What do I choose?

KameKamiKameKami Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
Oh boy where do I begin?


A little about me
Well First off I'm a "kid" of 22 years old working at Walmart and I detest it. I'm frequently offered a promotion I keep turning down, as it's nothing good to be honest. I wholeheartedly want out of this place and have been trying to do so for two years. I've been all over the job search engines and to a few job conventions with nothing working out. The job conventions I go to here in Arizona are just the same as all the others I keep finding. They all contain nothing more than schools looking for students and base level jobs that start me back on what I'm trying to leave. They also contain high level jobs though such as aerofield services and few others (forgive me blanking at the moment). With no luck in whatever I seem to be doing I decided to look into certificates as I have recently noticed an influx of jobs looking for certifications I seem able to obtain. I do have one certification on my end that I had obtained from a duel enrollment class during high school. However, it is worse than a piece of napkin over here since virtually no one is in the animation business. Due to this I have long lost my portfolio for this degree, and have nothing other than incomplete junk laying waste to Maya.

I do know a few people who are in the medical industry and can help me possibly get my foot in that door. However I take this with a grain of salt as I don't want to take advantage of this kindness too much. I have tried getting a job through them for basic jobs such as data entry jobs. This path didn't lead me anywhere as I got word from them that those that were hired where ones with a certification, or through a stronger referral. As such they are willing to let me try again, but like I said I don't want to take advantage of their kindness to much. Another thing is that I have noticed a good influx of companies looking for people with A+ certification. Some will specify compTIA A+ or will just say A+ certification. If my research hasn't lead me wrong then they should be the same thing minus the year of certification exam.

I have been looking at certificates for the past month and a half, with no clue on where to go. I keep finding lip service information from the places that are offering the degrees over in Arizona with no answer as to what to take. The few I have read from forums like this have told me little from what I read other than some bashing on certificates. Along with the words, "Work hard! These things are not worth the money. Just get your hands wet and go up from there. Etc." For me though who keeps losing to others when it comes to jobs find this information irrelevant, if not insulting. I understand the importance of both sides, and I can get where they are both coming from. Yes a hand on knowledge is worth more than a certificate, and that a certificate helps you get in easier. However I have no history in this work industry or any others that are popping up requiring/recommend a certificate. Due to this I cannot seem to leave my job and getting this certificate seems to be the way for me to get in somewhere. I'm also on a time limit over here. In a year and a half I am moving with my brother to Japan. He is becoming an English teacher over there and I'm following him for who knows how long. Due to this I'm looking for a better paying job no matter how small the pay increase is, so that I can help support him while I try to find another job in Japan.


What do I get?
Now that you know a little about me, I ask you experts on what do I do? I am here on this forum posting because of what kind of field I want to get in, which is technology. I also understand that there are many, many fields with in tech. I will narrow it down as far as possible with in what I know. I would rather get a Sql certificate 2008 or an A+ certificate. I don't know which are important or worse. All my research just gives me information on what they are and do. I don't know how this affects me once I obtain one of them. I know that if I go the route of Sql that it can even help me over in japan as I have knowledge that of the program they use for their servers. This would help me whether I stay here or follow my brother. On the other side I don't even know if A+ will even help me once I move, but I know of many places looking for that certification for now. I can quickly get a job to save the money needed. Whereas Sql gives me opportunity to work in a field that is can potentially let me keep a job as I move to Japan with no worries of being jobless(optimistic thinking) if I work hard enough with in my time limit. I can go on and on but let’s live it here. What would you guys do given my situation? I don't know much, if anything about how valuable these are actually worth. I will gladly take any advice/guidance you can give me on these two certifications or other recommendations.

Thanks for your time and patience. I know this kinda went on and it has probably rambled on a bit. However I wanted to get across as much information that might be of relevance to you, to get the best help you can afford me.

Thank you once again.

I apologize if this is double posted as it showed an error on my end upon submitting my thread.

Comments

  • JubeiYagaruJubeiYagaru Member Posts: 47 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I still feel like you haven't given us alot as to what you want to do. Just ask yourself the age old question " What do I want to be when I grow up?". On one hand you are looking at A+ which says to me someone who wants to build PC's or do desktop/laptop basic troubleshooting and repair, and on the other hand you are saying SQL, which is all database work and nothing at all to do with A+. Once you figure out what direction you want to go, plenty of people here can point you in the right direction as to what could be an ideal path of both study/education and career growth potential.

    Also just thinking, you mentioned you are 22, have you ever given any thought to doing any technical jobs in the military ? USAF and Navy especially have some very good jobs. I myself went USMC for Data Systems, so even the Marine Corps has tech jobs.
  • KameKamiKameKami Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
    I apologize for not writing enough. However so far though it seems I learned something from that small post. From what I read and gathered was that A+ was comparable to the base of a house. It could be used from anything such as SQL to computer building, due to it being versatile. Seems like I wrong on how it works. Really to be honest I guess I would rather work with SQL as I find coding to be fun, but I cannot really find jobs looking for such people even though I understand that medical work jobs are hot. I could be looking in the wrong places though. As for the military thanks for offering but it's really not a place for me. I have thought about it, but time and time again I understand I wont do well there. I just have to many issues with myself and military for it to work out. Even my uncle who works a high military job tells me I cannot survive in there. Thanks for help for correcting myself on what else I need to put in. Also I never really though about what I wanted to do till now since I was more worried about saving money at the moment. That being said I guess I would like to know more about SQL. I guess the next question would be how does the certificate work in regards to usage/information and a good starting point?
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