Destop support ladder

sbuckland

Hello, I am currently a Desktop Support tech with almost 5 years of experience under my belt. Trying to decide where I want to go from here. I am considering breaking into the Systems administrator role, however I am a little confused. I have experience from desktop support with active directory and a few other areas, But I am not sure what certs to get. I know there is the MCSA, but I also saw that CompTia has a Server+ cert. Should I get Server plus first, then MCSA, or skip Server+ all together. Any other certs recommended.

Thank You.


I currently hold Net+, Security+, Project+, Linux+, and a couple Web design certs.

seth479

From what I know of Server+, it seems to be a more broad exam on your environment and processes dealing with storage, hardware, disaster recovery, etc. I'm sure Server+ may be beneficial in some situations where you're maybe building out a new environment but if you want to get in to actual Microsoft administrator dealing with the software side then MCSA would be what I started with. The MCSA also deals with some stuff like storage, disaster recovery but also goes further in depth with setting up access to your environment more than the Server+ would.

dmoore44

The CompTIA certs are vendor agnostic and therefore focus more on best practices or general knowledge. If you're wanting to break in to a sysadmin role, I would say that your best bet is to go for the Microsoft certs (or perhaps LPIC or RHSA if you're interested in Linux). The vendor/platform specific certs will go further in helping you in to a new role.

coreyb80

Good question OP, I have about 2 years experience now and I keep going back and forth between System Admin and Network Admin.

NetworkNewb

MCSA definitely sounds like your next logical step, just focus on that right now. Not easy exams imo. Don't even worry about other certs until you get that one. You will learn a lot that will help you move forward with that cert.

Everytime I start thinking ahead and about different certs I get side tracked.

stryder144

My advice would be to skip the Server+ exam. My reasons are as follows:

1. A quick check of indeed.com showed one job that preferred the Server+ cert. I am sure there were more but they were few and far between.
2. There are precious few books for the new SK0-004 exam. One is coming out in about three months, though, but it remains to be seen whether that will be useful or not.
3. The exam costs $285. You can probably get the exam for a 10-25% discount if you shop around. If you pay full price for that one exam, you would be $15 dollars away from the cost of two out of the three exams needed to become an MCSA: Windows Server 2012. If you are currently enrolled in a university, you can pick all three Microsoft tests up for less than $260 (Microsoft academic pricing).

Overall, considering the cost of the exam and the relatively few jobs seeking it, I don't think it will provide you with a good enough return on investment. Ultimately, from my vantage point, you are much better off getting the MCSA: Windows Server 2012.

tpatt100

NetworkNewb wrote: »

Everytime I start thinking ahead and about different certs I get side tracked.

this is me, I waste so much time planning long term that I end up doing nothing at all.

RoyalRaven

Definitely knock a few Microsoft tests out first given their usefulness. I went after the Server+ when I needed a break from Microsoft exams and wanted to prove that I really knew the ins-and-outs of servers.

nascar_paul

I'm going to join the chorus of voices recommending MCSA. I'm currently following the 70-410,411,409 track to give me both MCITP: Virtualiztion and MSCA: Server 2012r2 certs. That'll keep you busy for a while, then you can decide if you want to continue in server maint in your career or start on something like CCNA and start moving over to network maint then eventually design.

Chadius

I would suggest the same.

Nascar_paul: would that be 74-409 your adding to the server tests?

nascar_paul

@Chadius: Yes sir! 74-409: Server Virtualization with Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center. It's going to mean RE-designing my lab to incorporate System Center and perhaps buying another node to support high availability, but I think that on-the-ground experience in deploying and configuration SCCM will be invaluable.
Side note: I'm seriously thinking of getting a couple of Dell 2950s to host the lab, but I'm concerned about the noise and power consumption. Any other inexpensive suggestions for what will first be SCCM, then ESXi hosts?