What MCSE Path should I choose?

geno1904

I will take the 70-412 sometime next week to become a MCSA Windows Server 2012. I was on wondering with path should I go with to obtain a MCSE. I am currently in the Air Force getting ready to transition out. My goal is to become an IT manager in the near future. I have been debating between server infrastructure, private cloud, and share point.

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Essendon

What do you want to be doing and what do you currently do? Answers to these questions will answer your question. Dont do a cert just for the heck of it, the ROI is usually very little.

jonny72

If you want to be an IT manager I'd have thought ITIL intermediate or project management would be a better choice than an MCSE.

Though I'd go with Sharepoint over the other two. Excellent and really useful product that pretty much no one knows anything about (in my experience!). Would be more useful knowledge for a management position.

geno1904

Essendon wrote: »

What do you want to be doing and what do you currently do? Answers to these questions will answer your question. Dont do a cert just for the heck of it, the ROI is usually very little.

Overall I want to be an IT manager or director. I am currently doing crypto maintenance, however, I was a system administrator while deployed in Kabal, Afghanistan. I decided to get the MCSA to translate that on my resume when I get. One of my challenges is that I did a little bit of everything in Air Force. I have more of a Cisco Voice background and I will purse the CCNP track later.

Here is my resume.

SECURITY CLEARANCE:

Education
Western Governors University, Austin, TX
Bachelors of Science, Information Technology/Network Design and Management Graduate: April 2014

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell AFB, AL
Associate in Applied Science; Electronic Systems Technology Graduated: May 2011

CERTIFICATIONS

Cisco Certified Network Associate
Cisco Certified Network Associate Voice
COMPTIA Security +
Information Technology Infrastructure Library

Cisco Certified Network Associate Security
Pursuing Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate Windows Server 2012

MILITARY IT Experience
Cryptologic Systems Division, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas Aug 2011 – Present
· Managed the JIOC-A IT Project team ensuring that milestones were met, project stayed within budget, and briefed senior leadership with updates and status changes.
· Supervised IT Help Desk support desk consisting of 6 personnel; duties focused on site repair activities supporting NATO HQ, ISAF, JIOC-A, Secure/Non-Secure LAN/WAN Network Management Administration and Active Directory Administrator for US and Coalition users.
· Supervised a 6 person team that performed inspections, operational tests, certifications, and repairs on cryptographic equipment in accordance with National Security Agency (NSA) standards.
· Trained, conceptualized, and implemented the secure telephone equipment (STE) procedures that later was adopted by the US Air Force and became the national standard of recertification by the NSA.
75^th Air Base Wing, hill Air Force Base, Utah nov 2009 – aug 2011
· Provided analysis of the IT service desk processes; resulting in the streamlining and integrating of the IT service desk procedures reducing the response time by half (50%).
· Supervised the daily preventive maintenance of all assigned IT equipment, troubleshooting, SERVORD data entry and translations, table data fill, alarm clearing, circuit installation/recovery on telephony switch.
· Provided in-depth telephone training to new personnel, coordinated with telecom vendors for lines and services and projected additions and enhancements to all voice and data systems.
· Handpicked for Barksdale Global Strike Command Standup. Led four man team that engineered 8th AF communication package. Programmed and Installed 600 phones and faxes before service level agreement (SLA).
52D Communications Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany Apr 2006 – Nov 2009
· Team lead on multiple VoIP telecommunication installations, outages, upgrades and on-time relocations that directly supported 8,000 users.
· Performed surveys averaging over 75 a month to streamline and use Six Sigma total quality management principles to implement the most cost effective installation information procedures and requisitions solution to order equipment supporting the base telecommunications requirement.
· Managed 2 million dollar network infrastructure comprised of 5 Cisco Voice over Internet Protocol managers, 7,300-line telephony switch, and 5 400 line Avaya G3 switches.
· Lead Quality Assurance Evaluator (QAE) for assets totally 8 million dollar private branch exchange (PBX) and 3 telephony switches copper core/fiber optic infrastructure contracts.
KEY SKILLS
COMSEC, Troubleshooting, LAN-WAN, Help Desk Support, ITIL v3 Foundations, Cisco VoIP, Active Directory, SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange, VTC, Lotus, Adobe, Google Earth, Remedy, Port Security, CCNA, CCNA Voice, CCNA Security, MCSA, Windows Vista, Dell, HP, Fiber Optics, SIPRNET, NIPR, Cisco Call Manager, NATO, Microsoft Office, Crypto, KVM Switches, Centrex, JWICS, Time Management, Network Administrator, System Administrator, Windows Server, Cisco Switches, Cisco Routers, Afghanistan, Telnet, Remote Desktop, Organized

geno1904

jonny72 wrote: »

If you want to be an IT manager I'd have thought ITIL intermediate or project management would be a better choice than an MCSE.

Though I'd go with Sharepoint over the other two. Excellent and really useful product that pretty much no one knows anything about (in my experience!). Would be more useful knowledge for a management position.

I plan on studying for PMP after I finish my BS. Thank you for the advice. I wanted to advance in a Microsoft certification that would land me a job quickly.

Essendon

Do you work on Sharepoint at the moment or will you in the near future? Do you have a System Center setup in your current environment? If the answer to either question is No, then I reckon the Server Infra. cert is the way to go. This is if you want to remain on the sys admin/engineer kinda role. If you want to move to Networks, the CCNP is a good option.

geno1904

Essendon wrote: »

Do you work on Sharepoint at the moment or will you in the near future? Do you have a System Center setup in your current environment? If the answer to either question is No, then I reckon the Server Infra. cert is the way to go. This is if you want to remain on the sys admin/engineer kinda role. If you want to move to Networks, the CCNP is a good option.

Thanks for the advice! I am leaning toward infrastructure because I do not have cloud or share point available right being active duty.

srabiee

I'm personally going Desktop Infrastructure and then Server Infrastructure. From there Exchange, and then either Cloud or moving to VMware certs.