entry level IT position mcse is it still worth it or go in which direction?

I just started at a new company as a entry level IT call center, there an outsourced IT company. I myself am new to IT as I come from a hardware background with a little bit of software knowledge. My friend works at citrix and gave me the MCSE with all the practice test. I have read that it is about to be phased out and the exams are about to expire next year, so what is really the point? Which parts of MCSE are being phased out or is the whole program being phased out? I am told that the cloud/virtualization/App development is the way to go for IT now and that most if not all major infrastructural are moving into that direction. what exams do I need for this?
windows 7 microsoft 70-680 compTIA 220-701 A+ Essentials(I was told that a MCP is better then a A+ and MCP is the first test of MCSE) CompTIA network+ n10-004 ComTIA SY0-301 are the certificates that are offered here at the job and paid by the company. what direction can I take these or grow into?
I really want to do is app development for IOS and Android but being new to IT, I am not sure in which direction to go which would be the most benefit for me out of this opportunity.
a background in cloud and app development?

sorry very new to all of this.

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Comments

gdeusthewhizkid

do you have a degree already.. If so I would pursue a+, then a few programing certs and the MTA programming cert. THen Java certs but you should look into some of the microsoft programming certs also. you shouldnt spend too much time in the support arena your more in the programming direction...

ptilsen

Don't study the MCSE. It's not very pertinent to your career path and there's virtually no way you'll be able to pass it before you retire. A highly experienced sysadmin starting it from scratch would struggle to pass it before it retires in 9 months.

Don't waste your time on A+ or any MTA, either. If you want to program, learn to program. Don't waste time on infrastructure certifications.

Don't worry about cloud infrastructure. You want to develop software. Learn to develop software.

There are lots of materials on learning to develop software, and you could always pursue a computer science degree. I don't understand why you're interested in these certifications at all. They won't give you the skills to write smartphone apps.

Don't waste your time on MTA certs no matter what you want to do. They are not worth the time and money and there is no market demand. There are cheaper and more effective ways to learn material pertinent to any area of IT than MTA exams.

Salt0912

Thank you guys and yea there is a technical school right next to us where I am looking to do computer programming. The thing is that the course are paid for by the company so I thought it would be a good idea since I don't have to pay for it and can throw it on my resume after 2 or more years of exp. I have all of MCSE 2003 and the listed test here for free and they pay for it, I thought I could do them and earn more. I am guessing this site is not good for IOS/Android development? Sorry everyone I am just new to all of this.

oh I do not have a degree yet.

A+ MTA and then JAVA??

I see a lot of jobs ask for SQL, Active directory and server/networking knowledge paying good right away.
I am in a NOC position and the pay is not good but I can't complain I am entry level so yea. voIP, networking, VPN, smartdevice support(iphone, android, blackberry, window mobile)Cisco support (partners with them), active directory and exchange to name a few,

ptilsen

Salt0912 wrote: »

I see a lot of jobs ask for SQL, Active directory and server/networking knowledge paying good right away.

Nothing wrong with these types of career paths. Most of us on this site are doing something related -- systems, network, or database administration, engineering, or security. However, I don't understand any interest in these if you want to develop phone apps. They're very different careers. There will be very little knowledge overlap, and there's no reason to study anything in this direction, and absolutely no reason to pursue any certifications at this point.

Salt0912

only because I can use it as a stepping stone to get me to app development far as money wise. I wish I could just take the time out to sit and learn the stuff but I have to have a full time job right now. This is my source of income for the moment but would really like to develop apps. There giving me a opportunity to get them for free and the supervisor just put in his two weeks. He is leaving to be a QA and his only been here a year, he has no certifications at all. I am just not trying to be broke for a long period of time while learning app development while this company is giving me the chance to get certifications for free. Sorry for being confusing.

ptilsen

Fair enough. Focusing on infrastructure will lead to faster salary returns in the short run.

At this point it's a question of how far you expect and want to get in the infrastructure side before you're at a point of being able to transition to app development. What's especially tricky is that if you take long enough, you might find yourself making too much money to transition.

I would say A+ could help, but you do already have a job and a lot of that knowledge. If you're so inclined, skipping to MCSA 2008 might be smart. If you're weak on networking, Network+ would also be good. These, along with the knowledge you get studying them will likely bring new career opportunities once you have at least a year of experience. If your work will give you a raise for getting any A+ or Net+, at least they're quick and easy enough that it won't be a total loss. The networking knowledge will be good to have no matter what. You might also head towards a DBA or web-server-oriented route. I wouldn't say there are any good entry-level certs for this direction, but you can still try to position your next job that way, as the skills and experience may translate better into app development.

Still, there's an argument that you should just take more classes / study programming more instead of any of this. The faster you get a computer science degree and/or usable programming skills, the faster you can try to get into a job involving those skills. I will tell you right now that if you get to a certain point down the road of systems administration, it will be very hard to leave as you'll probably take a pay cut for an entry-level development job.

This is coming from someone who makes pretty good money, but wishes he had just gone the computer science and software development route to start. If you have the mind to program and program well, you'll find it hard to enjoy working in infrastructure. I'm fortunate enough to be in a position that at least requires a fair amount of scripting, but it's really not as fulfilling, IMO, and now it would be very difficult for me to transition into any kind of development position. I'm content with how things have gone for me and really have little room to complain, but I still think I shot myself in the foot in the long run. If you're truly interested in app development and think you have the brains and the talent for it, I really think you may end up regretting not focusing on it to start.

Salt0912

Thank you for your insight and I see exactly where your coming from. I will only get 70-680, A+, networking+ and security+. maybe windows 8 if they pay for it but that's it. Then just focus on IOS(objective c) and android(java) from here on out, the school next to me has the programming certificates. It's just money is a big factor right now so I'll stick to the those four certifications and to have basics, no more and head over to programming. I figured I could get a better paying IT position after a year and four certifications then learning ios and android after a year, not being able to land a position with no schooling or exp just knowledge. Maybe some published apps but I am still divided and not sure...I will have to sit on this for a while. Again thank you for all the support and I reviewed all the mcse. It's all outdated and the rest of it gets phased out this 2013, I don't see the point at all anymore to it.

ptilsen

70-680 and the trio should be a good path. It won't take you too long, but will still give you a leg up at work until you're ready to switch. Good luck, and let us know how you do.

karamba

mcse is a certficate for people who are experienced in the i.t field and is not a entry level cert

althought i got it without any experience.

Salt0912

yea, im just going to do a+, ccna, security+, linux+ for now(fastest track, MCSA2010 is deeper into IT, the path i am taking i feel is basic and straight forward.) . then go to gwinnett tech for java cert and then dive into dev, i was laid off at TTI. now I am doing tech support. step backwards till i find something else but I have done lots of thinking and research, I believe having a understand in database and then being able to create apps that connect to it is more important then being able to just create apps. I'll look into the sql/mysql certs later maybe the microsoft dev cert also.