Computer certification programs?
 

For all you computer buffs: Is anyone certified for anything IT/computer-related?

I'm really good with hardware and things like that, and wanted to get A+ certified (I have noticed some entry-level jobs require it). How hard is the exam & what is the best way to prepare for it?

Any other certifications (like CISCO) that you would reccomend being helpful if one was certified?

Thanks!

Hi,
I've been doing IT Help Desk for about a year and a half now. I got laid off in March and have been doing temp assignments lately (well, one that keeps getting continued.) I'm taking the A+ right now because it seems to be absolutely necessary to get hired anywhere.

As for the test, it's much harder than I thought it would be. I figured if I've been in the field for a while, read through an Exam Cram book, then I'd probably be okay. Wrong. Went in to take it the first time and failed miserably. So then I bought a new CompTIA approved book, started studying much harder and passed the first exam. The hardest part is that you have to memorize all the IRQ and I/O addresses for standard devices. I'm just getting started on the Windows OS segment.

As for what other certs you may want, that depends entirely on what you want to do. A+ leads into Help Desk/Desktop Support/PC Technician work. Cisco and Oracle is more Sys Admin stuff. CCNA is for a LAN/WAN engineer. Another one to go for is the MCSE. That's the cert for a Network Administrator. Warning though, that's a long series of hard tests and there's a lot of unemployed Network Administrators right now.

I don't want to be too negative but I have to add this. You know the tech sector is a disaster right now right? Thousands unemployed, many working below their skill level just to have a job, incredibly competitive job market even and especially for entry level. If this is truly the field you want to be in (and I gather from some of your other posts that it is) then it's still doable. It'll just be MUCH harder than it was 2 and 1/2 years ago. Good luck to you. With a lot of perserverance, initiative and determination I'm sure you'll do great.

Thanks for your response APhi :)

All the information you provided was extremely helpful. Esp. all the other certifications you gave information about.

I just got a Microsoft CompTIA approved "training kit" for A+ Certification and started working on it even among the masses of homework the professors here like assigning :)

I am very interested in the IT field (generally speaking.. I haven't decided exactly what I want to do "when I grow up"). I love programming and anything/everything that has to with computers & the IT field. It just fascinates me! One of my programming professors once stressed how important getting certified is in this field because of the level of competition.

Unfortunately as you mentioned, the tech sector is in shambles right now. A good friend of mine who is very great at what he does is having a hard time job-hunting after graduation.

Thank you again & best wishes!

texas*princess, yes, the tech sector is a mess right now. I'm living proof - laid off in May and now working part-time as an admin assistant to keep the bills paid. :(

I'm currently working on my certification as an Oracle database administrator. When the tech sector was hot, a good senior DBA could command six figures, so when things pick up again, I'll be ready :)

In an economy like this, a certification will give you an edge over other job applicants. If you want to get certified in something specific, try to go with the company most closely associated with it - Oracle for databases, Sun for Java, etc.

aephi alum,
so sorry to hear about what happened in may :( but it is *very* wise of you to keep you chin up and get ready for the future when things pick up again!

Database management is an excellent way to go! Every company needs one in many departements!