worthwhile courses in IT

jd83

Hello everybody,

First of thanks in advance to anyone who helps me. I am 24 and just returned to college doing a degree in management of technology. I am working in a software company doing firstlevel support part time aswell. As i dont do many hours in college im looking to do another course during my free time and holidays. I was considering comptia a+ but some of my friends said its not very useful getting jobs. Basically im looking for a course that will get my foot in the door for a it job, moneys not important just good experience. I dont want to finish college and end up doing nothing. Anyone have any advice on course that i could do that are benifical? Thanks again Rory

damnyanks

Do you want to remain in support or are you looking to move into a different area?

You have support services
Networks
Firewalls,
Servers,
Storage
Development
Analysis etc. etc.

jd83

well i was thinking of security or networks, so what i was planning on doing was comptia a+ and then network + or security plus and i am doing hardware this semester in college and we use the a+ book so it seemed the handiest way to go

joePC

1st Step: Buy low spec pc parts and build your self a PC (Komplett.ie / Pixmania.ie)
--> Researching and building this will teach you more than any A+ exam.

Now you should have 2 PC's,

2nd Step: Buy yourself a switch / router / Firewall and connect the PC's together, share files / share internet connection learn about port forwarding and NAT's

3rd Step: Get yourself another PC or Install VMware workstation and install Win Server 2003, setup a domain, use Active Directory, setup users, premissions, Group Policy, setup DHCP etc..., Install Exchange 2003/7

Doing these steps will give you a good grounding into basic IT roles.

Always remember use Google, Google groups, IT fourms, all the guides and answers are there for the reading.

Go over to the Computers forums to get started.

Best of luck,
Cheers, Joe

jd83

thanks joe,

I know that that will give me experience and know how but from a job point of view when you see ads on job sites there always looking for qualifications and experience. I know i would learn a lot more your way but at the end of the day i want to finish college and get a good job.

damnyanks

Yeah look to build up a hobbyiests knowledge of the area you want to go into. Then start looking at the meaty vendor based certs (Cisco, EMC, Nokia etc.)

joePC

I know what your saying Rory, but having recently held interviews for an IT admin job (€40,000) I was leaving. I chose someone without any qulifications but had great experience and was confiendent in his abilities. Remember its not always about the certs, having a "hobbyiests knowledge" is offen the best policy. Just something to think about before going straight down the certification path.

the_syco

I hear what your saying joePC, and although not disagreeing with it directly, an A+ shows that you actually know about building PC's, etc, rather than claiming to know. As someone once said, back in the 90's, if you could build a PC, it meant squat, but now, if you did the A+, it meant something.

By all means do as joePC said, regarding building your own PC's, setting up the network, etc, as it'll make the course handier to take in.

If you do decide to get a CompTIA "+" cert, you'll need new/after 2005 books, as the course was changed in 2005. I say this so you don't buy a 2nd hand book from 2001 that will will you short a few topcs come the exam.

Also, it may mean a little bit more cost-wise, bt it makes it alot easier in the long run: if you do the A+, do the software and hardware seprately. Your choice, but rather than having to study for two exams in the one exam, you can do them on two different days.

Finally, for me, the difference an A+ cert made was that it got me an interview with some companies that I was passed over before. The reason I didn't get the jobs was because my IT support experience wasn't very techincal.

joePC

True, True syco, anyway Rory if your looking for study guides have a look at VTC A+ Online I find there approach to training is excellent. Best of luck.

jd83

yeah well im prop going to do a+ i already have the old book for 2003 but i can get books in my college library and on safari books online so i shouldnt have a problem. I also agree about going about it as hobby it would make the course easier to learn. Thanks a lot all of you for your help and wisdom.

nesf

Moved from Work/Jobs.

wandererz

Hi Rory,

Personally i think that a good foundation in networking can never go amiss, although it quite really depends on which area of IT you want to get into.

I started off with microsoft, cisco etc (about 10yrs back) and now specialise in security. I train as well as recruit engineers. One of the things i look for is a sound understanding of networking. the CompTIA certs are good for a very basic level of knowledge but i would typically expect someone to have this basic level of knowledge anyway.

The things i would look for are a fundamentally sound knowledge of networking. You can begin this process with something like a Cisco CCNA cert. The main thing however would be decent troubleshooting skills. In my opinion this just requires common sense. Those two alone and bob's your mate, you should be able to get a decent job straight off.

With a bit of experience under the belt, i would suggest looking at specialist areas such as security. Of course it requires a good bit of time and effort, but you'd be surprised at the lack of decent engineers out there and the opportunities that exist for someone who's willing to learn.

the wanderer

mick.fr

Just wanted to add my comment on this.

Having a certification is only proving you are able to study.
Having a certification by itself is not proving you are skilled.

Now having one or several certs with the experience is highly recommended but you can find individuals without any cert that are sometimes very skilled.

But I have met a lot of non-certified people who were sometimes very good, but in most cases the fact they were not certified I was able to see they had some lack of basic knowledge in many of the areas of their main skills.

So get skills and certifications, you need both to evolve properly.

jd83

hi
Thanks everyone for all ur comments. As i ahve already covered most of the a+ course in college and done some networking i have decided to the cisco CCNA. I was thinking of doing it a BCT institute its 1300 euro. Anyone reccomend any good books?

_CreeD_

The official Cisco Press Books are quite good. If you don't have access to some equipment to test on the Boson CCNA sim is well worth it. While possible to pass without working on realworld/sims the cert will be useless without it.

jd83

Yeah i was thinking of doing it on my own but it would be easier to do a course. Im planning on doing it in BCT one day a week for 14 weeks. At least then i will get experience through labs and classes. But want to get a self study book aswell some thing along the line of CCNa for dummies:D

adonis

i did an mcp in bct and it wasnt great...
apparently iact have a very good ccna coach - i know bct are a good bit cheaper though

accensi0n

The general consensus seems to be that the Sybex CCNA book by Todd Lammel is the one to go for.

I've read it front to back and found it quite easy to read and plenty of the information is now committed to memory. BUT, I've realised that there's not much point in ME reading any of the chapters after chapter 3 because I don't have any hardware to practice the configurations on beacuse I'm travelling Australia at the moment.

From what I've read on other forums I would suggest that you set up a home CCNA lab, the more hands on experience the better.

I'll be home in a few months and plan to start studying properly for the CCNA then, when I actually have hardware that I can play with.

I currently have the CompTIA A+ and Network+. Both these certs can be easily studied for at home with no hands on experience but I highly recommend getting your hands dirty while studying for any cert as thats what really gives you an understanding of how things work.


You should check out www.techexams.net as well. They have notes, practice questions and fourms for lots of certs, including the CCNA.

Give us an update of what your doing as the last post is a couple of months old.