What to do?

Discussion in 'Training & Development' started by lou1386, Feb 13, 2007.

  1. lou1386

    lou1386 New Member

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    Good Day People

    I've got a serious question and hope some could possibly please help on this. I am on my way to start training, but still do not know whether I am doing the right thing. The training I am about to do is a combined package, involves more practical than normal course attendance and is quite expensive. So I do not want to go wrong. Okay this is what it consists of:

    CompTIA A+
    CompTIA N+
    Microsoft MCSA with Exchange
    Cisco CCNA
    Novell CLP (Certified Linux Professional)
    CompTIA Project+ Intermediate
    Microsoft Project Advanced Training

    This goes through till the end of the year. Another thing is someone told me it is important when finished to decide on one thing to specialize in??

    As I only start towards the end of March, what other essential IT certification can i do?

    Thanks in advance!
    Have a good one!
     
  2. tas121

    tas121 Nibble Poster

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    your thinking of completing all that in one year?
     
    WIP: A+,mcp.mcdst,mcsa
  3. Raffaz

    Raffaz Kebab Lover Gold Member

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    Thats alot to do in a year, some people take that long to do the A+
     
    Certifications: A+, MCP, MCDST, AutoCAD
    WIP: Rennovating my house
  4. lou1386

    lou1386 New Member

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    The institution (Torque-IT) is the largest in Africa. I am in South Africa so by the way. They are certified by all the leading certification groups.

    So they draw up approved internal exams, which then qualify you for their Master Network Engineer Diploma. So the exams from the providers are excluded. But I will be doing them. Will take a while with Cisco though.
     
  5. nXPLOSi

    nXPLOSi Terabyte Poster

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    Seems like alot to get done it one year. I have to question training companies who say they can do this, people have different learning speeds, and adapt differently to different situations. I imagine it will be very very intense, and the fact that they have "approved internal exams" means the standard is most likely not as the examining body's level.

    I know you say you will take the official exams, which is good, but do you really think you'll have time to do that, in that schedule? I cant see where you'll have time to eat, let alone sit the real exams.

    Not to be too negative, at the end of the day the decision lays with you, but I'd have to seriously question the provider. I dread to think how much they're charging for the year as well, training companies in London charge over £1000 for a 5day course, let alone a year! :)
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA 2003 (270, 290, 291), MCTS (640, 642), MCSA 2008
    WIP: MCSA 2012
  6. lou1386

    lou1386 New Member

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    Okay thanks. Yeah here it is quite expensive to. How about my future after doing this? Employment and so on? I always worry about the fact that stuff get outdated so fast!

    And I don't believe I will do the official exams the same year.
     
  7. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    You may have some qualifications by the end of the year, but you won't have the experience to go with them. So don't expect to walk into a job right away.

    That is a wild mix of certs, IMHO. Why such a mix? What sort of career are you hoping to start?

    Harry.
     
    Certifications: ECDL A+ Network+ i-Net+
    WIP: Server+
  8. stuPeas

    stuPeas Megabyte Poster

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    You say that these are "INternal" exams, and that the "providers exams are excluded". Well...to me this means that you are just passing the companys own exam (which might not be worth a thing IMHO) and not the actual exams you are listing. If you go for the REAL exams, you will also have to pay extra for them.

    I would agree with everyone else, and in my opinion the fact that they say all this can be done in less that 12months would sound alarm bells to me. I would look into a company that offers the endorsed training and then enters you into the external exams, and even then i would only choose 2 qualifications at the most (you can always do more if you find you are moving along quickly.

    LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    This is my opinion only and no inference that the mentioned training company is "dodgy" is implied.
     
    Certifications: C&G Electronic, CIW Associate (v5).
    WIP: CIW (Website Design Manager)
  9. lou1386

    lou1386 New Member

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    This is called the Master Networking Engineer Diploma. Yes i believe the official exams will be written only after this year. The thing that i want for a career is as follow:

    I spoke to someone and he asked me the same question. He explained me that there is the Blue Collar and the White Collar jobs. Blue s the technician part, you do more practical on the hardware and go out to companies fixing this etc.. (Short description)...then there is the White Collar, this is what I want to do, an office, providing support but a more on the software side and more designing the infrastructure and implementing and maintaining this. The more I look into these things, the more I am intrested in servers. So experience is important, I know I wont walk into a job as a main chief and so .... But just one question, looking through the above mentioned courses, which will I benifit more from when specializing in a specific one?
     
  10. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    Blue collar and white collar? I've just fallen through a time-warp!

    I haven't heard those terms in years. And, IMHO, they don't apply in the world of computers. :biggrin Once upon a time when people worked in big dirty factories then the blue/white collar distinction meant something. In my view it doesn't mean anything in the IT world.

    Look carefuly at real adverts for jobs to see if the "Master Networking Engineer Diploma" is ever mentioned. That will give you some idea of its validity. CCNA and MCSA are a much better 'currency' in the cert world I would have thought.

    However - I have to say that I know nothing of the job market in S Africa, so things may well be quite different there.

    Harry.
     
    Certifications: ECDL A+ Network+ i-Net+
    WIP: Server+
  11. lou1386

    lou1386 New Member

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    I do believe when I eventually go job hunting, all that I have done, with the appropriate official exams from the vendors, will be placed individually on my CV i.e CCNA, MCSA, A+, N+ and so on...

    So by the way, thanks for your opinions aand time!!
     
  12. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Diplomas are relatively worthless in the IT world. Certifications and degrees are what matter. I'd suggest getting the certification as soon after your course as possible (if you decide to do the course - I'm a big believer in self-study methods). That said, experience will trump even certifications and degrees.

    As far as server work is concerned... any job administering servers will not be an entry-level job. You can pass all the courses in the world, get all the certifications in the world, and get all the IT-related degrees in the world, and VERY few companies (if any) are going to allow you to touch their servers without experience. That means starting at the bottom, working your way up, just like most of us did. The more knowledge you have, the more intelligence you have, and the more dedicated you are, the faster you will rise through the ranks. It's that simple, really.

    Personally, I'd suggest getting the A+ certification, then getting an entry-level IT job, such as help desk or field service tech. Start acquiring as much experience as possible, hopefully doing things that will start leading you towards those server admin jobs you desire. Continue certifying - that's gonna take after-hours effort on your part - getting the N+, MCDST, MCSA, CCNA, etc. Keep advancing in your career (switching jobs when necessary) and you'll end up where you want to be. Just keep in mind that there are no quick shortcuts to get the career of your dreams... if there were, we'd all be taking them (or would have taken them in the past).

    Best of luck to you! We are here when you need us. :)
     
    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. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    I second that!

    These exams can be really tough, so in reality you need to sit the exam as soon after doing the related course as possible. You will find that the course will not cover the material in enough depth to pass the vendors exams, so ideally, you should do the course, then drill down on the topics using self study, and then sit the exam. You will find that once you start another course, you will soon start to forget what you just learned.

    I feel that is too much to take on, and would urge you to re-consider your options.
     
    Certifications: C&G Electronics - MCSA (W2K) MCSE (W2K)

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