what course to choose

Discussion in 'New Members Introduction' started by mrbones26, Apr 2, 2009.

  1. mrbones26

    mrbones26 New Member

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    hi all , im looking to get out of the printing industry and into IT after all im always on the PC, i was going to go straight for the MCSE with advent but after knowing a 5 step salesman when i see one (another path i took but thats another story) and doing my homework ive found its a bit intermeddiate for a begginner and after looking at forums on here i have come to realise that a Comptia A+ is the step before , thank god for this site cos i nearly blew 5 grand with them lot.I only have home experience messing with my own computer fixing it installing software and hardware burning disc ect so im not a complete novice but was wondering if i should do the IT Systems Support Technician before or is the comptia ok to go for straight away , just any advice on where to go , where to start training providers wou;d be appreaciated , thanks alot guys n girls hope to here from you soon:D
     
    Certifications: gcse
    WIP: comptia =+A,mcse
  2. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    The A+ will be fine to go for. You can self study, that is getting the books learning and practicing yourself and then taking the two exams needed to pass. No need to buy a course.

    Now the A+ is changing to the new version at the end of July so if you want to get it out of the way by then you will need compTIA A+ all in one exam guide 6th edition by Mike Meyeres and PC Technician street smarts by James Pyles.

    To take the exams you register with pearsonvue.com and you will find your nearest test center on their. You pay through pearson vue you can either pay for the two exams costing £111+vat each or you can visit gracetechsolutions.com and just pay £107 each for discount voucher codes you then enter these codes into the pearsonvue payment section instead of your debit card.

    If you plan to take the exams after JUly then you will need 7th edition of the book mentioned above and PC Technician street smarts (the same one).

    Welcome to CF :)
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  3. mrbones26

    mrbones26 New Member

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    wow that was fast , thanks again , it will probably after july so i will go for the new edition, im glad i didnt jump into the mcse now , 2 years ago i knew nothing about pcs ect but i find i pick it all up quickly but do you think i will be ok with the comptia a+ or should i prepare myself with an easier course to start with, cheers for the reply mate
     
    Certifications: gcse
    WIP: comptia =+A,mcse
  4. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    no the A+ will be perfectly fine for you the general starting certifications are A+,N+ and MCDST. The only cert I can think of below A+ is ECDL and really isn't anything technical it teaches you things like Word and excel, whereas the A+ will teach you about the components of a PC and how they work and goes into operating systems. THe A+ is a begginener cert so its not difficult and doesn't require any on the job experience however the MCSE is and requires on the job experience to be able to do the 7 exams.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  5. mrbones26

    mrbones26 New Member

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    many thanks im ordering them from amazon now , i have been giving many microsoft dreamweaver books and a few others from a friend but there usless to me right now as there full of lingo im not familiar wtih so far , i looked up personvue and oddly enough the closest test center is advent training .lol.are there any dvds or software such as mock exams that might help along the way
    Regards
    Mrbones
    ps then what ?
     
    Certifications: gcse
    WIP: comptia =+A,mcse
  6. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    practice exams are a plenty but getting the best ones will help you. You can get free ones but most free ones are illegal as they contain the real exams these are know as braindumps and using them can get you decertified and you could face legal action. The only free one I know that is legit is www.proprofs.com and you can get free training videos from youtube and professer messer.com. As for paid for practice exams you have a choice of three www.boson.com, www.transcender.com and www.preplogic.com I have used all 3 and if you want my opinion on which is the best then it's boson.

    THe transcender exams have speeling mistakes :) and various other errors in it and the preplogic ones are just a bit pants tbh.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  7. mrbones26

    mrbones26 New Member

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    thanks , what did you find to be the best exam ?
    im gonna go for the route you said its not to expensive and its down to me not some training company to pull my finger out another concern is every company that hires is looking for someone with 2 years experience, is the comptia enough to get a low paid IT job for the experience or will i need to follow up with more courses and exams , sorry to bust your nut but im actually seroius about this and havnt just pondered about it for 20 mins and you seem to know your stuff is this how you started out ?
    cheers again bruce lee
    ps just read ur reply bosnon is the answer haha
     
    Certifications: gcse
    WIP: comptia =+A,mcse
  8. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    You will be able to get an entry level IT job such as help desk or IT technician with the A+ but don't delay some employers will take you on if you put in the application that you are studying for it.. The A+ shows employers that you are competent enough to deal with simple IT issues and fixes and it also show that you have a desire to be in the IT field. The N+ is much like the A+ but focuses on simple networking issues and the MCDST focusses on xp and the applications that run on it.

    I actually did some NVQs and went to uni to do a HND before I stared my certification studies.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  9. mrbones26

    mrbones26 New Member

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    i was looking to do a nvq level 2 in IT support before all this but it would take a year in a full time course to complete but if i can make a break with the A+ im gonna go for it and then work to a mcse if thats still the one to have by then , if i have to take a crappy paid job in IT to get experience i will, but i do get unerved by articles on here and other sites saying IT is up the creek and hard to get into , thanks for your help sorry to use you as a carrers adviser but them training providers fill your head with crap and statistics so the plan is get them books(im gonna get the current edition and try and pass now ) take the boson exam(is that right ?)
    get a low paid desk job then go for the MCSE, do you know any good training providers for a mcse or is this not the way to go? youve been a big help
     
    Certifications: gcse
    WIP: comptia =+A,mcse
  10. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    don't worry I like to help if I can. You should not go for the MCSE full stop until you have atleast 12 month experience of supporting a 250+ user multi server environment this is what Microsoft say. High level certs such as MCSA, MCSE and CCNA are for people who already have experience in those certs related areas so a systems engineer would do the MCSE whilst a network admin would do the MCSA and networking bod who works with Cisco switches etc would do the CCNA. Having high level certs without the required on the job experience can make it harder to get a job not easier.

    You need to work your way up to that level so starting of in a help desk or IT tech role would be your starting point whilst studying the A+,N+ and MCDST then you would progress to either 2nd line help desk or network technician, then 3rd line help desk or network admin then this would be were you start working on high level certs like the MCSE.

    Training providers will say anything to get your cash even about gauranteeing you a job that pays a million pounds a year, it all bollocks I'm afraid. Although I have never used one I have seen more people complain and say they have been ripped off than I have seen say that they have had a good experience (although people have had good experiences)so I wouldn't recommend any ever.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  11. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Keep in mind, GBL, that there will be some overlap of the 2006 and 2009 A+ exams - anywhere from 3 to 6 months - so the 2006 version won't likely retire until near the end of 2009. And if past history repeats itself (when the 2003 version overlapped the 2006 version by about a year), the 2006 version might be available well into 2010 (but don't absolutely count on that happening).

    Just sayin'... please don't make people think they have to get everything studied and passed by July...
     
    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!
  12. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Welcome to the forums!

    Your best route at this point in your career is to focus on the A+, Network+, and MCDST... and hold off on anything beyond that for a while. :)
     
    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!
  13. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    point noted :)
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  14. mrbones26

    mrbones26 New Member

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    i was wondering about that because im gonna get the relevent books purchased tomorrow but by the time ive read them through a couple of times it will be near july, i was just looking at the boson site and its all priced in dollars i will look propaly at this later tonight but hopefully this wont be a problem cheers guys if you got any more advice for a FNG i will lap it up, i just phoned my g/f uncle who hasny got the MCSE cert but has worked within that sector for 15 years(blagged it) and he backed you both up on the comptia is it worth doing the other tests or will boson cover it
    thanks again cant believe how helpfull you both been, i will pass the knowledge on to any 1 who needs it
     
    Certifications: gcse
    WIP: comptia =+A,mcse
  15. mrbones26

    mrbones26 New Member

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    should i study and take the exams in that order , A+ N+ MCDST ?
     
    Certifications: gcse
    WIP: comptia =+A,mcse
  16. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    The Boson ExSim-Max products for the A+ exams are meant to include what you need to study... but asking whether it will be sufficient is asking whether one book will be sufficient - that's entirely up to you. Technically, you don't need ANY books OR practice exams if you have the knowledge. :) Otherwise, more is better.

    I would recommend that you start out with exams from one vendor, then buy more if you feel you need more practice after taking the (three) structured exams. They're not exactly cheap... but quality rarely is.

    Obviously, I recommend the product that I had a part in creating... but don't take my word for it: download demos from multiple vendors and compare them to see for yourself! Just know that you'll have the ear of both of Boson's Senior Content Developers on CertForums, should you ever have a question.

    That's what I would do. :)
     
    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!
  17. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    Yes study in that order. Once you have gained some knowledge with the AIO book and think you may be ready for the real exam do the practice exams for Boson and btw like I already said I can't rate the boson ex-sim exams enough. They can help in your understanding on any question you get wrong as they have guides to explanations of why an answer is what it is etc. where as other practice exams don't have this or have poorly written explanations to the answers.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  18. Pheonicks56

    Pheonicks56 Kilobyte Poster

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    Howdy and welcome to CF!

    I agree whole heartedly with Michael and GBL, I also recommend the Mr. Ford's Class podcast from iTunes.
     
    Certifications: BSIT, AAIT, A+
    WIP: Network+
  19. Notes_Bloke

    Notes_Bloke Terabyte Poster

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    Hi & welcome to CF:D

    NB
     
    Certifications: 70-210, 70-215, A+,N+, Security+
    WIP: MCSA

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