Where to from here? Cert or Career Advice

albanga

Hey All,

Ive hit that stage that im sure all new IT people get to, WHERE NEXT?

I'll give you a quick run down.
I have been working in IT for 4 years in a support/system admin role. I do all 1/2/3rd level support. I also do a fair bit of sysadmin work (Built and set-up mutliple DCs, terminal, print, file servers. Built and manage WSUS\WDS servers. The main things I dont manage are our firewalls, anything SQL, IIS, DNS and DHCP. Pretty much anything else that a "standard" company has i use and help manage. I also work with exchange but dont know a heap about it, most of my work comes through the AD extensions.

I have also passed my A+, CNA, MCP (270+290) and 4 weeks ago my CCNA

I have outgrown my role and am ready to take the next step but not sure where that should be. Im personally thinking a high level support role for a larger company or maybe a sys admin role. What is peoples thoughts? Would love to hear what career progression others have gone through who started of in a helpdesk and slowly built upon their knowledge?

Also something to consider is that in my current job I have the opportunity to study for around 1-2 hours day. Things are kind of quiet and my boss is more than happy for me to learn (wihtout this opportunity I dont think i would have passed my CCNA). So im also thinking that because I have this opportunity I could use the next 2-3 months to finish my MCSA and then feel much more confident going for a sys admin role. I would do my exchange and also the 291.

Do people think given that opporunity they would stay put and utilise the chance to study, or should i consider just moving on now and learning more in a new role?

It is something i need to think about but would love others feedback. I guess having the opportunity to use work and basically get paid to study is amazing and the certifications I can get could be used down the road to get a better job with more money
But then again, im really bored at my current job, and although i do get to do some cool sys admin stuff, a lot of my time is used supporting users with the most mundane of tasks.

mikedisd2

Of course. Complete the MCSA and ideally the MCSE. This shows follow-through and also covers alot technology you'll need to know as a sys admin. At the moment having 2x loose MCPs looks like you have just dabbled.

You won't have time to do it at your next job.

Jonny70

mikedisd2 wrote: »

Of course. Complete the MCSA and ideally the MCSE. This shows follow-through and also covers alot technology you'll need to know as a sys admin. At the moment having 2x loose MCPs looks like you have just dabbled.

You won't have time to do it at your next job.

This is not necessarily true. It's going to depend on what kind of environment you are looking to move in to. Both the MCSA and MCSE are only available for Server 2000 or 2003 not 2008. For Server 2008 you will want to get an MCITP. For more information you can look at the Microsoft Learning site.

albanga

So do you think its worth completing the MCSA?

After completing my CCNA i imagine it would be much easier. I use Server 2003 and also have exchange readily available so I think if i applied myself again for a couple of hours a day I would hopefully be able to knock them both over in 3 months and be MCSA certified.

Thanks for the feedback, Im definitely starting to think I should utilise this opportunity and do as much study as possible to prepare me for my new role.

Im also thinking of going to live and work in Canada next year (Im Australian). I think going over with the extra letters on my resume would help when looking for a job

subl1m1nal

Since you have the 270 and 290 and A+, I would do Net+ and the 291. You're already halfway to MCSA, I'd knock it out. Then I'd focus on upgrading the 2003 cert to 2008 (that's what I'm working on now, exam 70-64.

Just a heads up, the 291 is a pain in the butt. Net+ should be cake for a CCNA. You can also take another test instead of the Net+. I prefer the comptia certs because they add another certification behind your name and they're easier than the MS tests.

albanga

subl1m1nal wrote: »

Since you have the 270 and 290 and A+, I would do Net+ and the 291. You're already halfway to MCSA, I'd knock it out. Then I'd focus on upgrading the 2003 cert to 2008 (that's what I'm working on now, exam 70-64.

Just a heads up, the 291 is a pain in the butt. Net+ should be cake for a CCNA. You can also take another test instead of the Net+. I prefer the comptia certs because they add another certification behind your name and they're easier than the MS tests.

That actually sounds like a very good idea! Thanks for the advice. I have never ever really looked into the Net+. Does it carry much weight in the industry? Like you said though another certification behind your name could not hurt

Can u just let me know what to expect on the 291? It was a while ago i completed the 290 (5 years).

subl1m1nal

Net+ is considered an entry level basic networking cert. Many people have it and it's a respectable certification. The main thing is that it will count towards MCSA. It may be more expensive than the M$ test, but it gives you another cert and will help for MCSA.

My advise is to know everything on the 291 test very well! It covers a lot which makes it tough! I think I took the test 2 or 3 times before passing it. I studied for it using online Microsoft training my employer provided similar to CBT nuggets. Also the Microsoft Press books are good and I'd recommend doing the labs.

earweed

From reading some threads on TE about "the beast" aka 291 you should definitely lab some. Since you work with it every day it shouldn't be that bad though.

RobertKaucher

earweed wrote: »

From reading some threads on TE about "the beast" aka 291 you should definitely lab some. Since you work with it every day it shouldn't be that bad though.

Lab a lot. And not just with Server 2003. Install services that require DNS like Exchange. The point being to test what you have done, make sure you can make it work and then actually drive the point home by practising from different angles.

Turgon

albanga wrote: »

Hey All,

Ive hit that stage that im sure all new IT people get to, WHERE NEXT?

I'll give you a quick run down.
I have been working in IT for 4 years in a support/system admin role. I do all 1/2/3rd level support. I also do a fair bit of sysadmin work (Built and set-up mutliple DCs, terminal, print, file servers. Built and manage WSUS\WDS servers. The main things I dont manage are our firewalls, anything SQL, IIS, DNS and DHCP. Pretty much anything else that a "standard" company has i use and help manage. I also work with exchange but dont know a heap about it, most of my work comes through the AD extensions.

I have also passed my A+, CNA, MCP (270+290) and 4 weeks ago my CCNA

I have outgrown my role and am ready to take the next step but not sure where that should be. Im personally thinking a high level support role for a larger company or maybe a sys admin role. What is peoples thoughts? Would love to hear what career progression others have gone through who started of in a helpdesk and slowly built upon their knowledge?

Also something to consider is that in my current job I have the opportunity to study for around 1-2 hours day. Things are kind of quiet and my boss is more than happy for me to learn (wihtout this opportunity I dont think i would have passed my CCNA). So im also thinking that because I have this opportunity I could use the next 2-3 months to finish my MCSA and then feel much more confident going for a sys admin role. I would do my exchange and also the 291.

Do people think given that opporunity they would stay put and utilise the chance to study, or should i consider just moving on now and learning more in a new role?

It is something i need to think about but would love others feedback. I guess having the opportunity to use work and basically get paid to study is amazing and the certifications I can get could be used down the road to get a better job with more money
But then again, im really bored at my current job, and although i do get to do some cool sys admin stuff, a lot of my time is used supporting users with the most mundane of tasks.

Enough time in the trenches I think. You need to move away from operations into a more project based junior designer role.