Would this be a realistic/valuabe/focused cert path?

I recently took a VoIP class at my community college and found it pretty interesting. My instructor recommended that I get certified in networking, an operating system and virtualization. I would like to have a specialization for the most part but I want to be broad enough for an entry-level job.

I was thinking of pursuing the MCSA: 2012, VCP5-DCV and CCNA: Routing and Switching this year. Next year I would pursue the CCNA Voice early in the year, then get the MCSE: Communications track and possibly CCNP: Voice if no BS shows up in my life. I will also be taking a Linux course in the spring so maybe the RHCSA/RHCE. Possibly the Wireshark certification as well.

Overall, by June if everything goes right I would have the following: CCNP:RS, CCNP:Voice, MCSE: Communication, RHCE, WCNA, and VCP5-DCV. Is that assortment of certs overkill for a student who hasn't gotten into the field yet? I would not expect some job title like "VoIP Engineer" starting out at 80 grand, but I want to get the testing/certification process out of the way while I have the time/effort/resources available. My college has a pretty nice Cisco lab with phones and a killer ESXi setup. The main motivation for me doing those tests is to gain confidence in my knowledge and know that I can do any task thrown at a junior-level sysadmin or network admin.

I just want to get a full-time job even if it's 25,000 a year. Being an employer's market it seems like anything less than perfection is trash, maybe it's my imagination but I feel like I have to go above and beyond to even stand a chance. Would the certs work against me, or would prospective employers/hiring managers view the ambition in a positive light?

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Comments

OctalDump

Congrats on getting there. It's a good number of certs for someone without a lot of work experience. And it is a really good set of 3 to have.

We need more of these posts, from vague dreams to concrete fulfilment.

DoubleNNs

Congratulations!!

Re-read thru the whole thread now and it's awesome to hear that you accomplished all those goals. Also glad that my words helped!

Good luck on the job search, I'm sure recruiters will be blowing up your phone! Make sure you work hard on your resume and market yourself as well as possible. (I often throw my resume up here on the forum for critique and it has helped a lot. Looking at other people's resumes as examples also helps a lot for me - whether other resumes here on Techexams, looking at blog sites of some of my tech role models and reading their credentials/resumes, Google searches, or even looking thru resumes on Indeed) Also make sure you work on your interviewing skills and plan for salary negotiation.

2015 is almost over. Do you have any tech goals for 2016, whether they're cert related or just you wanting to know more about a specific topic?

Chev Chellios

Congrats dude, that is a great achievement! Carry on the journey and good luck finding the next role quickly!

fuz1on

Great job!!!

thatguy67

DoubleNNs wrote: »

Congratulations!! Re-read thru the whole thread now and it's awesome to hear that you accomplished all those goals. Also glad that my words helped!

Good luck on the job search, I'm sure recruiters will be blowing up your phone! Make sure you work hard on your resume and market yourself as well as possible. (I often throw my resume up here on the forum for critique and it has helped a lot. Looking at other people's resumes as examples also helps a lot for me - whether other resumes here on Techexams, looking at blog sites of some of my tech role models and reading their credentials/resumes, Google searches, or even looking thru resumes on Indeed) Also make sure you work on your interviewing skills and plan for salary negotiation.

2015 is almost over. Do you have any tech goals for 2016, whether they're cert related or just you wanting to know more about a specific topic?

Thanks man. I am going to spend the weekend on my resume and then start sending out applications. I have a recruiter who is already interested and is waiting for me to email him my resume. I think most of my 2016 goals will not involve new certs: Getting a job I'm happy with, maintaining/expanding my knowledge for the certs I have, quitting smoking, scripting, Wireshark.

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on your successes!! Onwards to a new year

abyssinica

DoubleNNs wrote: »

I think the CCNA and MCSA are actually entry level certs. And considering he already made progress on completing both, I see no reason to do any of the CompTIA trio, except the Sec+ and that's a maybe.

I agree, they are overpriced considering the low ROI, in my opinion

DoubleNNs

@thatguy67 - Out of curiosity, what type of scripting are you planning on getting into?
Languages? Platforms? (Windows/*nix etc) Any specific tasks you already plan on automating?

mzx380

I applaud your track and will be mimicking you. Congratulations on your success so far.

thatguy67

DoubleNNs wrote: »

@thatguy67 - Out of curiosity, what type of scripting are you planning on getting into?
Languages? Platforms? (Windows/*nix etc) Any specific tasks you already plan on automating?

PowerShell for sure. Python is also in my sights. I got an offer that I will likely accept. They use LabTech so I would be studying their scripting as well.

My resume seems to be good. I've been getting about 5-6 calls a day, and an interview for the majority of places I sent out applications. It's really cool to have options. An amazing improvement from 8 months ago when I was wondering how my life would pan out.