Beginning with no experience

Janit

Hey pros :)

Let me bring it this way i am still pursuing my undergraduate degree in Computer Science,i recently joined a class for MCSA:Windows Server 2008,i have no experience of servers be it 2003 or the 2008....so if u guyzz can spare a moment and guide me a little like how tough its gonna be for me and how much time i shall dedicate for learning all about server 2008 to qualify the exams...and i further plan to get my CCNA after getting MCSE...and also suggestions welcomed regarding needs of the industries in terms of Networking and server certificates..

Thank You
If you are reading and replying.:D

instant000

What do you want to be doing five years from now? From that point, we could work backwards with more appropriate advice.

I do applaud your choice of Computer Science, as that is a very versatile degree.

pert

I recommend you spend your time doing more research into what each role does, hours, stress, pay, advancement, etc. before you pick one. There is no real reason to pursue both MCSE and CCNA, whichever field you go into the it will be a waste of time due to opportunity cost. This forum has a heavy networking focus, but don't be swayed by that. Research the fields yourself. Honestly, you don't need to pick a specialty right away either. Feel free to go into Tech support or Help Desk first while figuring it out.

cjthedj45

I remember when I started out in IT and had no experience. I really wanted to get my first job in IT but without any experience I could not get my foot in the door. I tried applying at local pc shops and even working unpaid for just to get the experience.
I decided to do the A+ and went to a training company in Banbury (UK) called cats. We got to build a pc from scratch learn about the processor family, IRQ’s basic maintenance etc. A lot of what I learned was still quite foreign to me and it actually took me 3 attempts to pass the first exam in the A+. This did give me the opportunity to get a job on a helpdesk and this is where I learned my first foundational IT skills. The experience I gained helped me and when I took the 2nd part of the A+ I passed first time.
I never did a degree but I think this will certainly help get your first job. I would not necessarily put all your eggs in one basket and say you want to do a MCSE and CCNA. I think you would be better to try and get some experience and see what floats your boat. I started off in pc support and this gave me exposure to server support, networking, telephony and IT security. I really liked the networking and security side and I made this known in my company at the time. Then I opportunity came up and I was promoted to network specialist. This role also gave me a lot of exposure to security and these are the two areas I specialise in now.
My advice is try and get some experience if you can. I’m sure there will be support employees at your uni maybe you could see if you could shadow them. I have also bought my own cisco kit which I use to practice on and this could be worthwhile.
Best of luck

Janit

instant000 wrote: »

What do you want to be doing five years from now? From that point, we could work backwards with more appropriate advice.

I do applaud your choice of Computer Science, as that is a very versatile degree.

Thank u instant000,indeed it is.However as of now I am interested in servers and moreover routers,IP,switches etc i know this is not appropriate but i still cannot channelize my likes into one single path of certification..:

Janit

Thank u cjthedj45 for your time...I totally agree with your advice of gaining more experience but the problem is my degree runs for 4 years straight full time and i dont think the support employees stay too much in the campus....although i did a fair bit of research on the internet regarding the job profiles you get after doing the MCSE or the CCNA which is quite intriguing to me and the icing on the cake factor is that i am not so much into programming and coding just a nice savvy of C thats why i wanted to enter into these streams...and i cannot get any experience before my degree as nobody would think i am compatible enough...