An Introductory Post

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Hello, I believe I should of made this my first post so I'm hoping 3rd won't be too much too far behind

Right so, I'm 21 and I've been into computers for my whole life, or most of it anyway (mostly self taught, internet is rather addictive) but unfortunately I have nothing to show for it in regards to qualifications/job experience. I've started on the MCSE track with Vista as a client exam as I believe this gives me a headstart on the 2008 exams...(?) I'm currently unemployed () and I'm very eager to get my foot in the door in the IT field. I fully believe I could do most frontline helpdesk/support type job roles right now but my main problem is proving my ability without any past experience to show. As I understand it, qualifications are pretty much worthless without real life job experience on my belt, however whilst I have so much free time I decided to try and get as much studying done as possible whilst I have the chance, I figure I have nothing to lose and a qualification + no experience still looks better than no qualification + no experience.

My long term goals are to find a career in IT and at some point down the line I intend to travel to some exotic far off places that make the UK look boring; I've always wanted to just off and leave for 5-10 years and walk the world but it's a pretty romantic dream when you're not a millionaire.

So yeah that's about it, hopefully can get to know some of you people and learn as well as share anything and as much as possible.

Thanks!

 

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Howdy and welcome.

On to your question, I think you are headed in the right direction with getting some certifications because you are correct, no experience + no certification = no career. But having certificates is not the only answer, try to get your foot in the door by doing some volunteer work with a local charity. Also I highly recommend not doing the MCSE right off the bat, this actually could hurt you in the job market at the moment. With having no practical experience employers are going to see that you have the MCSE and start asking questions like: How exactly did he get the cert with no experience? I recommend starting with the basics such as CompTIA's A+, Network+, and MCDST. These are the certs needed for those entry level positions you are going to be looking for such as first line support, desktop support, call center and so on. With your background in tinkering with systems I imagine you could take care of A+ rather quickly.

 

Agreed. A+ Definitely recommended if you are starting from scratch as it were.

Hello and Welcome to CF!

 

Welcome to Cert Forums!

 

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Qs

 

Thanks guys and thanks for the advice. I guess my line of thinking with MCSE was that I was aiming at what i thought would be good for my current level of knowledge and wasn't thinking in real terms of finding a job and entry level qualifications. A quick look at the A+ objectives looks like I could sit it quite soon, not to say I wouldn't want to do some study towards to it, even if it is only a recap of basic points.

I also found a very nice thread from wagnerk when browsing the A+ forum in regards to voluntary organisations which is going to be very useful.

Cheers again

 

I have a copy of the Mike Meyers A+ Book if you would like it. You would need to cover the P&P of course

EDIT : Actually thinking I should make this 1st come first serve!
EDIT EDIT: Book claimed now - Hopefull my N+ will be up for grabs soon!

 

Welcome ManniX.

You definitely need to do some study first, sometimes real world knowledge is different to exam world knowledge. There's also a lot of things that need to be memorised that you've probably never bothered with before because a quick google supplies the information.

 

Hi & welcome to CF

NB

 

Solid advice already provided above... welcome to the forums!

 

Hah like your optimism, dont we all wish we could move to some exotic place and not worry about anything

 

This IMO this is sound advice. I managed to do it slightly the wrong way around, by starting in a 2nd level team with no prior IT experience, I struggled a bit, but learning from others and always showing willingness to pick anything up and take it as far as you can. About 18 months ago I was promoted to 3rd level support and this is where my lack of experience really showed, and hence my need to get the exams started. I read the A+ and N+ to give me a good grounding, and then went for the 70-290 exam. Today I passed the 70-620 exam and am no moving onto 70-291 (the beast)......

It's not been easy, but experience does count for a lot, exams reinforce and aid you as you build on your experiences...I'm still a junior next to my team mates, but I will get there !

 

Well, welcome to the forums
You've been given sound advice, it seems to work out for most people.