Should i start on MCSE now?

oRis1024

Hey there, i have been browsing and reading through these forums a lot, - lots of good info

But here is my question. I'm a student going for both Associate in Networking Technology and AS in InfoSec. There's a good overlap in required courses, so both degrees can be completed in two years. I should be able to take CCNA and Security+ exams in the end, because the college uses Cisco and CompTIA curricula, i though that was good .
My question is, should i start on studying for at least some Microsoft exams now (since there's a whole lot for MCSE and i'm planning to get it anyway)? Or should i focus on the Cisco and InfoSec stuff while in college?
What i'm concerned about is what i'll have BESIDES my 2 degrees after two years in college. As to experience, I plan on taking an internship of some kind next year.

So, i would appreciate any advice as to what to learn, where to aim, and how to pace myself. And of course MCSE - should i bother now, or wait until completion of AS degrees(Summer 2009)?

Thank you all in advance, any comments are welcome

dynamik

If you're not even going to potentially use your Microsoft certifications for another two years, you might want to wait and just start with the 2008 exams which will become available in the near future. It's definitely not going to hurt you to get your 2003 MCSE, but that cert's going to be approaching 7 years old by the time you're ready to use it. You might want to work ahead and see if you can start chipping away at a CCNP or something. Just don't spread yourself too thin and burn out. It's really up to you. There's no set order; just do whatever interests you.

Daniel333

Focus on your degree for now man. The certs are secondary at best.

Generally the DeVry AA degree ends in the person getting:
A+, Net+, Linux+, CCNA and MCP-Windows XP as part of the basic curriculum if that helps you set your sites.


And of course both school pushed Microsoft office and stuff.

oRis1024

(Thanks for your replies)

dynamik, but don't the 2008 certifications have an upgrade path from 2003? I thought it meant that most of your MCSE(2003) exams count for MCITP(200 and you only need to take that upgrade exam..

I thought there would be at least SOME exams that i can take now whatever the cert in future will be(2003 or 200.

ilcram19

really is all up to you if you wanna learn faster and advanced a lil while you are going to college do it now if not just lay back and see how one of your friends get MCSE and a AS degree and end up with a tier 2 job and have to get a tier 1 job cuz u dont have MCSE sad but that extra time you friend spend studying got him the a better job while u have to start studying for MCSE after you finish college and that will take you another 4-6 months assuming that u didnt took the tier 1 job lol is just some to think about hey but u could get lucky and get a tier3 with just the AS degree

ps when i said tier 1 is an ok job
tier 2 better than tier 1 job
and tier 3 better than tier 2 job ok

dynamik

oRis1024 wrote:

(Thanks for your replies)

dynamik, but don't the 2008 certifications have an upgrade path from 2003? I thought it meant that most of your MCSE(2003) exams count for MCITP(200 and you only need to take that upgrade exam..

I thought there would be at least SOME exams that i can take now whatever the cert in future will be(2003 or 200.

There is one upgrade exam to "Server 2008 Administrator", but you will also need a couple of other exams to become a "Server 2008 Enterprise Administrator".

This details it pretty well: http://www.trainsignaltraining.com/?p=264&akst_action=share-this

The Enterprise Administrator only requires five exams starting from scratch, and you'll need three to upgrade to it. If you start with the 2003 MCSE (seven exams), and then upgrade to Enterprise Administrator (three exams), you're going to end up taking ten exams instead of five to arrive at your final destination.

You will definitely learn a lot with an MCSE, and it's never going to hurt you. The point I was making was that if you're not going to even be attempting to use this for another two years, start with 2008 is a very viable option. A lot of new servers will be added in that time, and with a service pack or two under it's belt, 2008 will likely have a significant foothold. I'm sure a lot of what you learn in 2008 will be applicable to 2003 as well.

If you absolutely must get started right away, start with the Vista exam. That's been available since last January, and it will apply towards the 2008 Enterprise Administrator. By the time you finish that and start studying for the next exam, the others will likely be available (I believe sometime in Q1 200. It seems like you have enough to keep you busy, so I don't think you're going to go through this all that fast. There's a lot to take in.

oRis1024

You are right MCSE and upgrade is too much. I guess i'll just wait for the 2008 exams. Plus i still think i'm going to go for Bachelor's after i complete my AS. By the time i graduate with BA, 2008 certs must be in great demand.

Well, thank you all for your replies, i get a better picture now. I'll focus on CCNA and InfoSec for now