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CCNA or MCSA in Tampa Bay

lilmansdadlilmansdad Member Posts: 34 ■■□□□□□□□□
in General Certification
Hi all

Lil man is growing up and I am getting ready to get back to work after a many year absence. The local CC near me has two programs I am interested in

Microsoft Certified IT Professional

https://www.spcollege.edu/Cisco_Certified_Network_Associate_Certificate/

I would like to take these for a few reasons, a main one being the networking opps. Plus, I do much better studying in a class environment.

I have no real preference for on or the other. 10 or so years ago ( I am 40 now) I did second level HD work for a huge evil bank that used some AD, so I have a bit of experience with that.

Now, my question is, any thoughts on what would be the better option for both getting a HD position to start and then moving up afterwards in the Tampa market.

Tampa has very few HQ's or ISP's. Outside of Hospitals/Govts there are probably on a dozen or so places that have more than a couple thousand people locally (moving is not an option unfortunately).

I am thinking MS is the smarter choice, but opinions would be appreciated :)
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    Tom239Tom239 Member Posts: 33 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Both are potentially good, depends which area you want to focus on, but really both have excellent routes in this day and age. So there isn’t a huge opportunity cost for which one you pick, just what you enjoy really imo
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    Dakinggamer87Dakinggamer87 Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
    I think it depends on what you enjoy doing systems administration or networking for deciding between the MCSA or CCNA. ;)
    *Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
    *Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
    Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
    Certs/Business Licenses In Progress: AWS Solutions Architect, Series 6, Series 63
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    ram1101ram1101 Member Posts: 32 ■■□□□□□□□□
    i would do both... is always good knowing about network OS and OS servers... so that you can undestand better both sides.
    it has been always hard to undestand how people can just know server and not know anything about networking...but i guess to each it own.
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    65026502 Member Posts: 41 ■■□□□□□□□□
    lilmansdad wrote: »
    Hi all

    Lil man is growing up and I am getting ready to get back to work after a many year absence. The local CC near me has two programs I am interested in

    I just came back to the field after being a stay at home dad for 6 years. Unfortunately a lot of employers and especially recruiters are going to toss your resume due to the employment gap. Work that personal network if you can. If you did any consulting work during the period, be sure to emphasize it. Keep a good positive attitude and if you deal with recruiters, don't let them get you down.

    My advice is to do both if you can. If not I'd probably do the MCSA. Doing the classes is a good thing as it will show you're keeping up. I would also work on social networking with people in the class. Set up a LinkedIn profile and connect with the people you know and in your class.

    Good luck!
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    NutsacjacNutsacjac Member Posts: 76 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Even if you don't go into networking I'd do the CCNA, it's a good knowledgebase to have
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    lilmansdadlilmansdad Member Posts: 34 ■■□□□□□□□□
    any thoughts on which might be better in this particular market (Tampa)?

    I may be wrong, but I would think Networking jobs would be more prevalent at big companies, and this area lacks those.
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