In the beginning

Mullin

So I had this guy come round from a well know training body to talk to me about my proposed career change to IT.

After a chat he steered me towards the MCSE (flow chart attached).

http://www.adventtraining.co.uk/MCSE-course.html

Now, what I want to do is leave the field of work i am in, which is Insurance/customer service. My ideal starting job will be a guy, who sits in the it room and fixes pc's if they break for a company. This has steered me towards the MCSA (flow chart attached for this one too).


http://www.adventtraining.co.uk/MCSA-course.html

Now, being a firm believer in 2 heads are better than 1 and after being quoted the price for the courses (start at £4k and the MCSE is £4700)! the section head of IT at my current company recommended this site.

Heres my plan. I am going to get the study material and coursebook etc etc for the MCSA, study it (obviously) nd pay for the exam entry myself. This, I believe will saved me about £4k.

Once obtained i then get myself THAT job I described and once in, I assume you will learn the trade very very quickly and I can then use that xp to eventually gain the MCSE (the company I end up with might even fund it you never know).

So, Questions.

Where do I get the study material from (is windows 2003 study material the same as the xp one only with a glossier cover I wonder what the vista folder will be like just a blank cover with a big button icon on it that says open)

Where do I start. Obviously the benifits of the course is the structure of the study ie you would open the folder and it would say welcome etc etc this is a computer. WIthout the course im a little lost as to where to start. I have seen some study material links on here which looks promising such as
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MCSA-Windows-Professional-Study-Guide/dp/0782144128/ref=sr_1_1/203-4230979-1718302?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178182647&sr=8-1

So, MCSA to start, study materail required (structured) and 12 - 14 months before I, hopefully jump ship and start my career in IT.

I await anyones posts in anticipation.

Toodle pip.

IT greyhound chomping at the bit.

ajs1976

What kind of computer experience do you have now? Do you fix them for people, work on your own?

For self study for an Microsoft exam, I would recommened at least two study guides. The one you posted is by Sybex. Other popular publishers are MS Press and Syngress. There are also review books. Two popular series are called Exam Cram and Passport. If you do not have much experience, I would stick with the full study guides and not the review books. It is nice to have a review book because they are more portable.

Next you will need a lab of two or more PCs. There are two ways to do this. The first way is to actually build or buy the PCs. The second way is to use some type of virtualization software like Microsoft's virtual PC. Building the PCs would be a good learning exercise itself. Using Virtual PC requires a more powerful PC to run the software.

If you are just starting out, you may want to take a step back and look into the A+ and Network+ certifications.

A+ - PC hardware Technician with some Operating System material
Network+ - networking fundamentals

sprkymrk

I agree with ajs1976, and since you are saving 4k you could afford to spend a couple hundred on some really good CBTs like Train Signal or CBT Nuggets. Sometimes a video of a guy telling you how /why is easier to grasp than reading it in a book.

Good luck on your career path!

Mullin wrote:

the section head of IT at my current company recommended this site.

Smart guy!

dynamik

I've become a big fan of this CBT nuggets as a result of this site. Also, the MS Press books are nice because they have hands-on exercises you work through. They're usually somewhat incomplete as far as information on the exam goes, but you'll gain valuable experience from the exercises. You might also want to look into getting a Technet subscription, so you can download all the MS products with no functionality or time limitations (the download version is only $350/year). You can use that with VMWare workstation to setup a virtual lab. If you feel you're computer knowledge is kind of lacking, you can start with the A+ and Network+ and then use those (combined) as the elective for your MCSA.

Mullin

What kind of computer experience do you have now? Do you fix them for people, work on your own?

In my previous job I networked about 50 dumb terminals to the hub and maintained them, also have a pc at home of course and can troubleshoot and fix quite a few pc problems.

as recommended to this forum I can see that it was a fantastic recommendation, thanks for all your advice and response I no longer feel alone.

Expect more posts soon as I clamber my way up.

Thanks.

Mullin

This one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Complete-Study-Guide-Deluxe/dp/047004831X/ref=sr_1_1/203-4230979-1718302?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178185540&sr=1-1

This one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Comptia-%2B-Resource-Kit/dp/1598630881/ref=pd_sbs_b_5/203-6379724-3519930?ie=UTF8&qid=1178185540&sr=1-1

Which also comes as a package with the dummies book as well.

And this one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Comptia-%2B-2006-Chimborazo-LLC/dp/159863352X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/203-6379724-3519930

Happy Days.

ajs1976

If you are going to start with the A+, I would spend some time reading through the A+ forum here.

I believe the Meyer's all-in-one book is considered one of the best for the A+. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Certification-All-one-Exam-Guide/dp/0072263113/ref=pd_bowtega_1/202-7915240-2679062?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178535855&sr=1-1

tibul

Mullin wrote:

This one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CompTIA-Complete-Study-Guide-Deluxe/dp/047004831X/ref=sr_1_1/203-4230979-1718302?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178185540&sr=1-1

This one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Comptia-%2B-Resource-Kit/dp/1598630881/ref=pd_sbs_b_5/203-6379724-3519930?ie=UTF8&qid=1178185540&sr=1-1

Which also comes as a package with the dummies book as well.

And this one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Comptia-%2B-2006-Chimborazo-LLC/dp/159863352X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/203-6379724-3519930

Happy Days.

The sybex A+ book is a very good book absolutly huge and full of information but as said before its best to have atleast 2 study books and other information that you can find i.e. CBT nuggets, especially google is very usefull also.