getting started

I'm looking to get started in an IT career (it's always been kind of a hobby) and I currently have no certs. What is the best way to get started to build a solid cert background? I realize that ill need experience as well, and that I'll be working crappy jobs for a while, but just to get some stuff on paper for a resume, what would you guys recommend? CCNA? A+? MCSE?

Any input is greatly appreciated...I'm a cert newb

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Cessation

laffer wrote:

I'm looking to get started in an IT career (it's always been kind of a hobby) and I currently have no certs. What is the best way to get started to build a solid cert background? I realize that ill need experience as well, and that I'll be working crappy jobs for a while, but just to get some stuff on paper for a resume, what would you guys recommend? CCNA? A+? MCSE?

Any input is greatly appreciated...I'm a cert newb

Comptia A+
Comptia Network+
Comptia Security+
Microsoft 70-270
Microsoft 70-290
Microsoft 70-291
Microsoft 70-293
Microsoft 70-294
Microsoft 70-297
Microsoft 70-298

Cisco CCNA
Cisco CCNP

Do all that in that order and you will be well on your way =P

royal

Oh and btw, you don't need to do 297 and 298. You can choose between the two. You'd need to do an elective though for the MCSE portion.

int80h

Skip the Comptia junk. They're not worth the paper they are printed on. Start out with a vendors cert (Cisco, Juniper, MS, etc.)

Ricka182

Don't skip the Comptia certs. They are entry level, and so are you. If you go out get mid to high level certs, you'll be overlooked. Experience is way more valuable than certs, but you need some base to begin with. You're correct in knowing you might have to deal with a crappy job for a while, but if you have patience, educate yourself properly, you'll then be on your way.

tuscani

Yea.. Comptia is not junk.. Thats an assanine thing to say. While they are not as highly respected when compared to CCNA or MCSE, they are still good to have and worth the time IMO. Especially when tryng to break into the field.

sprkymrk

Cessation wrote:

Comptia A+
Comptia Network+
Comptia Security+
Microsoft 70-270
Microsoft 70-290
Microsoft 70-291
Microsoft 70-293
Microsoft 70-294
Microsoft 70-297
Microsoft 70-298

Cisco CCNA
Cisco CCNP

Do all that in that order and you will be well on your way =P

I would modify this slightly.

Comptia A+
Comptia Network+
Microsoft 70-270
Microsoft 70-290
Microsoft 70-291

At this point he would be an MCSA on W2K3 in addition to the stand alone CompTIA certs. Besides, the Security+ by itself would be of limited benefit to a guy with very little or no experience, which is why I pushed that one back.

Microsoft 70-293
Microsoft 70-294

Now he's an MCSE. Time to round out the networking sklills and take a break from MS:

Cisco CCNA

Depending on one's interests at this point the following are all good choices in any order.

Comptia Security+
Microsoft 70-297
Microsoft 70-298
CCNP

Although unless someone is a glutton for punishment, it wouldn't hurt to take a break and regroup at this point too.

Slowhand

sprkymrk wrote:

I would modify this slightly.

Comptia A+
Comptia Network+
Microsoft 70-270
Microsoft 70-290
Microsoft 70-291

At this point he would be an MCSA on W2K3 in addition to the stand alone CompTIA certs. Besides, the Security+ by itself would be of limited benefit to a guy with very little or no experience, which is why I pushed that one back.

Microsoft 70-293
Microsoft 70-294

Now he's an MCSE. Time to round out the networking sklills and take a break from MS:

He'd have to take another elective, like Security+, 70-299, or 70-284 to become an MCSE. I think that's why Cessation included Security+ in the original line-up. A+ and Net+ only count towards MSCA.

Slowhand

Well, damn. In responding, I forgot to respond to the actual question asked:

Here's my order of tests (also known as "the order in which my hair is turning white")

A+ (Done)

MCSA
Security+ (Done)
70-290 (Done)
70-291 (Done)
70-270 (Done)

LPIC
Linux+ (Done, as a prep for LPIC)
101 (In progress)
102
201
202
(There has been talk that the LPIC-3 may be finalizing in the near future. If that's the case, I may choose two of the advanced tests in order to complete the series, at this point.)

CCNA
640-801

MCSE: Security
70-293
70-294
70-298
70-299

From here, I'd like to continue on doing Cisco work. I'll probably end up doing CCNP, then maybe giving CCSP and CCIP some thought. Will I ever do CCIE? Only time, and my caffeine-intake, will tell. Either way, I'm trying to pace out the different aspects of IT I'm learning about, so I don't completely burn out on Microsoft, or completely get sick of Cisco, etc. Good luck, laffer, I hope the input helps.

bcairns

When I started the certification path I had a lot of experience but no certifications.

I have to agree with what others are saying....

A+ - At this point you can land help desk and PC repair jobs
Network+ - At this point you can land Jr. Network Admin Jobs
Security+
Ms 70-270 - At this point you can land Jr. Admin Jobs
Ms 70-290 (just finishing this stage myself)
Ms 70-291 - At this point you are an MCSA
Ms 70-293
Ms 70-294 - at this point you are an MCSE

This will give you a good position in the job market as MCSE is a VERY sellable certification.

After you obtain an MCSE do what you feel you want to do...

Personally I do a lot of programming so I will then move on to an MCPD and MCITP....then onto Linux certs.

I think the best advice anyone could give you is to get a job using computers, even if it is a crappy job with horrible hours and low pay...experiance is the best teacher.

sprkymrk

Slowhand wrote:

He'd have to take another elective, like Security+, 70-299, or 70-284 to become an MCSE. I think that's why Cessation included Security+ in the original line-up. A+ and Net+ only count towards MSCA.

Oh yeah, nice catch.

laffer

Thanks for all of the valuable input guys! Looks like it's time to hit the books for A+. Any good book recommendations?

BTW, what is the current exam # (if there is one) for the 2 A+ exams? A friend loaned me a book but I'm not sure how up to date it would be.

Slowhand

I can recommend a slew of them, but they might not necessarily be what you need. The Sybex A+ book, the All-in-One by Mike Meyers, as well as the Passport book by Meyers, all have come highly recommended. The reviews on places like Amazon are pretty helpful, as well, to point you in the right direction.

The best thing you can do, though, is head on over to your local bookstore and spend some time paging through the A+ books they've got. Bring a cup of coffee, grab a stack of books, and peruse until you find the one that jumps out at you.

kujayhawk93

sprkymrk wrote:
I would modify this slightly.

Comptia A+
Comptia Network+
Microsoft 70-270
Microsoft 70-290
Microsoft 70-291

At this point he would be an MCSA on W2K3 in addition to the stand alone CompTIA certs. Besides, the Security+ by itself would be of limited benefit to a guy with very little or no experience, which is why I pushed that one back.

Microsoft 70-293
Microsoft 70-294

Now he's an MCSE. Time to round out the networking sklills and take a break from MS:

He'd have to take another elective, like Security+, 70-299, or 70-284 to become an MCSE

Am I missing something here? I thought that for MCSE you were required to take one of the Design exams, either 70-297 or 70-298. Is that not the case?

Slowhand

That was mentioned later in sprkymrk's post, kujayhawk93:

sprkymrk wrote:

Depending on one's interests at this point the following are all good choices in any order.

Comptia Security+
Microsoft 70-297
Microsoft 70-298

You do have to take a design exam. The exam path goes as follows:

Desktop OS (1)
70-270 or 70-210

Core Exams (4)
70-290
70-291
70-293
70-294

Design Exam (1)
70-297 or 70-298

And then you select one elective, such as Security+, 70-284, 70-299, etc. . . If you're doing a specialty, such as MCSE: Messaging or MCSE: Security, you have to pick specific electives. For the MCSE, it's a total of seven exams. For a specialty, it's usually eight exams.

For more information, check out Microsoft's MCSE Site.

kujayhawk93

That was mentioned later in sprkymrk's post, kujayhawk93

I saw that it was mentioned later, but it was mentioned after the statements "Now he's an MCSE", and taking a break from MS, so I was confused.

sprkymrk

kujayhawk93 wrote:

That was mentioned later in sprkymrk's post, kujayhawk93

I saw that it was mentioned later, but it was mentioned after the statements "Now he's an MCSE", and taking a break from MS, so I was confused.

No, you weren't confused. I apparently missed that too.

I don't know how I goofed because I was reading the MCSE Requirements page on MS as I wrote my list. So don't mind me, I'll just stand over here in the corner and be quiet.

To the OP: To check out all the possible electives (and requirements) for an MCSE on W2K3 check this:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/windows2003/

deneb829

int80h wrote:

Skip the Comptia junk. They're not worth the paper they are printed on.

I don't agree with this. If you're entry level you need entry level certifications. The A+ and Network+ are a broad base of general knowlege. If someone has these certs, they at least have the basic knowledge to take the next step. Think of it as a high school degree where vendor certs are more like college degrees in comparison. There are many entry level jobs that require at least an A+.

Speaking of which, if you don't have an actual college degree, you may want to consider at least an Associates Degree depending on your aspiriations. If you eventually want to get into IT management, a bachelors is a must and they are easier to get sooner than later.