Odds of Scoring a Job

I am considering training for the A+ certification and paying for the exam, but it will be very difficult to pay for. At this point, I absolutely do not have the money for anything more than the A+, so at this stage, Network+, Security+, and other certifications are out of the question. My goal is to attain a Level I Help Desk position. Here is what my background will be if I earn an A+ certification.

- A+ certification
- absolutely zero professional IT experience whatsoever
- AS in Biology from a community college and couple subsequent courses, but definitely not a BA/BS/SB/AB
- no connections presently employed in the IT field
- 1 year in sales Radioshack (I assume this counts as customer service but not IT; surprisingly, we hardly learned anything technical)
- 3 years of science tutoring (which might possibly help if I present it as customer service, but you be the judge)
- rudimentary CSS and HTML knowledge
- located in Pennsylvania
- ~30 years old (I thought I might throw that in there in case you think I am approaching the juncture where corporations want to weasel out of benefits)

I realize that a degree attained at a low price from a non-profit institution in the right field might work wonders, and I eventually want to work towards one, but for now I am looking to obtain an entry-level position. How keen is the competition for a person with my background? If you had to guess, do most people who fit the above description score an entry-level position? What are my odds?

Thank you for any insights.

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Comments

Iristheangel

If money is tight, I would recommend skipping the A+ certification but to learn the coursework so you can apply the knowledge. I would recommend you use that money that you would have spent on the A+ on something like CCNA and a MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 certification. It'll make your resume stand out a LOT more for an entry-level help desk/desktop support role and you'll use those skills later on in your career. The CCNA basically shows competency in troubleshooting network router/switch issues while the MCITP would demonstrate troubleshooting skills for system issues. The A+ is about $200 per test so $400 total while the CCNA is $150 and the MCITP is $125 per test for two tests. That's my 2 cents

endlessspiral

Thanks for the response. I probably made a mistake by not elaborating a bit more. There is an A+ certification prep program (registration deadline is tomorrow and I just found out about it) offered dirt cheap at a local college and no CISCO prep courses until after the summer. While I will most carefully consider those other certifications and I am glad to learn there are additional, less expensive ones out there, I am still wondering what you think of the list in the OP that includes the A+ certification. Thanks again.

Santa_

We are started some where. With and without any prior real-world experience.

What attracted you to to pursue something in the IT field? Have you had any interest in computers, networks, security?

A+ would allow you to get passed the HR process, but that's not always true. You can still get an interview with HR staff without any prior experience.

Apply, apply, apply. Out of 15 submitted applications, one or two employers might reply back to your e-mail or call you. That all depends on how well your resume is. If it isn't within 5 seconds they would put you into the do no call pile. The vast majority of applications they receive can be large. Not to burst your bubble, but it's true.

Provide them something that shows your skill set. Set yourself apart from the other's.

With that said, the A+ would get your feet wet on the knowledge side of things. Prior experience with your own PC? Even better. Now you can apply those skills from the book into practical application on your own PC. Don't take my word for it. Other good certs would be the 70-680 from Microsoft and/or the CCNA from Cisco.

It seems like you're on a financial situation. Do you have studying material too? Aside from the cost of the exams, you need material to study from which also costs money.

As far as the non-profit institution you need to be wary of those. In most cases those type of institutions will teach you book material, which in terms means you're paying upwards to $20k+ for a tutor based trainer to teach you from the book. Which you can do yourself from buying the book for under $100 and self-study.

- Santa

noobsrevenge

Agree with iris, CCNA will be your ticket in. Take the two exam path rather than the composite test, i failed the composite the first time I took it and well, that was a $300 blow, ouch !

You may not find it the most fun, but try to spend free time on the CCNA forum so you can see the topics discussed and common questions being answered by forum members, it will be helpful. Goodluck to ya

Also I suggest bypassing the A+ course, it will be much better to do self study CCNA. Just be resourceful and find some study materials for free off the internet, know what I mean?

endlessspiral

Santa_ wrote: »

We are started some where. With and without any prior real-world experience.What attracted you to to pursue something in the IT field? Have you had any interest in computers, networks, security?

Definitely.

Santa_ wrote: »

It seems like you're on a financial situation. Do you have studying material too? Aside from the cost of the exams, you need material to study from which also costs money.

As far as the non-profit institution you need to be wary of those. In most cases those type of institutions will teach you book material, which in terms means you're paying upwards to $20k+ for a tutor based trainer to teach you from the book. Which you can do yourself from buying the book for under $100 and self-study.

The course would be through ed2go.com. Do they seem ok? When I mentioned non-profit institution, I meant a Bachelor's Degree, separate from a certification. I think most mainstream, regionally accredited institutions are "non-profit" but they actually make a profit; if I recall correctly, "non-profit" is more or less a misnomer and means a firm is not structured to have shareholders. Regarding self-teaching, I really need an official schedule with deadlines to motivate me. (I have been self-studying a free MIT course for programming and the progress has been extremely slow.)

Thanks.

endlessspiral

OK. I am enrolled in the A+ preparation course and my next step will be the CCNA. Based on the background described in my original post, what type of hourly wage or salary is typical? Is $12/hour the norm for (A+ cert) + Associate's + customer service in an unrelated field? Would I honestly be lucky to even get $10/hour or $11/hour with that background? I have been a TA for science/math at a university for a couple years and part of the job involves (seldomly) helping students with PowerPoint. I have a tiny bit more going for me on paper than zero experience. I left out a couple small things, but it is close to nothing (besides customer service experience).

Darthn3ss

I don't really have any particular advice for you, but good luck. Anything is possible.

Hell, I might even get a job some day.

endlessspiral

I love the signature. I will be checking to see how July/August turns out. Are there any popular, standard certifications like A+ and CCNA but for computer programming?

prtech

I actually wouldn't recommend the CCNA. CCNA was my first cert and I struggled to find a job. I didn't land a job until I got my A+. Most entry level IT jobs have no use for a CCNA as you'll most likely be fixing PCs and resetting passwords 98% of the time.

Mstavridis

One certification is not going to land you a job, 2 or 3 is also not going land you a job. What you need is comptenecy in the field you are applying for with the certification, almost every IT job I have gotten a job has given a technical interview, how wide and deep is your computer knowledge? That is what will land once you get the interview.

networker050184

How does your resume look? You can tell us all the stuff in the world about yourself and what you know, but the real test is getting your resume pulled from a pile. For entry level work having a resume that catches someone eye is probably the most important thing IMO. The resume will get you interviews, but not the job.

Once you have the interview then you need to sell yourself. You need to show that you have the aptitude to learn and the attitude to fit into the business culture.

The least important factor will be whether you have the A+ and N+ or just the A+ at this point in your career.