Will Certification complement my Bachelors degree?

New2ITinCali

Hi All, I just got finished talking to an enrollment counselor for a 22 week training program to earn my CompTIA A+ Certification. I think this will complement my Bachelors Degree in Information Technology Management and make me a much more marketable candidate. I do have an interview coming up and I wanted to know if I should mention my enrollment in the CompTIA A+ Certification program or not? I just want to make myself a valuable candidate and I think by mentioning my degree plus my enrollment in the CompTIA program will show any potential employer that I am serious and passionate about the I.T. field. All I need is for someone to give me a chance and hire me! I'm tired of getting passed over for people who just want to get into the field to make a quick buck and don't necessarily have a passion for the field.

N2IT

Yeah I don't see why not.

ajs1976

22 week training program for the A+? how much are they charging you?

NetworkVeteran

Certifications certainly complement degrees.

As far as "Certifications in progress", opinions have been mixed here as to whether to include those on resumes.

Personally, I don't subtract for "I'm going to" claims, but they're a dime a dozen compared to an actual "I did". I would award credit in line with how many specific, measurable steps you'd taken towards obtaining "I did".

(As an aside, four weeks to obtain an A+ sounds long if you have a useful degree.)

New2ITinCali

It's a part-time evening program, because I work 8 hours during the day. They do offer a shorter program, but it's in the daytime and unfortunately I cannot attend that one due to my work schedule. The tuition is actually based off of your income; it's a community, non-profit organization and there whole mission is to help people within the community find jobs. Once I go in for orientation, and they go over my salary and family size, they will then let me know what my tuition will be.

ajs1976

seems like a long time for the A+.

Jason0352

Taking a near 6 month course for A+ doesn't show real "passion" in my opinion. If you need someone to walk you through how to put a computer together and simple troubleshooting steps then you don't belong in IT. What I've found is the more independent you are the further you'll go in this industry.
Read a book and buy a cheapo computer to lab on.

The A+ cert will the be the easiest certification you will get in your career. Don't waste your money on this course, you can study for the cert yourself.

Dakinggamer87

Certifications complement your degree very nicely. I would also recommend self-studying the A+ as others have mentioned you can finish it much faster and move into higher level certifications.

FloOz

Yes, certifications have complimented my B.S degree very well. Like others have said though, 22 weeks for an A+ is really overkill. I also recommend self studying for it and passing in ~2-3 months.

Master Of Puppets

Certs are a great addition to a degree. However, I had to read it a couple of times to make sure it really is 22 weeks. Over 5 months for something like A+ is a bit of a waste, to put it lightly.

ptilsen

Don't mention the program to any employers and don't enroll in it, if you haven't yet.

I'm dead serious here. I would disqualify you on the spot for being in a 22-week A+ program, and I'm probably not alone in that. Such a program is certainly a waste of time and money, and the fact that you're could be seen as evidence of not being ready for entry-level work. Buy a $30 book, read it, and take the tests. The material is fairly easy, and should be the equivalent of less than a 3-credit college course, if you want to look at it like that.

You are completely right to be getting the A+ certification, but if you want to show that you're serious and have passion, you should be able to self study for it over 2-6 weeks, depending on your time and existing skill.

New2ITinCali

Here is the place that I am referring too The Stride Center :: Home They offer other certifications as well. I guess I should just order a CompTIA book online and self-study since that's what everyone is recommending. I don't have hands on experience in the field though. The only experience I have is a 6 month internship I completed. During my internship I performed Help Desk duties and I also worked on software development. Them majority of my time was spent on the Software Development side helping the Database Administrator maintain the intranet and working on projects. I learned more about the software side than I did Help Desk.

ptilsen

I think you'll be able to plow through the A+. It's really not too bad.

The only other consideration is what you really want to do. A+ is about getting your foot in the door for infrastructure, generally leading to systems or network administration after some time a support role (e.g. help desk). Software development is a different field. What is your degree in?

New2ITinCali

I have a Bachelors of Business Management with a concentration in Information Technology Management. The concentration courses I took are a mixture of network and software development, they include:
Intro. to Computers
Network Security
Database Management (Oracle SQL)
Relational Databases
Management Information Systems
Intro to Visual Basic
Information Technology in Healthcare
MySQL/PHP (web development)

New2ITinCali

I honestly am interested in Security. I find it very interesting and I am considering on working towards my MSISA thru WGU. Would anyone recommend this? Or should I obtain a job first and then pursue my MSISA?

At this point though,I just want to find anything in the field even a Help Desk job. I've decided I need to just my foot in the door anyway I can.

ptilsen

Well, A+ is a good way to help get your foot in the door, and it should be a walk in the park to plow through it. I still say go for it.

MSISA isn't a bad plan, but I don't know if it's a logical next step. I'll take someone with no degree and experience over someone with a master's degree and experience every time, in this field. I'd say the CompTIA trio (and probably more) and 1-3 years of work experience would be ideal before you really dive into a master's program.

metamet

I know a lot of experienced IT folks took the A+ back when it was a joke, but it's no longer something someone you can just hammer out in a month of studying.

Which is bad because people still have those negative opinions regarding what the A+ actually accomplishes.

@ptilsen: When you think of the A+, do you consider it having these objectives?: http://lpc1.clpccd.cc.ca.us/lpc/mdaoud/Cnt51/CompTIA220-802Objectives.pdf

ptilsen

I'll admit, the topic list is more extensive than I thought. However, I'll hold to the opinion that a 22-week class, if a class at all, isn't justified. A study guide and self-study regimen lasting no more than 12 weeks ought to suffice.

Slowhand

Looking at the objectives, there isn't a huge difference in the volume of content. Technologies have changed - there aren't a whole lot of topics on IRQ errors or SCSI termination anymore, for example - but the sheer amount of content covered is about the same for both 220-801 and 220-802, in comparison to 220-301 and 220-302 that I took. I think where a lot of us are having trouble wrapping our brains around the complaint that the material is too tough to learn in a short time is that this is, at the end of the day, an entry-level exam. Things don't generally get any easier once you're moving on from the A+; and this is just the academic process of studying and passing a pair of exams, the actual work is generally a lot more difficult.

I'd been working as a PC tech for a retail store for about six months, with about a year and a half of messing around at home with my own beige-box PC, when my boss told me I was going to take both exams. . . the next day. He gave me a workbook to look through, then sent me on my way. I spent about two hours in total reading through the material, sat both exams, and had my A+ in hand the next afternoon. The exams weren't "easy", but if you've tinkered or worked with computers for a while, then it shouldn't be a huge process to pass them. A couple of weeks studying apiece? Sure. Twenty-two weeks seems a bit excessive, in my mind, if you're serious about making IT a career you want to realistically pursue.