How do you study for your certs to get a job ?

Whats the best way of studying certs, buying product from trainsignal or going to traditional class room ?

I notice that certs seems to be opening lot of potential opportunity.

Thanks

Ben

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tpatt100

After I got my A+ and MCP in Windows Workstation I pretty much studied for certs on subjects I was currently working on.

Finished my MCSE as I went from Helpdesk to Desktop Support and then Lan Admin

Did the 2000 track when we were migrating from NT to 2000 so I pretty much started with 2000 Server MCP exam.

Got my CCA for Citrix due to a project I was working on.

Got my CISSP and Security+ since I was working in the security field.

benchod

How did you study ?

Did you study the module by your self through onlin video tutorial ?

Or

Did your company paid for it ?

Thanks
Ben

Daniel333

Personally, I use training videos from vtc.com and cbtnuggets.com to get the basic concepts in. Then I'll read/lab from about 2 other sources. Then take the exam.

I've had employers who really wanted to develop their team and I have had the other kind. Some help where they can, some don't.

Ultimately certs have always been helpful for me.

BigTone

I would say the majority of us self-study. We put in a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and beers and go in and knock out the exams ourselves.

The most common videos series to check out would be cbtnuggets and train signal and most of the cert specific forums have stickys that suggest which books to read.

brad-

benchod wrote: »

Whats the best way of studying certs, buying product from trainsignal or going to traditional class room ?

I notice that certs seems to be opening lot of potential opportunity.

Thanks

Ben

Everyone is different, but IMHO, self study is much more efficient and cheaper than class room. To me, the classroom is for people that dont know how to self study or arent motivated to do so (just for certifications - not for other learning).

1) Acquire multiple resources to study from - I like 2 books and a video based training myself. Videos really speed up the process of learning new lingo and concepts.
2) Plan out your studies - make small goals so the single task doesnt overwhelm you
3) When you are on the cusp of having it down cold, purchase and schedule the exam to stay motivated

benchod

My goal is to become database admin / business intelligence analyst, from lot of source , i have notice to get into DBA role you must have some sort of experience with Admin type role

I can do master in CIS from Boston University , but I see no point in it since I have 0 exp.

I have a bachelors in Business Management from u of P, which is not that strong of a name.

I have about couple years of IT exp as Help Desk / Tier 1. I am sick of the phones already and need to move it.

My Goal is :

Network + , MCSA, MCSE , SQL, Oracle . These are the certs I will be taking.

If anyone else has take a different path or has any input, please let me know.

What do you all think ?

5 years from now I want my self to be a DBA focus on BI

Thanks
ben

benchod

I was also thinking about going and getting IT degree from U of P .. It will only take me about 8 months.

Any suggestion if I should move forward with this / if it will help me ?

I feel that IT degree will make / have more input on the the position I will be applying for than business management degree.

Ben

veritas_libertas

benchod wrote: »

I was also thinking about going and getting IT degree from U of P .. It will only take me about 8 months.

Any suggestion if I should move forward with this / if it will help me ?

I feel that IT degree will make / have more input on the the position I will be applying for than business management degree.

Ben

My personal opinion is that U of P is over priced. Have you considered:

Online IT Degree | Information Technology Degree | WGU College of Information Technology

tpatt100

I used the Microsoft press books and then my employer sent me to my Win2K training. My employer also sent me to a CCNA course which is how I got my CCNA but I never used the knowledge so I pretty much don't even list it on my resume. I was also sent to a Solaris class which I have no idea why I was asked to go, since we had no Solaris boxes.

I think they wanted to burn up their training budget.

benchod

I get a discount at U of P, my wife works there..not much to pull out....

just not sure if its going to be worth it or not.

veritas_libertas

benchod wrote: »

I get a discount at U of P, my wife works there..not much to pull out....

just not sure if its going to be worth it or not.

Thats a nice benefit

Having a Bachelor degree in anything is useful in IT. Take a look on Monster and you will see how often a Bachelor degree is required, and most of the time they don't insist that be in CS or IT.

BigTone

benchod wrote: »

I get a discount at U of P, my wife works there..not much to pull out....

just not sure if its going to be worth it or not.

Do your research before you drop any amount of cash. I used to work at another online university and we had a lot of transfers from U of P that were really unhappy with the education there. Might have changed... I would check into WGU, a ton of people on the forums have talked about it and you get certs plug your degree which would be really nice in the long run.

benchod

BigTone wrote: »

Do your research before you drop any amount of cash. I used to work at another online university and we had a lot of transfers from U of P that were really unhappy with the education there. Might have changed... I would check into WGU, a ton of people on the forums have talked about it and you get certs plug your degree which would be really nice in the long run.

Do you still have to take a vendor exam or your just granted the certification ?

veritas_libertas

benchod wrote: »

Do you still have to take a vendor exam or your just granted the certification ?

The vendor exam is the test.

NetworkingStudent

benchod wrote: »

Whats the best way of studying certs, buying product from trainsignal or going to traditional class room ?

I notice that certs seems to be opening lot of potential opportunity.

Thanks

Ben

I go to career college, were I have to pay the full cost of tuition. The cost per credit is around $400.00, and that goes up every year. The school operates to make money and they don’t get much help from that state, as far as I know. The cost for doing self study is a lot cheaper, than going to a college to attend classes. For example, let’s say I took a class for the Network+ certification, and the class was 4 credits, the cost would be as follows:
4 credits X $400.00= $1,600.00
Final price $1,600.00
Here is how much self study would probably cost if I went that route:
CBT source: CompTIA Network+ 2009 Training, Network+ Certification| Train Signal $297

Book source: CompTIA Network+: CompTIA Network+ Certification Kit: (Exam: N10-004), 2nd Edition - Book Information - Sybex The kit is about $100.00, but you can get if for half that price on amazon.com
2nd Book source: InformIT: CompTIA Network+ N10-004 Exam Prep, 3rd Edition $60.00
Final self study price: $457.00
$1,600.00 -$457.00=$1143.00
Basically if you took classes for these certifications it would cost you on average $1,143.000, more than it would to commit to self study. However, if you are attending a community or technical college it might worth it to take classes there. Also, some colleges offer certificates in database design or administration. I hope this helps

MentholMoose

benchod wrote: »

Whats the best way of studying certs, buying product from trainsignal or going to traditional class room ?

Classroom training is one option. I've never taken any bootcamps or vendor training since they are typically around $3000 each... doing this for every cert would get very expensive!! I have taken courses at a local community college, including courses that mapped to Network+, Linux+, and CCNA, plus others that didn't map to a specific cert. At about $20/unit, these courses are much more affordable, and if taken seriously, you can probably pass the cert exam when done with the course.

Self-study is another option, one that I have used extensively. Basically you need to use some study material combined with hands on experience. The exams are written with the expectation that you have hands on experience, so it will be very difficult to pass without it. If you don't have a job working with whatever is on the exam you are taking, then you will have to use a lab environment.

Regarding study material, just try various options to determine what works for you. I typically use books and websites (like this one!). I don't find CBT useful, while others are successful with mainly CBT. It really depends on the individual. Anyway, good luck with your cert pursuit!