Hello from New Zealand from a Cert newbie with big ambitions!

scottishkiwi

Hello everyone.

What an awesome website Tech Exams is!

I recently moved to New Zealand from the UK. Thought I would be able to walk into a job when I arrived but has been much harder than I expected.. it may be due to my 7 month work visa or it may be despite experience I hold no formal qualifications or certifications.

I have worked as a laptop technician for 5 years previous to 4 years working in a Tier 1 network company as a service delivery manager. So I have a lot of experience working on computer hardware and software and have a good overview of IPVPN/MPLS networks and managing the delivery of large networks (not as a technician but as a delivery manager).

I don't however have any qualifications or certificates to backup my knowledge of computer hardware/software and nor do I have anything to backup my service delivery role. I went to a recruitment agency when I arrived in NZ and was told that I will struggle to get employment within either a technical or telecoms delivery role since I am from the UK (and therefore from companies they don't recognise) and because I hold no formal qualifications.

I gave it 6 weeks and despite applying for over 50 positions ranging from tech support to sales support and service delivery I have heard nothing but 3 rejection emails.. having come from 10 years of solid work and never out of employment I am really finding this lack of work difficult to cope with.

So I then come across this website.. and although I had thought about doing distance learning courses etc. previously I had never actually considered certifications but from what I have been reading it sounds like this could be the way forward for me.

I am in a position right now where I have lots of time and have my savings doing nothing so thinking what should I do?.. or more accurately, where should I start?

Before I left my last position I had been talking to my boss about transferring in the company from service delivery to an SE role to support sales when in came to designing networks for the customers. I picked up a lot of knowledge from my time working close with design engineers and with my technical background felt this was a good fit for me. I am therefore thinking it would be a good to stick with this plan and fill in all the holes from my network design knowledge and gain some certificates to help make me more attractive to employers while here.

My initial thoughts are to start off by getting certs in areas that I already know and therefore would require little study and then move onto something more challenging and appropriate for my goal. This will also allow me to gain some certs that will hopefully allow me to pick up a job before my savings run out! I have given it a little thought an started making a list of certificates that would be good for me to go for, any input into my situation or advise on my choice of certs or path would be greatly appreciated.

This is my list..

1. ITIL Foundation (I looked at the objectives of this and even though it wasn't called out as ITIL this was the type of framework I was used to while in my last job)

2. Prince2 Foundation (I worked on UK Gov projects for 2 years which the PM's all used Prince2, so again I have a good grasp of this)

3. CompTIA A+ (I may be 4yrs out the field but I have very strong skills in PC support so surely this will be easy for me?)

4. CompTIA Network+ (Seems a logically next step from A+ and will also help fill in any gaps I have with networks)

5. CompTIA Storage+ (a bit random but I saw this area grow a lot while working and interests me but I also notice that the cert is ending soon so thought if I can do the above 4 at turbo speed I could knock this on the head also)

6. VMWare VCP6-DCV (a follow on from the Storage+, VMWare being so common I think this would be a bonus to hold especially to assist in my hunt for immediate employment)

7. Amazon AWS CSA (I had a lot of customers connecting to AWS and this is only growing so seems a good idea)

8. Cisco CCNA R+S (by this point I should have a good foundation with network+)

9. Juniper JNCIA-Junos (Previous company used mainly Cisco but Juniper was being more n more and proved popular so having heard good things would like to check it out also)

10. MCSA (Start to get some MS certs under my belt)

11. CompTIA Secure+ (My previous manager told me I should definitely look into Security so #11 on my list)

12. MCSE (back to MS for next step up in cert)

13. Back to Cisco to concentrate on Design, Cloud and Security certificates.



I feel like the first 4 should be quite straight forwards with self study and I see no reason why I cant do them all within a month (does that sound plausible?) and therefore just in time to so the Storage+. If I can do this I would give myself 4 weeks to study for the VMWare and AWS certs before sitting down to put whatever time is required for my CCNA and moving on from there.. my estimates would say I could get to about 9 or 10 by around May which takes me to the end of my work visa. If I am able to extend my visa and also afford it (hopefully with the help of a job) I will continue at whatever pace I can but if not at least I would be returning to the UK with my CCNA and a few CompTIA certificates along with ITIL and Prince2.

I suppose I should get started immediately if I want any chance of doing this.. so off to read up on ITIL, wish me good luck!

OctalDump

So, first thing in choosing certifications to find work, is find out what certifications will get you work. This means reading job ads.
seek.co.nz might be a good starting point.

I did a quick search through (all NZ) and there does seem to be some demand for ITIL, Prince2 and A+. Not a lot for Network+, none for Storage+. Storage+ is being retired early next year, and doesn't have much visibility anywhere, but it does work well with VCP. There's a handful of VCP jobs.

AWS gets a lot of hits, so does CCNA. JNCIA, not much. But Juniper does. MCSA gets a few, MCSE gets a few more. Security+ has none.

But all this depends on the kind of jobs you are looking for. If you want something like basic computer repair, then A+ and maybe MCP (Windows 7 or would probably be enough. If you want more like delivery manager, then the ITIL and Prince2 Practitioner are good options. Maybe if you are going specifically into a network role, CCNA would be a good idea. CCNA is a fairly serious road, depending on how much background you have it could take you anything from 2 weeks to 6 months or a year. Juniper is most useful in conjunction with Cisco certification, as most Juniper shops will take a good Cisco person and train them anyway. Often listings will ask for Cisco with some Juniper, so both is good.

Something like VCP is more useful if you have other infrastructure experience, either networking or server but ideally some of both. Again it depends on where you are starting from. AWS is much the same, but potentially a better field in the medium term.

Security+ is good for the knowledge it covers. It's like a broad intro into Info Sec field. But it's rare that it would get you anything on its own. And seems like it isn't much known in NZ.

MCSA/MCSE Server is also a serious path. MCSA basically assumes that you have 12 months (or more) experience working with Windows Server in a small to medium enterprise (say 200+ users over 2 or more sites). You can get it with less experience (even no real world experience) but it does take some work. MCSE is a step above that again. It is aimed at someone quite experienced working with MS technologies is a medium to large environment. It is for those also tasked with engineering/designing/architecting IT infrastructures, not only administering them.

I think you should think maybe 9 or 10 exams in 6 months, rather than 9 or 10 certs. And treat the CCNA as 2 exams (there is 1 exam option, though). So maybe A+ (2 exams), MCP (1 exam), ITIL (1 exam), Prince2 Practitioner (2 exams), CCNA (2 exams)

Mow

To take a look at this from another angle, why did you move to NZ? Do you have friends there? Fins out if there are any local clubs or meetups for IT-related stuff and join them. Meet and network with people in the business. This will get you some local references, as well as potentially inside info when jobs are opening up, before they hit the job boards.

scottishkiwi

Hi OctalDump, thank you for your advice. I did similar to you with checking seek.co.nz first and this assisted in my choices. I opted for the Network+ purely to do prior to attempting CCNA to give me a better grounding. Similarly, I have seen a lot of work involving data storage, not specifically asking for Storage+ but I thought doing this would be like my reason for Network+, to give me a good grounding to then go onto my VMWare and other storage related certs (make sense?). I'm definitely going to start with ITIL and Prince2 (will do the Foundation first followed by practitioner and a later date to break up the solid PM learning with some more interesting tech exams).


CCNA and MCSA/E are my main objectives but thought doing the A+/Network+/Storage+ first would make the whole self study for CCNA & MCSA easier.


So do you think doing Security+ prior to CCNA would be better? I wanted to do this cert but I just assumed it would be something best done after CCNA.

scottishkiwi

Hi Mow. My move to NZ wasn't my option so I've arrived with no job, not contacts and don't know anyone. My wife got offered a job out here hence the move, it was her dream job and wasn't something we could turn down for her. I have already looked at local groups but the only IT related groups I have seen are for teaching old people how to use a PC so not quite what I was after.

Mow

Oh, ok, well maybe start your own group. Try to start up a study group for these exams, you can make contacts that way.

scottishkiwi

After going to bed last night following up reading a lot of forum posts I woke up with lots of enthusiasm and confidence so have decided to jump straight in and booked my exam for ITIL for the earliest time possible.. which seems to be Monday afternoon. Early I know, only gives me this afternoon and the weekend to revise (wife will love it, lol) however from what I've read about ITIL it seems a pretty straight forward framework.

I'm not totally reckless.. I just thought if I book it then it gives me a target instead of aimlessly studying until I feel that I am ready - this forces me to put more effort in and if I fail it will at least highlight where I have gone wrong.

So just this minute booked.. 3pm Monday 14th December is exam time. I'm seriously thinking about knocking off the Prince2 next week also but I will wait until I'm done with ITIL before booking it.

I'm just about to subscribe to CBT Nuggets.. got a 7 day trial so plenty of time but see they have a lot of courses so just debating with myself whether to go for the monthly or the annual subscription so to take advantage of the offline viewing and other extra's.. might just start with monthly to see how it goes. Is anyone aware of any way to discount the costs of this? I will also drop into the library this afternoon to see if I can pick up a copy of the ITIL handbooks, if not I will just stick with CBT and do as many practice exams that I can find.

techfiend

I'm also trying to decide my next certificate and relatively naive on ITIL but I've seen it on quite a few job listings lately. I've always thought it was a process for support positions in enterprise but I see it on admin and even engineer roles now. How does it benefit an engineer?

scottishkiwi

It's is a best practice framework so is applicable for every role within a business that adopts the ITIL approach. They are hard n fast rules giving specific response to issues but more of a guidance on how to approach and evaluate a task. I didn't know of ITIL and I saw it as a requirement on jobs and when I looked into it the outlines seemed to be the same approach my previous company used.. they must have just used it but never advertised the name. It seems to be very much an IT orientated framework but believe it can be applied to most business models.. I will be able to tell you more in a few days!

Mike7

ITIL is basically best practices for IT service management. Most companies practice it in one way or another. E.g. ITIL talks about configuration management, which is basically keeping copies of your production setup config aka backups. If you have been doing IT operations correctly, all will seem like common sense. Just think of it as a formal framework and note the terms used. The foundation exam will do.

I have been though this before. All the best for your exams and job search endeavor!

techfiend

Thanks for the info! Looks like it could be helpful and add some much needed diversity to my resume. I'll likely do it next, hopefully it isn't a snoozer like project+ but I learned a lot.

scottishkiwi

I got a pass mark of 84% so job done..

Prince2 is next on the list.. exam scheduled for Wednesday 16th December.. got 14.5hrs of CBT Nuggets to watch between now and then, here I go!

Mike7

Congrats!

techfiend

Yay! It's kind of unfortunate it took you more than twice as long as expected but you pushed through it!

Did you find the test mostly common sense or were there some tricky questions?

Also, you may want to pursue Storage+ after Prince2. It retires Jan. 15 and the A+ especially is a longer study. I can't speak for the latest tests but the previous A+ asked questions about some awkward topics. Too many printer questions, really close to being hazardous.

scottishkiwi

Passed my PRINCE2!

I used the full amount of time on the exam but passed it with no issues.

I'm eyeing up A+ now, going to try book my exams for this and start the study. I've knocked off #1 and #2 from my list this week so would be awesome if I could also knock off #3.. from what I've read Professor Messer videos are the best so going to take a look at them.

Mike7

Congrats! You are really on a roll.

scottishkiwi

That's my A+ now booked!

I have my 801 booked for Friday 18th and my 802 booked for Wednesday 23rd.. I was trying to get them both on the same day however there was only 1 slot left on Friday and then only 1 other slot left before next year so had to go for Wednesday. I suppose it means I can concentrate on studying for 801 today/tomorrow and and then I have the weekend and Mon/Tues to go over everything for 802.

My local exam centre is now fully booked for the rest of the year so means I wont be doing anything after A+.. perhaps a good things, hehe, but I really hope I can pass my 801/802 so I can finish off the year with 3 new certs under my belt, would be a downer if I don't pass and have to wait until next year before being able to re-sit!

someperson49

Good luck, it will be interesting to see how many you get through.

snowchick7669

Hey!

I've actually done the opposite of you and moved to the UK from New Zealand. Where are you based?

thatguy67

Congrats! You are building up some serious momentum.

scottishkiwi

snowchick7669 wrote: »

Hey!

I've actually done the opposite of you and moved to the UK from New Zealand. Where are you based?

Hi snowchick7669

I'm in sunny (and very windy) Wellington!

Really enjoying it here, why did you leave!?!?!

Dakinggamer87

Keep on pushing!!

jpg10

Hi there,

Whilst the Microsoft second shot offer is still running (link below) is it worth doing some of the exams from the areas that you have existing experience in to bolster your initial chances of finding work ? ie if you spent x no of years on Win 7/8 Server 2008/12 it shouldn't be a large leap compared to coming at a topic cold?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/learning/second-shot.aspx

Good luck with your studies and I hope you get sorted work wise,

j

OctalDump

ITIL and Prince2. Awesome. It's nice to hear success like this.

If you get through the A+ without too much trouble, it would be worth adding a Windows client exam, any of 7, 8, or 10. There's a good amount of overlap between A+ and the Windows client exams, so shouldn't be too much more work. That will give you an MCP as well, which won't do any harm.

The other thing I still recommend is pushing along down the ITIL and Prince2 path, since I think it will work well with your experience, and if those first two were as straight forward as they seem to have been for you, it is a good path.

For ITIL intermediate and expert certifications, you will need to do an accredited course, but the good news is that there are fully online accredited courses, and if you know where to look, for not much money at all.

techfiend

scottishkiwi: If you can get your sig done by June I'll buy you a keg. Heck, if you get it done by 2017 I'll buy you a beer. That's quite a lofty set of cert goals, good luck!

scottishkiwi

haha, cool.. I'll hold you to it techfiend!

To be honest, I don't know how long each cert is going to take.. I was confident with my initial 4 and aimed to get them done quickly just so I would have time to study and sit the Storage+ cert before it was retired. I don't have a storage background so I'm prepared for a steep learning curve and a lot of study. I really hope I can pass it first time since having looked at available slots for the exam I may only have 1 chance since they are full up for all dates but the 15th Jan so it would really be last minute!

After Storage+ is done things may slow down to a less hardcore pace however I need an ambitious target for all these otherwise I may become complaisant with my study.

I'm not sure how I'm going to find the Network+, I'm hoping from my experience as a service delivery manager for a network company that I will find the learning comfortable enough however time will tell. I have my A+ 220-801 exam tomorrow and feel very confident with that then the 2nd part on Wednesday which I'm sure I will nail (confidence!).. then its break for xmas as I'm going away with the wife but its back to study on the 4th Jan to cover Network+ and Storage+. I'll probably study both alongside each other and then do the Storage+ exam first and then sit the Network+ in the last week of Jan. I'm then hoping that having just done the Network and Storage it will leave me in a good position to tackle the VMWare and AWS certs throughout Feb.. but I could be completely wrong and fall on my face at this hurdle!

If I can hit my targets for Jan & Feb then I will feel more confident. I am already looking around for some deals on some 2821 routers and 3560 switches to start my CCNA lab so hopefully I will be all prepped and ready come March.

I'll keep you posted though.. The forum definitely helps with support and encouragement on doing these.. I just hope I don't have a couple of fails in a row knocking my confidence otherwise I may just crawl into a hole and no one will hear from me again

Chev Chellios

Nice one dude, keep going!

Honestly, for CCENT/CCNA it's nice to have real live kit but you don't have to have it. PT or GNS3 will do the job

scottishkiwi

Passed my 801.. easy pass with a score of 874, hopefully 802 on Wednesday will be just as straight forward and give me my A+ before the holidays.

Chev - Cheers. I had a quick look at GNS3, looks good however read a few reviews saying learning to use and setup your network within in the software is a learning curve of its own.. I'll take a look at PT also, hands on is probably going to be best for me but I'll give GNS3 a few hours of my time and if I can get a grip of using it and it's going to save me cash then I'll stick with it otherwise I'll shell out for a few routers and switches of my own for the spare room (wife is going to love me! haha)

scottishkiwi

another one bites the dust!

802 passed and now A+ certified.

Taking a break for xmas and back to study on 4th Jan where I will be prepping for the Storage+ so I can hopefully sit the exam before it is retired. I'm only able to give myself a week of study for it which I think is perhaps going to be a struggle but I don't have much choice.. if I have any free time over the hols though I'll try pick up my Storage and Networking book and go over a few chapters to help get ahead a little but I am definitely concerned I may fail due to lack of study time (and then won't be able to sit again).. but I like a challenge so game on!

scottishkiwi

For those that are following my progress and haven't seen my posts about my CompTIA Storage+ exams wanted to give you an update.

I sat my exam on the 14th, day before the exam retired and the last slot available in my area to sit the exam so was an all or nothing shot. I felt comfortable with most of the course objectives however given the choice I would have spent an extra week going over everything. I started study on the 5th and all in all I spent around 50hrs going over the material via both video and book.

I don't usually get nervous with exams but with this one I did, a mixture from the one shot only and not giving myself enough time to study.. I gave the exam a good go but came across some very poorly worded questions and a few asking about areas I never covered at all in my study. I had one particular question that had me sitting there for close to 10 minutes trying to calculate a somewhat complex math questions which really frustrated me and lost me a lot of much needed time. I finished the exam without enough time to check over all my answers and after found that I had just missed the pass mark with a score of 700, pass mark being 720. Not a good feeling I have to say.. I don't recall ever failing an exam so this was a first but worse still was knowing I wouldn't be able to sit it again despite being so close.

When I came out of the room to collect my print out I spoke to the receptionist at the test centre and explained the scenario. She was very understanding and said she would contact her boss to see if there was anything they could do in regards to having them open up an additional slot for me. I wasn't holding my breath however she came through for me and I was able to book a 2nd exam shot for the following day, the 15th.. I didn't however have much time to brush up on the objectives I had failed on. I managed to get 4hrs extra study in and I was then sitting down for the exam once again. This time I flew through a lot of the questions, there were a couple of poorly worded questions again but all in all I felt more comfortable with most of my answers. I realised something during attempt 2 though..

..there was another maths problem, nothing quite as complex as previous but something that needed some thought, it didn't take me long to work out the answer but just before proceeding to the next question I happened to see something in the top left corner.. a calculator symbol, I click this an up pops a calculator.. was this here on my last exam??? I bet it was.. I just never saw it, that would have saved me 10 minutes before and I would have had the time to go over my answers and most likely would have made corrections that wold have passed me the first time.. how frustrating! oh well, experience.. I know to look out for this type of thing in the future.. but really, if they had made this clearer to me at the time I wouldn't have been sitting there so long trying to work out how long a restore process would take based on a size of a hard drive and the MB/s transfer rate.. simple enough with a calculator but trying to do it in my head, dividing a 7 figure number into the double figure transfer rate and then multiplying this by 60 to work out the minutes, with no ability to write anything down (and in an exam environment where I had been flying through the questions up until then so completely throwing me off), well lets just say I wasn't happy.

Anyhow, to cut a long story short... 2nd time round it all worked out fine. I passed with a score of 828.. and just in time, nothing like last minute!

chanakyajupudi

Hello Scottish Kiwi!

I only just noticed your posts! Welcome to New Zealand!

I did move here early 2014 as a student. If you are based in WLG and are interested to go down the AWS road. Please do get in touch. I work with one of three Advanced AWS Partner firms and could find you something if you would like that.

Cheers

Chanakya