MSCE help required

Discussion in 'General Microsoft Certifications' started by cordenadam, Jun 10, 2008.

  1. cordenadam

    cordenadam New Member

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    Hiya im new to the forumz, so please be nice.

    I've currently just about finished college ages 18 and would like to go into the It industry (networking). I have come to the conclusion that MSCE is the way forward and will probably be the best option for me.

    There are certain things i would like to know:

    Do you have to have previous experience in the IT industry or networking in particular networking?

    What is the best way of achieving a MSCE certification, I have been trying to find courses, but they seem to be 10 day courses which will just force feed you what you need to know in order to achieve a pass. A people like computech just seem to want you money and thats it.

    Thats all i think ???

    Thanks in advance for the help
     
  2. fortch

    fortch Kilobyte Poster

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    Welcome cord -- finished college at 18??? Wow, did you skip spelling, grammar and punctuation? :blink

    j/k bro

    Now, perhaps you might do some investigating on 'networking' and 'MCSE' -- you seem to have the term down, but the two have very little in common, from a professional perspective. When most people think networking, they think in terms of switching and routing. Although an MCSE should and will gain experience in that area by virtue of studies and practice, they certainly aren't considered networking professionals (unless they pursue knowledge and specialty in that are too).

    MCSE

    Computer Networking

    Good luck!
     
    Certifications: A+,Net+,Sec+,MCSA:Sec,MCSE:Sec,mASE
  3. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    Hi Welcome :)

    I would lay of the MCSE, Microsoft recommend you have a years experience in managing servers etc before attempting the MCSE.

    Having a high level cert before you have on the job experience can do damage to your employment prospects as employers expect you to be able to hit the ground runing if your an MCSE.

    Untill you have on the job experience you should look at compTIA A+, N+ and the MCDST and not beyond that until you have the experience those certs are supposed to show.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  4. cordenadam

    cordenadam New Member

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    Thanks for the help

    I dont seem to have done enough reading on these forums, the post below mine explains that MSCE isnt the way forward for a 'noob' in IT. MCSDT is probably my opening path am i right in thinking this, or is there a step before taking this one.
     
  5. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    First, let's get the acronym right: MCSE. Nothing says n00b like calling it the MSCE. :noob You certainly don't want that, especially when applying for an IT job!

    Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to the heart of the matter! :)

    Do you HAVE to have experience in IT or in networking? No, you don't have to. But Microsoft recommends a year of experience administering servers in a 250+ user, multi-site, multi-server domain environment - not just a year in IT, but a year doing that job - and I wholeheartedly agree with their assessment.

    Additionally, the MCSE without experience is quite useless when looking for your first IT job. The MCSE has little, if anything, to do with what an entry-level tech does, so you'd be horribly overcertified for your experience level. Employers with entry-level jobs won't hire you because they'll assume you're looking for something better, and employers with network admin or server admin jobs won't hire you because you have no experience. Thus, having the MCSE without experience can actually harm, not help, your search for an IT job.

    So what certifications SHOULD you pursue? I always recommend that people start out with the A+, Network+, and MCDST... and no further, until they get experience. And don't wait until you're certified... start applying for entry-level jobs NOW. When you achieve a certification, add it to your CV and study for the next.

    As you have discovered, training centers tend to get you to sign on the dotted line regardless of whether the training is beneficial for your career or not. I guarantee you that they won't tell you what I told you above regarding the MCSE!

    Most of us here advocate self-study methods, even for people who say that they don't learn well on their own. After all, when you get into IT, companies aren't going to pay for you to take an expensive training program, nor will they give you the time to do so... so anyone looking to get into IT ought to learn how to get used to self-study from the outset.

    Hope this helps. Welcome to the forums!
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!

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