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"Where do you want to go," I asked my children, looking forward to a nice meal out with the loves of my life.
In unison, I received a barrage of answers. "Dion’s," my oldest exclaimed. He loves this awesome local Pizzeria.
"The Golden Arches," chimed in my youngest. She loves their fries.
"I’m not hungry," was the response from my middle child. She’s going through a phase, now, and food isn’t worth thinking about.
Within minutes, I could have donned a black-and-white referee shirt, as the conversation digressed from dinner choices to who had the worst case of acne. Is this what is meant by "quality time" with my kids?
Sitting there in my idling car, it appeared that we couldn’t decide what to do; so, I made the decision for them. We went to my favorite restaurant.
This illustrates the crossroad that we all come to in our lives, whether it has to do with picking a place to eat, or choosing the appropriate IT certification and resource materials.
Decisions must be made. Your choices impact how you go about achieving those certifications, becoming proficient as an IT professional and, ultimately, the path you’ll follow.
This article, and the next one to follow, will cover two basic questions:
I believe if we take a look at some basic principles of human nature, then we can make the choices a bit simpler.
There’s a saying, "Physician, heal thyself," that implies that we must attend to our own issues before trying to fix those of someone else.
I would like to take that principle, and apply it in this manner; know yourself … your personality, your temperament, your strengths and your weaknesses. Then, once you’ve loaded your quiver with those arrows, you can begin to shoot for a target.
Okay, Louis, we didn’t come here for a philosophy lesson. Well, actually, to make the best choices in what IT certifications to take, it’s important to have an understanding of these aspects of who you are, because then you can be efficient in your actions and time.
For example, let’s look at two different technicians. One is outgoing and likes to joke with people, while the other is more of a reserved and quiet type. Both have excellent technical skills.
Given just that information, whom do you think would be better suited to a desktop support role that requires a lot of interaction with technically challenged end users? Probably the first technician, because the interpersonal skills that come with being outgoing lend themselves to making people feel comfortable.
On the other hand, that technician may not find much satisfaction at a depot with their nose to the motherboard, while the second technician may flourish and excel in that environment.
Neither one of them is better than the other, but don’t try to force a square peg into a round hole. Know yourself, then choose your path.
I’m sure many of you are in the same boat I found myself in. I worked in one field, but my skills with computers and software kept putting me in the unenviable position of filling two roles. I was hired to do one job, but everyone kept asking me to take care of IT issues.
Eventually, I began to visit sites like Train Signal to find direction and guidance. For those of you in that situation, let’s look at the A+ certification, and see if we can help guide you toward a productive and appealing solution to your dilemma.
The truth is that regardless of our own inclinations, if we want to get work in the IT field, we have to have the A+ certification. Every company appears to use that as the baseline.
But, with the recent changes made to the A+, there are more options to consider. The A+ Essentials exam is, well, essential. It is required. Beyond that first test, we have a choice of three different "specializations" to finish out the certification:
If you look at the three exams, the Remote Tech is geared toward a higher level of human interaction, and has a higher percentage of exam objectives that reflect that (20%).
The Depot Tech, on the other hand, has the least amount of objectives geared toward human interaction (0%), and deals explicitly with hardware issues.
The IT Tech exam is a mix of both. So, based on those arrows in your quiver, you can begin to isolate the certification path you may want follow.
For more info on CompTIA A+ Certification, check out CompTIA.org.
If you’re a people oriented individual, you may choose to get the A+ Remote Tech certification, and then follow that with some Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications.
Eventually, you could shoot for your MCDST (Certified Desktop Support Technician – WinXP) or the new MCITP (Certified IT Professional - Vista). Please note that MCITP for Desktop Support also two options, also. One geared toward the Consumer Market, and the other toward the Enterprise Market.
If you take the A+ IT Tech Certification, then you could follow that up with CompTIA Network+, Security+ and Server+, then Microsoft’s MCDST, and ultimately move toward MCSA (Certified System Administrator) and MCSE (Certified System Engineer).
If you’re a total gear-head, and get your A+ Depot Tech certification, you may be more inclined toward Network+, followed by Cisco CCENT (Certified Entry Networking Technician), CCNA (Certified Network Associate), CCNP (Certified Network Professional) and beyond.
For more info on the Microsoft Certifications, check out Microsoft Learning.
And here’s a link to the Cisco site and the information regarding their certification paths: Cisco Learning Network.
To find the greatest success, remember … know your own characteristics. This will help you tremendously in choosing the right path for you.
Next week, I’m going to get into some specific approaches that I’ve used to achieve my own certifications. I’ll be making some recommendations on resources to use, based upon what your experience and knowledge may already be.
There are many ways to approach certifications, but for me the number one rule of thumb is: work smart, not hard.
R Connor Says:
October 10th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
What happened to your “IT Professional” courses on a HD ?
I can not find it on your site ?
SOC Says:
October 20th, 2008 at 7:23 am
hi there, this is a nice site for IT enthusiasist, i have a problem i do not know were i ‘m going to start my certification. here’s my story i am a Eletronics Tech & Computer Tech graduate with a diploma. now i am applying for a IT administrations, like IT administrator, Network Engineer or administrator or IT Support Staff. but they are looking for a MCSE & CCNA credentials, so i plan to be certified so i can have the job i want. The fact is i have the undertsanding, theory’s, skills & knowledge about this jobs but they are after for the certified.
My questions are:
1.We’re im going to start?
2.What certification should i go first?
3.Should i go for a training, even though im a graduate of Computer Tech.?
4. How long it will take for me to be certified?
Can you please help me to do what’s right, so that i will be able to save money and time.
thanks,
SOC
R Binnie Says:
October 20th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
In response to SOC…………..
1. Start with the basics. Most entry level positions I see want you to be A+ certified.
Network+ if you want to get into networking. Something to get your foot in the door.
2. I did and would start with Comptia.— A+ definately —Network+ if you want to go into networking. Server+ if you are looking at MCSA or MCSE down the road. Security + if that interest you.
CCNA if you want to work with routers and switches in a large Corp or an ISP.
3. Depends on what job you want to be working at 1 -3 years down the road. I did A+ & Network+ from Mike Meyers books, CBT Nuggets videos and experience. I also completed the Cisco Network Academy program at a local community college but don’t have any real world experience with CISCO equipment, so I am not ready to attempt the CCNA exam quite yet.
4. Depends on how much time you can put into it. Read about the certs you are interested in and what they recommend for experience before taking the exam.