Which certs?

Hello all,
I am new to the forums and have a question. First off I am in my mid 30's looking to make a career switch to IT. In all of the jobs I have had, I have done some sort of tech support, but not in a formal capacity, so I am not making the switch without some experience. A local business is offering tuition assistance for people looking to get degrees or certs in several different areas and eventually work for them once achieved. They are offering classes in the Comptia trio, MCSA, CCNA, and VMWare.
My question is which ones should I go for? I am leaning more towards the MCSA or CCNA. I have an interest in both, but not sure which way to go. Which would be more beneficial in your opinion?
Thanks

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Comments

N2IT

Can't go wrong with the MCSA.

kanecain

In my opinion, if you want to jump into IT, and have a skillset that is attractive, learn Linux/Unix.

brunski

I think it really depends on what skills you have before taking any certifications, you have mentioned that you have some experience (unofficially) in tech support in which capacity? My personal experience meant that I had to start from scratch (A+) and work up based on the school I am currently in (and which certs I could get that was included or not included in the tuition). Also you should really plan in advance which certs you are interesting in getting (and can get a job with your experience).

siulas

Comptia: IN MY OPINION it is not worth doing comptia as if you're looking for a job, barely any employer looks for these.
MCSA: Good to have but it is not too difficult to achieve by studying on your own.
CCNA: Very well recognisable certificate, quite difficult to achieve, you learn a lot basics on how networks work in the background, you could study on your own but if they offer classes I would do those (I know that if you do classes you have to do classes exams before they allow you to do official exams, while when you study on your own you can just go and do exam) .
VMWare: handy to have, but in order to get certificate you have to finish classes (you're not allowed to do exam without training) , so looking to future, it would be handy to finish class and maybe do exam whenever you're ready later in life.

jaybird256

Thanks, I am leaning towards the MCSA. Which would be better Win 7 or 8.1? I have experience with 7, but should I go for the 8.1 now that its the newest?

dave1227

I'm sure opinions on this will vary. I'm in the same situation as you(career change to IT)and I just recently did an internship at a IT consulting firm and asked them the same question. They unanimously said do the Windows 8.1. I'm studying for the 70-687 exam now,it's not going to be an easy one I'm sure. I just passed the Security + the other day and have no idea how much employers look at it but I'd like to get into the security field eventually so I thought it made sense.

omi2123

Do the win8.1 mcsa....its lot easier than win7 & eventually everything is gonna veer towards 8......then do ccna & finally try to do linux certs....

jaybird256 wrote: »

Thanks, I am leaning towards the MCSA. Which would be better Win 7 or 8.1? I have experience with 7, but should I go for the 8.1 now that its the newest?

abyssinica

I think the MCSAs in Windows Server and SQL Server look great
MCSD in Web Development doesn't seem bad either

jaybird256

Thanks for the replies. After talking with the company, I am going to do the MCSA SQL Server. They have a big need for SQL programming and admin and they pushed me down this path, which will probably lead to a new position for me!

Staunchy

kanecain wrote: »

In my opinion, if you want to jump into IT, and have a skillset that is attractive, learn Linux/Unix.

If you want to go into servers I 2nd linux. The demand for linux skills have increased. My opinion the MCSA has become a commodity cert, now a days for a entry level helpsesk on position on jobs sites MCSA is being listed as a minimum requirement.