What certs to go for first?

pbowman · 04-08-2009, 03:34 PM

Hello, needing some information on certifications. My chosen career is pretty much gone, due to plant closings and I am no longer able to do certain functions because of RA. I love computers and started working on them since I was in the Marines. I have built machines and trouble shoot machines for basic problems, I can normally fix what is wrong or I know where to go to get the information I need to fix it (usually this site).

So that being said, I would like to get certified so I can start a new career path, but have no idea how to go about it, or how much it will cost me or what I should even do first. Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Phil

JeffreyNYA · 04-09-2009, 08:48 AM

Well it depends on where you want to go in the field. If you want to do desktop/laptop hardware stuff then A+ will be good. If you want to do more windows XP/Vista/7 stuff you may want to start with you MCP in one of them. Probably vista for now. There is also net+ for the basics of networking if you want to go towards networking.

In general all the aboved mentioned are entry level exams. They may help a little with getting a job, but would not depend on it. I would look for an entry level hardware tech or Helpdesk job to start with. The certs won;t really allow you any more than that anyway without any real world business experiance. You are not looking at great money to start, but a foot in the door with a good company is what you should look for. Helpdesk at my company start at around 14 bucks an hour. Not great, but not really bad either

pbowman · 04-09-2009, 01:15 PM

Thanks for the reply, might not be a bad idea to do all three of the one's you mentioned. Help desk would be great to start. How expensive would they be for each one?

Thank you again.

**bilbus** · 04-11-2009, 02:45 PM

A+ is arounf $300. depending on how much you know already, CCNA is a better cert to take then Net+.

A+ Very basic hardware
Net+ very basic networking.
CCNA Basic networking.

rs21 · 04-13-2009, 04:05 AM

u can go for some harware jobs in some small organization.after taking experience from there, you can go for cert. you can start wid CCNA, that's a basic step in the field of networking. It's provided by world's leading networ security company i.e., Cisco.

CCNA exams cost u $150 dat too from Pearson Vue. For preparation go for online studies, y m suggesting is that it provide you latest updates regarding certification & authenticate study material than books. it's relativley cheaper than self study

JeffreyNYA · 04-14-2009, 02:27 PM

CCNA will be very hard to pass with no hands on experiance. There are a good number of simulations in the test that you are timed on. You need to know your stuff. So if you go CCNA, you really should take a course. its more expensive but its the fastest best way really.

04-08-2009, 03:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
pbowman Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 121 OS: WinXP	What certs to go for first? Hello, needing some information on certifications. My chosen career is pretty much gone, due to plant closings and I am no longer able to do certain functions because of RA. I love computers and started working on them since I was in the Marines. I have built machines and trouble shoot machines for basic problems, I can normally fix what is wrong or I know where to go to get the information I need to fix it (usually this site). So that being said, I would like to get certified so I can start a new career path, but have no idea how to go about it, or how much it will cost me or what I should even do first. Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Phil

04-09-2009, 08:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
JeffreyNYA Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 38 OS: XP Pro SP2	Re: What certs to go for first? Well it depends on where you want to go in the field. If you want to do desktop/laptop hardware stuff then A+ will be good. If you want to do more windows XP/Vista/7 stuff you may want to start with you MCP in one of them. Probably vista for now. There is also net+ for the basics of networking if you want to go towards networking. In general all the aboved mentioned are entry level exams. They may help a little with getting a job, but would not depend on it. I would look for an entry level hardware tech or Helpdesk job to start with. The certs won;t really allow you any more than that anyway without any real world business experiance. You are not looking at great money to start, but a foot in the door with a good company is what you should look for. Helpdesk at my company start at around 14 bucks an hour. Not great, but not really bad either Last edited by JeffreyNYA; 04-09-2009 at 08:49 AM.

04-09-2009, 01:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
pbowman Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 121 OS: WinXP	Re: What certs to go for first? Thanks for the reply, might not be a bad idea to do all three of the one's you mentioned. Help desk would be great to start. How expensive would they be for each one? Thank you again.

04-11-2009, 02:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
bilbus TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 949 OS: OS2 Warp	Re: What certs to go for first? A+ is arounf $300. depending on how much you know already, CCNA is a better cert to take then Net+. A+ Very basic hardware Net+ very basic networking. CCNA Basic networking.

04-13-2009, 04:05 AM	#5 (permalink)
rs21 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 23 OS: winxp	Re: What certs to go for first? u can go for some harware jobs in some small organization.after taking experience from there, you can go for cert. you can start wid CCNA, that's a basic step in the field of networking. It's provided by world's leading networ security company i.e., Cisco. CCNA exams cost u $150 dat too from Pearson Vue. For preparation go for online studies, y m suggesting is that it provide you latest updates regarding certification & authenticate study material than books. it's relativley cheaper than self study __________________ rs

04-14-2009, 02:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
JeffreyNYA Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 38 OS: XP Pro SP2	Re: What certs to go for first? CCNA will be very hard to pass with no hands on experiance. There are a good number of simulations in the test that you are timed on. You need to know your stuff. So if you go CCNA, you really should take a course. its more expensive but its the fastest best way really.