What next ADVICE PLEASE

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I have now achieved all my targets I have my A+ N+ MCDST & CCNA, I want to carry on studying but unsure what path to take. CCNP,Microsoft certs or S+ any suggestions?

 

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What IT experience do you have?

 

I would advise you to go for the MCSA.

 

No exprience yet working go getting a job in IT, Waiting for a reply from an interview i had for a network engineer post last week.

 

Your going too fast.

There are certs for people wanting to get into IT and certs for people who already work in IT. Cisco do not do entry level.

Having high level certs such as the CCNA can do you more harm that good when looking for jobs because you will be expected to hit the ground running with no training needed.

It is a very rare exception that someone with no experience gets a network engineer role because IT and Network managers dont need noobs on their network they need experienced people who are not gonna bring the whole thing down.

 

Quite an achievement there bazza!

Just out of interest, what are your "barriers" to entry into a new career? For instance, what is the lowest you can take Salary wise? I write that because most - but not all entry level IT Jobs - are in fact probably below the 19k range.

As for the certs and the next certs, I'd probably take a break until you find an IT job. Reason I wrote that is because you may want to study for something that is related to whatever aspect of IT you get into? For instance, you may get a job where there is a lot of Citrix in operation so as a result you may want to study some citrix certs! OR you may get a job with some Novell Netware stuff going on...or you may get a job that has aspects of UNIX or Linux! My point being: let your next job decide what your next certs will be!

 

Then you're already overcertified. Get some real-world IT experience and then continue certifying.

If you want to keep learning, that's great... by all means, do so. But piling on more certifications isn't going to help you get a job at this point in your career.

 

GBL, I'm in two minds about your advice. One side can see your point but the other side wonders if a lot of what you wrote depends on the hiring manager actually knowing what those certs are and what is involved in passing the exam! Most IT Managers I've come across only know (or heard of) MCSE and A+...ok ITIL is starting to filter in there but there is a lot of ignorance out there. In fact an old IT Manager of mine actually thought that the A+ was harder than the MCSE? In his mind the MCSE was "just one exam" but the A+ "is two exams and both are adaptive"??...the unsettling part of his speech to us was the fact that he'd never studied nor taken the A+!

As for me? Well my manager just wanted someone that understood "those f*cking NTFS permissions" LOL!! I love giving him the Aaron Spurlock - of Learnkey - explanations i.e. "permissive" or "restrictive"...haha! Mr Spurlock does not know just how many jobs I secured using his EXACT explanations from the Learnkey XP cbt!!!!

 

Yeah I see what you mean but when I was looking for IT jobs I Was applying for jobs that required more experience than I had and I wasn't qualified/certified for which let me down and Bazza is doing the opposite he is applying for jobs that are beyond his experience level but is qualified for either way is a bad move imo.

 

I do see what you mean. It is a tricky one but you never know...things always pan out in the end! And if they guy is keeping himself "fresh" in the meantime then fair play to him! I wished I had his motivation!

 

If i get the job i interviewed for then i will probably go for the ccnp, if i dont there is a very good chance that i can get a redundancy pay off in the next 6 months which would enable me to take a paycut for an entry level job. I want to keep learning because i like it, i dont have to list all my certs on my cv, i can taylor that for the job i am applying for but knowledge is power so i am not going to stop.

I do have other skills to offer hence my interview for a network engineer with no experience. The company that is interested in me has jobs coming up over the next 18 months and are more than happy to consider me for any that i am suitable for because of my other skills.

So far i have found all the certs easy as i have enjoyed working for them, wish i had liked school as much

 

Without a pay off i would need 25k min salary, wife and baby to support

 

You can learn which is fine but getting over certified for your experience level can be bad. You dont have to do the exams untill you have the experience or you can do them then hide them on your cv until you do.

See another problem with having a high level cert and going for an entry level job is that employers will think this guy will do one as soon as he offered a better job with more money so I wont bother hiring him.

 

I fully understand that, thats why i would nit put my ccna on an entry level job cv. But i dont see the point in studying for a cert but not taking the exam take the exam when its fresh in your mind!!!

 

Anyway my question was not how to get a job, it was what to study next. I want to have a solid knowledge of IT, I have just done a basic website design course (city and guilds) just for that reason. I must admit i did not enjoy the microsoft stuff as much as cisco but it might have been because the information was not new, i had a good idea of what i was doing before i picked up the books. I have considered doing the upgrade to mcdst to windows 7 is this a good option?

 

Yes it is.

 

Yes!

 

+1

You could also look at other vendors besides Cisco; Juniper, Bocade, Extreme Networks etc.

 

+1

And lets not forget Bluecoat

 

Thanks will look into other vendors i had not considered that