Too many qualifications? over qualified :(

hi all,

am just looking for a little adivice, i used to work in the it industry a few years ago, for 6 years, building and repairing pcs, after that i moved into network administration for a year or so, before joining the royal marines, during my time in the industry i gained, nvq 2+3 in information technology, comptia net+, mcp - win2k pro. and did several other courses - windows 2000 mcse, and ccna, but never sat the exams and got the qualifications, as i planned on getting the experience to go with the qualifications, that is until i had a short career change.

i plan on serving another 3 years in her majestys finest, and plan on continuing with my studying during this time, however i dont want to over study and have too many qualifications for the experience i have.

my question is this, what certification path should i choose, so that i am not hindering my job prospects? im thinking; go as far as mcsa with ccna, and a few comptia certificates such as: a+, server+, security+. any further i think i may be over qualified for my lack of experience in the netwokring industry?

any advice will be greatly appreciated.

cheers

gaz

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Comments

gazcarter

also with these qualifications, what kind of money would i be looking at earning as an administrator within the uk?

again thanks for your advice.

gaz

Plantwiz

FWIW<

if you are selecting a career based on the money, then you will likely never be completely satisfied.

If you select your career path based on what you enjoy, then you'll find the money.

So, what aspects of IT do you enjoy most? That's the first question, from there you'll target certificiations in the areas you work with and those areas you may soon work with.

Daniel333

You won't make the big bucks in general IT work. Aim a little higher I think. But if you enjoy the work and are willing to continue an education in IT for the rest of your life, snag all the "+" certifications and work on the new line of Microsoft certifications. Afterward start working with Linux. After all that you might make a fair wage... well, until the next thing comes out.

gazcarter

hi plantwiz,

tnx for your reply, i enjoy working in the networking administration and design side of IT, which is why i have chosen the above path, i just dont want to go too far, qualification wise as i know the mcse is supposed to be work experience based knowledge, most of my knowledge will be coming from books and test networks iv made at home, so if i had a full mcse, i think that would hinder my job applications as i would have more quals than most it managers, with less experience than your average 1st line administrator.

im just looking at ball park figures at the money, so i can plan my career change back out of the marines, i have checked loads to job sites, but would ideally like advice of some IT managers or administrators who would may be in the position to recruit someone with similar circumstances to myself.

cheers

gaz

JDMurray

gazcarter wrote:

my question is this, what certification path should i choose, so that i am not hindering my job prospects?

A better question to ask is, "What certification will help me achieve my career goals more quickly?"

My standard advice is to look at job boards and talk to recruiters to see what are the skills/education/experience that employers are asking for in the job(s) that you are most interested. IT managers at ten differnt companies will have ten different sets of requirements. Only by looking at the job requirements of specific industries and businesses that interest you will you be able to determine your future certification goals.

It sounds like you are already doing all this, but need to talk specifically with recruiters that handle ex-military so you can get an idea of what skills/certs you should have once you are a civilian again. There are certainly a few people here at TechExams that have that transition experience. Try searching the forum postings using the word military to find similar discussions.

gazcarter

thanks for the advice murray, am already speaking to several people, just thought id see what kind of advice i could pic up from here too. cheers for all the replies so far.

networker050184

Are you not doing IT related work in the military? If not, then why not? The military (at least here in the US not sure about across the pond) uses the same technologies as most corporate environments. You could get a lot of useful experience to go along with your certifications. At least that is the way I used my time in the military.

darkuser

hmmmm ...
unless your name is Vin Cerf you're not overqualified.

my 2c

Aquabat [banned]

gazcarter wrote:

i gained, nvq 2+3 in information technology

wut is that

Mrock4

networker050184 wrote:

Are you not doing IT related work in the military? If not, then why not? The military (at least here in the US not sure about across the pond) uses the same technologies as most corporate environments. You could get a lot of useful experience to go along with your certifications. At least that is the way I used my time in the military.

+1..I've gained a much wider exposure to various technologies while in the military. From Line-of-sight technologies, to VOIP, to all kinds of routing technology. Maybe not an option for you, but for anyone reading this who needs experience, it's not a bad idea.

snadam

Aquabat wrote:

gazcarter wrote:

i gained, nvq 2+3 in information technology

wut is that

google is your friend...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVQ

undomiel

The funny thing for me is that during an interview for a position making almost $20,000 more a year than currently I was told that I'm overqualified for the position, since the position was a step down in terms of position title/responsibilities. It is irritating while ego stroking all at the same time, though definitely more on the irritating side.