training advice

[AHarvey]

Hi,

As a few of you may know I am currently the general IT dept at the company I work and it's not the best place, underpaid, undervalued and pretty much just left to it. None of the training etc has come through and I am applying for other positions.

However, because we don't use standard business resources such as Windows server and everything is haphazard in it's approach (old machines running windows 7 home, cpanel for email management etc) it causing issues trying to find something else.

I've spent an hour again trawling through indeed/CWJobs and nearly all helpdesk jobs (all i can really go for but would love to specialise in something eventually) ask for the following:

Windws Server/exchange/Active Directory/group policies
ITIL
Networking technology (DNS, DHCP, VLANS, TCP/IP etc)
SQL Server (up to current version)
Competent user of SSIS including setup
Knowledge of Citrix remote desktop technologies (XenApp, XenDesktop, VDI)
Skilled and Experience of Virtual Environments (VMWare, Hyper-V, XenServer)
IS web services and associated technology

Now, I can work my way around a Windows OS and troubleshoot, finding solutions online etc, I am playing around with Linux and have some basic knowledge or experience in things like powershell, python, web dev etc but every day I am picking up little bits here are there, but if I am going to move on I need to develop knowledge in the above areas, which is why I am asking here.

For those with experience, what areas would you say to concentrate on first? Any qualifications I can look at or work towards, or use the syllabus to train from? Any resources to look at? Anything I can setup at home on spare machines to learn from?

 

[AHarvey]

thanks I'll take a look through that later on this evening

I've a couple of i5 desktops lying around as well as a couple of netbooks I can play around with, make a mini test lab, it's just the space that is an issue, but I can do some of this at work.

I'm looking through Microsoft Virtual Acadmey now, Windows 10 and Windows Server certifications (looking at exam 98-366 for networking fundamentals) although I will also be looking at earlier versions on Windows as most of ours are Win 7.

I know some of those skills may be overkill for standard helpdesk but I'd like to progress quickly once I am in.

 

[AHarvey]

Have you considered software development? There's less talking to customers and more maths. Seems win-win really.

I would love to, but I'd also love a couple of weeks to really get started with it, no work, no kids, no phone.

it's gone 11pm before I get me time and i'm usually so burnt out from work and tired from playing the kids my brain struggles to function.

It's something I am going to focus on as well, I don't see why admin work can't be mixed with programming. I'm already using little scripts to automate simple email content to save me typing it out all the time and automated installation packages for internal software and Thunderbird, also half got an setup script for setting up email on thunderbird too.

That can't be true?!

I've worked with people with comp science degree's that kicked off because i'd made their screen all tiny (I'd increased the resolution) so nothing shocks me.

SSDs are a must or you'll be waiting ages for a VM to boot to complete a task.

Both my i5's and this i7 have SSDs, although not massive ones enough to do the job. I need to reinstall windows on this on first after a setting up a second account manage to corrupt it somehow

You've been working in what sounds like a startup with next to no funding (who the hell uses Home editions of windows on company PCs??) which means you're used to fixing issues and working around problems other people haven't even had to think about.

I wish this was a startup. It's been going 6 years, currently on £8 million a year turnover, and looking to double again this year. 20 new consultants every 6 weeks, new financial arm launching that currently has . Looking at a new call centre near Swansea selling insurance and that'll be another 30-50 people easily. Currently at 250 staff rising to 300 all over England and Wales.