microsoft certification or cisco.

[salsa verde]

im wondering if any of you guys are ccna or mcsa certified. i was wondering if its worth doing or just do a plus certiifcation and network certification. im sure the first two would pay more but well i suck at math lol. i wasnt sure just how much math is involved. flipping through the certification book looks like a little at least thats mcsa.

[Zephyr1551]

I'm not Microsoft certified, but my dad and my teacher are and being microsoft certified will help you in your field. so go for it.

[FluffyBunni]

Obviously a CCNA is looked at much more highly than a Network Plus class, and can yield you a higher starting salary. However, most companys will often times pay for these for you, assuming you get into a good company that values their employees =)

And there really shouldn't be that much math...

[salsa verde]

yeah i figured ccna was more valuable then a plus but was just wondering how intense ccna was over network plus. was told if you know ccna or mcsa you will know network plus anyways.

[Pedro]

N+ is mostly basic knowledge, you'll need to know everything in N+ and then more to get a CCNA.

[Gorth]

I'm A+ Certified 601/602 already and getting ready to Grab my Network+ and Security+ just to have them. 6k total for all down here at the local CC. It's worth it to grab those then go for a MC. Desktop help techs make 45-50k around here and it's cheap to get them all. you'll make money having more then having a little. the IT field is all paper in frames based [ certifications in a picture frame] so it never hurts. if you decide to go for some type of system build tech make sure you have an awesome Interactive Resume.

For my first gig i brought in a DvD of all the Rigs i built / tested and it murdered any doubts they had. Resume and Personality get you in the door , certs etc just keep it open.

[Teufelhund]

The CompTia A+ cert is probably the easiest certification you can get. honestly if you have an aptitude for computers you will have no problem getting this cert. I got this one through a cisco academy run by the marine corps that used the netacad system. the course was entitled IT Essentials.

CCNA is also not too tough if you can take the time to read through the materials and use good study habits. Most of module tests consist of spitting out memorized information and analyzing very basic diagrams. Make sure you get the CCNA Exploratioin courses however as the discovery is pretty much a waste of time. If youre not quite up on networking at all then you might be interested in the CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician) Cert. It is much more basic from what ive heard and is Cisco's new entry level cert.

As i have not yet taken the cert for microsoft yet (i take the MS Windows Server 2003 (70-290) exam tomorrow and the MS Exchange Server 2003 (70-284) exam on friday) i cant give you much info on the actual certification. What i can tell is i dont expect to pass either of these tests. The chapters cover the basic rules and procedures of the functions of the product but the chapter exam tests focus more on the exceptions to the rules or meticulous details rather than general ideas and concepts. If i had had more time in the courses and morer time to focus on studying i probably would have had a better chance on those tests and on the upcoming exams. As it was, we were only able to spend 7.5 days (0730 to 1100) on each of the courses due to time constraints set by the marine corps, and those . (we were only given 66 training days for all of the courses listed here plus a couple marine corps specific courses that are irrelevant to the civilian sector).

hope this helps at all.

[salsa verde]

im doing mcdst right now. then im going to do a+ network+ and one other one .....dam it esapes me for the moment. some of the material i know its the command prompts im not up to speed on.

[Teufelhund]

btw i just failed my microsoft certs. 675 on Server 2k3 and 265 on exchange 2k3. passing for both was 700.

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by Teufelhund

btw i just failed my microsoft certs. 675 on Server 2k3 and 265 on exchange 2k3. passing for both was 700.

That's pretty low on the Exchange, hope if not many passed it (yeah a bad thing I know), something can be done about having the studying time increased from 7 days.