Which Certs?

WilliamNorman

Hello, I am on my last semester for my BS in Computer Science. I have talked to many people at school who have no interest getting any certifications. However i want to get as much knowledge and experience as possible. Just to narrow it down i am interested in Programming and Networking but i also like anything new and computer related. I have started studying Cisco and am currently getting prepared for CCENT. Am i on the right track? Which certifications should i get that would compliment my degree or help obtain a job?

Thanks

dynamik

CCENT is a great start if you're interested in networking. There are .NET and Java certifications available as well, if you are more interested in programming.

WilliamNorman

When i go to the Microsoft website i see a ton of exams and routes to go and its just confusing as hell. What is the best route for a new programmer to take as far as starting the Microsoft certifications? Is there a better cut and dry example of which test will benefit the next and so on?

dynamik

It's really not that bad once you get things sorted out. You either have the option of traditional windows applications or web applications (or a combination, which is the "enterprise" route).

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mcpd.aspx#tab2

Daniel333

Well, you need to be clear if you want to program or get into network administration or what.

CCNA is a good start and slap in MCITP:SA and you'll have a good idea of what sys admin is like

WilliamNorman

I want to program as far as a job goes right now and i want to do cisco networking as a hobby and maybe have more options for jobs in the future.

dynamik

This is nothing more than my opinion, but those two fields are so different, that it doesn't really make sense to keep Cisco on as a hobby. A CCNA alone is no small feat. With the time that's required to obtain that, you could significantly advance your programming skills. I'm not saying one's better than the other; only that you should determine which path you want to go and focus on that.

Forsaken_GA

dynamik wrote: »

This is nothing more than my opinion, but those two fields are so different, that it doesn't really make sense to keep Cisco on as a hobby. A CCNA alone is no small feat. With the time that's required to obtain that, you could significantly advance your programming skills. I'm not saying one's better than the other; only that you should determine which path you want to go and focus on that.

The man is dead on. Network Administration, System Administration, and Development are different worlds. Trying to be a master of all is a good way to drive yourself nuts, and ensure you won't get anywhere because you won't be as developed in anything as if you focused on something.

Pick something you enjoy first and foremost, and something you're good at second. If you're lucky, those will be the same

nash0924

My opinion would be to concentrate on one at a time and try to excel in it. If you find yourself getting bored, then you can always go and do another and of course retain your certs/experience from the previous. In this economy, it's good to be involved in a lot of things just not at the same time as stated because it will drive you nuts. You don't want to end up a jack of all trades and a master of none

WilliamNorman

nash0924 wrote: »

You don't want to end up a jack of all trades and a master of none

I hear that.

Thanks everyone for the info. I was looking into the Microsoft certifications and from what i can tell is that the 70-536 is the one i want to take to get things started as far as the programming aspect. Does anyone know if this is correct? Also if it is what i need are there any prerequisites that come to learning the material besides knowing c# and visual studio?

Thanks

sidsanders

WilliamNorman wrote: »

I hear that.

Thanks everyone for the info. I was looking into the Microsoft certifications and from what i can tell is that the 70-536 is the one i want to take to get things started as far as the programming aspect. Does anyone know if this is correct? Also if it is what i need are there any prerequisites that come to learning the material besides knowing c# and visual studio?

Thanks

i have worked for an ISV for many years and have never seen a requirement to be certified as a developer for c/c++/.net/c#/java/cobol/etc. most of the dev folks i deal with see no point in the certs. this doesnt mean jobs will not have those reqs or dev certs have no value, just mentioning what i have seen. there may be some places that need to maintain a level of certified folks in order to qualify for certain discounts/benefits/etc.

if you will have a degree in CS, that trumps most dev certs when comparing folks just entering the dev world (just education, not personality,etc). may i ask if you had to do any programming classes and if so, which ones?

WilliamNorman

sidsanders wrote: »

. may i ask if you had to do any programming classes and if so, which ones?

Yeah,

CS1, CS2, and CS3, which was all C++ based.
Operating Systems which was from what i understand llinux/unix based
Software engineering, C++/C# based
1 assembly class (But i don't think i learned much)

Other classes required small programing assignments usual in our choice of language which i chose either C++/C#

I would really like to become more proficient in C# and then after that learn Java which looks kinda similar in my opinion.

WilliamNorman

Since we are talking about certifications i was just wondering if the Red Hat RHCT is more for programmers or for networking. It seems like the higher you go in to the Red Hat certifications its starts becoming networking but at the beginning it is more of just become a power user so to say. Also, anyone here who is on the programmers side of things ever work with Linux environments?

sidsanders

with what you have taken in school, i am not sure you will need a cert to go into sw dev, if thats what you want. places with entry level sw dev jobs would likely ask about the classes you took and how you liked them, what you learned, etc...

there isnt any harm in getting dev certs if the sw dev route is what you really want to do. just dont let not having them make you think you cant land a job.

Solaris_UNIX

WilliamNorman wrote: »

Yeah,

CS1, CS2, and CS3, which was all C++ based.
Operating Systems which was from what i understand llinux/unix based
Software engineering, C++/C# based
1 assembly class (But i don't think i learned much)

Other classes required small programing assignments usual in our choice of language which i chose either C++/C#

I would really like to become more proficient in C# and then after that learn Java which looks kinda similar in my opinion.

I don't think you'll need certifications with a degree / curriculum like that already behind you. I also think it's to your advantage that you learned C and C++ on Linux / Unix for your core programming instead of Java on Microsoft Visual Studio which is what a lot of Universities seem to be teaching these days. You'll know more about memory management / garbage collection than students who were raised purely on Java will.

I think Mozilla might still be hiring C++ developers if you're interested in applying for a job and/or internship with them.

RobertKaucher

dynamik wrote: »

This is nothing more than my opinion, but those two fields are so different, that it doesn't really make sense to keep Cisco on as a hobby. A CCNA alone is no small feat. With the time that's required to obtain that, you could significantly advance your programming skills. I'm not saying one's better than the other; only that you should determine which path you want to go and focus on that.

Just my $0.02. I think it is far more practical to go about things from the opposite perpective. I am primarily a server/network admin but have programming as a hobby. I am able to use my secondary skills in my job on a regular basis. I have used Perl, PoweShell, JavaScript and C# to get stuff done at work. My main focus is on SharePoint and SQL Server and I see these things as an area where being a network/server guy with development skills is important.

But the revers is almost certainly never going to be true. I can see having fundamental knowledge of networking as important for being a developer, but as a developer it is almost never going to popup in your career that you would need to configure a router in order to get your program to function properly. On the other hand, writing a small program to get information out of your server or to automate a task is very common.

dynamik

Oh, I only phrased it like that because he seemed to be putting a priority on programming. I was just saying that you should focus on what you're passionate about and become in expert in that discipline.

I agree that most sys/network admins benefit from at least hobby-level programming/scripting abilities.

RobertKaucher

dynamik wrote: »

Oh, I only phrased it like that because he seemed to be putting a priority on programming. I was just saying that you should focus on what you're passionate about and become in expert in that discipline.

I agree that most sys/network admins benefit from at least hobby-level programming/scripting abilities.

I wasn't trying to correct or disagree. I knew what you meant. I just wanted to give a little more info because the poster seems kind of new to the profession and he might know people who do cross the boundry and not really understand why... I think you are right, and I tried to express that. It just doesn't go the other way. I have only seen one place where the developers might have been helped by having some Cisco skills... It was a small shop, about 6 developers and 20 or so people in a call center. They were a company like Free Credit Report.com or something like that. 26 people or so, but just as many servers.

The developers were the net admins. They managed the server, reset passwords, etc... But I am sure even there they would have called a consultant to do anything higher level like configure an ASA or something of the sort. I was doing a RightFax server installation for them. I just showed the the basic administration and they called for anything more complex.

WilliamNorman

Thanks everyone, this information really helps.