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“Get Certified!” You hear it from everyone! Your boss, your teachers, your collages, even your spouse knows you can make more money if you get a certification. And you know it too, but for some reason you’re stuck. It’s great if you know exactly which certification you want to get, but what if you have no idea.
Do you go for the cheapest or the easiest? Should you shoot high and get the toughest IT cert available? Or start low, from the easiest one and build your certifications from there? The answer is: neither! There’s no one, clear cut answer. So let me help you get an idea of how to decide what’s right for you!
Unless you graduated with honors and your resume looks very promising (Hi Bill – our new Train Signal addition!) you will need to find a different way to show your prospective employers that you are serious about your first job. In this situation, I would recommend getting either the CompTIA A+ or CompTIA Network+ certification. Both of these certifications are considered entry level in the IT field.
CompTIA A+ is most suitable for a computer support candidate, and it will show your ability to do the following tasks:
CompTIA Network+, on the other hand, deals more with the networking side, and it will show your ability to:
Both of these certifications are vendor-neutral and are recognized by almost all companies. Other entry level certifications include: CompTIA Server+, CompTIA Linux+, and CompTIA Security+.
So you’re at your job for about 2 - 5 years and all you do is tech support. You want to get a promotion, but your boss won’t give it to you. Sound familiar? Get certified! Go get your MCSE or your CCNA certification because it’s time. You need to show the initiative in this situation and both of these certifications are above the entry level certs, but you will still be able to study for them at your own pace. One of these will definitely impress your boss and get your career on the right track.
To start the MCSE certification path you don’t need to know exactly which type of MCSE you are going to get in the end. Start with the requirements exams and by the time you are done with these, I guarantee you will know exactly which electives to take.
As for the CCNA certification, this is a great way to start your network administration career. Once you get your CCNA you’ll want to continue on to become CCNP certified, and then you’ll continue on to the other CCIEs.
If you are leaning more towards the project management area, there is a certification for you as well. It is not a true IT certification but it is starting to be quite important and more companies are looking for IT professionals with Project Management Certification - PMP.
If you are on top with all the “little” certifications under your belt and you’re wondering if there’s anything else for you to conquer, no worries! There is plenty to do. Go for the CCIE, CISSP, or maybe a VMware Certification. If you’ve got through these already, check out the new IT certifications that just came out. This is not something you’ve done before, and there’s definitely a growing need for certified pros.
If you’re interested in the new IT Certifications, visit it governance group.
Tagged:CCIE certification, CCNA, CCNA Training, CCNP, Certification Help, Cisco Certified Network Professional, Cisco Training, CISSP, CITC Certification, CITG Certification, CITR Certification, Comptia A+, CompTIA Certification, CompTIA Linux+, CompTIA Network+ Certification, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Server+, IT Certification, IT Compliance, IT Governance, It Training News, MCSE, Microsoft Certification, PMP certification, Project Management Certification, Risk Management, VMware Certification
Johan Says:
March 28th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Thanks for another gr8 article ! I only saw this now.
I must say I find the way TrainSignal categorise the Microsoft training very confusing !
For example if you are studying XP, Vista, Exchange server etc.. it’s straightforward to buy the product. It’s clearly labelled !
But what if you want to study for the first core of the MCSA/MCSE 70-290 exam ?
I am confused as to what training to buy ??
Am I the only one who feel like this or are there others who think they need to make it clear ?!
Looking at the Trainsignal product list on their website it seems to me I will need to buy all these products in order to pass the 70-290 exam as all of this is in the exam syllabus ??
# Active Directory Fundamentals
# Active Directory Vol. 2: Group Policy
# Active Directory Vol. 3: Client Deployment & AD Management
# Active Directory Vol. 4: Sites & Services
# DHCP Server Essentials
# DNS Server Essentials
I hope someone replies to me with their thoughts and suggestions ! :)
Kasia Grabowska Says:
March 28th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Hi Johan,
I agree, our current Microsoft training is a bit confusing, but that’s because the courses don’t focus on specific exam objectives, but on specific tasks.
And you are right, you will need to buy many of our products to prepare for your first exam. But if you go through all of the training you will be able to pass all of the exams, not just the first one.
Check out this offer for our IT Pro Starter package, which includes all of the courses you’ll need for your MCSE and more:
http://www.trainsignal.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=105
The good news is that our Windows Server 2008 training will be exam oriented, so that you will be able to buy one training for each of the exams.
If you’re interested in the new MCITP certifications, check out our soon to be released:
Active Directory Training covering the 70-640 exam:
http://www.trainsignal.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=115
Network Infrastructure Training covering the 70-642 exam:
http://www.trainsignal.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=117
Let me know if you have any questions.
Kasia