A few questions

Hey all,

Been on the site a while, never actually signed up or posted until just yesterday. I have gotten an immense amount of help from this site that would have taken me quite a while to ascertain on my own, and for that I thank you guys. Anyway, to the point:

Just got my A+

Now I am looking for the next stop along the road of IT. I have some experience and would certainly need to learn some of the finer points of any cert I try to go after. That said, I am looking heavily at the Microsoft certs (because of the student discount mainly)

Q1: Should I go for the MCDST? It is expiring soon and I feel I could polish up on a few of the topics and easily get it. I plan on going for MCITP Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 and am not sure if the MCDST is worth the extra time.

Q2: I am now fairly certain of this, but I will go ahead and ask outright just to ensure clarity; The 72- series exams that are on discount for students would apply as if I had taken a 70- series, correct? They are the exact same except one is student designation and one is standard.

Q3: I have gotten my A+ as I stated previously and am looking to get back into the IT field. Currently, I am looking to spend some time doing hands on stuff while learning new things and getting into advanced technologies. What cert(s) would help me stand out among my peers when I am applying for either repair tech or jr IT in a major company?

I'll leave it at those for now. And again, thanks for your help. It has been immeasurable.

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Comments

xenodamus

1. I never went for either of those certs, so I can't really comment about their value.

2. Yes, 70-x and 72-x exams count the same on your MS transcript.

3. I think the Network+ would make you look well rounded. There's an entire world to explore on the network side of things, and you'll learn alot of useful info from that material.

mattlee09

Q1 - I would take a look at job opportunities in your area and see how many reference MCDST as a wanted/required cert. As you said, with the student discount Microsoft certifications are extremely affordable compared to other organizations, so even if you only see MCDST mentioned once or twice - I'd brush up on it as you said, and then go for it. It'll never hurt to have it

Q2 - Correct.

Q3 - +1 xeno. If your comfortable with networking already, you may just pick up the Network+ book, read through it, and then shoot for your CCENT/ICND1 cert. Going the extra mile to understand the network infrastructure behind the PCs/devices you support will most definitely make you stand out from the everyday 'hardware' tech.

N2IT

Goldencupkake wrote: »

Hey all,

Been on the site a while, never actually signed up or posted until just yesterday. I have gotten an immense amount of help from this site that would have taken me quite a while to ascertain on my own, and for that I thank you guys. Anyway, to the point:

Just got my A+
Now I am looking for the next stop along the road of IT. I have some experience and would certainly need to learn some of the finer points of any cert I try to go after. That said, I am looking heavily at the Microsoft certs (because of the student discount mainly)

Q1: Should I go for the MCDST? It is expiring soon and I feel I could polish up on a few of the topics and easily get it. I plan on going for MCITP Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 and am not sure if the MCDST is worth the extra time.

Q2: I am now fairly certain of this, but I will go ahead and ask outright just to ensure clarity; The 72- series exams that are on discount for students would apply as if I had taken a 70- series, correct? They are the exact same except one is student designation and one is standard.

Q3: I have gotten my A+ as I stated previously and am looking to get back into the IT field. Currently, I am looking to spend some time doing hands on stuff while learning new things and getting into advanced technologies. What cert(s) would help me stand out among my peers when I am applying for either repair tech or jr IT in a major company?

I'll leave it at those for now. And again, thanks for your help. It has been immeasurable.

Q1. Personally I think less is more. You mention you have experience what type do you have? This would help me give you a better answer.

If you are just looking to get rolling again maybe a break fix gig or help desk. If you experience is at a more technical level, that would be a different story. Maybe some vendor specific certifications like Dell or Lenovo.

Q2. I'll let someone else answer that question.

Q3. Again vendor certifications if you want to get your hands on break fix with servers or desktops.