Pay for course

noel123ie

Hi there

Courses and Exams are as follows that are available in centre near me :

Course # Exam # Exam ` Fast Track (days)
2273 70-290 Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment
2276 70-291 Implementing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure: Network Hosts 1 2277 70-291 Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure: Network Services
2285 70-270 Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional
2400 70-284 Implementing and Managing Microsoft Exchange Server 2003


I would consider maybe doing 1 and seeing how the company is on doing 1 and see after that

Is it worth the investment I wonder its 3250 dollars

Is there any other online interactive course thats good?

Also I have experience in level 1 role in callcentre but would like to get some certification to move on/up

Cisco CCNA slso available at same price

Thanks
Noel

nicklauscombs

I would only go for that if my employer footed the bill, otherwise self study is the way to go for a lot cheaper

noel123ie

Thanks nick but it would take me 1 year - 18 months to self study correct?

Thanks
Noel

noel123ie

Sorry forgot to ask if i get a + and network + does this count as one mcp?

Thanks
Noel

bertieb

noel123ie wrote:

Sorry forgot to ask if i get a + and network + does this count as one mcp?

The A+ and Network+ combo don't count as an 'MCP', however they are a valid elective combination for the MCSA 2003 track. They do NOT count towards the MCSE 2003 path, so if you plan to carry on and complete the full MCSE then I'd recommend another elective that applies to both the MCSA and MCSE.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcsa/windows2003/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/windows2003/default.mspx

Have a look at those pages for further info.

Mishra

I personally think self study is worth the money in time that you spend. More than a course is. A course is good if you are a season professional and you want to get your hands on new material at a pretty quick pace. But when you are first starting out then self study is going to improve discipline which is a must as an IT professional.

A+ and Net+ only counts as an elective towards the MCSA. This doesn't give you a MCP.

noel123ie

Thanks guys

Only issue is that it would take me a while to get certified and am in very low paying job

I have a diploma in IT support and was thinking of doing server +/mcps or ccna

The diploma gives me basics of CCNA

can I do server + or do I have to have network or a + first

Thanks
Noel

sprkymrk

noel123ie wrote:

Thanks nick but it would take me 1 year - 18 months to self study correct?

Thanks
Noel

If you don't have much experience then you will still need a lot of self study even if you take these courses.

How much experience/background do you currently have? The more you have, the more you will get from fast paced learning. Otherwise you may find the pace just leaves you behind and you've wasted your money.

In all honesty. I've been to many of these kinds of courses over the last 10 years, and in every case the quality of the class depended on 2 things:

1. The experience and quality of the instructor.
2. The experience and quality of the rest of the students.

One last observation speaking also from personal experience - even in the best of these courses I have taken, I would not personally pay the cost of one out of my own pocket.

Mishra

noel123ie wrote:

Thanks guys

Only issue is that it would take me a while to get certified and am in very low paying job

I have a diploma in IT support and was thinking of doing server +/mcps or ccna

The diploma gives me basics of CCNA

can I do server + or do I have to have network or a + first

Thanks
Noel

You can do server+ but it's not worth the investment for most people. Doing some studying for it but not taking the cert might be worth while.

If you are looking to stay along the lines of your degree courses then I would persue the Net+ then the CCNA. But whether to start with Microsoft or Cisco is your call. If you aren't sure which then randomly picking one is good.

noel123ie

Hi there

Dont have any real experience im afraid just what i got in college

also is there any online courses i could do that would help

Noel

bencairney

I think its worth checking out CBT Nuggets. They are the best learning material I have found along with setting up a lab.

I've been on quite a few offical Ms courses with training providers and haven't found them to be as good/useful for the exams as watching the nugget video's.

nicklauscombs

noel123ie wrote:

Dont have any real experience im afraid just what i got in college

without any real world experience there isn't really a way to "quickly" plow through these exams not to mention certs only help your resume get pulled from a pile they're not a magic ticket to a great job / a combination of experience and certs is what gets you noticed

if you choose to do the classroom training at $3000 or whatever per class you would blow $12,000 just to get your MCSA, I know it's tough being in a low paying job and thinking about how long it will take to get certified but the reality is that's how most people start out (and not getting paid much in a crappy job is definitely a good motivator for most people to work hard and earn those certs). I would suggest you buy the books/practice exams/cbt nuggets/etc... , get a nice lab setup and start working at it plus you have this forum to help guide you through the process

Daylong

Edit - removed the first paragraph as it would be foolish to recommend the site I referenced after reading some of the bad reviews they have.


I used MS press books and a couple other odds and end books with them and have had a pretty good experience. It will take longer of course, but as others are saying here, that's not always a bad thing.

The only classes I've done were with New Horizons and I wasn't too happy with them, I know others have been, but I had to go through the material in my own way I suppose, I felt the money spent for those classes was mostly a waste.