comptia a plus

ac02ire

feel free too move this if its in the wrong section, i was thinking about attempting too get a comptia a+ certification but wanted too ask people in the know does it actually stand too you ir is it a fad certificate for your cv when looking too get into the computer industry

demanufactured

Id bloody hope it stands you you in some way....Im doing it at the minute.

Have the essentials exam next month.

jeffk

I thought I was doing it but that was year one, im doing a CompTIA Network+ plus this year in year two.

All I can is im lost so far, but I dont know if the networking side is much harder/easier.

demanufactured

jeffk wrote: »

I thought I was doing it but that was year one, im doing a CompTIA Network+ plus this year in year two.

All I can is im lost so far, but I dont know if the networking side is much harder/easier.

Huh?

Lab_Mouse

ac02ire wrote: »

feel free too move this if its in the wrong section, i was thinking about attempting too get a comptia a+ certification but wanted too ask people in the know does it actually stand too you ir is it a fad certificate for your cv when looking too get into the computer industry

Its an entry level cert for pc maintaince.The A+ and N+ contribute towards the MCSA.

ac02ire

so it does actually stand too you, was thinking about doing it but didnt want too do it if i was wasting my time in a way

jeffk

demanufactured wrote: »

Huh?

Im just saying I was meant to do it, but that was year one and im doing networking on year two. So I assume its a starter module and then it gets much harder from there...

Lab_Mouse

jeffk wrote: »

Im just saying I was meant to do it, but that was year one and im doing networking on year two. So I assume its a starter module and then it gets much harder from there...

The A+ and N+ plus are relatively easy.I'm looking to do the CCNA which from what i've seen of the course content is a big step up.Cant comment on the MSCA.Afaik the other 2 modules are active directory and I think you specify in one of windows OS's(open to correction here)

jeffk

Lab_Mouse wrote: »

The A+ and N+ plus are relatively easy.I'm looking to do the CCNA which from what i've seen of the course content is a big step up.Cant comment on the MSCA.Afaik the other 2 modules are active directory and I think you specify in one of windows OS's(open to correction here)

I didn't do the A+(basically started of on a beginners course because they didn't screen us properly). SO if I had done that then maybe I wouldn't have been so lost, but as it is im getting 111111011111 255.255.225 drilled into my head and its not sticking to well.

kippy

A+ and Network+ are two great entry level certs to have. They do stand for you and also can be used towards some of the Microsoft Certifications.
Both of them are non vendor specific and give a very good basis for other certs you may want to do in future and indeed a good base for relatively "real world" issues.
If you get these certs before December this year you will never have to "renew" them.
These certs look good on a CV for any entry level IT job, and will stand to you

CCNA is a totally different level of cert, designed specifically for those intending to work on Cisco equipment only and is one of the certs that has be be renewed every few years. You do "pigeon hole" yourself a bit with this cert and there are very few organisation that require people with CCNA and fewer still who are willing to pay these people good money, however the benefits of having one increase when you do actually work with this equipment and are willing to put some more time into furthering your cisco certs, CCNP and for those at the top CCIE, however you will spent a lot of your career studying and renewing these certs.


It does help to have experience together with these certs however - most employers would put relevant experience ahead of these certs if the certs are all you have. As such it would be a good idea to volunteer in schools etc or where ever you can to get some relevant experience.

jeffk

In colliste ide we have two days set out to do 80 hours work experience over the 8 month course. But sadly thats been scrapped because of the mess this countries in now.

mickman

kippy wrote: »

A+ and Network+ are two great entry level certs to have. They do stand for you and also can be used towards some of the Microsoft Certifications.
Both of them are non vendor specific and give a very good basis for other certs you may want to do in future and indeed a good base for relatively "real world" issues.
If you get these certs before December this year you will never have to "renew" them.
These certs look good on a CV for any entry level IT job, and will stand to you

CCNA is a totally different level of cert, designed specifically for those intending to work on Cisco equipment only and is one of the certs that has be be renewed every few years. You do "pigeon hole" yourself a bit with this cert and there are very few organisation that require people with CCNA and fewer still who are willing to pay these people good money, however the benefits of having one increase when you do actually work with this equipment and are willing to put some more time into furthering your cisco certs, CCNP and for those at the top CCIE, however you will spent a lot of your career studying and renewing these certs.


It does help to have experience together with these certs however - most employers would put relevant experience ahead of these certs if the certs are all you have. As such it would be a good idea to volunteer in schools etc or where ever you can to get some relevant experience.

this isnt true. the ccna is a broadly accepted networking cert. lots about the osi model etc which is common to all networking. its not pigeon holed to cisco at all

where did you get the idea that companies dont want people with ccnas and wont pay good money ? im in the business 10 yrs and have found exactly the opposite.

kippy

mickman wrote: »

this isnt true. the ccna is a broadly accepted networking cert. lots about the osi model etc which is common to all networking. its not pigeon holed to cisco at all

where did you get the idea that companies dont want people with ccnas and wont pay good money ? im in the business 10 yrs and have found exactly the opposite.

The hint is in the name.
Cisco Certified Networking Associate.
While there are some broad concepts covered in it, it is primarly aimed at people who are working with Cisco networking equipment.

Most smaller companies, and indeed some larger ones, do not require people with the CCNA cert. If their infrastructure has been set up properly it will be set up without the need for people with CCNA's to run it.

If you have the CCNA and a few MCP's etc then you arent pigeon holing yourself that much, you have a broad skill set on paper.

If you take a look at more recent salarys, you'll see that that:
1. There arent that many people out there looking for CCNA people.
2. Those that are arent paying as much as they did.
3. Outside of Dublin, in this country, as with most IT jobs, the requirement for CCNA qualified people is very low.

mickman

kippy wrote: »

The hint is in the name.
Cisco Certified Networking Associate.
While there are some broad concepts covered in it, it is primarly aimed at people who are working with Cisco networking equipment.

Most smaller companies, and indeed some larger ones, do not require people with the CCNA cert. If their infrastructure has been set up properly it will be set up without the need for people with CCNA's to run it.

If you have the CCNA and a few MCP's etc then you arent pigeon holing yourself that much, you have a broad skill set on paper.

If you take a look at more recent salarys, you'll see that that:
1. There arent that many people out there looking for CCNA people.
2. Those that are arent paying as much as they did.
3. Outside of Dublin, in this country, as with most IT jobs, the requirement for CCNA qualified people is very low.

so you consider a+ and network + better than the ccna? go back to sleep fella

kippy

mickman wrote: »

so you consider a+ and network + better than the ccna? go back to sleep fella

Where in my posts did I say anything about them being better than the CCNA?

It does depent on what you want to do and you chances of getting a job where you want to get that job.

Cisco is more specialist and probably one of the harder to get and keep certs out there.

Personally, I think, that if you go down the Cisco path with certifications you do pigeon hole yourself (possibly for better money down the line) but also ensure there are that many less jobs you can get in IT and severly limit your job location to the Dublin area. All things I never wanted to do in my career.

FruitLover

ac02ire wrote: »

so it does actually stand too you, was thinking about doing it but didnt want too do it if i was wasting my time in a way

I don't think I've ever heard of anyone being hired on the basis of an A+, but you never know what might get your foot in the door with a company. At the very least, you'll learn some useful computing basics, and give yourself a leg up on Microsoft exams should you later choose to pursue these.

kippy wrote: »

CCNA is a totally different level of cert, designed specifically for those intending to work on Cisco equipment only and is one of the certs that has be be renewed every few years. You do "pigeon hole" yourself a bit with this cert and there are very few organisation that require people with CCNA

I disagree; the CCNA is pretty much the minimum requirement for anyone looking to work professionally in computer networking. There is a small percentage of the required knowledge that is Cisco-specific, but the majority of what's expected of the exam is universal to networking, regardless of vendor.

I work primarily with Juniper hardware, and the vast majority of what I've studied for Cisco exams (CCNA, CCNP and CCSP so far) has been applicable.

kippy

FruitLover wrote: »

I don't think I've ever heard of anyone being hired on the basis of an A+, but you never know what might get your foot in the door with a company. At the very least, you'll learn some useful computing basics, and give yourself a leg up on Microsoft exams should you later choose to pursue these.



I disagree; the CCNA is pretty much the minimum requirement for anyone looking to work professionally in computer networking.

I know plenty working in computer/IT jobs (and indeed the networking side of it) without any CCNA certification - it does depend on the level of job.
As I said, a lot of organisation keep their switching side of things relatively straightforward.

FruitLover

No-one says you can't get a job in networking without a CCNA (I did, for example). But companies looking for a professional network engineer without a minimum of CCNA-level knowledge are few and far between.

Regardless of requirements, study for the CCNA exam is an excellent preparation for working in networking, no matter what vendor you'll end up working with.

mickman

FruitLover wrote: »

No-one says you can't get a job in networking without a CCNA (I did, for example). But companies looking for a professional network engineer without a minimum of CCNA-level knowledge are few and far between.

Regardless of requirements, study for the CCNA exam is an excellent preparation for working in networking, no matter what vendor you'll end up working with.

+1

kippy

FruitLover wrote: »

No-one says you can't get a job in networking without a CCNA (I did, for example). But companies looking for a professional network engineer without a minimum of CCNA-level knowledge are few and far between.

Regardless of requirements, study for the CCNA exam is an excellent preparation for working in networking, no matter what vendor you'll end up working with.

Fair enough.
The CCNA has it's drawbacks however, and for some people it isn't the cert they want to be trying to get, thats my point.

coolpix23

I'm doing the MCSA with server 2003 exams at the moment...

Did the 70-290 twice with a score of 670.... the pass is 700 ... f&x's s&'s TWICE!

For the MCSA you need the XP exam 70-270 and the Server 70-290 exam and the 70-291,,, mmm networking and normal servers you'd find like DHCP

%%%%%
then for the MSCA an elective

there's a list.. the A+ AND N+ together count but that's 3 exams at €140? (the A+ takes two exams)

%%%%%

What I would have thought, the Win 7 exam, there's 2, I think the necessary one is 70-628?
%%%%

for my two pence worth, the A+ and net + are great but I've seen people with the ECDL get the job because HR only knew the ECDL!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$
for the CCNA and ICND 1 check my other posts

Patrick