Wants to enter IT industry but which course CCNA or MCITP:SA?

ghienzy09

I'm just confused what to do at the moment. It's been weeks and I'm still deciding between these 2 courses. I have such keen interest in entering IT industry but don't know what course to take. I had a degree in computer engineering (2007) and haven't use my degree since. Now, I'm really wanting to pursue a career in IT. I don't have any proper IT experience even tech support or helpdesk except for a month internship when I was in college and this is my dillema. My confusin is which course will open the door for me so that I could step in IT world quicker? I studied CCNA i 2006 when I was in college but due to few circumstances I didn't took the exam. I asked few recruitment agents and they said that CCNA but they usually need experience which I don't have. I know CCNA is a strong qualification but I was thinking if I took the MCITP, this will make me land my first IT job even helpdesk and I could do my way up. Please help any suggestion is much appreciated!

VAHokie56

Well with zero experience on your side, you may want to consider knocking down the A+ exam first. This will help you get your foot in the door and get on a help desk or desk side team,then at this point your working in the field. Now to answer your first question ill pose a question right back at you, what do you like better routing and switching or server administration? don't choose what pro level cert you want to get on what will move you up faster. Make this decision on which one will keep you interested and passionate about the technology you are playing with,that way you have drive to keep bettering your self with said technology. If you are not sure, don't worry your first entry level job in IT typically helps you to make that decision. Me personally I would go with the Cisco route, I have had good success with it and I know a lot of people with M$ certs who have trouble finding solid jobs...that's just my opinion.

Krunchi

VAHokie56 is correct you need to consider A+ then Network+ or CCENT and maybe a OS cert like Win7 70-680. After those cert's you'll know what you like and the direction to move in.

Devilry

1) Get A+

2) Get some hands on experience, if you can. Once you do this, determine what you enjoy the most and go from there

or

3) If you cant get any experience hands on, try Net+, Sec+ and Microsoft 70-680 (windows7) and determine what you enjoy the most and go from there.

djfunz

A+ helped me gain a lot of non vendor basic theory down. This is essential for further development in more advanced skills and theory. Study A+ then N+ followed by some Help Desk experience. Then you'll see at the job what interests you along with building relationships with the right people.

Darril

I agree with the other advice you're getting here. Based on what you're saying, a foundation with A+ is a good start.

I've taught some Microsoft tracks and have found that people without a foundation in basics really struggle and life events prevent them from taking the exams. In other words, if you skip the foundation, you may be posting to another forum in a few years indicating that you studied some MCITP courses but due to a few circumstances, you weren't able to take the exams. Studying and passing the A+ now will help you do two things:

1. Update the knowledge from your degree to current technologies
2. Get some confidence passing exams

If you choose the CCNA route, I'd suggest you carefully consider what prevented you from taking the exam before. It may have been a major life event such as a death or serious illness in your family. Or, you may simply have lost interest since the topic didn't really sing to you. If it didn't sing before, you may want to ask yourself what will cause it to sing now?

HTH


Darril Gibson
Security blog