A+ Qualification

aw78

Hammyman wrote: »

Personally, I'd avoid MS certification altogether and go for a Unix/Linux one. MS Admins are ten a penny and as a result, there's loads going for the same job and the money is lower.

wrong and right, anyone decent interviewer can pick out the good from the bad, yes there WERE alot of paper mcse`s hence why it was retired, have you tried taking any of the new mcts PRO exams? if you have you will know they are extremely tough now.

16 years in the game and these new exams are the hardest yet. If you pass them you know your stuff and will get good money.

Mr_Oink

Lil306 wrote: »

If you want to get forward in IT,

- Developer / Programming / Web Design
- Get your MCSE / CCNA qualifications
- Be a university graduate

That's all there ever seems to be, it's why I'm working on getting qualifications on the first two. I don't particularly care about Uni quals as I'm focussing around programming / design and the MCSE/CCNA for the higher paid jobs (and because I want them)

Also Linux / Unix, but that's more of a specialist field

Also got to add, if you get really good and dedicated you'll work 16 hour days - often stuck at a desk (or in the hottest, dirtiest and noisiest server rooms known to man) - putting on shed loads of weight, getting unfit, health will take a turn.....

If you can retrain try and avoid IT - not only because it can be seriously detrimental to your health, but also because so much of it is outsourced to India etc meaning the money is not what it was. Basically if the kind of IT you are interested in can be done remotely there is a good chance it will become a target for outsourcing at some point in the future.

There are some plum jobs out there and I would agree with Lil306 on the qualification path. The most useful qualification I have in my IT arsenal is the CCNA - the rest are somewhat less valuable in my own experience.

My advice - get an active roll where you are moving lots. The extra ten years plus you will probably live will make it the best 'course' you ever do!

Lil306

Mr_Oink wrote: »

Also got to add, if you get really good and dedicated you'll work 16 hour days - often stuck at a desk (or in the hottest, dirtiest and noisiest server rooms known to man) - putting on shed loads of weight, getting unfit, health will take a turn.....

If you can retrain try and avoid IT - not only because it can be seriously detrimental to your health, but also because so much of it is outsourced to India etc meaning the money is not what it was. Basically if the kind of IT you are interested in can be done remotely there is a good chance it will become a target for outsourcing at some point in the future.

There are some plum jobs out there and I would agree with Lil306 on the qualification path. The most useful qualification I have in my IT arsenal is the CCNA - the rest are somewhat less valuable in my own experience.

My advice - get an active roll where you are moving lots. The extra ten years plus you will probably live will make it the best 'course' you ever do!

Without a doubt, if it was someone knew thinking of IT I'd give your advise, if it someone already in IT they're most likely already aware and a glutton for punishment or love it like I do...

I'll agree it's bad for your health, I absolutely love IT, but I left the IT helpdesk I worked at after 6 years because I wanted to do physical desktop support. Working on a helpdesk I put on about 4 stone, doing nothing but sitting and eating crap. Within 9 months I lost about 3 stones doing desktop work

It's really easy to lose the weight you just have to be on your feet. It does suck about being outsourced, but usually it's about building up a network of contacts within IT and so stuff doesn't get outsourced

The main areas I'm interested in are CCNA/CCNP specialist, MSOIT or something (Microsoft Office Specialist), Web Design and Programming and Linux / Unix.... not much

I'm fully self-trained, so I don't have many professional qualifications, but I have over 10 years solid IT experience which generally shows when I'm troubleshooting stuff. I'm always trying to learn more though :cool:

Mr_Oink

Lil306 wrote: »

I'm fully self-trained, so I don't have many professional qualifications, but I have over 10 years solid IT experience which generally shows when I'm troubleshooting stuff. I'm always trying to learn more though :cool:

Anyone who has worked in IT has probably come across 'the highly certified but highly incapable' types that have waived a certificate to get a position, and then turned out to need constant 'carrying'.

I wish employers would give more weight to 'self taught' and demonstrable skills. Certification can often be complete b/s and demonstrates nothing much more than how much money someone had to throw away!

The whole notion of IT training and qualification is something the education system and employers fail to provide. My current employer placed an add recently requiring LPI and CCNA certification as an entry criteria. I asked 'When was the last time WE put anyone through either of those formal programs?' and the answer was 'never'. I guess that story could be repeated across many IT employers.

Simple nuts and bolts of it - if employers are not prepared to put employees through these courses (probably because of cost/value/fear of staff leaving) - is it reasonable for them to expect 'someone else' to have funded that training?

There is also the view that our schools, technical colleges and universities fail to provide recognised IT qualifications that will help people find work in information technology. As a country we need to see that addressed.

Anyone of a 'certain age' like me, may well remember school teaching 'touch typing' to students in the 70's and 80's. Ironically, as word processors and computers took over from typewriters schools seem to drop the 'typing' qualification - but keyboards now dominate the world?

Bearing that in mind; one really useful, cheap to achieve and fundamental skill to have in IT is 'proper' touch typing/keyboard skills. There is nothing more painful than watching a sysadmin two finger typing and making lots of mistakes; it is cringeworthy. I'd honestly recommend it as a 'must have' for anyone coming to IT. It's subtle. I once worked with a hideously intelligent Unix guru and I'd love to have had just a 5th of his knowledge. He once admitted to me that he was initially intimidated by me because I had good and confident keyboard skills. We became great friends and he set about learning to 'touch type' mastering the basics in about 4 weeks with about an hour of practice a day. He now completely intimates me!

Outsourcing is a major problem but good people with decent, trustable, checkable backgrounds will always be in demand in IT - but the money will become more mediocre. I see some scary things on sites like 'freelancer' with folk in China, Turkey and India writing whole web applications and software for a few dollars. So I would personally avoid trying to make a living from web design. It saturated enough already, without the $30 freelancer guys and gals making the skillset mostly worthless (but can provide cheap bread and butter income)

Cutting to the chase after my indulgent and long winded rambling: Probably the single best advice currently that I have been given is the old 'hardware store' philosophy. During the US goldrush the people making the money were not the prospectors - it was the hardware stores selling picks and shovels. Applying this to IT look for training and skills that apply to working with the essential infrastructure. The servers (Apache/IIS), the operating systems (Linux/Server2k3 onwards+ active directory), Mail Transports (Postfix/Exim/Exchange), DNS and probably the most useful skill of all - Networking. No matter what others do in IT, they will usually have a hideous reliance on this back end stuff - the 'picks and shovels' of it. That's probably where I would concentrate if I was moving into it - oh, and having a good IT security skillset it pretty lucrative.

Lil306

Yep, correct and to the point

I'm inclined to agree, I'd love people to take me on but they're all obsessed with people having formal qualifications, I'm only getting them just to open my prospects up. I don't like the idea of certain teaching methods, as one teacher wanted his students to memorise the answers, where's the underlying knowledge?

It's funny some of the jobs I've spotted though. One job I spotted wanted someone with a CCNA, MCSE, Apple Mac, Linux, Windows and Unix experience and advantageous with programming skills for the huge amount of ..... .15k per annum!....

Yeah, get real, if someone wants those skills they better stump up

As for being outsourced for lower, depends on the client really. Some prefer quality over quantity, some prefer price. In the end they usually always come back

I agree about the touch typing, I used to be two fingers. Initially learnt with a program called Mavis Beacon which helped a bit. Then I just memorised the layout of the keyboard and tried touch typing from there. I can't type uber fast, but I can retain a steady 60-70WPM and around 110-120WPM at full pelt, but can't sustain a high level of accuracy that long. Maybe about 15 mins, then my fingers would get tired lol.

Mr_Oink

Lil306 wrote: »

It's funny some of the jobs I've spotted though. One job I spotted wanted someone with a CCNA, MCSE, Apple Mac, Linux, Windows and Unix experience and advantageous with programming skills for the huge amount of ..... .15k per annum!....

DAMN RIGHT! It's almost like asking for a heart and lung surgeon on minimum wage.

Lil306 wrote: »

I agree about the touch typing, I used to be two fingers. Initially learnt with a program called Mavis Beacon which helped a bit. Then I just memorised the layout of the keyboard and tried touch typing from there. I can't type uber fast, but I can retain a steady 60-70WPM and around 110-120WPM at full pelt, but can't sustain a high level of accuracy that long. Maybe about 15 mins, then my fingers would get tired lol.

Here are some decent touch typing tutors - other readers probably have better or different suggestions - anyone looking to get 'good' IT skills would probably benefit from taking an hour or so a day for a couple of weeks to master the keys :-)

MaxType
http://www.askmesoft.com/maxtype_lite.htm
{I liked the full version, but what is with the car graphics!}

KAZ
http://www.kaz-type.com/
Gets good reviews, tried it but did not like it much

Teaching You Touch Typing (Focus Multimedia - http://www.focusmm.co.uk/shop/home.php)
This £5 Staples disc was the one that did it for me. Simple and boring, but it really worked for me.

For Linux (with KDE) this looks good - but I'm a Gnome guy and I've not tried it:
http://ktouch.sourceforge.net/
There are also Klavaro and TuxTyping - again not tried. I mention them because getting a grounding in Linux is also a very useful skill to add to the CV.

To this day my nemesis is the number pad. I came from a telecommunications background where the keypad is inverted and I still type 7 for 1, 8 for 2 and 9 for 3 :rotfl:

fluffnutter

gaming_guy wrote: »

Comptia A+, N+, Security+, Linux+ etc

http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed.aspx

Ta. I've heard of Linux as an OS, obviously. But still none the wiser with the rest!

BeenieCat

I have just started studying for the Network+. I haven't even looked at a book relating to the A+, i have a highly skilled IT friend who says these certs ARE good starting points for progressing to the (much harder) CCNA etc. He is working as a consultant for Apple atm. I plan to do the A+ next, i trust my friend when he says the A+ is harder, he knows his stuff.

I am studying by myself with a book. And when i feel ready i will contact the exam centre and book myself in, i think the exam is about £100-ish.

Shermanator

Wow - don't get me wrong, the guys have all helped out, but the touch typing thing? Really???? I agree, two finger typing is going to hold you back somewhat in performing day to day tasks, but this all comes with time, and trust me, it will come !
In terms of re-training, I did the same. I started with the Cisco IT Essentials course which was evening class, 2 nights a week, 3 hours a night with an exam every week. This is basically the A+ course, so nail this and you are good to do your A+, a bit more study and you will be good to go for your N+. I did this at a college in Portsmouth. It was reasonably priced, but can't remember how much.

Both quals, in my opinion are an excellent starter, get yourself a helpdesk\1st level support role and work your way up and get your "Professional" qualifications (MCTS\MCITP). I would NOT suggest hammering away at them and getting an MCITP within a year, in my experience these guys are not that good. Experience counts for everything, but a steady flow of quals will tick the boxes for the powers that be !

Build an environment at home using something like VMware\HyperV\XenServer etc play around and have fun. Oh and make notes :-)

gaming_guy

.............