Certificates in General - Newbie To Them

superman859

Hello everyone,

I'm just wondering about certificates in general. Pretty broad question, eh?

I'm currently working on my Masters in Computer Science, but up until about a week ago I had never really considered much about certificates nor what they could do for me in the future. I'm still a full time student and haven't entered the industry yet going straight from undergraduate to graduate school. Up until now, I have really just been concerned about getting my degree and calling that that!

But now I'm quite interested in these certificates. Not sure why. But I noticed that CompTIA was going to start requiring recertification for people after 2010, so I thought what the heck? I want some certificates, so now is the time to grab em!

So in general for someone like me, with no certificates nor real job experience (just lots of school), is it a good place to start with A+, Network+, and Security+ ? I don't know what kind of job I will end up with, but I have a feeling it will be related to network security - that's my thesis area after all.

I ordered books on these three, and I think with a little review I can probably pass the Network+ exam with very little studying. Without looking into it too much, the A+ exam seems like it contains more hardware related stuff, and while I've been using it all my life and build my own computers, I never really studied it in detail too much - not sure how detail specific the A+ exam is. But at the same time, from what I've read A+ is one of the first people go for, so it shouldn't be too bad...The book is pretty thick though...about twice as thick as the other two books.

From glancing at the table of contents, I think I know a lot of the Security+ concepts as well, although there are some specifics I may need to study more.

Are these three a good place to start? Are there others I should consider now, or just wait until I knock these three out (within the next few months hopefully)?

I'm just trying to figure out how to make that resume look appealing. Which certifications would look good next to a MS in Computer Science for someone who will probably end up in network security?

jamesleecoleman

Welcome!!!

I think the A+/N+/S+ would be good to get out the way. They're entry level certifications and they have really good information in them. Don't let someone tell you that they aren't worth it. There are some companies that require those certifications.There is a good range of different security certifications too. If you think you'll get into network security, I think going the cisco route (IT Certification - Cisco - Cisco Systems) will also help you out. You could just start off into cisco certifications. Companies also ask for the CCNA and CCNP certifications.

I hope this helps you out.

undomiel

The Security+ would definitely be a good building block for you to start with you aim being network security. The A+ and Network+ would be useful for getting into that entry level job, but they won't serve much use after that. If you have no industry experience though you would definitely want to snap up one or the other to help you with breaking into the field.