hey everyone.. another newbie

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hey i'm new and i'd jus like to say hey to everyone here

I'm doing a MCSE course with Advent, i started about april and i've entered for the A+ exam twice now but failed both times but was a better score on my last on, infact it was 640 which was really close, thats the thing that hurts the most! It's kind of getting me down now that i haven't passed yet

If theres anyone out there who's in a similar situation or anyone with any advice on what i should do please get intouch!

Theres a few other things i'd like some advice on too but i think thats a tad late now! Whats your opinion on the MCSE course? Is it a good qualification to gain? And do you think the future looks good for an I.T technician?

Darren

 

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Hi there and welcome, Advent can't be training you very well if you've already failed twice. I'd forget about the MCSE for the time being.

 

Welcome!

My condolences.

My condolences - best of luck on your next attempt!

Study the Mike Meyers A+ All-in-One Exam Guide, 6th Edition. If you want hands-on labs, get Pyles' PC Technician Street Smarts.

Yes... after you've built a year of network administration experience in a mid-sized company... not just a year of IT experience... but a year of IT experience doing network administration... likely several years from now.

Certainly! If not, I'd not stay in the field! It's a great career.

 

welcome mate, good luck.

 

well despite what most of you think about I.T training companies i've had no problems with the studying or support i've had. For the type of person i am i think learning with a training company is my best bet because i never knew which was the best step i should have taken and they guided me into what i think is the perfect course for me. And sometimes i need a kick up the backside which is something i wouldnt get if i did it on my own. plus they can't be all that bad because they gave me the link to this website!

But the reason i think i've failed twice is that i have too much on in my life at the moment; i've just recently moved out of my parents house which is stressful itself along with the stress of also having no money and i'm currently doing driving lessons which is another skill in a way and takes more time than you might think. oh and i work full time too. so in a way i think its my fault that i failed twice.

 

Dazzle, don't worry about your failure as that is now in the past. All you need to concentrate on now is passing and that's what CF stands for and support in the arena of IT certifications.

It is not uncommon at all for anyone on this forum to advise to go the self study route as you learn more this way at your own pace coupled with you saving lots of £££.

Welcome to CF and which ever route you decide to stick with the choice ultimately is yours

 

That's not my point. My point is that you don't HAVE to spend all that money on an expensive training course just to get certified.

And if all you want is direction and a kick up the backside, I'd do it for a TENTH of what they charge you.

On another note, Ken's absolutely right... the MCSA and MCSE aren't for people starting out in IT. And training companies like Advent aren't going to tell you that because that would be turning away money.

 

i dont think advent are like that though. i have to take the A+ essentials and the A+ technicians exams then i officially start the MCSE course. And i dont know if you know but with advent, on each module you study you attend a 2 day workshop to gain more hands on experience with computers. For my essentials module i had to open up and dissemble a pc then put it back together again and did some basic networking. Nothing to you veterans but atleast they provide you with some basic experience and dont isolate you. When i've done both the A+ exams i can enter the industry as a technician which advent will help me with, therefore, i will be gaining experience and still learning for my MCSE qualification

 

Sorry, mate... employers don't consider "hands-on experience", "lab experience", or "school experience" to be "experience". They're looking for "real-world experience" in a real-world environment.

Further, Microsoft recommends that you have a year of experience in a multi-site environment with 250+ users and 3+ DCs before pursuing the MCSE... not a year of experience in IT... not a year of experience in school... but a year of experience doing that job before pursuing the MCSE. Pursue it if you want... but it won't help you get an IT job without the requisite experience.

 

You had a 2 day workshop where you took a pc apart then put it back together and you paid £££££s for that.

I am doing the A+ bought 2 books and an old cheap pc for the grand some of 80 quid total cost.

then I will do the N+ so I can network the two.

Then the MCDST I' will still have the 2 comps

Then the MCSA

And all I envisage spending is possible another 100 quid for books for the rest of the certs.

Obviousley that doesnt count towards the exam prices but I bet its still cheaper than Advent.

 

no i didnt pay £££ just for that ¬_¬ that was just 1 of many workshops i will be attending, im sure a little closer towards the final stages of the course will be much more complex than that. i'm paying £4975 for the whole of my course to become MCSE qualified which is all inclusive so i never have to pay for any exams even if i have to take it more than once and im not even paying for that now. Advent sorted me out with a career development loan with barclays which i start paying for in 3 years which i'm sure by then i should be MCSE qualified and be settled in a good job

 

thanks mate atleast someones supportive.

 

Do you actually work in IT because I hate to dissapoint you but if you doin't and have an MCSE then it WILL BE harder for you to get a job.

for example just because someone can ace Microsofts Flight Simulator and never crash the plane you are not gonna let him fly a jumbo for real are you.

And if I was an employer if I looked at someones CV and it said I am MCSE but have no experience in the real world only in labs it go in the nearest receptical of rubbishness.

You say you are pay £4975 for the whole thing I could self study for the MCSE right from A+ and maybe hit £200 if I was unlucky i.e I break the spare comp I have.

And be aware just because you have qualifications does not mean you will get a job (don't believe the BS that you'll walk in to a 30k job), thats what I thought when I was at Uni and got myself in debt and thought oh I will pay it when I get a good job after graduating.

Then I woke up and realised the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Now I have CCJ because of my naivity although I am almost out of it I was in debt to my eyeballs.

I am just trying to save you from what I went through.

 

Hope you don't think that an MCSE certification will get you a "good job" without experience... because employers don't hire people for "good jobs" without experience, even if they're certified.