What was your first IT Certification?
Claymoore
Member Posts: 1,637
On Oct 23, 1998 I passed the NT Workstation exam, so today is my 10th anniversary as an MCP. Hopefully Ballmer remembered to send me a card...
I was 'taking a break' before going to law school and thought I would try a job in IT for a while. I had been out of school for a couple of years slowly moving along, but was having difficulty moving up without a Comp Sci degree. I was working with Novell servers at the time, but I thought Microsoft had a better future so I picked up an O'Reilly 'In a Nutshell' book as well as an Exam Cram and studied for a few weeks before I sat for the exam. 5 months later I had an MCSE and a new job. Now 10 years later I have had a decent career and don't regret skipping law school.
One important thing I have learned is that it is easier to keep up than it is to catch up. I took almost 8 years between my first MCSE and my CCNA. Now I have been working hard for the past year to not only catch up, but to try and get ahead. Techexams has certainly helped keep me motivated, so thanks.
What was your first certification?
Why did you choose that one?
I was 'taking a break' before going to law school and thought I would try a job in IT for a while. I had been out of school for a couple of years slowly moving along, but was having difficulty moving up without a Comp Sci degree. I was working with Novell servers at the time, but I thought Microsoft had a better future so I picked up an O'Reilly 'In a Nutshell' book as well as an Exam Cram and studied for a few weeks before I sat for the exam. 5 months later I had an MCSE and a new job. Now 10 years later I have had a decent career and don't regret skipping law school.
One important thing I have learned is that it is easier to keep up than it is to catch up. I took almost 8 years between my first MCSE and my CCNA. Now I have been working hard for the past year to not only catch up, but to try and get ahead. Techexams has certainly helped keep me motivated, so thanks.
What was your first certification?
Why did you choose that one?
Comments
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gorebrush
Member Posts: 2,743 ■■■■■■■□□□
December 2004
Fresh out of university that August, I was working in my first job as an Intranet Coordinator for an Education Department.
I had always been determined to get the MCSE, and decided that was the time. I picked up the 70-270, read it inside a week (I knew the bulk of it having used XP 3 years by that point) - learnt the bits I didn't know, then went and sat the exam.
The day of the first exam was almost a disaster. As I'd never been to that exam centre before, I give myself an extra hour to find it.
I wasted that hour getting lost, and I remember ringing my Dad, to get the number of the exam centre so I could tell them I was going to be late.
My exam was 11:45 and it was 11:30 - I was almost at the point where I said, "Damn, i'm going to miss this exam" - and then I rang the centre, explained where I was - and I was like on the exact road the test centre was (it was at the end of a large industrial estate)
I got there in time and sat the exam. Nervous? You bet. My first MCP exam and I'd had a frantic hour in the car trying to find the damn place.
So, did I pass? Yes, I did! Got like 820 as well. Was very pleased.
So, that's where I started.
Nearly 4 years on, I'm now full MCSE, MCTS and CCNA... I'm actually doing the 70-236 on Monday, and I sat the 70-284 in October of 2005 - so 3 years and now i'm seeing the upgrades commence...
Moving to CCNP and beyond after this (Oh, and after my holiday, next week!) -
supertechCETma
Member Posts: 377
Electronic Technicians Association-International www.eta-i.org
The Fiber Optic Association www.thefoa.org
Home Acoustics Alliance® http://www.homeacoustics.net/
Imaging Science Foundation http://www.imagingscience.com/ -
eMeS
Member Posts: 1,875 ■■■■■■■■■□
Unless my memory is failing me, it was the Novell CNA for Netware 3.1x...sometime in the early 90's...
MS -
120nm4n
Member Posts: 116
A+ in August, 2004WIP: MCITP: EA
70-620 - Done
70-647 - In Progress
70-649 - Soon. -
ajs1976
Member Posts: 1,945 ■■■■□□□□□□
MCP after completing NT 4.0 Workstation exam back in May or June of 2000. First exam was Network Essentials in March or April of 2000.Andy
2020 Goals: 0 of 2 courses complete, 0 of 2 exams complete -
Slowhand
Mod Posts: 5,161 Mod
August 24th, 2004. I went in and took the core hardware exam in the morning, took an hour for lunch, and then the OS exam at around noon. I walked out of the testing center in Santa Rosa with an A+ credential under my belt.
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Let it never be said that I didn't do the very least I could do. -
LarryDaMan
Member Posts: 797
A+ in June 2007.
I started a little late, but I might possibly be addicted now. I find myself skimming a CCNA book while waiting for CISSP results. I feel like a drug addict, because I may have to hide the book from my wife for a while. I told her I would take a break after doing so much studying for this last one.
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Andretii
Member Posts: 210
MCP 2007XBL: Andretii
"I have 16 Millions different ways of pinging myself. Sounded kind of dirty but that's not how I meant it." J. Conrad
Working on:
VCP4 » 0%
LPIC-1 » 0% -
NetAdmin2436
Member Posts: 1,076
I believe it was around June of 2007 when I got my Network+WIP: CCENT/CCNA (.....probably) -
Webmaster
Admin Posts: 10,292 Admin
CNA Netware 3.12 in 1998, and since last month 10 year MCP (NT4 workstation on 1 Sept 199
. In 1994 I got my PDI (roughly translated Practical Diploma IT) which is basically the predecessor of the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence). -
astorrs
Member Posts: 3,139 ■■■■■■□□□□
VCP on VI3 in May of this year. I had never bothered before...
Well not unless you count those lame Trend Micro ones.
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scheistermeister
Member Posts: 748 ■□□□□□□□□□
CCNA Jan 14th 2008Give a man fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
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dave0212
Member Posts: 287
A+ August 2004This week I have achieved unprecedented levels of unverifiable productivity
Working on
Learning Python and OSCP -
undomiel
Member Posts: 2,818
Same as most, A+ in September, 2006. The job I had just gotten required me to get the certification. Before that I hadn't given any real thought to certification other than maybe one day just maybe I'll possibly think of perhaps begin thinking about getting the MCSE.Jumping on the IT blogging band wagon -- http://www.jefferyland.com/ -
jbrown414
Member Posts: 230
A+ in February of this year. It was my gateway cert that has led to my cert addiction.
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steve_f
Member Posts: 97 ■■□□□□□□□□
I did 271 in May 07, followed by 272 in September 07.
feels great to pass an exam! -
Aldur
Member Posts: 1,460
JNCIA-SSL in May 2007... I feel like such an IT newbie
"Bribe is such an ugly word. I prefer extortion. The X makes it sound cool."
-Bender -
ConstantlyLearning
Member Posts: 445
A+"There are 3 types of people in this world, those who can count and those who can't" -
pennystrader
Member Posts: 155
My first exam was the 70-270 Windows XP exam which made me a MCP on July 9th, 2006.
The more knowledge one obtains the more there is too accumulate..... -
Slowhand
Mod Posts: 5,161 Mod
Man, from the looks of the other responses similar to mine, August of '04 must have been a good revenue-month for CompTIA's A+ division.
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Let it never be said that I didn't do the very least I could do.
