Qualifications for IT.

BoomAM · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:29

Hi.
Whats the general concensus on here regarding IT qualifications?

Ive been told multiple stories about this, some saying MS qualifications are must haves, some saying experiance is better, some saying a mix, some saying only do the MS qualifications for learning (like Exchange), some saying do the CCNA/CCNPs, some saying its only worth going upto MSCA so i can 'open a few doors' so to speak.

What do you all think?

Thanks in advance all.

.

Will Gill · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:33

all imo of course

experience coupled with out of hours courses, best of both worlds in terms of exposure and knowledge base

you are then best set to transpose the useful parts of the courses and use them in real day to day environments and earn cash/recognition of the back of it

BoomAM · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:38

Will Gill said:
all imo of course

experience coupled with out of hours courses, best of both worlds in terms of exposure and knowledge base

you are then best set to transpose the useful parts of the courses and use them in real day to day environments and earn cash/recognition of the back of it

At the moment ive done 2 years as a techie, and just under 2 years now as a NM. Enough experiance to start looking at doing some quals, or should i stick with the job for now? (I cant really read my MSCE/MCSA books atm as i dont have a lot of time due to workload).

+ What qualificiations should i look at?

Tbh, im finding project management/planning/ect; more stimulating than the day to day technical stuff...

oddjob62 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:41

BoomAM said:
At the moment ive done 2 years as a techie, and just under 2 years now as a NM. Enough experiance to start looking at doing some quals?

Depends if you're planning on leaving your current employer any time soon

Will Gill · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:02

BoomAM said:
At the moment ive done 2 years as a techie, and just under 2 years now as a NM. Enough experiance to start looking at doing some quals, or should i stick with the job for now? (I cant really read my MSCE/MCSA books atm as i dont have a lot of time due to workload).

+ What qualificiations should i look at?

Tbh, im finding project management/planning/ect; more stimulating than the day to day technical stuff...

I'd get my current employer to pay for as many as courses as possible, if they are smart they will probably try and tie you in with contract termination penalty clause (i.e you pay back the course/exam fees if you leave cunningly soon after passing), but then if you are equally smart you can counter that clause with an increased added value proposition ergo gain qualifications and a pay rise all in one

davetherave2 · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:35

I personally have found that the both go hand in hadn. if you have the experience the qualifications should be relatively easy to get as you understand the technologies and how they work. I personally get the qualifications to just confirm the sort of stuff i know but I have moved now from a tech support role to development (much more interesting for me and where I wanted to go after doing my degree. Even though it took me 4+ years to get the job I am in now).

Depending on how old you are there is a company that offers the chance to get an MCSE and also various NVQ qualifications for free via a goverment funded scheme. I have been on it for a few years but that was down to my previous employer not allowing me time off to do the courses.

if you need more info send me a mail via trust.

but if you want to go down the project management route then gaining something like prince would be more beneficial. Its usually a three day intense course but you do learn a lot so i'm told.

Sone · 14 Jul 2008 at 13:24

BoomAM said:
At the moment ive done 2 years as a techie, and just under 2 years now as a NM. Enough experiance to start looking at doing some quals, or should i stick with the job for now? (I cant really read my MSCE/MCSA books atm as i dont have a lot of time due to workload).

Yo can always make time mate, i work more than most (60hrs a week) and its possible to find an hour a day to do college work / read MCSE books

BoomAM · 14 Jul 2008 at 16:54

oddjob62 said:
Depends if you're planning on leaving your current employer any time soon

lol. Not whilst they're paying.

.

davetherave2 said:
if you have the experience the qualifications should be relatively easy to get as you understand the technologies and how they work.

I dont find its as easy as that.
Ive flicked through the 70-290 book, and theres nout there i dont either already know or can work out for myself.
But then when i read the 'mock' questions, im thinking WTF is this, as the questions seem all over the place. Deliberately worded to trip you up, and giving situations and probably answers that are completely useless/wrong.

if you need more info send me a mail via trust.

Emailed.

.

but if you want to go down the project management route then gaining something like prince would be more beneficial. Its usually a three day intense course but you do learn a lot so i'm told.

Prince?
Never heard of it.

Would anyone here suggest specialising and just doing, for example, just the ISA stuff, or just the Exchange stuff?

Zefan · 14 Jul 2008 at 16:57

Or you could get all of them by joining the armed forces. Excellent training you're paid to undertake, lots of experience and then when/if you leave they'll pay for you to go to university (brand new scheme).

I know I'm an idiot and it's my answer to everything but I just had to put it out there

oddjob62 · 14 Jul 2008 at 17:32

BoomAM said:
Prince?
Never heard of it.

http://www.prince2.com/what-is-prince2.asp

oddjob62 · 14 Jul 2008 at 17:39

Double post

bigredshark · 15 Jul 2008 at 10:39

Zefan said:
Or you could get all of them by joining the armed forces. Excellent training you're paid to undertake, lots of experience and then when/if you leave they'll pay for you to go to university (brand new scheme).

I know I'm an idiot and it's my answer to everything but I just had to put it out there

Maybe so, but I've worked with quite a few ex forces IT guys and they're below average uniformity probably wasn't coincidence I'm thinking...

m4cc45 · 15 Jul 2008 at 12:46

I've done the exams and flicking through the book and then going into the exam situation is completley different. There's now lots of simulations very highly 'weighted' (i.e. lots of points for getting them spot on) so it makes it harder than ever. The questions are meant to trip you up at every opportunity. They want to make sure you've read, understood and then gone through every answer before clicking.

I'm currently and MCSE+S (looking to do the Messaging exam so I can be a MCSE+S&M - lol) and I'd say it's very good to have. My employer only employed me because of the MCSA I had prior and that I wanted the MCSE so they payed for everything since.

It's a great way to say I can work on this operating system. You have physical proof. Whilst you can say you have 5 years of experience people who have less experience with qualifications (i.e. 4 years + MCSE) will normally get the nod.

M.

a1ex2001 · 15 Jul 2008 at 14:22

m4cc45 said:
It's a great way to say I can work on this operating system. You have physical proof. Whilst you can say you have 5 years of experience people who have less experience with qualifications (i.e. 4 years + MCSE) will normally get the nod.

In my experience it's always been totally the other way round, the majority of people I work with have never completed a full MCSE as they have always been to busy doing the job and everywhere I've worked has taken experience over an MCSE as any foold can get the qualifications with a couple of weeks at a boot camp. The experience of actually doing large scale migrations/installs and running systems for years is worth far more than a bit of paper with bills signature photocopied onto the bottom.

LordSplodge · 16 Jul 2008 at 16:20

Surely you'd do the appropriate qualification to the area you want to go into?

In other words there is no point doing a CCNA/CCNP if you want to go down the services and processes route, and vice versa no point doing ITIL/Prince2 if you want to be a network bod.

Microsoft Qualifications are useful as a general background qualification. Exchange 2007, Server 2008 and SCCM are hot MS topics at the moment.

morfmedia · 16 Jul 2008 at 21:21

LordSplodge said:
In other words there is no point doing a CCNA/CCNP if you want to go down the services and processes route, and vice versa no point doing ITIL/Prince2 if you want to be a network bod.

Microsoft Qualifications are useful as a general background qualification. Exchange 2007, Server 2008 and SCCM are hot MS topics at the moment.

Cisco qualifications always seem well valued.
SAN certification = well valued
VMWare exams = well valued
Microsoft are down the middle, some places respect them a lot but most people respect experience + maybe a specialist exam such as SQL, Exchange, Server 2008, SCCM etc

I've got a few qualifcations and now facing outsourcing I'm trying to get a few more (funded by work...)

m4cc45 · 17 Jul 2008 at 13:24

a1ex2001 said:
In my experience it's always been totally the other way round, the majority of people I work with have never completed a full MCSE as they have always been to busy doing the job and everywhere I've worked has taken experience over an MCSE as any foold can get the qualifications with a couple of weeks at a boot camp. The experience of actually doing large scale migrations/installs and running systems for years is worth far more than a bit of paper with bills signature photocopied onto the bottom.

No thats not quite true is it.

Thats your opinion of it not the true facts.

You can do the MCSE in your own time, boot camps (as you've said) or in company time. If the company you work for is worth anything they will encorage you to do this. My company gave me time, money for the exams, support and resources to do the exams.

If we take your attitude then whats the point in GCSE's, A-Levels, Degrees, etc.

Exeprience is great (I'm very lucky I have both qualifications and experience) but you also need to stand out from the crowd. Doing these exams now (while simulations are involved) is not just reading a book or memorising answers. They're hard work and from my point of view show that you have the right attitude to progress.

M.

mr.bond · 17 Jul 2008 at 18:57

a1ex2001 said:
In my experience it's always been totally the other way round, the majority of people I work with have never completed a full MCSE as they have always been to busy doing the job and everywhere I've worked has taken experience over an MCSE as any foold can get the qualifications with a couple of weeks at a boot camp. The experience of actually doing large scale migrations/installs and running systems for years is worth far more than a bit of paper with bills signature photocopied onto the bottom.

You could say the same about most vendor specific qualifications.

edscdk · 21 Jul 2008 at 16:12

If you looking at doing mcse jsut testking it and save your self a load of time, I learned more testkinging than on the courses, I can do an MS exam with about 20-30 hours reading now and I aint smart...

MCSE will get your CV into the pile were the lack if it will mean its binned.. so its worth getting..

marinecommando · 21 Jul 2008 at 16:16

I think the point asking whether you are leaving your job or not is quite pertinent. The problem arises in so much that the vast majority of IT jobs go through recruitment agencies and if your CV says MCSE / CCNA / ITIL or whatever then it might mean the difference between being put on the interview pile and being put in the bin.

I was made redundant a couple of years ago and took a job in a call centre for a short period of time to pay the bills and had the same discussion with a number of people there who shared the view that experience alone was enough. Alas I was only there a couple of months and they were left doing a job they didnt like.

I agree with m4cc45 in that the qualifications show that I am willing to put in my own time to further myself, as opposed to an average 9-5er who might have the same level of experience but shows niether the commitment nor level of sacrifice in terms of their own time, to push themselves to the same degree.

Experience is important but attitude and work ethic counts just as highly imo :0)