Comptia A+ vs Ccent

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I am looking to work in IT as a IT Tech Support get a basic role, I’m currently working in Customer Service, I was wondering what you think is the best path for Certification the Comptia A+ or the Ccent, which is one harder for someone with limited IT skills but keen to develop. Which one I could do quicker and which one is more useful for someone looking to get a role in IT Tech Support and then look to later build a career in Networking.

I read some of a Comptia A+ book a while back, I found it good, it is quite broad in the subjects it covers though, but I did enjoy the troubleshooting issues in it for Windows and Hardware. I found the difficulty alright some bits were tough, I never took the exam though, I want to get a certificate on my career asap though and get learning. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

 

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Generally for beginners it's advised to get the A+ and N+ first.

Ccent is usually for someone with a bit of experience and for someone who already has the entry certs.

Also see this thread
http://www.certforums.com/threads/entry-level-it-certifications-and-beyond.49085/

 

From experience having the word Microsoft on your cv will serve you better than having CompTIA on there. I've found employers who recruit for entry level IT jobs to not know much about certs but be attracted to the fact you have some form of Microsoft qualification.

 

Well as @Guvnor has already linked my post I won't bother but I do also agree with Juelz about the CompTIA exams, they are much bigger in the USA than over here in the UK.

Grabbing an MTA from Microsoft would be a good approach.

 

I'm sorry but this doesn't actually add up unless you have two separate cvs, one with a CompTIA cert/s on and one/s with Microsoft on to have any kind of comparable effectiveness, surely?

I'm still yet to meet anyone in IT who doesn't know what the A+ is, whether that be a professional or a recruiter, so I don't personally buy that the A+ holds more weight over the water. It's frequently listed on entry level job specs, and from what I can tell involves a much broader body of knowledge than an MTA. The only time I've ever seen MTA listed on a job spec was when I've seen a recruiter accidentally mistake it as being the step up from an MCSA. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that CompTIA is more highly valued.

 

You dont need two cvs you simply need to know people who work in IT.. I have seen the A+ listed on a job advert around 3 times and MTA once. My point is, theres value in the name "Microsoft". Alot of recruitment companies will litterally look for cvs with the word "Microsoft" in and put you forward for an intereview with the actual employer. When you get into the interview this is where you display your actual knowledge regardless of what certs you have. All I know is my MTA got me noticed, my knowledge got me the job.