What to do, how to do it ?

Discussion in 'General Microsoft Certifications' started by Ben, Nov 24, 2003.

  1. Ben

    Ben New Member

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    Hello,

    I am a 19 year old lad whos been working at a placed call PC Service Call for 14 months now (my first IT job). Its IT support over the phone for PC World. I am now fed up with the job and want to get out, i hate working on the phones every day.

    I went to college and did a GNVQ and NVQ in IT and a few small networking courses.

    I am looking to get a few more qualifications to my name. Would like to move into networking job, Network Analyst or sometime along that line.

    However, i really have no idea where to start.

    What did you lot start out doing, MCP/MCSE ? should i be doing Windows XP, Windows 2000 Pro/Server or Windows 2003 Server.

    Just to let you know my place of work will not pay for the courses, in fact on wednesday i am thinking of handing in my notice.

    In your eyes whats the best way to gain theses qualifications, read the books then do the exams or go to a boot camp.

    Any information/comments would really be appreciate.

    Thanks for the help
     
  2. Nelix
    Honorary Member

    Nelix Gigabyte Poster

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    Hi Ben,

    First of all it seems that your interest lies in the networkingside of things so MCSE would seem to be the way to go, there are a few ways of attaining this, either self study and buy your study literature and pay for you exams when you feel ready to take them, lots of people find this way best for them, the other way is to go through a training provider, these courses can be around £3,000 to £4,000, shop around thats just a guess. the training provider usually includes study material and exam fees in the course fee, the benefit of using a provider is that they are just a phone call away if support is needed. Help is available from various sources to help pay for the course, visit a learning zone or such like, try the job centre to see if they can point you in the right direction for possible funding.

    As for leaving work, you have to remember that a job is a job and it pays the bills, remember that if you leave of your own accord you will not be elageble for any benefits, so how will you pay for your study material.

    If you need any more advice just shout, i'm sure somone else will be along soon to provide more information
     
    Certifications: A+, 70-210, 70-290, 70-291, 74-409, 70-410, 70-411, 70-337, 70-347
    WIP: 70-346
  3. SimonV
    Honorary Member

    SimonV Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    Hey Ben,

    Now this is a popular question asked by many. I'd say from what you've already told us that cost would be the major consideration here and the cheaper the better.

    I personally have had my course fees paid for by my employer so the £3000+ price tag doesnt really have much impact on me. But I can imagine what it must be like for the guys that had to dig into thier own pockets to cover the costs.

    You can achieve the same results using self study methods as you can with a training provider, yes you dont get the support but if you look hard enough you'll find plenty of people ready to help you out if you get stuck (cheap plug for the forum).

    Finding out how you study best is a good place to start, your learning style is one thing your going to need to know soon. Are you the type of person that can learn from reading books or do you find the classroom enviroment better? Are you a fast learner or do you need to take your time and want to know everything and take your time.

    At the end of the day the choice is yours we can but advise you. If I was to undertake such a large course as the MCSE and be paying for it myself then I would save my beer tokens and spend then on a classroom based enviroment course as thats how I learn the best.

    I'm sure the others here will give you a different take on this but thats my point about learning styles.

    HTH
    SimonV
    :D
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2015
    Certifications: MOS Master 2003, CompTIA A+, MCSA:M, MCSE
    WIP: Keeping CF Alive...
  4. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    Being from the other side of the pond, I have no idea what those are <sadly>. What I'd suggest is not ignoring the more entry level certs such as A+ and Network+. At 19, unless you've got a world of specialized experience beyond your years, you're not going to be hired for a top flight networking job right off the bat. Expect to spend some time swapping out hard drives and upgrading RAM. Sure, it's a step up from being chained to a phone, but people are going to want to know that you can actually do what your qualifications say you can.

    I changed careers in mid-life so, even though I'm quite a bit older than you are, experiencially, I'm at more or less the same level. I was never in a call center (thankfully), but the vast majority of my experience is in Ethernet rollouts and OS and hardware upgrade projects, being picked up for this work by various recruiters from all over the U.S. Eventually, I'd like to work in network support, but I have to "build up my chops" first.

    Hope this helps some.
     
    Certifications: A+ and Network+
  5. Jakamoko
    Honorary Member

    Jakamoko On the move again ...

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    Not much to add to the above, Ben. Sound advice all round. I'm also with Nitlc (course provider), and payed for it myself, so it certainly does pull it into focus.

    One point, SimonV made (and undersold himself a bit on) - this site is a wonderful font of FREE knowledge. There are highly talented Folks in here, with vast experience of all aspects of IT. All of them are here to offer help and advice to anyone needing it (and Lordy knows, I need it at times.)

    f you do go solo, use this site for your support. Its what its here for.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 2, 2015
    Certifications: MCP, A+, Network+
    WIP: Clarity
  6. AJ

    AJ 01000001 01100100 01101101 01101001 01101110 Administrator

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    :iagree

    I paid for my course myself and 1 of my retakes, so the finantial side is a lot to consider. But like said earlier this place is a fountain of knowledge and everyone is real friendly. Even when you have finished there is still so much to learn.

    Andrew
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCSA (messaging), ITIL Foundation v3
    WIP: Breathing in and out, but not out and in, that's just wrong

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