First Steps advice

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Hi all,

I'm a newbie and this is my first post, I'm heavily contemplating a career change and I'm considering a first step towards a role in IT should this be MCDST or A+ in your opinion.

Over the last few years I've taught myself html, css, flash, photoshop and a little java, all from self-study and using publicly available information, these skills have very little bearing on my day job as I'm in sales, it's more of a hobby, however it's illustrated to me that I do have an appetite for learning and especially logic. However with that said it's been a while since I was at school and I never completed further education.

My question is what benefits do distance learning providers offer and are they necessary for a novice who has no previous 'experience' in IT. I can do the domestic stuff, install an OS, set-up outlook/IE, install and configure hardware and software apps etc plus I work daily within an MS environment, so is it reasonable to assume that I could tackle this without the guiding light of a training provider?

I would be interested in any advice and to hear your experiences of self-study versus distance learning.

Thanks
Martin

 

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no need to double post :/ - and as a correction it's actually your 2nd post

i'd say aim for both; no harm having the two is there?
this forum is aimed around self study, so i'm sure you'll get many answers which are in favour of that.

 

To answer your question I would start with A+. This is a neutral certification and you will find out if you are made for this line of work after that experience.

You can do A+ with self study (check the A+ forum for book and test sim recommendations).

You look like you may be more interested in programming or website/graphic design though. A+ or MCDST may not be the direction you want to head in.

Good luck!