What is the value of the MCSE, Cisco, etc certifications in the IT job market? I presume they are the key to getting your foot in the door? I have a liberal arts degree so that doesn't help me in and of itself, but I have lots of experience doing this type of stuff both at a job and at home.

Here's the situation. I graduated back in May, and did some part time grad courses this semester here because I was considering going into teaching and changed my mind. I've always been good with computers and I've been the in-house computer technician at a small investment firm for the past 4 years, installing software, setting up networks, integrating disparate databases and other stuff.

I really don't want to spend my whole career installing Windows and setting up networks. Lame. I really like some of the custom setups I have done at my current job (which is not looking to hire full time right now) and lots of system integration stuff. But I pretty much have no desire to do any significant amount of "real" programming (although I can do html markup, which is of course not programming). It just bores me to tears and I don't want to invest the time and money to learn the stuff.

So can I get into the IT industry with little or no programming knowledge? I like the operations side a lot more, and I really like troubleshooting and working directly with people to solve day-to-day technology problems. I'd like to be a technology consultant or something like that. What certifications should I look into? Where should I go to get them (locally) and how much should I pay?

[Edited on December 17, 2007 at 1:38 PM. Reason : .]

12/17/2007 1:33:46 PM

I can't speak for MCSE, but as far as Cisco goes

CCNA/CCNP are somewhat useful, but won't really get you more than an interview.

A CCIE gets you instant industry credibility, and pretty much guarantees you six figures.

12/17/2007 1:39:11 PM

When I asked that question everybody told me MCSE was a waste of time/money and pretty much a joke. I didn't do much research beyond that and am going more towards cisco certs instead... What bobbydigital said is very accurate

12/17/2007 1:42:33 PM

MCSE seemed like a joke from the descriptions I have read of it. It's basically Geek Squad shit.

Any recommendations on where to go for Cisco stuff around here? I'm on the Cisco website reading about what all the designations mean.

[Edited on December 17, 2007 at 1:50 PM. Reason : .]

12/17/2007 1:48:48 PM

Cisco certifications >> MCSE. In a primarily Windows-based environment, an MCSE will look pretty good to potential employers. It's not hard to get (I got it when I was 15). You can buy study materials in book stores and do it on your own if you have a fair amount of Windows networking experience.

MCSE material involves some stuff on supporting Linux and Mac clients, but only at a basic level. By itself, the MCSE certification probably won't do much beyond maybe granting your resume a little extra attention.

If you're just going for one cert, CCNA is a good choice.

12/17/2007 1:53:26 PM

Quote :

"MCSE seemed like a joke from the descriptions I have read of it. It's basically Geek Squad shit."

you give Geek Squad too much credit, they are more like A+

^what the hell were you doing at 15? i was outside playing sports, why would you even NEED an MCSE at 15?

[Edited on December 17, 2007 at 3:31 PM. Reason : ,]

12/17/2007 3:30:24 PM

he was showing off for the chicks

12/17/2007 3:38:27 PM

oh my fucking god...


bobbydigital fucking deleted his own thread on taking that one exam after i bumped it asking how he did and if hes wife is having a kid soon...that is the epitome of lameness

[Edited on December 17, 2007 at 8:17 PM. Reason : No, I did not. you are a fucking idiot -- BobbyDigital]

12/17/2007 3:53:09 PM

wow lol, figured he would have at least updated us or something

12/17/2007 3:53:41 PM

If only he could delete you as well.

12/17/2007 3:54:20 PM

back on topic. I'd still really like a referral to a LOCAL place where I can get certified for a reasonable price.

12/17/2007 4:02:30 PM

my understanding is the cisco website tells you everything there is to know about where you can be certified...

12/17/2007 4:09:57 PM

lot of companies give out certifications related to their technologies/products. First look at what jobs you want to target.

Windows/Linux Admin jobs - MCSE, Unix/Linux certifications
Network consultant - CCNA, CCDA, CCNP, CCIE from cisco, Juniper, Nortel and other companies have their own certification exams.
DBA Admin - IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and Sybase have their own certifications.

There are certifications available in almost all areas of IT but you have to find out the value of these exams. MCSE is a very basic certification (high school kid should be able to pass the exam)
CCNA is pretty popular and the exam syllabus just changed in Nov (i am planning to take it sometime next year)

>Most exams are about 100-200$ with exception of CCIE lab exam (i am aware of this one, others might be expensive too) which is supposed be VERY HARD and expensive ($1,400 USD)

>You have to schedule the exam online and you should be able to take these exams locally. They generally hire third party (Pearson VUE) to conduct these exams, similar to GRE/GMAT/SAT exam centers

With your previous work-ex and this certifications, you can go a long way.

[Edited on December 17, 2007 at 4:19 PM. Reason : ..]

12/17/2007 4:16:23 PM

^ MCSE certification required 8 exams when I took it at roughly $300 apiece. I think you're confusing MCSE with MCP. MCP certification only requires you to pass one from a subset of exams available for MCSE. MCSE requires you to pass a Server exam, a Workstation exam, then you pick and choose the rest from other lists.

Quote :

"^what the hell were you doing at 15? i was outside playing sports, why would you even NEED an MCSE at 15?"

When I was 15, I was hardcore computing. I mostly did under the table network troubleshooting for places without IT, or minor stuff for people on their home computers. By then I had 5 years of programming experience too.

12/17/2007 5:53:06 PM

sorry i was refering to MCP

and prices in general are couple hundreds, that what i mean

n i think MCSE papers was cheaper before, but i might be wrong

[Edited on December 17, 2007 at 6:24 PM. Reason : ]

12/17/2007 6:14:02 PM

I do want to do hands-on, classroom stuff as preparation for the exams. It sounds like you guys are just talking about the costs of taking the exams.

^^^ I do need to think a little bit more about what kind of jobs I want to target. I guess in my IT experience, I like to solve different problems and get a bunch of stuff to work together, not try and see how quickly I can do the same old installation and setup.

12/17/2007 6:47:14 PM

ok, now that I think about it, I'll probably attempt to teach myself the CCNA if I end up going for it. Looks like I can get the prep book on Amazon for like $40 , and I've self taught myself plenty of computer skills before so it shouldn't be a big deal. All I've got right now is a part time job so I should be able to get through it pretty quickly.

12/17/2007 8:53:19 PM

if you are planning to give ccna and other network prof. certifications, you can build your own lab setup to prep for the exam or find a simulator online. I am currently using Boson simulator but i hope to buy couple 2500/2600 routers and 1600 switches (on ebay/craigslist for 2nd hand cheap ones) and build my lab next year to prepare for the exam. I am using sybex study guide for ccna and joined forums online for yelp.

If you tell me what field you are interested in, i could give you more information about study material/classroom/online lectures/exams etc.

12/17/2007 9:32:31 PM

I haven't thought really thoroughly about the exact type of jobs I'd like, but I did notice big consulting companies like Accenture have a technology divison. I have a friend who works for Accenture and they do setups for various corporate clients including network stuff.

What forums are you on? when i search for this stuff I mostly get ads for overpriced classes. And I will give the simulator a shot first. The only reason why I wanted to take a class was because I'd get to use real equipment. I'd like to get this certification in a couple months, maybe less, if I'm spending 20+ hours a week on it.

[Edited on December 17, 2007 at 10:51 PM. Reason : .]

12/17/2007 10:50:19 PM

If you want classes for Cisco, check out a community college. I took 3 Cisco classes at CFCC. The official Microsoft training courses are ridiculously expensive. I took a few of the Microsoft courses at SofTrain in Wilmington. I don't think they're an authorized training center anymore, but back then the courses ran about $800-$1500 depending on how long they were. (8 hours a day for a few weeks). I think e+ Technologies in Wilmington does it though.

Cisco classes at CFCC run a couple hundred bucks for a semester. They're 3 hours a day, 3 days a week IIRC. Good part is everyone worked on their own router. They had 2 racks with 8 routers in each. There would be scenarios where the instructor would break something on one of the routers and you'd have to go through and figure out what it was.

12/17/2007 11:07:59 PM

i studied a total of 2 weeks for the ccna, dont bother with classes

12/17/2007 11:32:30 PM

what about the CCDP? Could I knock out my CCNA and then go right for the CCDP, through self study? Or is that something you would want a few years of experience to do? Like I said I have a lot of time on my hands, living with the 'rents and working a part time job.

12/17/2007 11:54:12 PM

want to apoligize to bobbydigital...i coulda swore i posted there but i guess i didnt...didnt see it on the front page so i thought you deleted it...my bad yo

12/18/2007 12:09:17 AM

drunkntarded, you don't belong in Tech Talk. STFU and GTFO.

12/18/2007 1:56:43 AM

^^^

you can get CCNA, CCDA, CCNP, CCDP without ever logging into a router if you're good at memorization, but beyond looking good on a resume, it won't help you much once put to the task.

12/18/2007 7:00:29 AM

http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=7

12/18/2007 10:19:46 AM

^^^^^ I wanted worry about getting the CCDP without much experience in the networking industry, you are better off moving towards the CCNP.

[Edited on December 18, 2007 at 9:16 PM. Reason : .]

12/18/2007 9:15:59 PM

alot of certs are worthless.

12/19/2007 1:08:15 AM

cissp

12/19/2007 1:18:53 AM

RHCA


$profit

12/19/2007 9:19:21 AM

anyone here Red Hat Certified Engineer ?

12/19/2007 10:15:54 AM

i went through the academy


but never took the test for RHCE

12/19/2007 10:25:42 AM