Hmm guess I should get some certs now..

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When I first got into IT I did a few basic certs such as the MTA, just to get my foot in the door and stop my CV going in the bin, which definitely worked. I'm now not having much luck finding a job and I am suspecting it is to do with two things:

1.Applying for positions I'm overqualified for.

2. Applying for positions I'm under qualified for.

I honestly believe they look at my CV and think there is no point taking me on to setup users in AD as I will just get bored. The problem is, I am in limbo as whilst I can do first-line with my eyes closed, I have very limited networking experience which rules second-line out.

The plan is, to learn through certification and boost my CV. I'm looking at doing the A+, N+, MTA SQL and to throw a spanner in the works I'm also looking to obtain a cert in software testing. I just think I'm at the point now where I have no choice but to update my skillet if.

 

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You can do second line that does not involve networking. Although you mention you think that is holding you back getting second line jobs but the only cert you mention that is related to networking is N+.

While I have N+ and recommend it, as you are looking to boost your CV and help your job search, a Cisco cert on the CV would be more valuable from that point of view. So from a learning point of view go N+, then Cisco from a CV side go straight to Cisco.

 

You're past the point where an MTA or N+ is likely to make much difference (congratulations). You are better off now just studying things which are going to build up a skill. For second line roles, N+ is irrelevant and CCNA, while it impresses a few hiring managers might not provide useful skills because second line guys rarely set up EIGRP unless they are networking specialists.

But a good all round TCP/IP course off Udemy with sections on nslookup and boring old netsh will help you answer interview questions that are too hard for the average helpdesk guy with a paper CCNA, help you troubleshoot whatever issues prompted the interviewer to ask that nasty DNS question, and also have the sideboob benefit of making CCNA very easy should you decide to do that afterwards.

MTA SQL is still a good call if you are thinkning you might turn out to be a databases guy. But Powershell is the most obvious skill for a Windows admin to focus on. There are no exams for it that I know of, but it's a core skill that will make lots of other exams much easier, possibly including MS SQL ones although I wouldn't know much about that myself. If you can link to your github repo where you have a small number of well commented powershell scripts, that will get you job interviews, and explaining the contents of those scripts will get you the job, no exam required.

 

Honestly, none of those certs are going to drastically affect your job prospects. You should be aiming way higher than that.

If you really want to kickstart your career, just go straight for RHCSA and an AWS/GCP/Azure cert. <- This will set you apart from competitors.

MCSA/CCNA are nice to haves and will really improve your knowledge of how services interact etc, but I don't think they're a huge CV booster nowadays. But A+/Net+/MTA? Almost pointless if you've worked in the field for longer than 12 months or so. (The certs, not the knowledge.)

 

Here's the thing, and maybe it's me looking at this the wrong way but I usually view certifications as a way of proving knowledge gained from experience (or atleast ones that are not entry level).
If you sat me down and told me to take the A+ right now I would fail, however I'd be able to answer many questions correctly with no preparation. If you told me to take the RHCSA, AWS, Azure exams the only way I'd get any question right is by guessing, so I always looked at it is as if I do not have any experience with X technology then it's not worth trying to take a ceritified exam, I mean they all state in the prereqs that you need X amount of experience... I still basically work at a Comptia A+ level so to speak. Like I said maybe I am looking at this the wrong way, so would be interested in hearing your opinion.

 

Thanks for this reply,I did some Googling it looks like the CCENT is the most Entry level Cisco cert you can get, would you say this is more valuable than the N+? if I'm understanding the information on the Cisco site right I just need to pass one exam to get this certificate and there appears to be no prereqs, I'll definetly look into this.

I have some Udemy credits on my account that have been sitting around for awhile I might see what networking courses they have on offer.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure if I'd pass the A+ right now without studying for it. I don't touch a huge amount of the objectives on a day to day basis, and I certainly wouldn't remember all the things like USB bus speeds etc.

Honestly, I went the rout of trying to pick up as much knowledge as possible via certs, and I don't regret doing it that way. But with a few years of helpdesk, you can definitely skip the in between stuff if you can demonstrate your understanding of a job role. Need to work on AWS? The cert gets you through the door, the knowledge gained through the cert gets you through the interview. There aren't enough experienced/qualified people in a lot of these technologies for employers to be picky about who they employ. If they have a guy who's certified in linux and AWS/Azure/GCP and they have a load of guys who aren't AND don't have a boatload of experience then the cert is going to get you that job.

As soon as I got my linux+/Azure cert, I was in the running for linux/cloud jobs despite virtually never touching them in production. It's simply cause there aren't many qualified candidates. That will change soon imo, so get in there now while it's easier.

 

CCENT's retiring in February.

 

Believe it or not lads, I landed a job working with Linux.. Can only laugh really, what are the chances ehy. I'll get the chance to work with a lot of stuff I have no knowledge of. It's clear that it wasn't my knowledge that got me through... it was the fact me and the manger who conducted the interview just got on, spent most of the interview laughing rather than discussing the role..he seems like he's up for abit of banter.