How many of you actually like MS stuff

empc4000xl

After working as a system admin for a few years, I don't mind the work, but studying a MCSA has been the most borning experience of my life. I'm planning on dropping the course monday. I tried, but I'm just not intrested in this type of work. When I worked at the NOC, I loved it. Cisco is where its at. I find myself watching CCNP CBT's instead of doing my MS work. I'm gonna stop fighting the feeling and get back on the cisco track where I belong and so I won't waste anyones time at work just doing a job becuase I can. Ok I'm done with my rant

astorrs

Me personally, I love the challenges involved on "the other side", I did networking for a number of years too (never took it beyond the intermediate level mind you), but I've enjoyed the numerous opportunities that have become possible and really taken off on the server infrastructure side in recent years (consolidation, server virtualization, application delivery/virtualization). I also find there are far more opportunities for me to do project management and deisgn/implementation of new solutions there as well. With that said, I know of many networking gurus who are busy implementing converged networks (VOIP), unified messaging, MPLS and are happy as ever.

There are lots of great opportunities out there in either field, the key thing is to find the one you enjoy most; and it sounds like you're making the right choice for you.

Good luck.

dax_kun

If you really like cisco you should really go for it. I had a hard time focusing on MSCA before. Not because I did not like it but the scope was so huge and the configurations are leaning toward enterprise environment.

If you are not pursuing a certificate on MSCA knowing a few basic configuration on servers will be helpful. Like how to setup AD, DNS, DHCP and stuff. They are very helpful as a starting knowledge with MSCA.

dynamik

Some of the material is really boring; I'll give you that. However, it is a rewarding experience when you finally figure out how everything works together, and you're able to implement a working solution.

There's nothing wrong with being a Cisco guy. Everyone has their own interests. Just don't take it too far. Multiple studies have shown that a person's fondness of cats increases exponentially with their dedication to Cisco products.

Daylong

I find the studying of the MCSA/MCSE track very dry, to the point of finding it necessary to buy a clipboard to take notes while I'm pacing to stay awake during some of the CBT courses.
Actual application (mostly in labs at this point for me) is interesting though, I look at it as a game of sorts.
As with many things, learning the hows and whys isn't as much fun as the doing, for me, but it's necessary.
In any event you seem to want to stick with Cisco, and so you should.


Edit: Two acronyms and I screw one of them up...back to the books with me

HeroPsycho

I'll take MCSA/MCSE stuff over VLAN & routing command lines any day of the week personally...

undomiel

I like it all but at the end of the day I prefer to work with the server side of things as opposed to the networking side of things. So yes, I like this MS stuff. Studying for the MCSA/MCSE has only really been interesting for me from the 291 on up so far. I'll admit it. I like DNS servers.

roswald

I think I'm with you empc. I work mostly with networking equipment but I dable in the sys admin side of things occasionally. I know my employer would like to see another MCSE on their staff, but I have a really hard time getting into microsoft stuff.

I'll probably bite the bullet and at least grab my MCP from the 70-290, but I can't say it's something I'll enjoy working on. I'm still figuring out exactly what my certification path is going to be, but I'll take CCNP studies over MS any day of the week.

snadam

HeroPsycho wrote:

I'll take MCSA/MCSE stuff over VLAN & routing command lines any day of the week personally...

+1

I hate studying for it, but I like working with it.

HeroPsycho

I studied for CCNA, and it was good for a change of pace, but eventually it got really tedious to me. I guess my point is it's a personal preference thing. I find pretty much anything in the midrange of skill level to get boring no matter what it is. Exchange administration to me is boring. Designing and deploying an enterprise implementation, throw in some clustering, some ISA publishing, and it's good times!

astorrs

You summed it up nicely for me there to Hero.

Slowhand

Personally, I like working with Microsoft networks, as well as Cisco equipment and Linux/Unix machines. The trouble for me is that I can't trudge through too much of studying one thing at a time. (Like I said, I like working with these things, it's the studying part that can get tedious.) In the case of certs, I like to move from one specific track to another, in order to keep my attention-span up and keep me interested.

However, since you've found something that really interests you, then you should study and work with it as much as possible. It's that kind of passion that'll get you one of those magic numbers, one day.

stlsmoore

I'm studying for the 70-270 and I need to stop lying to myself, I enjoyed and looked forward to learning about as much Cisco stuff as possible. Microsoft Certifications just isn't doing it for me....long winded questions doesn't help either. Even though I like actually working with the stuff in live environments and labs I can't see my self grinding through the MCSE for the next year. I'm going to go ahead and get my CCNA (came close to taking the test 4 years ago). I talked to my manager about and he said it would be good for someone else to have Cisco experience at our company site (huge casino). We also have a new IP Phone system that no one in our it department has extensive experience with.

I'll continue working with Microsoft and maybe even SQL at work and focus on learning Cisco. I'll eventually go back to school in 4-5 years also to get some type of Business Degree so I can start focusing on moving into a more project-management type of role.

Daniel333

No doubt the MCP/MCSA/MCSE track is pretty boring. But in reasonable doses it's doable. It's also fun to mix it up a bit, grab your switch, router etc fire up a couple Linux boxes and make them all talk. Install Wine and play some Starcraft against yourself. Something! Gotta have fun with it.

Claymoore

I enjoy working with Microsoft products because there is always something to do. I study it so that I can be better at my job, and there are times when I have needed to use something I just read about a few days before. Those times make the time spent trudging through an MS Press study guide seem worthwhile.

I may go weeks without logging into my Cisco gear because there is no need to change anything. Cisco administration is boring to me, but I enjoy studying the material because (in my experience so far) it's simpler. It seems simpler to me because, although there may be 3 different ways to solve a problem, each one of those ways has only one method to be correctly implemented. In other words, there is no Right Way vs Wrong Way vs Cisco Way as there is in the Microsoft world.

Also, study guides can be the most difficult and boring way to learn the product. If you are looking for a book that has more information and is more pleasant to read, try pickintg up an MS Press Administrators Companion or even a Resource Kit. I have learned more about group policy by reading the 2008 Group Policy Resource Kit than I did studying for the 294 exam. It would be like trying to understand routing by reading Cisco exam certification guides instead of Routing TCP/IP volumes I and II.

Even if you never touch another server at least you got the chance to be an admin and find out you don't enjoy it. Now that you know what you like, focus on that and try to be the best at it.

Mishra

Microsoft - I enjoy Microsoft products and I enjoy reading almost everything about Microsoft as well (RRAS not so much). Reading the dry things always gives me a better understanding of whats going on and the long winded questions really pushes your troubleshooting skills in my opinion. They are a good challenge.

Linux - I really enjoy Linux CLI (GUI not so much). I think Linux is very straightforward and there is all kinds of ways to customize it to do what you want it to do. This is intriguing because you can build a very very stable server and is almost always the best choice as long as the software is tried and true. I've studied Linux a bit but I think it is the hardest to study because they make you memorize the craziest things that you don't have to know. This is frustrating because they should be more focused on helping you piece together the different flags instead of memorizing them. I find this really hard to deal with.

Cisco - Cisco is interesting to me and I really enjoy studying for it. Everything about IOS seems to come off great in a book and on simulation questions and practice questions. From the ground up builds seem to be easier to do and a lot like Linux in my opinion (CCNA level). However when you start getting into complicated designs and larger networks it really gets to be a pain. I am one who has to see a whole picture in order to understand whats going on. You can't come to me and say "beef is used in Tacos and you need to have cheese and shells as well. How much cheese do we need to order?". I'm going to stop you and ask a slew of questions like what is a taco, where do the ingredients come from, what have people done with tacos in the past; before I can truly answer your question. It seems I really need to learn a LOT of information before I would ever be good at it and thats frustrating. In contrast, I can play with Windows and Linux and put the puzzle together as I go instead of having to know what every piece is before I try and put it together like with Cisco.

astorrs

Mishra wrote:

what have people done with tacos in the past

Considering what we've all seen on the internet in the last few years you probably don't want anyone answering this question.

stlsmoore

Yea maybe I'll stick it out for a little bit, I'm taking the 70-270 test next week so depending on that maybe I'll stick with Microsoft. Most likely it's because I've been dealing with XP for years so I would just like to get into things I know little about so maybe it'll get better after 70-270.

HeroPsycho

astorrs wrote:

Mishra wrote:

what have people done with tacos in the past

Considering what we've all seen on the internet in the last few years you probably don't want anyone answering this question.

Two girls, one taco?

astorrs

HeroPsycho wrote:

Two girls, one taco?

OMG, too much information

NetAdmin2436

HeroPsycho wrote:

astorrs wrote:

Mishra wrote:

what have people done with tacos in the past

Considering what we've all seen on the internet in the last few years you probably don't want anyone answering this question.

Two girls, one taco?

I literally threw up in my mouth just now. Which, actually isn't as bad as when I *tried* to watch the original two girls, (you know the rest).

dynamik

Changing gears, how about that weather?

snadam

dynamik wrote:

Changing gears, how about that weather?

HOT!

astorrs

dynamik wrote:

Changing gears, how about that weather?

"Cloudy with sunny periods. 30 percent chance of showers late this morning. High 15. UV index 6 or high."

Translation: Pictures of the Sun are available online, otherwise enjoy the clouds. 100% chance of showers. Way too freaking cold for June.

undomiel

snadam wrote:

dynamik wrote:

Changing gears, how about that weather?

HOT!

snadam

undomiel wrote:

snadam wrote:

dynamik wrote:

Changing gears, how about that weather?

HOT!

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USAZ0166?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared


heres our 10 day forecast. The next 2 days cool down at 100. My kind of weather

astorrs

Last time I was in Phoenix it was 105... in the shade... at 5:30pm.

I immediately got on another plane - if I had stayed until noon the next day I think I would have started to melt.

empc4000xl

Mishra wrote:

Microsoft - I enjoy Microsoft products and I enjoy reading almost everything about Microsoft as well (RRAS not so much). Reading the dry things always gives me a better understanding of whats going on and the long winded questions really pushes your troubleshooting skills in my opinion. They are a good challenge.

Linux - I really enjoy Linux CLI (GUI not so much). I think Linux is very straightforward and there is all kinds of ways to customize it to do what you want it to do. This is intriguing because you can build a very very stable server and is almost always the best choice as long as the software is tried and true. I've studied Linux a bit but I think it is the hardest to study because they make you memorize the craziest things that you don't have to know. This is frustrating because they should be more focused on helping you piece together the different flags instead of memorizing them. I find this really hard to deal with.

Cisco - Cisco is interesting to me and I really enjoy studying for it. Everything about IOS seems to come off great in a book and on simulation questions and practice questions. From the ground up builds seem to be easier to do and a lot like Linux in my opinion (CCNA level). However when you start getting into complicated designs and larger networks it really gets to be a pain. I am one who has to see a whole picture in order to understand whats going on. You can't come to me and say "beef is used in Tacos and you need to have cheese and shells as well. How much cheese do we need to order?". I'm going to stop you and ask a slew of questions like what is a taco, where do the ingredients come from, what have people done with tacos in the past; before I can truly answer your question. It seems I really need to learn a LOT of information before I would ever be good at it and thats frustrating. In contrast, I can play with Windows and Linux and put the puzzle together as I go instead of having to know what every piece is before I try and put it together like with Cisco.

2 girls 1 taco, I love that

back to the topic. Some people at work told me to try out unix. We had a few systems running sun solaris in the back, but I wasn't cleared to work on them(way above T/S, I wasnt even allowed in the room without supervision). Since I was able to pick up cisco on the command line easy they told me to give unix/linux a try. So Since we got all the CBT's you can want(400+ billion military buget,lol) I might look at the linux+ cbt and see what its all about.

LifelongLearner

empc4000xl wrote:

After working as a system admin for a few years, I don't mind the work, but studying a MCSA has been the most borning experience of my life. I'm planning on dropping the course monday. I tried, but I'm just not intrested in this type of work. When I worked at the NOC, I loved it. Cisco is where its at. I find myself watching CCNP CBT's instead of doing my MS work. I'm gonna stop fighting the feeling and get back on the cisco track where I belong and so I won't waste anyones time at work just doing a job becuase I can. Ok I'm done with my rant

Do what you love and excel it!! There is no point forcing yourself down a path that you know is wrong for you.

stlsmoore

Now that I'm getting into the more advanced topics with Microsoft I'm starting to like studying wayyyyy more. I believe before it was because I already knew most of the material I was studying that made it boring.

scheistermeister

Cisco FTW! And I love cats too btw...

I have always liked Cisco stuff more because it is command line. I don't dig GUI stuff at all (HATE SDM too) that is why I love Cisco and Linux stuff more than MS stuff. Even though I hate it I will probably pick up MS certs sometime. I am thinking I will finish my CCNP soon then do the CCDA, take a break from Cisco then go back to it for CCDP and then some of the other Cisco stuff.