This guy advises avoiding CompTIA. Thoughts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SToVcqyExgE

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Oh this guy... lol. I've seen his videos before and I think there's definitely a business in career advice/coaching, I don't know if he's the guy I would be having give it to me. I'm going to put my cynical hat on (like I ever take it off!). If you're going to take career advice from random person on the internet who makes "rah-rah" videos, make sure they're in a place or have the experience to coach you. I've seen his videos and some are good cheerleading videos but they're very very generic. I'd be interested in knowing what level of professional experience he has. That being said, he either hasn't updated his Linkedin profile which is odd since this Network Engineer Academy stuff is all over it or he only has entry-level certifications himself which would be amusing since he's advising people on what certification path to take and telling them to disregard entry-level certs.

Back to the original question of the post, I've gone back and forth in my head about CompTIAs to be honest. I think the foundational knowledge on them is VERY helpful. The N+ and S+ definitely helped me with foundational information with the CCNA and CISSP but someone could definitely say you don't need to pass the exam to study it which would be fair. They're more on the pricey side of the entry-level certification market but there are a lot of government agencies and contractors that require the Security+ or Network+ for some positions. Also, the Security+ can knock a year off the professional requirements for the CISSP so there are some benefits.

iBrokeIT

I think the benefits of starting off with 1-2 CompTIA certs definitely out way any negatives. Yes, they are expensive for entry levels certs but there is TONS of free or very cheap study material. Thats makes them a nice launching pad to gain some momentum and learning good study habits for other, more advanced certs. IMO, DON'T dwell on trying to collect more than 2 unless required by your employer or university.

Cheers!

OctalDump

I think his basic point is true. If you can pass MCSA and CCNA, then you don't have much need for A+/Net+. Employers won't care much about your A+ if you have MCSA/MCSE or your Net+ if you have CCNAs, or Linux+ if you are RHCE etc

The problem for most people is that to get to a point where you can pass these exams, you either need to learn something equivalent to A+/Net+, or get a job in the industry first (which is easier if you have some certification).

He suggests that you can get these certifications through intense studying. That might be true for some people, but I don't think it's true for everyone. People have different capacities, different strengths and weaknesses, different interests, and also have different circumstances and different values.

Security+ is different case, though. The closest equivalent is the GIAC GSEC, which is even more expensive. There's not much in that space of baseline, fundamental info sec qualification. It's useful for anyone in IT to have that base of knowledge. The next step up for generalist info sec certs (that have wide recognition) is CISSP, but you can't easily short cut that since it requires 4/5 years of experience.

thomas_

They're worth it if you live in a DoD/government heavy area or are planning on moving to such an area.

EANx

OctalDump wrote: »

Employers won't care much about your A+ if you have MCSA/MCSE or your Net+ if you have CCNAs, or Linux+ if you are RHCE etc.

Not always. Back-in-the-day, I had a CCNP and got a job with a very large employer. They had requirements and a training plan for anyone who met the minimum but not what they considered the ideal, one of these was the Net+. I argued it was stupid to require a CCNP to take the Net+ to no avail. I had never seen the exam so that evening I went to Borders (told you this was old) flipped through a study guide, passed the exam the next day and told them I'm happy to keep spending their money.

OctalDump wrote: »

He suggests that you can get these certifications through intense studying. That might be true for some people, but I don't think it's true for everyone. People have different capacities, different strengths and weaknesses, different interests, and also have different circumstances and different values.

I've known a couple of people who had/have photographic memories. All of them were great at passing tests but pretty lazy about studying and actually connecting concepts. I'm sure there are those who do well but I've never been impressed.

niravsurya

Hi thanks for information, i am starting my IT career, can you please advice me to choose between Desktop support or network admin, i don't have any experience in IT field. and what certification should i do to get my first it job?

EANx

It's better to start your own thread rather than hijacking someone else's.

NetworkNewb

Lol, I can't stand watching this guy's videos.

9bits

OctalDump wrote: »

I think his basic point is true. If you can pass MCSA and CCNA, then you don't have much need for A+/Net+. Employers won't care much about your A+ if you have MCSA/MCSE or your Net+ if you have CCNAs, or Linux+ if you are RHCE etc

This is interesting. I don't know anything about Microsoft certs, but does an MCSA teach hardware like A+? I've been under the impression A+ was really the only pc hardware-related cert.

NetworkNewb

9bits wrote: »

This is interesting. I don't know anything about Microsoft certs, but does an MCSA teach hardware like A+? I've been under the impression A+ was really the only pc hardware-related cert.

A+ is pc hardware related cert (well one of the 2 tests focuses on hardware). Where MSCA is a specific vendor certification that focuses on their OS.

A+ is good if don't understand how computers work. The reason he is saying Employers won't care about it if you have your MCSA/MCSE is because it is a pretty good assumption if you have your MCSA/MCSE you probably have a good grasp on the A+ material. Getting your A+ after you get your MCSA would look kind of weird (not bad, just weird)

emek

Iristheangel wrote: »

Oh this guy... lol. I've seen his videos before and I think there's definitely a business in career advice/coaching, I don't know if he's the guy I would be having give it to me. I'm going to put my cynical hat on (like I ever take it off!). If you're going to take career advice from random person on the internet who makes "rah-rah" videos, make sure they're in a place or have the experience to coach you. I've seen his videos and some are good cheerleading videos but they're very very generic. I'd be interested in knowing what level of professional experience he has. That being said, he either hasn't updated his Linkedin profile which is odd since this Network Engineer Academy stuff is all over it or he only has entry-level certifications himself which would be amusing since he's advising people on what certification path to take and telling them to disregard entry-level certs.

.

This guy mentions in one of his videos he is studying for his CCNP, so yeah....dude only has a CCNA. If anyone wants more well rounded career advise from someone, I would HIGHLY recommend youtuber "RouteHub". This guy is a CCIE, and really seems to "get it".

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM7BeU-fyFEl-6uRu06b4YA

stryder144

Honestly, I have a middle-of-the-road view of this topic.

First, a little disclaimer: I have taught A+, Network+, Security+, the MCSA for Windows 7 classes, and ITIL courses and currently manage instructors at an IT training center.

Second, my view of this topic is if you are someone who is new to IT or having trouble getting a job even with some experience in IT, CompTIA certifications can open doors. Notice I said can? A lot goes into the hiring process. Experience, certifications, education, and personality all play a factor. Entry level certifications, like ITIL and CompTIA, have opened a lot of doors for our students. Once the door is open, though, they need to put their best foot forward and apply the knowledge they've acquired to the questions asked. Not to mention, if their personality doesn't fit the team they will join, then nothing will help them. The certification was valuable in the sense that they were able to have the conversation with the hiring manager in the first place.

Third, once you've put your time in and have upgraded your skillset, then the CompTIA certs will not hold as much weight. For instance, I've met people with 20+ years in IT with no certifications or have maintained a minimum, entry-level set of certs. They have a very difficult time finding work. Those individuals that I meet who are successful, long-term, are constantly striving to attain the next level of certification or maintain their current high-level certification. If you are not willing to move up/forward, then you will probably see your CompTIA certs as less than useful. So if hiring managers don't see that career/certification/experience progression, then nothing will help, which is where I suspect people start looking at their entry-level CompTIA certs as useless. If you want a higher level position, and haven't upgraded your certifications to MCSA, CCNA, and above, then you only have yourself to blame, not CompTIA.

Fourth, some employers require a common body of knowledge for hires into the IT department. That is often A+ for deskside support, Network+ and Security+ for the network side. Those certifications, assuming they weren't dumped, are a decent baseline. If you are in the federal government, they are often required just to get the job, even if you have a CCNA or above. If you are on the federal contracting side, they often write contracts with verbiage that states that the company must have a minimum percentage of employees with Security+. I've talked to non-IT students who had to get their Security+ in order to keep their company in compliance with the defense contract.

Fifth, and last, in almost all of the classes I've taught I've made it a priority to give my students pointers to certifications that will build on their current knowledge and, hopefully, give them a career boost. I always temper that with the admonition that if they aren't constantly learning and building their experience then getting the highest certification in the land won't be of any use to them. In that case, attaining the CCIE or MCSE would provide them with reduced ROI, which would spark another pointless youtube video!

636-555-3226

If it's a request in job listings(and I see a lot of job listings asking for A+ & Security+) why wouldn't you want it?

TechGuru80

This guy sounds like a hater on getting continuing education lol. He also states that you have to pay $300-400 to renew your certifications, which is false....it's $50 per year to CompTIA.

You can't go from 0 to professional right off the bat...CompTIA serves as a starter program to get you going. Basically he is trashing CompTIA to be a Cisco fanboy. The CCNP is more valuable than the CCNA....so CompTIA gets you in the door, CCNA helps you get a little better, and CCNP gets you that higher level gig.

Oh and I find his use of the f word comical...isn't really helping get his point across.

Iristheangel

@Techguru80 - Not sure if he's really a Cisco fanboy either. He's got a CCNA and that's it right now. It's possible he didn't update his Linkedin but if it is current, it doesn't looking like he is or ever has worked in networking.

TechGuru80

Which makes him the perfect person to listen to haha.

OctalDump

636-555-3226 wrote: »

If it's a request in job listings(and I see a lot of job listings asking for A+ & Security+) why wouldn't you want it?

Because you don't want those jobs, probably.

This guy is talking about "high paid network engineer in today's market" (I love how he repeats this over and over), and there probably aren't as many Network Engineering jobs which specifically ask for A+ and Net+. But that is sort of the hole in this. You need to start somewhere and for most of us, that means taking the entry level jobs and getting the entry level certs.

If you can do what he suggests, then good for you. If you need (or prefer) to take another path, then do that.

yoba222

So he is advising Youtube viewers to avoid entry-level Compatia certs, which are obtainable by self-study for the most part. And instead go for CCNA, which can be more difficult to self-study--meaning the person might need some external assistance--if there were only some online video training series that might help--take my money--yeah I see that angle. Compatia.:D

TacoRocket

Here are my thoughts. Should CompTIA be the only thing you strive for? No.

If you're new to the field and wanted guidance where to start, I would recommend CompTIA. Yes the might be slightly expensive but the pure and simple fact is that on the trifecta: A+, N+, S+ has a high ROI. The fact that if you're struggling to get into IT and these get you a job into IT even if its $10/hr is still ROI. Of course the 100k+ jobs are going to want a little more.

I also think that they are great benchmarks. Anyone who takes the exams and then expects the world to be available to them is wrong. However, if you want a decent measure of knowing a subject then the exams are great. That's what they are there for.

As someone who has some of the higher certs I still take CompTIA exams. Why? Because if I want an intro level subject that is not going to fry me while I work on other things, CompTIA it is. I did this for the Cloud+ and Mobility+. However, I don't expect people to jump at me simply because I passed both those exams.

With CompTIA exams since they are super popular they usually have resources such as books and videos to help people pass the exam. This is great! Imagine if 10-15 years ago where some of the certs weren't as popular to get that kind of material? Now if you want to learn something like Linux+ there are multiple books and videos. I highly recommend publishers to keep this up!

Overall they have their place in life. If you don't seem to have a need to renew then don't. If you have the cash and you're willing to upkeep, which isn't hard with CompTIA, then do it. There's probably one cert in my mind and I'm sure you guys know which, I probably won't renew.

Also lastly don't take advice from people on Youtube who seem to have an agenda. It is like a video I watched prior where a pyramid scheme company (OK OK, technically MLM), bashed Dave Ramsey. They were upset because Ramsey told a listener that she might be hard pressed to make a living doing that stuff. So of course the guy that runs a MLM is going to have issue with that.

I think this all boils down that as an industry we have people who don't know how to compartmentalize. What I mean is that there are 3 major categories of certs that I set out for myself. They are: ROI, Work, and Personal. ROI certs are the ones I take because I hope that there is gain on the other side. This includes SANS, A+, N+, S+, CEH, CISSP, and others. Work certs are the ones your job wants you to do to keep your job. This can include any and for myself included stuff like Splunk Admin. Lastly is the personal section. This includes certs that I don't believe to have ROI and work doesn't require them. I simply take them because I want to learn the knowledge. Some of the certs for me include: eJPT, eCPPT, Storage+, Cloud+, Mobility+, ITIL.

Some may disagree with how I categorize some certs and that is fine! You may be in a position where ITIL is ROI or Work for you. Ultimately I think people need to think about the cert they are getting and stop thinking as that is the ticket to make the big bucks. It is going to include Certs, Education, and Experience. Always.

NetworkingStudent

It depends on your IT goals. If you’re going into program or web development, then I wouldn’t get the CompTIA certs. However, if you want support infrastructures and/or entire computer networks, then I would get the Comptia certs. The Comptia certs teach the basics about hardware, networking, and security. You can’t build a house without a good foundation

brewboy

Well the guy does have an amazing crest on his shirt. I would just go with whatever he says

Clm

I disagree with him they are good for entry level. If you are pass entry level and can pass MCSA\E or CCNA then yes go ahead and skip it but if not they will help my security+ got me a job after the military and took a year off my CISSP