Which lower level certification has been the most valuable to you?

Peterm44

Hey guys

I am thinking of a few exams to go for this year but curious of what some of you have found more worthwhile. I guess it depends on the path you choose to take (admin, security, networking etc) but it would be good to know what some of you have seen as a more recognized/valuable cert to get earlier on in your career. I have worked in IT support for 3-4 years.

I was leaning towards the 409 exam (free shot)
Server 2012 but have heard plenty of good things about Security + and CCNA also.

sigsoldier

Security+ is a great lower-level cert because it satisfies a requirement for a lot of DOD jobs, should you ever want to go that route. Plus, it would probably only take you a week or two of studying to be ready for it.

But why stop at one? The others you listed would all be great as well!

GarudaMin

It's hard to answer. How do you define 'the most valuable'? To me, all the certs I have gained (even the ones I did not renew) were valuable. They increased my understanding and knowledge of that particular topic and enhance my overall understanding of everything. When I say 'they', I meant the path to that certification (the books I read, the labs I did, etc.). Even though I have lost memory of some topics from them (my career path didn't lead me to them), I still have memory of high level overview. It allows me to know what it is I am looking at, what is possibly wrong with it, how to fix it and where to find the right steps/tools to fix it. I can't ask for anything better than that.

A+ gave me a pay increase (25 cents but it was in the time when minimum wage was like $5). Other certs like MCTIP, CCNA, etc. did not get me monetary value but they increase reliance on me by coworkers and manager and allowed me to handle more tasks, which ultimately led to some pay increase. Associate of ISC2-CISSP track gave me a job in information security field. All of them were valuable for me.

So, depending on what you want to do, take appropriate certs. I mean if you want to do network, start with network+, CCNA, etc. and if you want to do sysadmin, start with Microsoft, Linux, etc. But your path should not not defined by those. If you want to be in networking, you can still take Microsoft and other related system certs. At the least they will give you general education and give you a more understanding of things.