam ! - so I would suggest you start looking for entry-level positions pretty much as soon as you leave University. The reasons for this are three-fold:

Firstly, your CV will look pants with a load of certs on it but no experience - no matter how good your degree and/or certs are. Getting even twelve months' first line support on your CV whilst you're studying for your certs will certainly help.

Secondly, there's no substitute for on the job experience. You'll be learning and putting into practice some of the stuff you'll be studying - this will help you to understand it a bit better, and make you a more rounded future employee.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, you'll be earning money! Trust me, after all that debt you've built up as a student, you'll need to pay it off - the sooner you get cracking on that the better. Also, you'll be wanting to go out and take a break from studying occasionally (just occasionally mind you) - beer vouchers come in handy at those times

You should be able to get a first-line job with a computing degree - in london anyway, especially if you're willing to do contract work. You might as well learn while you earn, right?

Good luck with the studies - glad to see someone read past advice from the forum instead of just making their first post "Should I go with a TP?"

 

Yeah sorry my about my english it really is good , im just terrible at typing when im not concentrating . Thankyou for the advice i have taken it on board i am lacking in experience so i will try and get an it job while i try to achieve my certs and dont worry about my down time work hard and play hard , im looking into some of the sites above and will think about booking later on this week , ill let you know how i get on :0 thnx all for the advice i now know where to go and im sure the tp wouldent have let me know that these solo options exist

 

Then concentrate. You'd be surprised who reads these forums, who might have a job available, or know of a good lead. Looking professional is the first step. I'd take one look at your typing and instantly think, "Lack of attention to detail," something that is crucial to being a tech.