Semi-directionless as to which certs to focus on now...

orcsoul

So I've finally after years of procrastination finished up my basic 3 CompTIA trio of A, Net and Sec+ ... transcender has said they will give me access to one test-prep kit of my choice at no cost (sans voucher) due to a mishap over a previous prep kit resulting in a duplicate voucher and some wasted money.

Now I'm rather overwhelmed by what choice I should make next... Ideally I'll be entering the network-admin skillset with a sooner rather than later shuffle over into a network security/incident response focus.

Also ideally I'd be working for the DoD or a private sector business with close tie ins to the DoD.

I've considered getting the CompTIA Linux+ (and LPIC1, eventually getting LPIC2) cert so as to round out my foundation, but I'm unsure if that cert would have any real market value for me.

Then there are the "big 2" comprising of the MS line and Cisco line... I know I could knock the CCNA out without much fuss, I also know it would be pretty much universally important to have in my desired line of work.

As far as the MS certs go, I wouldn't even know where to begin they offer so many. It seems that MS just loves to throw tests out for every iteration of their software.

I'd greatly appreciate any insight into my options, especially on things I may not have considered. Though ideally at this point I'd like to keep my options to product lines that Transcender supports since I've got that offer for a free test-prep suite.

earweed

I've heard good things about the CCNA Transcender and I have, so far, been disappointed with the Transcender for the Microsoft 70-64x series. Since you say that you do indeed see a definite need for the CCNA why not get that one.

N2IT

What about virtualization? It seems to be a super hot field and a lot of data centers are moving to that technology if not already there.

I also second what Earweed said, if you can bang out the CCNA fairly quickly, then I would do that. With time being a minor constraint, it would seem to me that the CCNA would be your best bang for the buck. Plus if what Earweed says is accurate, which I would bet 100 dollars it is, you would have a quality pre test and training material.

RobertKaucher

What sort of work do you do now, and what would you like to be doing in the future?

orcsoul

Presently I'm doing techbench/helpdesk type work, and within 6-8 months I'll be moving on into a (hopefully) more network admin oriented field, all depends on what is being offered.