IT Certifications and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

[Kartel13]

right now my concentration is supply chain management. i have a bit of experience in SAP and a few other ERP software. been building comps since i was 10 years about. have a good/great knowledge with windows in general. linux not so much. besides that just general business stuff/computer stuff.

not too many skills specifically for my major (in terms of program/system specific training but i figure i'd pick that up on the job)

i want a few certs to up my resume though



i also got a minor in philosophy, might get the double major, only need 3 more classes

we use SAP at my work. I hate it. As an end user of course.

 

[The Jewnited States]

we use SAP at my work. I hate it. As an end user of course.

i must say i was not too impressed with the GUI for SAP when i used it

for such a high profile company/piece of software i thought it would be a lot easier to use

 

[Kartel13]

i must say i was not too impressed with the GUI for SAP when i used it

for such a high profile company/piece of software i thought it would be a lot easier to use

yep, I guess the company used eclipse prior to SAP and its night and day. But I guess its still in transition over here. There are tons of jobs for SAP.

 

[The Jewnited States]

yep, I guess the company used eclipse prior to SAP and its night and day. But I guess its still in transition over here. There are tons of jobs for SAP.

the school i'm at has one of the highest ranked BIT programs but my grades aren't too good due to slacking/switching between majors i didn't give a fukk about


i'm hoping i can sell myself based on school and my own experience with computers

 

[↓R↑LYB]

I think I will be changing my major to IT or computer engineering. Even if I don't major in IT I still want some knowledge about how it works.

Do we have anyone working in healthcare or for the government?

Truth be told, the industry you're working in doesn't matter. I've worked in healthcare, government, financial, manufacturing, and telecom. If you're in IT you'll pretty much always be doing the same thing. The differences come into play when you have to implement things to be in compliance with various regulations (HIPAA, SOX, PCI, GLBA, FISMA, etc). But that's usually handled by the security team (or sometimes compliance team) and essentially they all say the same thing: don't be an idiot with other peoples data.

 

[Polofresh4]

Thanks, I'm debating whether to start on the ICDN1/ICDN2 or go towards the 70-680. I'm about finished with comptia (security +) and I would like to save the more difficult one for last.

Respect.
It seems like we are one in the same lol. I am in both classes right now for school (matter off fact right off the security+ also

I picked ICND1/2....dont have an IT job yet, so i went to swallow the biggest frog

I figure....if i bang out CCNA 1st...
I can already have that on my resume before I take the Microsoft ones (desktop/server/active dir). Since they are all in the same realm I feel that would make them easier to study for.

Also, groupon has a good deal on an online Cisco class...CCNA/Voice/Security/CCNP
IT University Online Deal of the Day | Groupon Los Angeles

soo cisco til spring....microsoft til summer....upgrade my CCNA over the summer...hopefully by the football season

Good Luck on whatever your move is

 

[krexzen]

Respect.
It seems like we are one in the same lol. I am in both classes right now for school (matter off fact right off the security+ also

I picked ICND1/2....dont have an IT job yet, so i went to swallow the biggest frog

I figure....if i bang out CCNA 1st...
I can already have that on my resume before I take the Microsoft ones (desktop/server/active dir). Since they are all in the same realm I feel that would make them easier to study for.

Also, groupon has a good deal on an online Cisco class...CCNA/Voice/Security/CCNP
IT University Online Deal of the Day | Groupon Los Angeles

soo cisco til spring....microsoft til summer....upgrade my CCNA over the summer...hopefully by the football season

Good Luck on whatever your move is

Thanks breh! I think I'm going to start on the 70-680. I bought the book for it 2 months ago and I've been staring at it too long. Plus the Knowledge gained from the windows 7 exam is more useful to me at the moment than the Cisco.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

Respect.
It seems like we are one in the same lol. I am in both classes right now for school (matter off fact right off the security+ also

I picked ICND1/2....dont have an IT job yet, so i went to swallow the biggest frog

I figure....if i bang out CCNA 1st...
I can already have that on my resume before I take the Microsoft ones (desktop/server/active dir). Since they are all in the same realm I feel that would make them easier to study for.

Also, groupon has a good deal on an online Cisco class...CCNA/Voice/Security/CCNP
IT University Online Deal of the Day | Groupon Los Angeles

soo cisco til spring....microsoft til summer....upgrade my CCNA over the summer...hopefully by the football season

Good Luck on whatever your move is

Truth be told breh, they're not really in the same realm. Passing the CCNA isn't going to make passing the MCSE type exams any easier. The Cisco exam is gonna ask you what's the differences between spanning tree, rapid spanning tree, and per vlan spanning tree and how to configure each one. The Microsoft exam is gonna ask you what are the components to implementing Direct Access in 2008 R2 and how would you troubleshoot a user not being able to access a resource remotely. The overlap is about 10% on the high end (understanding how TCP/IP work and basic network architecture).

Not trying to discourage you or nothing, just don't want you to think breezing through a Cisco exam will allow you to breeze through a Microsoft one.

 

[Shameonyou]

I wanna get in this field of work, what is the best way to get in if you have no experience in this field?

whats the one to recommend for beginners?

 

[acri1]

I wanna get in this field of work, what is the best way to get in if you have no experience in this field?

whats the one to recommend for beginners?

Take your A+ and then try to find a Tech Support/Helpdesk/PC tech job.

CompTIA A+ Certification

 

[Shameonyou]

Take your A+ and then try to find a Tech Support/Helpdesk/PC tech job.

CompTIA A+ Certification

will schooling affect how far you move up? or are certs in the IT field good enough by themselves?

 

[acri1]

will schooling affect how far you move up? or are certs in the IT field good enough by themselves?

It really depends on the employer and situation...I know people doing well in IT both with and without degrees. But when the economy is bad, I'd say employers check for people with degrees first. Same with management positions.

I got my first tech support job without having a degree, certs, or experience just because I was in an IT-related major (and did well in the interview).

My personal recommendation is to at least hit up a community college and gets your associates in something computer-related. It's an easy way to get experience and network with people in your area that work in IT. Plus a lot of helpdesk jobs these day ask for at least a 2-year degree.

 

[Polofresh4]

Truth be told breh, they're not really in the same realm. Passing the CCNA isn't going to make passing the MCSE type exams any easier. The Cisco exam is gonna ask you what's the differences between spanning tree, rapid spanning tree, and per vlan spanning tree and how to configure each one. The Microsoft exam is gonna ask you what are the components to implementing Direct Access in 2008 R2 and how would you troubleshoot a user not being able to access a resource remotely. The overlap is about 10% on the high end (understanding how TCP/IP work and basic network architecture).

Not trying to discourage you or nothing, just don't want you to think breezing through a Cisco exam will allow you to breeze through a Microsoft one.

You are correct.
Thats why I picked going the way that I am doing. Once I pass the CCNA, I can completely shift my mind away from the networking realm.
I can just focus on the desktop/server/active directory all in a row. Once I get through them, then Ill jump back into the networking.
But I dont believe that because I pass the CCNA, Ill skate through the Microsoft one.
Cant front tho...When I do pass the CCNA...my confidence will be hahaha

On another note....thanks for the knowledge drop in this whole thread...You an everybody else have no idea how much you are helping me an everybody else.

 

[↓R↑LYB]

You are correct.
Thats why I picked going the way that I am doing. Once I pass the CCNA, I can completely shift my mind away from the networking realm.
I can just focus on the desktop/server/active directory all in a row. Once I get through them, then Ill jump back into the networking.
But I dont believe that because I pass the CCNA, Ill skate through the Microsoft one.
Cant front tho...When I do pass the CCNA...my confidence will be hahaha

On another note....thanks for the knowledge drop in this whole thread...You an everybody else have no idea how much you are helping me an everybody else.

Here's a piece of advice breh. Jumping around will cost you time/money in the future. When I started out, I did A+, CCNA, then started going down the MCSE route. Didn't finish my MCSE (Microsoft retired the 2000 path for 2003 so I was assed out), so I went back to the Cisco camp years later and forget everything I had learned and had to relearn it all over again. I forgot so much that I failed the CCNA twice in a row when I passed it easily the 1st time years back.

Basically don't go ham on those certs initially. You'll forget most of what you've learned and have to spend time/money retaking those exams again down the road since they've more than likely expired.

Start with getting just enough certs to get your foot in the door, then decide if you wanna do Servers or networking, and tailor your certs to go down that path.

 

[Polofresh4]

Here's a piece of advice breh. Jumping around will cost you time/money in the future. When I started out, I did A+, CCNA, then started going down the MCSE route. Didn't finish my MCSE (Microsoft retired the 2000 path for 2003 so I was assed out), so I went back to the Cisco camp years later and forget everything I had learned and had to relearn it all over again. I forgot so much that I failed the CCNA twice in a row when I passed it easily the 1st time years back.

Basically don't go ham on those certs initially. You'll forget most of what you've learned and have to spend time/money retaking those exams again down the road since they've more than likely expired.

Start with getting just enough certs to get your foot in the door, then decide if you wanna do Servers or networking, and tailor your certs to go down that path.

Thanks for the advice
The reason Im doing the jumping around is because that is the curriculum of my school to get my bachelors. The ccna/msce stuff is all required classes for the degree and they mimic a class for that particular test. I just figure, if im gonna study 3 months to pass a final...im sure i could pay the extra 150 or w/e and get a certificate to go with it...its my twisted idea of 2 birds 1 stone.