Cheap Certifications

nathann

What are some good and recognised certifications that are relatively cheap. Im looking to get into IT certifications but not sure I'm ready to potentially fail a costly exam.

cyberguypr

Well, I think you gotta be asking where do you want to go. A cheap cert that is not related to your end goal is not going to help much. If your goal is network, maybe A+ is not a wise idea. If you want to work in a Microsoft environment, you will need to focus on that. In the other thread you talked about Server+ but didn't mention the end goal. I say get some sense of direction first so you can maximize your investment.

danny069

Exactly, what are you looking to do? There is the ACE Certification - (AccessData Certified Examiner) : https://www.syntricate.com/computer-forensics-certification.html The AME - (AccessData Mobile Examiner) https://www.syntricate.com/mobile-forensics-certification.html And other free ones under 'legal solutions' These are for digital forensics topics. Oh, and they are free, can't get any cheaper than that right?

markulous

Define cheap.

There likely aren't going to be many certs that are super cheap or free that are going to help you a ton.

I agree with cyberguy. Figure out what you want first then go that route. Maybe you'll have to drop $150, but it'll at least be a good cert that is marketable.

Lexluethar

As everyone else has said - figure out your focal point first before dropping money and time on a certification.

Also i think you are approaching this the wrong way, getting certified isn't going to land you a job or guarantee money. What gets you the job and the pay increases is the time and effort you devote to your craft. The experience you gain during that time and learning along the way. Going in with the mindset of "i'm new to IT, i'm going to spend $100 on a certification and get a job and make a lot of money" is going to fail in the end. You will spend the money and either not pass or you will pass but won't land a job.

si20

My 2 cents: I got into certs for two reasons. A) I wanted to improve my knowledge (main reason) and I wanted to move up in the world, away from my tech support role. My advice is to start small. Start off with a cert like the MTA, or the CompTIA A+. I've seen people who no certs jump onto SANS 504 courses and fail, then wonder why. Start small. Build your knowledge and confidence. By the time you take SANS, you should have many years of solid IT experience and a few other certs. Same with the MCSA/MCSE - you need to do all of the ground work before you get those kinds of certs.

As far as cheap goes. As others have said, we need to define cheap. Is cheap £100? £50? £1,000? I presume cheap is < £100. So you need to be looking at the MTA's. I just googled it and apparently you have to pay a fee to keep your CompTIA certs?? what a joke!

And most importantly, you need to pick a topic you like. I'm soon to begin working in forensics, so I need to get some forensic certs. If I went and got a cert in virtualisation, it might not be quite as useful as a cert in EnCase, FTK or Xways etc. Define your budget and work from there. Study very hard and you wont fail

TechGromit

nathann wrote: »

What are some good and recognised certifications that are relatively cheap. Im looking to get into IT certifications but not sure I'm ready to potentially fail a costly exam.

There are plenty of tests exams that are pretty cheap to attempt. CCNET $150, Security+ $275, A+ $194, Network+ $268. The Exams of course are only part of the equation, obtaining the knowledge necessary to pass the exams are a different matter entirely. You could easily drop 4 grand on training for the A+, or you can spend as little as 20 bucks for an Exam cram book. This is how I passed the A+ and Network+ exams, I ordered the books from Amazon, studied them a week each, took and passed the exams within a week of each other. I had the benefit of over 10 years IT experience, when I took them, so I had a pretty good base to build upon. Also I had a financial incentive, new management decided that your salary was based on the number of certs you had, so I took some vacation time, studied my butt off, picked up two certs in a month and got a several thousand dollars a year raise for my efforts. It's possible to pass the exams with just picking up a few books, but it's certainly not easy.

If this sounds too expensive for you, then consider CISSP exam runs $599 and the GSEC exam around $1,000. And the Training costs considerably more. Even the official books for Checkpoint firewall training will run you $600.

Segovia

I agree with everything you said TechGromit however the A+ is really two exams now.. And the retail is $277 each exam... However you can find discounted vouchers for around 175-200, the total price will still be $350+ to get certified.

And then you have to pay some more each year to keep it. Agree with si20, what a joke!

Mike7

You can join a technology company or a system integrator for one of the vendors. The related certification exams are usually cheaper or even free.

For example, Microsoft requires their partners to have a minimum number of Microsoft certified employees and offers discounted training resources and exam vouchers. Some SI even tags your pay level to the certifications you achieve.

Gamesta400

Don’t choose your certifications just based on their cost, but on their value to employers. But Microsoft exams are some of the cheapest exams out there. I was buying vouchers from itexamvouchers.com this last summer for $102 each. So the cost for your Server 2012 MCSA would only be $306. The A+ cost more than that.