Hello! - Afew Questions!

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hello all I'm new here as you may of guessed

first of all, a little about me so you know where im actually at and what im aiming for...

i have been using/repairing/toying/breaking pc's since the age of 7 i am now 21 and have built up a good foundation with pc's and a great understanding of how they tick working with PC's etc is exactly what iv always wanted todo but recent events have stopped me doing so. i have no real relevant qualifications regarding IT although i did do a National Diploma in a local college but had to drop out due to finance, iv recently worked in a local IT shop for just under a year which i did for very little pay just to get some experience on paper but now i really need to crack on with getting my career in IT and i feel i can achieve this with certifications

apart from the obvious greeting i have a few questions for you... they are as follows:

1, im about to begin studying CompTIA A+ i am aiming to get to MCSE area what other certifications will i have to go through in order to achieve an MCSE cert? i was going to go with what iv stated below, is this going to be possible with what my plans are as i don't know how the cert's work.

First: CompTIA A+
Then: CompTIA N+
Then: MCP & MCDST
Then: MCSE

2, my other half/girl friend is currently doing MCDST would this be the better route for me as im mainly looking to get into desktop builds/repairs ideal job being maybe a warranty repair person? i haven't really got alot of knowledge on servers as iv found it hard to get into any situation where servers are repaired and/or used therefore iv had no luck gaining experience with them would MCDST be good enough for what i want to do or would MCSE be alot more beneficial?

3,obviously money talks also so would MCDST be earning anywhere close to what someone with MCSE would be earning?

4, who is the best company to go with iv tryed to study out of books etc but i find it hard when i get stuck for answers so i would like a company to go with so i an bug them with all my questions, again my other half has just gone with Home Learning College, are they any good as they seem ok? i want to get the best company overall for reliability, price and generally good course materials to work with.

5, how exactly do you study for these things? are there sets of course work you have to complete or do you just clue yourself up as much as possible in order to pass the exam?

6, what sort of jobs could i expect with MCSE & MCDST?

im from the UK also just thought i would mention that in regards to company's to use in this country

thanks for any information!

 

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First off...
Welcome to the forum

The above order looks good to me (not a MS pro here), in that order. However, I’d stay away from the MCSE until you’ve got a bit more experience dealing with the exam topics in the ‘real-world’

As mentioned, the list of certs you’ve listed above looks right to me. Jumping into the MCDST might work for you, but the A+ and N+ count as an elective and give you more recognized certs on your resume / CV, not to mention skills that you can use in entry-level roles.

Money talks…? Wow, no wonder it’s always leaving me – I’ve been neglecting it!
Don’t chase the dollars (err… Pounds). Build the foundation of what you want to do! By doing your MCSE too early, companies will tend to overlook you if you don’t have the experience to back it up. Hence why I mentioned holding off a bit for your MCSE.

- No idea, I don’t know the TP in the UK. But if it’s just needing some questions answered, there are other places to look and ask. For example, additional books, Google, Cerforums…

As mentioned, I’m not a MS person, but I use multiple resources like:
- Self Study (Books + Training Software like Transcender or Boson)
- Self study + a Training Partner

I’d say the MCDST prepares you for a call center job. MCSE more as an administrator designing & implementing solutions and such. As mentioned it might be too early for the MCSE. Depends on your past experience; but from what you’ve said, I’d say it’s too early.

 

Hi Welcome

Good solid advice from Sunn.

 

Hi and Welcome to CF

 

A+ & N+ are good places to start, get the books, do the exams, get certified. Don't bother with expensive training centres, especially if you're already competent with PC's and have an interest etc. Lots of free resources online.

An MCSE is not only very difficult (you really need to be working at server level for a few years and even then the exams are very tough- from what I've been told by people in the know), but also an MCSE is useless without any commercial experience to back it up.

 

Welcome to CF!

 

Hi and Welcome to CF

NB

 

thanks for the replys and welcomes

iv tryed self study i have mike meyer's A+/N+ book and james pyles PC tech Street Smarts but i just seem to loose track abit i guess? i try to cram too much in and i forget alot of things once iv just read them im a really good "hands on" learner but from books i don't seem to learn quite so much

what exactly would be the difference to what i am doing now and doing it with a course provider? do you have course work or objectives to meet or is it just heres some books, read them?

any tips for self study?

 

Come on, now... how can you honestly say you've read through PC Technician Street Smarts and NOT laid your hands on a computer to work through the labs??? You've got what you need at your disposal... you just need to get off yer backside and DO it.

A few thousand pounds.

 

iv actually just this minute re-arranged my setup so that i have a old 2600+ athlon PC to play with and my main 2ghz p4 sat under the desk i too have messed around with virutal pc mainly for testing purpose's of service packs & new operating systems - great bit of kit!

i see you're point and many thanks for your input! so is it the same senario for all certifications? mcp, mcdst etc??? self study is the way forward not getting some company to "help" you?

 

Yes it is, to be honest if you are serious about getting certified and you want a carear in IT, you will be forever self studying because the technology is always changing. If you need a training provider to get a tutor to read out of a book to you, then most probably a long carear in IT isn't for you.

 

You can self study any cert.

With training providers all they do is give you some books and tell you read them, then they charge you a few grand. Some offer support some have practicle workshops every now and then.

Some training providers may not provide you with the best material.

With self study you can't rip yourself off you can get your self the best books (which you already have) and get an old pc to mess with from a junk shop or recycling centre (and use the technician street smarts book to practice as much as you can).

The thing is with IT is that it is a constant learning experience aswell as an occupation so being able to self study is a prerequisite to be honest.

Once you get used to studying on your own it'll become second nature.

 

There you go! See? You've got what you need.

I got all my certifications through self-study and real-world on-the-job experience. You can too.

Again, remember that you won't likely get your employer to let you out of work for a few weeks so you can attend a training course (that they're not likely to pay for, either). If you don't learn to self-study now, you're more likely to stagnate later in your career.

 

i see thats interesting as i thought they would give you course work ec to get on with but if its basically the same as self study with afew work shops and a tutor to talk to then id happily keep my 900 close to my chest!

thanks the for info guys i really appreciate it i think i know exactly what i need to do now il be picking your brains soon no doubt!

thanks!

 

Training centres/tutors may help motive and offer encouragement, use of their workshop facilities, but it's not worth the money they charge.

The best advice I was given by a tutor was to get in a routine of self-study. Every morning/night/lunch break etc, go through a chapter or two. As soon as you get in a routine, it's fairly easy. It's when you break the routine, that's when it's difficult to get back in to.

Get in to a routine and stick to it, it's hard otherwise. Just think of all the time you may spend on social networking sites every day - that could be time spent studying.

 

I think this is spot on! When I was going for A+ I used my commute time for study time. In my case I am on the train for an hour, which was perfect for getting stuck in to a chapter.

Harry.

 

I do the same. Either to study for a subject, or to stay on top of the IT news and happenings. My commute time is one of the blocks of time I use, as well as an hour before bed, and time I can invest (steal) from the office.

 

Setting a Timetable also helps as well, even if its just a plan in your head, when you roughly want to take each exam. When I put a timetable together for an exam, I'm more likely to stick to it.

Having a rubbish jobs helps as well for me, I'm currently sitting reading my 70-271 book now! It also motivates me to work as I don't want to do this for the rest of my life!

Welcome to the forums

 

Absolutely excellent advice - it's spot-on accurate. Rep given!