Certification

S

SSquared

Member
Being a bit disillusioned regarding the software development industry, I have been contemplating a move into the IT industry.  The problem is, I already have over 10+ years in software development, and I don't really want to restart a career at ground zero with a wife and 2 kids to support.  But I'm seeing many more IT support positions available than software dev.  The way I look at it, just about any company (dentist office, law office, hospital, etc.) need computer maintenance and administration.

So, anyway, during my contemplations, I've been looking into getting certified.  I may decide to get microsoft certified in software dev, but I am also interseted in other certifications.  I see A+, Network+, CompTIA, etc.  What would you recommend?  What order?  How long will it take?

I'm heading over to our local community college tomorrow to ask them about classes and certification classes.  They seem to have the least expensive prices on their certification classes.

You can pray about this too. I'm not totally sure moving into IT is what I'm supposed to do. I can use clear direction and wisdom on the decision.

Thanks.
 
A+ & Network + are probably the easiest to get, are both CompTIA certifications, and are always valid (you'll never need to retake or upgrade your certification.)

Depending on what you'd like to do, the MCSA or MCSE would be valuable to have, but they will require quite a bit more studying. Based upon what I know, the MCSA is more suited for people who do desktop and/or helpdesk support, while the MCSE is more suited for people working on servers. (I think there are only a couple tests difference between the two certifications, so you could probably start out with the MCSA and then upgrade to the MCSE later.) Also, the Microsoft certifications will require you to upgrade your certification every few years (I think it's after every other major OS upgrade, but Cheryl will probably be able to correct me if I'm wrong).

It's interesting that you're considering the switch. I'm basically in the middle of the same thing, but going to other way. I've been doing the hardware side for 7 years now and after getting laid off a few years ago, I decided to give software engineering a shot. (so far I love it, but the real test will be to see if I can find a job when I'm done...if nothing else, it'll be handy just to have a 4-year degree no matter what I decide to do).
 
I would start with the A+ and then Network+, you can check out study materials at your local library I'm guessing the tests cost $150 each. After you get those I would start on your microsoft MCP which usually involves one OS test like Windows XP. Since my degree I haven't worked towards any certs. My A+ is from DOS/3.11 and my MCP was on Mcrosoft networking and Windows 95. I've been doing this for a while. If anyone wants to see my resume or anything like that PM me.

The best learning is from playing with stuff hands on. Many employers will ask you how you got your certs. If you study and obtain them yourself you will get more respect than those who went to a bootcamp and paid $5000 or more for it. Experience helpsa lot.
 
Great! Thanks for the replies/information. A+ and Network+ seemed like the quickest and least expensive. Cheryl, please explain to me how I can learn the stuff from books. It seems like I need to have hands-on experience, and I get that from the classes. I've changed RAM, video cards, set up a home network and similar stuff, but I really don't have an extensive background in this. Other than that, I don't have much of an opportunity for hands-on. The classes at the local community college run around $600 apiece.

What exactly do the tests ask you? Do you physically work on a computer?

I went to the community college today and I think I have decided to take some classes in my field of software developement. After thinking/praying about it, I realized the certification stuff requires you to take classes in a certain order, which means it will take like 1-2 years to be fully certified. On the other hand, there are two very key credit classes I want to take which will really help me expand the possible jobs for which I can apply. These classes are available this Spring.

Tolkien, I do find it interesting we came to the same conclusion. What I'm finding in software development is fewer jobs and many requiring literally 10-15 acronyms in real specific areas. Many of the software jobs are moving out of the US. What is it you see in your field which is making you want to look into software development?
 
the tests are not physical but questions, most of the A+ questions are not ones you can get hands on expereince but rather memorization like knowing what various symbols mean etc. It has been YEARS so things could have changed, that's why I recommend checking out books and see what to expect on the test.

Regarding the hands on, play with computers, take them apart, trouble shoot them. play play play. have someone unplug or plug somehting in wrong and see if you can fix or figure out what it is. Or play around with configuring windows 2000, xp, even 98 or me!
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Thanks for the tip. I went to the library yesterday and took out some A+ and Network+ books. It does seem to generally be memorization stuff. I find it strange there is no hands-on. But this is great, and I really appreciate your input.

At this point, I'm not sure if I'll go for the tests right away, but it definitely is something I may be interested in taking sometime in the future. It would be very nice to have the certification and to have that sort of knowledge.

What do you mean by configuring the OS? What types of things do I fiddle with? Currently, I have 2 WinXP Home machines. I also have a recently retired Win98, but no monitor for it. I'd really like to play around with Linux and one of the Win Pro OS's.
 
configuring as in adding and removing it from the network. Linux is easy to try without making nay hardware commitments, try a live CD version like Knoppix.
 
Yep.  I have Knoppix.  But I am ready to use something more permanent as I want to get some programming (C++ and Java) done on Linux.  I also want to set up an Apache server and get some experience using that.  Essentially, I want to get some experience with Apache, MySQL, and Linux.  I want to use my C++ and Java experience to do it.

I currently have MySQL installed on WinXP and I have been playing around with it.  For some reason, I can't get something in Java to work, so I am currently having issues connecting to MySQL using JDBC.  But I prefer doing all this on a Linux "play" machine.  My PII 300 is simply just lying around and, as I've mentioned before, I can convert it to Linux.  I just need a monitor.  I have a little portable 10" TV which I am going to try and use.

Any recommendations on a more permanent Linux solution?  I really like how Knoppix has all the cool stuff already available to me.  Is there any permanent solution which does the same thing or must I install each part separately?  I don't actually mind installing each thing (I will gain more knowledge), but my lack of knowing Linux means I don't really know what it is I need to install.

Sorry for this long post, but at least I got all my thoughts out there.
 
Try Mepis you can read about it on Distrowatch.com like Knoppix Mepis is Debian based which means you can run apt-get to update your OS for you
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Thanks. I will look into it.

And...I should have known, but hooking up to a TV...let alone a little 10" one, is practically useless if I plan to actually do some typing on it. Even at 640x480 (or whatever it is) the fonts were WAY too blurry. I either need to get a cheap 14", a KVM switch, or the cheapest route: manually swap cables between two computers.

Ohhh, a total bummer. I read the Verizon terms of service and it says I can't run any type of server. So I'm not even sure I can run a 'once-in-awhile' CCGR game server. My hope was to get something running where I can announce "Tuesday at 8 I'll have such-and-such up and running."
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SSquared if you want to reimburse for shipping I can send you a 14" compaq monitor with speakers
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hmm that's weird on the verizon I'm sure you can do a game spy hosting just not dedicated
 
I originally went back to school simply to complete a degree of some type. The computer science degree that seemed the quickest based upon my past education was a BA in CS which is a programming degree.

As I've been progressing through the classes, I find that I enjoy coding much more than working at fixing hardware problems.

Regardless of what I end up doing, I'm at least going to have a degree. Hopefully after completing that degree, I'll be able to find a decent job.

One big positive thing is that my current boss said that in the near future, he wants me to switch from one of the field technicians to being a backup in that area, and then focusing on doing some software development. (mainly web stuff, but it will be a lot of PHP, ASP, & IBM database stuff)
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (CCGR @ Mar. 10 2004,1:21)]configuring as in adding and removing it from the network. Linux is easy to try without making nay hardware commitments, try a live CD version like Knoppix.
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YAY!!!!! LINUX!!!! Im in highschool and we need to get an A+ certification.
 
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