CompTIA Career Pathways and Me

HorizonThief

Hello all,I'm looking for a little guidance in my certificate journey. I currently work as a student employee for a community college. I mostly monitor the primary computer lab (read: do HW), but I also help my boss implement software installation and updates, setup or reimage computers, minor troubleshooting, and swap out parts. Not glamorous but I have good rapport with the faculty and staff.

]I started working on a degree in Networking this last semester after moving away from an Art degree. Now I’d like to start on a couple certificates. I’m hoping to work myself into a job at the college in the in IT department following a similar path that my boss took to get his job here (Student Employee, Internship, and finally Permanent).

]My boss has his A+ and MCSE certs, but I’m thinking it would be better to grab a few others. I’m currently looking at earning these in the order listed:

• CompTIA A+
• MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure
• CCNA
• CompTIA Security+

Does that look like a solid cert foundation?

CompTIA has a cert pathway located here: CompTIA Career Pathways

They recommend:

• CompTIA Healthcare Technician
• ITIL Foundation
• HDI Desktop Support Technician
• HDI Support Center Analyst
• Microsoft Technology Associate: IT Infrastructure Track

So, I'm not sure what would be the best pathway to follow.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

-HorizonThief.

srabiee

I wouldn't invest too much faith in the CompTIA roadmap. The certs it lists are all over the place. They used to have an interactive version that was a neat tool to play around with, but I definitely wouldn't recommend following it to a tee.

Regarding your cert path, it really depends on what aspect of IT you are interested in.

For example, if you want to pursue network administration or network engineering, I would recommend starting with the Cisco CCENT and then go for the Cisco CCNA: R&S. The CompTIA Network+ isn't a bad cert to have, but the problem with CompTIA is that everything is vendor-neutral and basic entry-level stuff. I'd be inclined to skip it and start with the CCENT.

If you want to go the system administration, system engineering, or desktop administration route, then Microsoft and/or Linux certs are going to be the way to go. If you want to stick with Microsoft products, then I recommend beginning with the MCSA: Windows 7 or MCSA: Windows 8 cert. This will require passing two exams that are quite difficult, even for professionals with several years of experience under their belts. From there, you should pursue the MCSA: Server 2008 or MCSA: Server 2012 cert.

I think the MCSE cert is way out of reach for you right now. It requires first obtaining the MCSA: Server 2012 cert, and then passing several more extremely difficult exams to obtain, which require years of hands-on experience with advanced Microsoft technologies. Start with the MCSA stuff and don't worry too much about the MCSE at this phase in your career. You need some experience under your belt as a sysadmin first.

The A+ is always good to have. It's generally a requirement for entry-level positions in computer repair or helpdesk positions. I think you will find that after you get a year or two of professional experience under your belt, the cert quickly becomes obsolete.

The Security+ may be a requirement for certain government jobs. Unless you are pursuing jobs related to security and/or government jobs (which often require some sort of clearance) then you may want to skip this one.

So, I guess the question is, what are you interested in the most, and what IT career path do you want to pursue?

HorizonThief

Thanks for your time Srabiee,

I'm not entirely sure what path I want to follow. I'm enjoying my time as a help desk-lite position but I would like to take on a more expansive help desk role. I think I'd like to pursue the Network Administrator down the road. The reason I have Sec+ listed is because there are quite a few government jobs in my area that require it, so I figured "why not?"

Tentative Certificate Path:
- CompTIA A+
- Cisco CCENT
- Cisco CCNA: R&S
- MCSA: Windows 7
- MCSA: Server 2012

Possibly followed by:
Security+

After I graduate with my current A.S. I'd like to enroll in the WGU to pursue a B.S. in I.T.

Thanks for your help Srabiee. I feel more confident in my approach to the certs.

- HorizonThief.

P.S.: I'm having an impossible time typing in the TechExam forums. It doesn't always register my keystrokes and when it doesn't I have to press the key 2-3 times before it registers it. I've tried to type a response in a separate application but I can't paste the message here once done. I don't have this issue on any other site and it's present in both IE (gross, I know..), Chrome, and two other systems. Any ideas Srabiee?

srabiee

Going for both MCSA and CCNA isn't a bad idea. You would be qualified as a jack-of-all-trades sort of sysadmin or netadmin role. As you gain more experience in that type of role and want to pursue more on an engineering position or specialized role, you would probably end up focusing more on any given path. By that time you would know exactly what to focus on.