Hey All! Help needed!

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Hey everyone.
I just signed up to these forums and I was wondering if any of you could advise me on what I need to do next.
I am an IT graduate with just over a years experience in an IT support engineer role and am really looking to go into Systems Analysis.

Would anyone be able to tell me the career path I need to take to become a Systems Analyst and what certifications would I need?

Heres what I was thinking - technical support role --> systems analysis

I was thinking of the A+ cert as an entry level qual to build up knowledge in the technical support role, then MCSE, and once I have the experience and knowledge, move onto Systems Analysis.
Or could I go straight into Systems Analysis, if so what certifications would be suitable??

Thanks

 

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Depends on how much experience you already have really. Jumping from A+ straight into MCSE might be a bit to ambitious, so doing something like MCDST beforehand might be a better option

 

what certifications do you think I would need to eventually become a systems analyst?

 

Welcome to CF,

can I just ask you to define what a 'systems analyst' is? I saw a job once advertised as a systems analyst, it was working the helpdesk.

What to you think that the role should entail? to me it is just a title.

 

A systems/business analyst designs new IT solutions to improve business efficiency and productivity.

Working closely with the client, they examine existing business models and the flows of data in the business. They discuss their findings with the client, and then design an appropriate improved IT solution.

They draw up and cost specifications and produce outline designs of new IT systems, specifying the data, files and logical operations the system will perform, and the way data will be viewed by the user.

They present their design to the client and, once approved, they work closely with the client team to implement the solution.

 

An IT consultant works in partnership with clients to overcome their business challenges through the application of technology. A consultant's work will often be based on the need to improve efficiency and the way a company functions, with IT used as a means to achieve this.

They can also be responsible for user training and for feedback. In many companies, these roles will be carried out by different members of a project team.

Yes, seems similar.
What would be the best way about taking this career path? Go into technical support first? or go straight into a systems analyst role?
I only have experience (entry level) in technical support.
What certifications would be applicable too??

 

I just wanted to make sure im on the right track. So it is possible to start off as a Tech Support Engineer and move over to Systems Analyst with some good experience?
Any idea of what certs I could take?

 

An MCSE is accredited to people that can design complex Microsoft server based network solutions from the ground up.

An MCSA is accredited to people that can administrate an existing Microsoft network.

To me, if you are going down the Microsoft route, it sounds like you need at least an MCSE.

Pete

 

Thanks for all the comments.

What are peoples views on what they think systems analysis and IT consultancy is all about?

 

Buzz words

 

I'll second that Pete. When reading your descriptions I was thinking "management speak" the whole time. You could just as easily sum it up as "the bloke what puts the computers together". As (Sparky I think) said, it's just a title. The actual role is going to change severly from company to company. The closest we have to that kind of role in my company is probably "infrastructure architect/analyst" and the people filling those roles (on a global scale) have a shed load of experience. There's no harm in aiming high but don't expect to walk into that kind of job.

Welcome to CF by the way.

 

welcome to CF!

 

The distinction between "IT Consultant" and "Systems Analyst" is becoming miore and more blurred - especially since the cross-skilling of IT staff has become so all-pervasive in the last few years.

It used to be that a Systems Anaylst was responsible for technical design, involved heavily in theoretical aspects of proposed and currently implemented systems. They very rarely got involved in the actual technical workings of systems. The easiest anaolgy to use would be a Database Admin/Developer role - the Sys Analyst would design the theoretical architecture of the database (normalisation, indexes etc) whereas the DBA would perform the actual implementation.

Now, Systems Anaylsts are usually responsible for every aspect of a system, from its conception right down to initial implementation. This is probably less the case in larger organisations - I would imagine Systems Analysts for those sorts of companies still see the world entirely in UML, dream about Boyce-Codd and doodle complex ERDs in thirty seconds on the back of a fag packet.

A 'true' Systems Analyst role is certainly one of the most 'theoretical' jobs in IT - in order to be exceptionally good at it I would imagine a degree is a prime requisite for the job - its very structured and you need to understand a LOT of methodologies inside-out. I would imagine its also mind-numbingly dull!

A consultant role would offer you much more variety and, having consulted for a while, I can honestly say it would be challenging yet rewarding. That said, you need to be a jack-of-all trades when consulting, as one day you may be called in to troubleshoot a WAN issue, the next you may be working on a multi-domain AD install, the next you might be overhauling someone's print architecture!

 

Sounds interesting. I have a degree in Computer Science, but where do I start in the IT industry, to potentially go into consultancy/systems analysis?
Where did you start off at, at the beginning of your career?

 

You should apply for graduate business analyst/system analyst roles. I'm job hunting at the moment and always see loadsa roles requiring graduates, and they require no experience. Did you do any system analysis on your degree? I graduated 4 years ago and managed to get a graduate business analyst role but it wasn't really my thing, I prefer coding and so after a year, I got into development.

I'm a developer and work with system analysts all the time, some of them aren't too technical but they have the ability to specify requirements from the business users. The more senior system analysts are very technical, they know all about database design, knowledge about the technlogy and how things should work and they come from a development or database background, rather than technical support.

Try and get a graduate job role or do jobs that will help you build up a strong technical knowledge about systems and how things work. If you get a junior level job, you can try and get your company to train you up and send you on cert training courses.

Best of luck!