Unsure which Cert to start doing!

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Hi All,

A bit of background about me first!

Ive been doing 1st line support for Windows 2K, XP, Win7 and office XP, 2K3,2K10 for about 3 years now, I enjoy it but would like to further myself and maybe progress to more senior/Less customer facing roles!

Im already ITIL V3 certified, I also started A+ a couple of years ago but had to stop it for various reasons beyond my control.

Ive done some research but to be honest I feel a bit lost as there seem to be so many Certifications, so hopefully someone else has been in my situation previously and can advise me!

So basically id like to get qualified enough to move away from 1st line support, to 2nd/3rd.

From the research ive done, MCSE/A seems to be the way forward.

Any suggestions/help greatly appreciated!

Cheers

 

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I would go for the newer certs. MCTS upwards. 2008. Not MCSE / A. Thats just my personal belief. Thing is betime your ready to take exams the 2003 stuff is getting on 9 years old.

 

MCSA/E's getting on a bit now, but its still a well known and respected certification. Many others members have recommended getting that first and then upgrading to 2k8. It can help in some situations to have that extra cert name on your CV along with MCTS/MCITP, but it can take some people several years to get an MCSE, so you need to ask yourself if you're able to afford the delay...

 

The first thing I would do is nail the client exams. The 270 (XP) and 680 (W7) fit in with your experience and you can use both for the MCSA. Good enhancements for a CV regardless of where you go after that. Once you've got those you can revisit the question of whether to do the 2003 track or the 2008 track.

 

I think you should do the 70-680 (Windows 7 client) exam and then either go towards the MCTIP Desktop Technician or straight to MCITP Server Administrator.

MCITP are the windows 7/server 2008 exams.

MCSE/A are for server 2003, which since you're starting from the bottom, may take you a while to do. You will need to ensure you finish before they retire the exam.

 

Thanks, thats really helpful!

Ive just completed a Windows 7 deployment at my firm along with training of all the staff so I know a bit.

2K8 I havent had much contact with however - yet!

I think I may look to complete the desktop technician first, On average how long would it take? Assuming im home studying (which is what il do) and ive got a decent amount of exposure to W7.

Cheers

 

I would say it is 1-2 months per exam for people who have good time to study and know what they're dealing with.

Since you did the deployment course, that is a big chunk of the 680 course if the MSPress book is anything to go by.

 

Thanks alot mate, thats helpful

I havent actually done any of the course yet, I meant that id done an actual Win7 deployment!

Can you recommend any particular training material?

Cheers

 

MS Press book is pretty much standard self-study learning, set yourself a few virtual labs to go through all the tests/examples.

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-680): Configuring Windows 7 Book/CD Package - Certification Books

I've not read the book, make sure you print the Errata, as I know it has quite a few errors (22 page table if I remember correctly).

As for a secondary source - Professor Messer is the man, he has videos based on the 70-680

Professor Messer's Free Microsoft 70-680 Certification Training | Professor Messer - CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, Certification Training


Hope it helps

 

Thanks again mate, much appreciated

This is the first time ive really done any proper self study, so excuse the noob questions

Bar a PC/Laptop I guess il need something like VMware or virtual pc to deploy W7 to etc?

What would you recommend?

cheers

Al

 

Virtual PC is no longer supported.. I'd go with VMWare Player or VirtualBox. Definitely do your work virtually.. no reason not to just learn the difference between NAT, bridged and local only.

You've got your job on your side as real world experience is going to help you a lot.

 

Hi Al,

I second VMware, I've used VMware Player and Server (both are free).