Recruitment Agent's Advice on Certs

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

Hi guys i just had a meeting with a Recruitment agency adviser and i explained to him that i am currently studying for my A+ then hopefully my N+ then leading on to my CCNA however he suggested that the CCNA would be a bit hard to get employment in since it is a qualification that would benefit somebody who actually works in the networking field and wouldn't be much use for someone who has no experience at all since employers would be reluctant to hire them.

Therefore he suggest that i take the following Route for a Junior Position and enhance my Career Development Options

A+ then N+ then Server + or Security + then do an MCP in MS Exchange Server that would be the desired route for someone wishing to start out and get an entry level,junior job in Networking in his Opinion rather than jumping into a CCNA.

As for Programming he suggested that i expand on what I learnt in JAVA in Uni and get a copy of MS Visual Studio.NET 2005 and learn VB.net and C# because employers are looking for applicant that are knowledgeable in those languages then he suggested when i am ready to do a MCSD.

he also suggested i learn SQL MS SQL Server using SQL in MS Access and learn MySQL

i am just wondering what you all thing of this and whether you would agree with his opinion

thank you very much

 

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

I would say the agency will be aware of the certs that employers request when placing ads in his company. This is usually every Cert under the Sun!

Is it an agency that concentrates on IT? Fair enough about A+, N+ and Server+, but i was led to believe Exchange is a hard exam to pass and to set-up/admin Exchange you would have to be confident in 2K3, Active directory, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy etc..

Just my 2p

Si

 

hello yes the Agency is specifically an IT agency

so you think that the MCP in server exchange is a difficult cert?

 

Depending on your background you may well find CCNA hard work, in addition to this there aren't many places that want someone who is soley experienced in Networking, at the entry level that is, most places want to see a wide skillset in their entry level positions. The CompTIA certs would be goo for giving you this.

Do you want to develop your skills as a programmer? Or be a systems admin? Although the experience of being able to do both would make you a great asset to any company, you usually have to make a choice, although once established in your career you can begin to expand your skills and 'branch out' into what most interests you meaning that you will have the best of both worlds.

The recruiter is suggesting that effectively you try to run before you can walk with either SQL or Exchange. Although they are great skills to have (either of them, don't know many people with both), I wouldn't suggest even thinking about them unless you can get a good few years of hands on experience with them.

If it is a Microsoft server based cert that you want to add to your skills look at the 70-290. This is the one that many people look at as their first server cert, and helps them build up a better understanding of how MS Servers work before adding things onto them such as Active Directory or SQL.

 

IMO getting something like MCSA will be extremly helpful. It will give you a strong foundation in the microsoft network enviroment and would certinally help once your in a role to have a strong foot hold on whats going on.

 

thanks guys i think ill do the A+ and the N+ and worry about the MCPs when i get to that stage

just on a side note

i am trying to secure a voluntary position building internet ready PCs for a Charity that donates them to 3rd world countries i think it would suit my A+ role perfectly

 

that would be perfect you will deifnilty get some excellent hands on expirence and it will go hand in hand with A+, awesome cause too.

 

Surly it depends on what YOU want to do? There is a planet's worth of distance between an A+ and SQL - if you want to go down the hardware / networking line then A+ N+ CCNA, even MCSE, if you want to get into software then it is the other stuff. You need to make the call not them.

 

If you're going to learn a new programming language then I would suggest learning C# over VB.net. C# is a more versatile language than VB.net and there is a great demand for it at the moment. My girlfriend works in IT recruitment and she knows of companies that are taking on people with little to no experience in C#, and then training them up themselves, just because there are not enough skilled C# programmers out there.

I don't see why you need Visual Studio to learn C#. I learnt it from books and web pages, and hand wrote all the code myself. It was a bit long winded at times, but it hammered home learning all the syntax and i feel i have a better understanding of the language for it.

I think you should continue to train in the areas that are currently giving you the most enjoyment, as this enthusiasm will help to motivate your studies. Qualifications mean a lot to Blue Chip Companies, where as smaller companies would show more interest in the person and their ability to work with others, and their ability to work off their own initiative. Obviously you need to have a skill set that matches their requirments, but smaller companies are more inclined to favour somebody they can get along with, over someone with a list of qualifications as long as their arm.