What IT or non-IT professional certifications do you have?

[Richdog]

I have GCSE's and A levels just not in IT, sorry should have quantified my post better.

I have no IT certs but work in IT.

Ah I see! To be fair, few people have IT GCSE and A-level.

Well further to my post #74 it would seem the Civil Service provide the ITIL v3 Foundation course for people in the IT field.

Have applied this morning for more information. Hopefully a positive step.

ITIL v3 is pretty useless in real terms unless you move into service delivery, and if you already have decent IT support dogsbody experience then you would be better served skipping the comparatively useless A+/Network+ and going directly for MCSA/MCSE Server-based certs, or CCNA is networking is more your thing, as both of those are highly recognised.

Basically you just need to get a foot in the door at a big multinational company and then the IT world is your oyster a few years down the line.

 

[Josh]

ITIL v3 is pretty useless in real terms unless you move into service delivery, and if you already have decent IT support dogsbody experience then you would be better served skipping the comparatively useless A+/Network+ and going directly for MCSA/MCSE Server-based certs, or CCNA is networking is more your thing, as both of those are highly recognised.

Basically you just need to get a foot in the door at a big multinational company and then the IT world is your oyster a few years down the line.

Yeah I've looked through the ITIL stuff and it seems pretty general.

The thing with where I work now is that if I can show them I have completed say A,B,C course they will more than likely help me to fund the more expensive X,Y,Z course. If I can show willing they may even fund some completely as they keep pushing me for "career progression".

Feels good to take the first step.

 

[Richdog]

Yeah I've looked through the ITIL stuff and it seems pretty general.

The thing with where I work now is that if I can show them I have completed say A,B,C course they will more than likely help me to fund the more expensive X,Y,Z course. If I can show willing they may even fund some completely as they keep pushing me for "career progression".

Feels good to take the first step.

Then why do you need to spend money on a BS course before you go to the good ones? Just go for the good long-term value courses or you are wasting your time and theirs.

If your work are constantly pushing you to progress and not vice versa then it sounds like you may have been a little unforthcoming in that regard...?

 

[Josh]

Then why do you need to spend money on a BS course before you go to the good ones? Just go for the good long-term value courses or you are wasting your time and theirs.

If your work are constantly pushing you to progress and not vice versa then it sounds like you may have been a little unforthcoming in that regard...?

Yeah I didn't want career progression, I was more than happy to stick where I was but I've come to the conculsion that in the long term I need to promote for further challenges.

I need to be able to show that I have the aptitude for learning and progressing before they invest further in me. Trying to get money for external courses isn't easy for my gov dept as they are in the process of reducing staffing by 30%.

 

[Richdog]

Yeah I didn't want career progression, I was more than happy to stick where I was but I've come to the conculsion that in the long term I need to promote for further challenges.

I need to be able to show that I have the aptitude for learning and progressing before they invest further in me. Trying to get money for external courses isn't easy for my gov dept as they are in the process of reducing staffing by 30%.

MCSA and CCNA are not really expensive, and passing a certificate like ITILv3 foundation you will never use hardly shows aptitude, it's just a waste of time and money. But in the end it's of course your choice.

 

[Josh]

MCSA and CCNA are not really expensive, and passing a certificate like ITILv3 foundation you will never use hardly shows aptitude, it's just a waste of time and money. But in the end it's of course your choice.

No I appriecate your advice, this is all new to me so doing my research and taking it all on board.

 

[Screeeech]

ITIL v3 is pretty useless in real terms unless you move into service delivery, and if you already have decent IT support dogsbody experience then you would be better served skipping the comparatively useless A+/Network+ and going directly for MCSA/MCSE Server-based certs, or CCNA is networking is more your thing, as both of those are highly recognised.

Can't agree more.

No I appriecate your advice, this is all new to me so doing my research and taking it all on board.

I've done a lot of recruitment in my days off for some pretty big outfits, hiring people of all skills/experience within ISP/Media networking businesses, and nobody gives a damn about anything such as A+/Network+ it's a bit of a shame, because those courses teach a lot of good fundamentals, but if you're serious about networks - you should be shooting straight for a CCNA from the very start, anything less won't be noticed.

There's so much good material for doing the CCNA these days, most of it cheap/free too

It's also worth pointing out, that the networking industry is a hell of a place to be at the moment, there's so much work and not enough people to do it, if you can be bothered to get involved and invest some serious time - there are some cracking roles out there.

 

[Ayahuasca]

I'm currently working towards my CCNA, was told by a fella who recently left us that there's a massive requirement for people in the field at the moment, decided I should try and get in before it becomes saturated.

 

[Josh]

I've done a lot of recruitment in my days off for some pretty big outfits, hiring people of all skills/experience within ISP/Media networking businesses, and nobody gives a damn about anything such as A+/Network+ it's a bit of a shame, because those courses teach a lot of good fundamentals, but if you're serious about networks - you should be shooting straight for a CCNA from the very start, anything less won't be noticed.

There's so much good material for doing the CCNA these days, most of it cheap/free too

It's also worth pointing out, that the networking industry is a hell of a place to be at the moment, there's so much work and not enough people to do it, if you can be bothered to get involved and invest some serious time - there are some cracking roles out there.

Noted ta Screech, I'll have a look into the certs tonight and re-draft my plan.

 

[Josh]

Double Post - ignore.

 

[RyanF]

Interesting thread. What would you guys recommend going for to help with general desktop support jobs? I've got work experience in said area but to help my argument for a salary raise etc etc. what should I be looking at?

 

[Richdog]

It's also worth pointing out, that the networking industry is a hell of a place to be at the moment, there's so much work and not enough people to do it, if you can be bothered to get involved and invest some serious time - there are some cracking roles out there.

I will also add that if you are serious about building a relatively future-proof career with very good earnings potential and opportunities worldwide, then IT risk (audit, compliance) is also an incredibly rewarding option. The demand for IT risk professionals is going nowhere and will only increase as cyber risk etc becomes a real hot potato for all companies in the coming years. I went from IT support to IT audit and my salary has more than doubled in 5 years and with my CISA certification (plan also to get CRISC this year, CISSP next year and ultimately CIA over next couple of years) I basically will in all probability not be out of a job even in the toughest of economic conditions as long as I keep my skills current.

Interesting thread. What would you guys recommend going for to help with general desktop support jobs? I've got work experience in said area but to help my argument for a salary raise etc etc. what should I be looking at?

General desktop support, go for MCSA/MCSE Server options first... will allow you to work your way into infrastructure.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

I'm a Black Belt Turner OFF and back ONerer.

I'm Gold belt, it's the new standard.

 

[koolpc]

I have a driving licence!

 

[randomshenans]

Desktop support is a tough one, as it's mainly problem solving and not really MCSE stuff. You'd be overqualified as a desktop supporter with that, but it wouldn't hurt.
You can do more focused MCPs on support, I'm sure of it. There will be a windows 10 one now I'm sure (probably covered in MCSE too). But start with one like that and work on from there.

 

[boxman2000]

Bronze Swimming Certificate
Silver Swimming Certificate

Red Dwarf fan - slap that on your CV, that's all the certificate you need my friend.

I to am a BSC and SSC.

 

[XeNoN89]

Comptia A+ and ITIL Foundation

 

[nightwish]

It would help if people said what job they had. Are these qualifications mostly for support roles, or network engineering or something? Genuine question, as I don't know what most of these even are, and I've been a software developer for 8 years...

 

[Sheff]

ITIL v3 Foundation for IT service management.

This was obtained while in a 1st/2nd line support role.

I'm working as an Information Analyst now, and although my current organisation doesn't use this framework I can see it being quite useful (if only for organising my own work).

 

[FortuitousFluke]

1. Level 4 CIPS, should hopefully be MCIPS within 12-18 months.
2. Local Government procurement
3. Business is paying for course, books, assessments, e-learning, but I have to foot for my professional membership.
4. Should be pretty useful, it's an industry standard and most employers value it. I've also found myself drawing on the knowledge I've gained so not just a tick box to more money exercise.