What certifications do you suggest I focus on for my job?

lamar1981

I am a network administrator for a big company. I was wondering what certifications you thought would be helpful for me to have. I don't want to waste my time or money on unnecessary certifications. Here are the details: My company's servers are running win server2003. the client pcs run win xp pro. I was thinking of probably focusing on windows xp certification (70-270) and windows server 2003 certifications (70-290, 291 and 292) for now. after that i thought cisco certification would be good.

so please tell me what certification you think i should focus on

thanks in advance,
lamar1981

skeet2331

Looks like a MCSE and CCNA would do you some good.

nel

skeet2331 wrote:

Looks like a MCSE and CCNA would do you some good.

+1. Then if you want to dive into the cisco world you can decide where you want to go from there. i.e. ccnp, ccda etc.

dynamik

I tend to think of a network administrator as someone who deals with routers and switches and a system administrator as someone who deals with servers and clients.

It sounds like you should go for the MCSE. I'd plan on going all the way, and not stopping at the MCSA, which is what it looks like you're planning on with the exams you listed. Also, 292 was an upgrade from the 2000 MCSE and is no longer offered.

Welcome to the forums

lamar1981

dynamik wrote:

I tend to think of a network administrator as someone who deals with routers and switches and a system administrator as someone who deals with servers and clients.

It sounds like you should go for the MCSE. I'd plan on going all the way, and not stopping at the MCSA, which is what it looks like you're planning on with the exams you listed. Also, 292 was an upgrade from the 2000 MCSE and is no longer offered.

Welcome to the forums

yeah,...i want to go all the way. i dont want to be a network administrator my entire career. i would like to learn as much as possible so i am pretty much going to do what your suggesting. thanks for notifying me about the 292 not being offered anymore. also, thanks for the welcome!

UnixGuy

if you're working with Windows server 2003, then MCSE 2003 of course. CCNA will be helpful for your networking background

supertechCETma

lamar1981 wrote:

yeah,...i want to go all the way. i dont want to be a network administrator my entire career. i would like to learn as much as possible so i am pretty much going to do what your suggesting. thanks for notifying me about the 292 not being offered anymore. also, thanks for the welcome!

If you are already a net admin, don't waste your time and effort certifying that you can do the job you are already doing. If you really want to move up the ladder, I would start on higher degrees in what ever field you desire. Computers for computers sake is very limiting. Figure out what you want to do with computers and then focus on that industry. You can then use you computer experience and knowledge to leverage your degree toward greater opportunities within a that industry.

nel

supertechCETma wrote:

lamar1981 wrote:

yeah,...i want to go all the way. i dont want to be a network administrator my entire career. i would like to learn as much as possible so i am pretty much going to do what your suggesting. thanks for notifying me about the 292 not being offered anymore. also, thanks for the welcome!

If you are already a net admin, don't waste your time and effort certifying that you can do the job you are already doing. If you really want to move up the ladder, I would start on higher degrees in what ever field you desire. Computers for computers sake is very limiting. Figure out what you want to do with computers and then focus on that industry. You can then use you computer experience and knowledge to leverage your degree toward greater opportunities within a that industry.

I disagree with part of that statement. He wouldnt be wasting his time with certs he was gaining. By the sounds of it although he has a "network administration" title it sounds like its more sys admin / engineering in the MS infrastructure. So if he wants to cross into R&S then he would have to study those area's accordingly - usually via certs or/and degree. Which way he wants to gain those qualifications are upto that individual - im definately not going to get into the whole degree vs certs thing but a high degree is very useful for working your way up the management level. However for me - experiance is the key to everything. It puts everything into place accordingly.

UnixGuy

supertechCETma wrote:

lamar1981 wrote:

yeah,...i want to go all the way. i dont want to be a network administrator my entire career. i would like to learn as much as possible so i am pretty much going to do what your suggesting. thanks for notifying me about the 292 not being offered anymore. also, thanks for the welcome!

If you are already a net admin, don't waste your time and effort certifying that you can do the job you are already doing. If you really want to move up the ladder, I would start on higher degrees in what ever field you desire. Computers for computers sake is very limiting. Figure out what you want to do with computers and then focus on that industry. You can then use you computer experience and knowledge to leverage your degree toward greater opportunities within a that industry.

It's always good to have a certificate along with experience. It's a proof of your knowledge, and there's always something new you will learn when you get a certificate. And in order to move up to the next level, in my opinion, it's always a good idea to climb the ladder (to master the technology you're currently working on FIRST then jump to something up, getting the job done without a sound knowledge isn't enough).

gorebrush

+1 for MCSE

evil_lbt

get your mcse

ccna wouldn't do you much good since you are not working in a cisco shop

Daniel333

Just what came to mind...

70-620 >> 70-270 >> 70-290 >> CCENT >> 70-291 >> CCNA

Then move onto your MCSE.

vincentnyc10

supertechCETma wrote:

lamar1981 wrote:

yeah,...i want to go all the way. i dont want to be a network administrator my entire career. i would like to learn as much as possible so i am pretty much going to do what your suggesting. thanks for notifying me about the 292 not being offered anymore. also, thanks for the welcome!

If you are already a net admin, don't waste your time and effort certifying that you can do the job you are already doing. If you really want to move up the ladder, I would start on higher degrees in what ever field you desire. Computers for computers sake is very limiting. Figure out what you want to do with computers and then focus on that industry. You can then use you computer experience and knowledge to leverage your degree toward greater opportunities within a that industry.

i would also disagree with this statement. when i was studying computer science in college and ask the president of the computer science dept...if getting a master degree in computer science...would that advance my career? she said no...it is a waste of money...basically she only recommends it for someone who is changing a career field. but for me it is a waste of money from all the student loan and debt.

also i never able to use anything i learn from college at work. sometimes i feel i waste 4 yrs of my live just to get my foot at the door.


from personal experience, here is how u move up the ladder:

1. experience
2. certification
3. it's not what u know, but who u know.
4. luck