Asking for advice on changing my job

Hi everyone,
I would be very grateful for any advice on me trying to make probably my last change of job.
I'm in my early 50's and I've worked in IT all my working life.
I started out programming computer games in the mid 80's. after a few years I started working at a Computer brokers and worked my way up to being engineering manager and became Compaq certified and having a MCSE in NT4 after 12 years the company went broke
I started working repairing printers, photocopiers etc.. I've been doing this for nearly 20 years at different companies. but now I would like to go back if possible to some sort of IT support job, ideally hands on and not stuck at a desk answering calls at a help desk all day. In my current job it involves more than printers thou , I work with Comms equipment and other peripherals.
I've a broad range of IT skills, thou I'm not an expert in any. so I thought about doing some IT Certs, I've not done any for nearly 20 years.
so I was thinking of doing some of the following..
MS certification in Windows 10, Server 2016, Active Directory and Office 365
or
Cisco CCNA
or
Comptia Server+ , Security+ , Network+
or a combination of the above, I would have thought the CCNA would take the longest period to study and probably the hardest to pass, thou I do have a good general knowledge of IT ( became a MCSE in NT 4 in 1999 !) I wouldn't be starting as a newbie.
anyone have any thoughts or advice ?
Thanks
Jon
I would be very grateful for any advice on me trying to make probably my last change of job.
I'm in my early 50's and I've worked in IT all my working life.
I started out programming computer games in the mid 80's. after a few years I started working at a Computer brokers and worked my way up to being engineering manager and became Compaq certified and having a MCSE in NT4 after 12 years the company went broke
I started working repairing printers, photocopiers etc.. I've been doing this for nearly 20 years at different companies. but now I would like to go back if possible to some sort of IT support job, ideally hands on and not stuck at a desk answering calls at a help desk all day. In my current job it involves more than printers thou , I work with Comms equipment and other peripherals.
I've a broad range of IT skills, thou I'm not an expert in any. so I thought about doing some IT Certs, I've not done any for nearly 20 years.
so I was thinking of doing some of the following..
MS certification in Windows 10, Server 2016, Active Directory and Office 365
or
Cisco CCNA
or
Comptia Server+ , Security+ , Network+
or a combination of the above, I would have thought the CCNA would take the longest period to study and probably the hardest to pass, thou I do have a good general knowledge of IT ( became a MCSE in NT 4 in 1999 !) I wouldn't be starting as a newbie.
anyone have any thoughts or advice ?
Thanks
Jon
Comments
I'm in large city in the Northwest of the UK. so there are a wide selection of job types.
I'm just wondering because of my age, I doubt anyone would take me on in some sort of junior role
What you want to get into? PC support, Networking, Server administration?
EDIT: The certs you may want to look at are the MCSA/E, CCNA as you do have experience.
a technical interview wouldn't bother me, I've been in IT all my working life, i go as far back as the original IBM PC
I did network essentials as part of the MCSE in NT4 in 1999 and I know a bit about networking because of the printer side, also I've tested and factory reset a lot of different Cisco, Juniper etc comms stuff.
so I think it would make sense to go for the CCNA.
I think any of those roles. PC support , Networking or Server Admin or even a bit of each would be ideal.
I think i'll either start CCNA or do a couple of MS certs and start looking again within 6 months.
again thanks for your reply
are the Compita certs in demand ?, I've not seen many jobs requiring them.
II've seen more jobs concerned with Active Directory and Office 365
thanks again AvgITGeek
After reading your comments here, it seems to me you really would like to go for the CCNA ... so why not do it?
Chop it in half. Go for the CCENT (ICND1) first and see how it goes.
You've been in IT so long you probably have mad contacts and that can be a big advantage in the scheme of all of this.
I'm coming from a semi-similar background as you (yours is much better because of the possible contacts and "on paper" references), and I'm just a few years younger than you ... and this is exactly what I'm doing, going for my CCNA.
I think there are some things you could waste your time on. Not because someone will or will not hire you but because you (like I) have limited time to make all the moves, so they must be made very wisely so as to not waste any of our valuable time. That's another reason why I feel the CCNA is a good choice because of the potential "faster payback" the Cisco certs generally tend to provide.
So just do it... you know you want to.
Best of luck!
yes your right, it would make sense to take it in 2 parts
your right about time, something i can't waste any more.
good luck with your studying and in the future
Thanks again
If the CCNA is too daunting to start, maybe bang out the CCENT or MCSA (Infrastructure) and see about getting a system administration position and grow from there. Just an idea.....
No problem... thank you!