Stuck deciding which path to take - lots of questions

Hi there everyone. I am currently taking an A+ course using the Cisco curriculum and should be finished with my certification in ~8 weeks. I'm mostly interested in some kind of IT job in the future, which I will talk about more later in my post, but for now I obviously just want to find some kind of starting job. I've always enjoyed more hands-on type stuff and don't really like the idea of working in a call center, so I was thinking of a bench technician job at Frys, MicroCenter, Central Computer (store in the bay area), etc. I'd consider field technician too but I'm only 17 and for whatever reason companies (at least Geek Squad) want them to be 18 or over. Anyways, the only issue is all of these companies want the experience and not just the knowledge. Seems like a Catch-22 almost, need the experience to get the job, but need the job to get the experience. As far as I know, they don't have any type of internships either. So does anyone know of any companies that will hire with an A+ certification but no experience? If not, any idea where I can get the experience? I have my own PC which I built a couple years back, but I doubt that would be enough, not to mention I have no proof that I built it.

Now as I said before, I'll be finishing A+ soon and after that will want to go on to more advanced certifications; either CC** or MC**. From what I understand, Cisco deals more with hardware while Microsoft deals more with software. I don't really have a personal preference as to which I want to branch out to. However, I would like to know which is more valuable and widely used in the industry. To elaborate, if I wanted to find a job as an IT guy at lets say...Toshiba, which certification would be applied most in the work environment or does it differ greatly from company to company? Eventually, I'll probably end up getting both just to know them, but for now I want to take it 1 step at a time. On a somewhat related note, I heard the Microsoft exams (at least MCSE) are 7 tests. If this is true does that mean I have to pay for each of them? If so, about how much would it be total?

As far as degrees go, I've heard the 2 big ones are computer science and electrical engineering. I've also heard that computer science is a lot more theoretical and not so much practical. How true is this? So like my CC** vs MC** questions, if I wanted a job as an IT guy which degree would the employer look for and how valuable are they? Could I possibly be hired with just the certifications or are they a must have?

Lastly, do you think any of the other easier exams are worth getting? Security+, Network+, Linux+, CCENT, etc. or should I just skip them? Also, my A+ instructor who is also the instructor for the CCNA exploration courses said you should know Physics for CCNA. About how much should you know? Unfortunately, I am a bit behind in math right now because I use to sit on my ass and play World of Warcraft all day. My high school also doesn't offer a Physics class since it's independent study. They do let us take college courses though which is good, but unlike high school physics where you can get by with Algebra II, I hear you need Calculus and Trig for college courses.

That's everything I can think of for now. Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any answers you can give me.

Xentia

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Comments

Hyper-Me

The "experience to get the job, but cant get a job to get experience" thing is predominant in the IT industry. It just comes down to knowing someone or finding a company that will take a chance on you learning on their dime. That doesnt meant youll screw up, they just have to understand that it may take you a little more time to adapt than someone with X amount of experience.

Geeksquad, FireDog, etc dont care if you have an CCNA or MCSE, they simply dont want people who know nothing, and they dont want people who know mroe than the hiring managers. I dont consider these "real" IT jobs and I would stray away from them if possible. Your first natural step should be Helpdesk at a corporation or government entity.

The MCSE vs CCNP debate will be answered in time, as you get some experience under your belt and figure out what you like to work on best. In the time being, getting the A+, Net+ and Sec+ trio wouldnt be a bad starting point...or possibly the MCDST/MCITP EDST or some MCTS for a client OS.

The general rule (read: doesnt apply to everyone, especially veterans of the industry) is that you will need atleast a BS degree to go far in this field. You can get so far with a HSD/GED or Associates before youll just start peaking. Its not that the degree will teach you much of anything practical when it comes to IT, its rather that companies/HR are made up of old school people who know nothing about IT so they look for the age old expensive ass education on the resume. Check out WGU.edu if you want a degree in IT that is both cheap and time efficient.

I dont think you need to know any Physics to work on networking equipment. Being good at math would be a good thing, but if you find you love networking enough I think you can do it even if you are "bad" at math.

Xentia

Hyper-Me wrote: »

The "experience to get the job, but cant get a job to get experience" thing is predominant in the IT industry. It just comes down to knowing someone or finding a company that will take a chance on you learning on their dime. That doesnt meant youll screw up, they just have to understand that it may take you a little more time to adapt than someone with X amount of experience.

Geeksquad, FireDog, etc dont care if you have an CCNA or MCSE, they simply dont want people who know nothing, and they dont want people who know mroe than the hiring managers. I dont consider these "real" IT jobs and I would stray away from them if possible. Your first natural step should be Helpdesk at a corporation or government entity.

The MCSE vs CCNP debate will be answered in time, as you get some experience under your belt and figure out what you like to work on best. In the time being, getting the A+, Net+ and Sec+ trio wouldnt be a bad starting point...or possibly the MCDST/MCITP EDST or some MCTS for a client OS.

The general rule (read: doesnt apply to everyone, especially veterans of the industry) is that you will need atleast a BS degree to go far in this field. You can get so far with a HSD/GED or Associates before youll just start peaking. Its not that the degree will teach you much of anything practical when it comes to IT, its rather that companies/HR are made up of old school people who know nothing about IT so they look for the age old expensive ass education on the resume. Check out WGU.edu if you want a degree in IT that is both cheap and time efficient.

I dont think you need to know any Physics to work on networking equipment. Being good at math would be a good thing, but if you find you love networking enough I think you can do it even if you are "bad" at math.

Thanks for the quick response Hyper-Me. Would an online degree really hold as much weight as a normal degree in this field? Meaning, an employer wouldn't choose another candidate over me just because I had on online degree? Also, what major and minor would I want to be looking at for IT?

[Deleted User]

WGU's coursework is specific to IT. Therefore, as you progress in school at WGU you will be taking certifications along the way. The question of whether your WGU degree is going to hold more weight than a B&M university is probably going to be dependent upon the hiring manager.

Since you may not be old enough to work full-time at a help desk or other job. Maybe you could try volunteering your time to gain some experience or trying to find a summer internship. I know that the school districts in my area hire kids to image PCs over the summer. That would be a great opportunity to get involved in some IT work and possibly learn some stuff from the IT staff there.

Xentia

xmalachi wrote: »

WGU's coursework is specific to IT. Therefore, as you progress in school at WGU you will be taking certifications along the way. The question of whether your WGU degree is going to hold more weight than a B&M university is probably going to be dependent upon the hiring manager.

Since you may not be old enough to work full-time at a help desk or other job. Maybe you could try volunteering your time to gain some experience or trying to find a summer internship. I know that the school districts in my area hire kids to image PCs over the summer. That would be a great opportunity to get involved in some IT work and possibly learn some stuff from the IT staff there.

Thanks for the response xmalachi.

Another thing I forgot to add about the CCNA. I've heard that they have a 1 exam option and a 2 exam option. Is this the same as CCNA discovery and exploration or do you choose the exam options after you complete either course?

[Deleted User]

I went to a Cisco Networking Academy - Cisco Systems. The teachers there encouraged us to take the 1 exam option and that is what I did. This might be what your school offers just a revamped version of what I took.