Which Certification to go for next?-->

sharptech

Hey everyone,

Today I passed the last portion of the A+ exam and am now A+ certified.

My question is - what certification should I go for next ->

I am currently working as an IT Tech. I would like to contiune to work as a technician and move into consulting in the future.

What cert's are best to go for? MCSE etc..?

Any other information you need let me know- thanks!

sharptech

I was reading the Microsoft website and they said that to be MCP certified you had to take one exam etc..

Should I take 70-270 so I can be MCP?

kaur812

70-270 is good to begin with and it is also one of the core exams for MCSA/MCSA so yes, I think it's good idea to take this one. You colud also consider Network+.

sharptech

Thanks Kaur-

I probably will be taking Network + down the road- I want to get started on the Microsoft exams- and if I do the 70-270 I can be considered MCP certified and they will be a good start.

Thanks a lot for the reply!

Non-Profit Techie

yeah , the xp test is not a bad start. Just remember, if you want to use your A+ as an elective toward MCSA your could user Net+/A+ combo, or I believe Sec+ for your MCSE.

Cheers

sharptech

Thanks non-profit!

So I guess my next course of action will be

70-270/Network +..

One question-

If I do not plan on going into networking, IE Network Admin and stay along more user support/consulting-

should I still stick w/ this plan? Thanks!

Lee H

Hi

You could go for the Network+ as this can count as your elective towards MCSA, it has to be both A+ and Network+ for it to be a full elective, most people who ive seen with A+ also have Network+. It would give you more ground work for XP Pro and Server 2003.

Lee H

sharptech

Thanks Lee!

I am going to get the MCP first so I can have that on my resume- then after that go for my Network+ then finish the MCSA and then complete MCSE.

Going to be a looooong road!

Megadeth4168

CSRTech wrote:

Thanks Lee!

I am going to get the MCP first so I can have that on my resume- then after that go for my Network+ then finish the MCSA and then complete MCSE.

Going to be a looooong road!

Sounds like a good plan.
Good Luck!

bcairns

Personally I did A+ and Network+ and about to take Security+

I did the A+ / N+ to brush up and get myself back into "test mode" - been 10 years since I had taken any type o test.

After I pass S+ I will be chasing an MCSE: Security

mikey_b

CSRTech wrote:

Thanks Lee!

I am going to get the MCP first so I can have that on my resume- then after that go for my Network+ then finish the MCSA and then complete MCSE.

Going to be a looooong road!

I'm heading down a similar path, except I've had my A+ for 5 years and Network+ for about 3 years or so. Then I did my 270 and 290 last year and wrote 291 a few weeks ago for my MCSA (don't take breaks!!!). For MCSE, I need 293, 294, and 297 to satisfy all the core requirements, and then Security+ for my elective. This has the added benefit of more certs on a resume - "A+, Network+, Security+, MCSE" which is a good combo, even though ultimately all the CompTIA certs just lead up to the MCSE designation, they stand on their own as well (unlike MCP and MCSA, which "roll up" into the MCSE).

Slowhand

It depends on which direction you want to go. If you're interested more in the Microsoft world, definately go for the 70-270 test. It gives you a nice intro to what could be a road to MCSA/MCSE. If you're looking to get a broad introduction to all things administration and IT, going back to CompTIA might not be a bad idea, either. Some of the people I've worked with like to reference "The First Four" as a good place to start: A+, Net+, Linux+, Security+. (Of which, the XP MCP test compliments well.)

So, it's a choice of which path you want to take: do you want to go for something vendor-specific, like MCSE, or do you want to get a broader overview of what's out there? Whatever you choose to do, good luck.

iloco808

definitely either:
Network+, as A+ & Network+ seem to go hand in hand

Security +,

or MS 70-270 (XP)