Advice Needed

smguthrie

I've been trying to come up with a 2017 development plan at work and this is what I've come up with as far as certifications go.
Does this look like an appropriate route to take before going for the Windows Server MCSA in 2018? At that point, how much time should I give myself to study for each of the three MCSA exams?

• A+ (May/June)
• ITIL Foundation (June)
• Networking MTA (August)
• Network+ (September)
• Server MTA (October)
• Server+ (December)

PCTechLinc

At first glance your aspirations seem pretty aggressive, depending on how much time you have available to dedicate for studying. However, even without taking or passing the exams, it never hurts to learn as much as you can (unless you start forgetting what you've learned).

As far as the MCSA exams, I can only speak to the Server 2008 versions, but have heard the 2012 are just as difficult. With a fairly aggressive studying schedule, I would probably give myself 3 months of dedicated study per Microsoft exam. Myself included, there are plenty of people that have failed MCTS-level Microsoft exams multiple times.

I hope my answer wasn't too general, and points you in the right direction.

PC509

How much experience do you have in the field? If you have a bit, the A+/Network+/Server+ will be fairly easy.

I've just started my ITIL Foundation studies. I'd give that 2 months, depending on how dedicated you are. It's boring and dry material. When mapping out my ITIL studies, I made sure to throw in the necessary nap time.

MCSA exams - give a few months, like PCTechLinc mentioned. They are leagues ahead of the CompTIA stuff. Not extremely difficult if you know the material, but it's a lot more difficult than the more entry level stuff as well as a different test style.

smguthrie

PCTechLinc wrote: »

At first glance your aspirations seem pretty aggressive, depending on how much time you have available to dedicate for studying. However, even without taking or passing the exams, it never hurts to learn as much as you can (unless you start forgetting what you've learned).

As far as the MCSA exams, I can only speak to the Server 2008 versions, but have heard the 2012 are just as difficult. With a fairly aggressive studying schedule, I would probably give myself 3 months of dedicated study per Microsoft exam. Myself included, there are plenty of people that have failed MCTS-level Microsoft exams multiple times.

I hope my answer wasn't too general, and points you in the right direction.

Thanks for the reply! I was wondering if it was maybe a little too aggressive. Is there a huge difference between the MTA certs and the CompTIA certs? I was planning to use the MTA's as a pre-test if you will for the CompTIA's.

Also, I'll be taking some classroom courses that will help with A+, Networking, and Servers. I'll be matching my own self-study resources to those classroom courses as I go along.

smguthrie

PC509 wrote: »

How much experience do you have in the field? If you have a bit, the A+/Network+/Server+ will be fairly easy.

I've just started my ITIL Foundation studies. I'd give that 2 months, depending on how dedicated you are. It's boring and dry material. When mapping out my ITIL studies, I made sure to throw in the necessary nap time.

MCSA exams - give a few months, like PCTechLinc mentioned. They are leagues ahead of the CompTIA stuff. Not extremely difficult if you know the material, but it's a lot more difficult than the more entry level stuff as well as a different test style.

I don't have much technical experience. I have some general knowledge and some basic networking knowledge, but nothing extensive.
I've been on the mainframe side of the world for a number of years, but my manager wants me to get more involved in the distributed side of things since the mainframe will slowly be going away over the next 2-3 years.

PCTechLinc

If you haven't already, download the objectives list for each certification, and do an honest self-review of how much your current level of knowledge relates to each objective. This forum is loaded with posts from other people with similar backgrounds, and how long they took to pass each exam. I usually have ridiculous personal goals when it comes to certification and education, and reading others' experiences helps put me back into reality.

jul21

MTA exams are much easier than the compTIA exams. I have took the MTA:OS before then took the A+ exam. Theres a big difference on the difficulty of CompTIA exams than the MTA. Also CompTIA exams are much recognized than MTA, most employers just know MSCA upwards than MTA. I'll prefer just going straight to compTIA exams but if you have enough resources to spend for MTA why not.

ming746

I've never took anty MTA exams! Took two comptia exams! Got both certs but had to take one twice

smguthrie

Ok....upon further review....I've decided to move the server certs to 2018 and extend the others.

• A+ (June)
• ITIL Foundation (July)
• Networking MTA (September)
• Networking+ (December)

PCTechLinc

Looks a lot more realistic now! Just curious: why are you going for Networking MTA then Network+ right afterwards? The MTA looks like it has the same objectives as the Net+, and you could use the extra study time to either knock out Net+ sooner, or jump into something like ICND1. Just a thought. If your company is footing the bill for everything, then it's understandable. If you are, then you may want to consider jumping right into the Net+.

smguthrie

PCTechLinc wrote: »

Looks a lot more realistic now! Just curious: why are you going for Networking MTA then Network+ right afterwards? The MTA looks like it has the same objectives as the Net+, and you could use the extra study time to either knock out Net+ sooner, or jump into something like ICND1. Just a thought. If your company is footing the bill for everything, then it's understandable. If you are, then you may want to consider jumping right into the Net+.

Yes, my employer pays for the exams. I was thinking the MTA was maybe a slight step "down" from the the Net+ exam, and I'd use the MTA as a gauge of which areas needed more study time for the Net+.

Another question for you....
I've seen it recommended on this forum to go through the networking (MTA/Net+) certs before moving onto the server (MTA/Server+) certs. I would like to get the server certs out of the way first, but not at the expense of not have a full understanding of everything. Do you feel that would be a wise move, or is it definitely better to get a full understanding of networking before servers?

PCTechLinc

My own opinion, I think everyone should have the basic three: A+, then Net+, then Security+. Those lay the perfect foundation for all other exams, especially since CompTIA is vendor-agnostic.

For Server+, when I took the exam years ago, it was VERY difficult for me, but mainly because I hadn't studied the material in years. I really only studied for Security+, since I took Net+, Security+, and Server+ on the same day. I don't know how much the exams have changed other than the Security+, but it seems like CompTIA has definitely made their exams much more difficult than previously. I think it is a step in the right direction, because now you either have to have practical real-world experience, or memorize the books.