Certifications and Employment

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Hello everyone,

I'm trying to make a career change to working in IT and I have some questions about which jobs I would likely be able to get with which certifications without much experience. My goal is eventually at least to work as a systems administrator. I got a Master's degree related to biology and I worked a job sort of at the interface between genetics and IT for 4 years, during that time I got some experience scripting and using Excel but it wasn't really a true IT job.

I lost my job four months ago, and since then I got CompTIA A+ and MTA - Server Fundamentals certifications. I started studying for the MCSA Server 2012 and I might be able to get it in 4-6 months provided I don't work during that time.

I applied to many help-desk and some technician jobs but I didn't get a response. I was sort of surprised by that.

Please feel free to chime in if you have any advice.

 

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Id look into the following :-

https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:EPFLx+NiC1.0x+3T2016/info
http://web.mit.edu/mitxbio/
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/genomic-data-science
https://www.edx.org/course/statistical-inference-modeling-high-harvardx-ph525-3x-0
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-bioconductor-annotation-harvardx-ph525-5x-0

Learn some Python and JavaScript, maybe some R. See if its your kind of thing.

 

I can code decently well, I have already done quite a bit of coding in those languages. I made a website that was running for a year and that required a lot of coding including JavaScript. I am interested in working in IT, and my last two employers suggested I "take an IT direction," as well as my family so it is what I think I need to do.

 

Is it likely I could get hired as a systems admin with an MCSA in Server 2012 and my other certifications? It seems like I am over-qualified for Helpdesk and under-qualified for sys admin so I am sort of in a vortex.

 

So youre not interested in careers such as :-

Data Scientist
Database Administrator
Web Developer
Bioinformatician
Systems Programmer
Business Analayst ?

 

you aren't overqualified for helpdesk as you have never worked on a helpdesk, certification is just a small factor of obtaining IT employment, essentially it just gets you the interview. You need skills in dealing with people and ofcourse need to be likeable.

I really dont think you are over qualified for helpdesk in all honesty. You havent worked on a helpdesk and thats usually the first step in the game. I doubt you could walk into a sysadmin role with no prior IT experience. I think a big misconseption is if you have the required certs you can get the job, but there are alot of other factors that come into play. In your shoes I'd be aiming to get your foot in the door by getting a helpdesk job. I wouldnt even advise you focus on the MCSA as its not an entry cert and serves the purpose of proving experience. You should probs use your time to improve your CV and interview skills.