What is the standard that employers look for?

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Hi.

Am currently in a desktop support role for a recruitment firm and I am looking to build my skillset.

I have been in the role for around 2 years so have gathered some knowledge but not enough to aqquire any sort of certification without hitting the books.

Back when my brother was in the industry his company required MCSE as some form of standard I think. Has that now been replaced by MCITP? If not what should I be looking at getting myself qualified with? Ideally something higher up the foodchain as I would one day like to get into some Support Engineer/Consultancy role, but if i'm going in over my head please stop me now lol.

Cheers
Adam

 

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Hi again - sorry just spotted this thread near the bottom (would not let me link as new member)


Have had a read through it and now get that MCITP is a new transition & later technology then the MCSE but what I dont understand is there are different variations of the MCITP? What should I be looking at?

Are the training courses worth bothering with? or do you recomend any books?

Regards

 

Hey Adam,


Welcome to the forum! If you've only been doing desktop support for two years I would recommend going for the Windows 7 (or Vista) exams. I did my MCDST on XP last year and even after supporting XP for about five years I still learned some things by going that route. Once you do the client exams then I would look at the server exams, but if you havent actually sat in front of servers then the client certs will be of more value for you.


MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) | Training Courses for IT Professionals
That page has the certs that fall under the MCITP. The "Windows Client" ones are the ones that I would personally focus on at the moment. I understand that you want to broaden your knowledge base, but you have to start small. Don't mistake the client exams as being easy, though. They have earned a reputation of being challenging so take it for what it is. As for which cert to choose, I would look at "audience profile" on the exam info pages which give you an idea of the role that the exam is targeted for. One thing to keep in mind is that even when you support servers you will still need to know how the client works. By doing the client exams you will be a much stronger server admin in the long run.


As for course vs books, it's up to you. If you have the discipline to self-study you can buy books and even video training such as cbt nuggets or trainsignal. You can save a ton of money self-studying, but it requires discipline. If you need a teacher to instruct you and show you things then the video training can assist, but if you need the guidance of an actual classroom environment then do that. Just remember that it is entirely possible to self-study for exams. Just ask anyone on these boards who has done so. You'll get into it what you put into it. Best of luck!

 

I agree with Apoc - start with the Client exams first - it suits the level you are currently at and you'll probably learn content as well as exam practice/procedures along the way. Once you've nailed those then start reading up and virtualising some of the basic server exams - I don't know what the MCITP ones are but whatever are the equivalent of the 70-290, 70-291 from the Server 2003 stream will stand you in really good stead to start playing with.

As for self-study vs. training - I self-studying but then I'm motivated and have the time, only you know what you are like.

 

Thanks for your replies guys, I did try and reply earlier and only just realised it did not post on to the board due to some error with being a new member.

I will certainly look at the Client exams, can anyone recommend me a study book?

Thanks.

 

Definitely get the MS-PRess book, just make sure you download the Errata!

From there, if you're doing the Windows 7 client exam (70-680) - try Professor Messer for a free video secondary resource: Professor Messer, CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Microsoft Certification Training