Web Hosting Talk : Other Forums : Web Hosting Lounge : Certifications

[Kairus]

Hi guys, I'm an MIS major, second semester in my junior year, and I'm wondering what certifications are recommended for someone entering the IT job market right now. It's tough to decide, Microsoft, Red Hat, Novell all offer so many different certifications, and then A+ and all the others. Obviously I'd like to be certified in a range of different areas, but I need to start somewhere!

[Patrick]

CISSP. Seriously. If you want a certificate that's going to hold some weight and I mean some damn good weight, CISSP. Although you're going to need a few years of security work before you can even apply - unless they have changed that requirement. Pending failure, since not everyone can go the CISSP route I would go for Cisco. Start with a CCNA and work your way up, all the way up if you can.

Microsoft and Novell certificates are about as useful as toilet paper. My sister is an HR manager for a large staffing agency and they don't put a lot of emphasis on certificates as much as you would think. It's more or less experience and education, as in college / univ degrees instead of some $500 certificate you did over the summer. Seriously, don't waste your time on that Microsoft and Novel garbage.

If I personally had to retrain and find new employment, I would go right for Cisco. Lots of networking jobs where I live looking for CCNP's...

[Kairus]

Interesting, not the answer I was expecting, I figured MS/RH certifications would be worth it, anyone else want to share their experiences?

[Exerox]

CISSP is a great one to have at the moment, I have a few MS advanced certifications and can't really justify the certification fee, won't be renewing all MS ones I know that, considering RH myself, was looking at their bulk training options the other day and seems a good choice so far.

[Nich]

Originally Posted by Kairus

Interesting, not the answer I was expecting, I figured MS/RH certifications would be worth it, anyone else want to share their experiences?

It all depends on what you're interested in doing in IT. I don't agree with Patrick's very networking-oriented answer, especially the part about any non-Cisco certifications being garbage. E.g. if I was hiring a .NET programmer, I'd look at their experience and a Microsoft Certified Application Developer cert might weigh in some.

Also, CISSP requires at least 5 years of work experience, so it's probably not something you're able to pursue right now.

[Patrick]

Sorry, I meant the lower level Microsoft certs like MCSE and MOS and MCDST, etc. The higher level certs are obviously worth something given the time, knowledge and cost involved to obtain... but I suspect the OP is looking for lower level certs.

[cd/home]

Originally Posted by Kairus

but I need to start somewhere!

I would start with CompTIA A+, Well worth the money

CompTIA also offer various different courses such as Linux, Security, etc

But A+ is the starting point of the adventure

[Patrick]

I say forget tech. I don't see a future with this tech mumbo jumbo crap. Take a look at this:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/02/21...ree/index.html

ELEVATOR REPAIR IS WHERE IT'S AT, MY FRIEND.

[Steven]

Originally Posted by cd/home

I would start with CompTIA A+, Well worth the money

CompTIA also offer various different courses such as Linux, Security, etc

But A+ is the starting point of the adventure

CompTIA is pretty worthless. Needs to be stepped up to a RHCE, MSCE, CCNA, or something. I don't know anyone who is serious that takes a CompTIA as anything.

I personally hold 0 certification, but I don't need it. They don't teach what I know in school. If I was going to do a certification program, I personally would shoot for RHCDS. Sounds like fun.

[LiquiLayer]

Originally Posted by Kairus

Hi guys, I'm an MIS major, second semester in my junior year, and I'm wondering what certifications are recommended for someone entering the IT job market right now. It's tough to decide, Microsoft, Red Hat, Novell all offer so many different certifications, and then A+ and all the others. Obviously I'd like to be certified in a range of different areas, but I need to start somewhere!

Here's my recommendations, depending on which route you decide to go...

CCNA
CCNA Security
SANS GSEC
VCP
NetAPP NCDA

I personally wouldn't waste your time/money on any comptia stuff.
I also wouldn't waste your time/money on any MS stuff except for server 2k8 and AD. There's a lot of new things especially with group policy with 2k8 vs 2k3. If you learn it, you might as well get the paper...it looks good to hr at least.

Also, depending on what type of job you're looking for with a company, a "jack of all trades, master of none" can sometimes hurt you. Take vmware for instance, if you know how to create a vm, but don't know how to configure esx or work with any storage......you're pretty much useless. If that makes sense...