Taking A+ Final tommorow Then what next

[Phillip2010]

A Little about me I am 43 So I am getting a late start in this field as a career,but I really desire to follow this path.. willing do do and put in the hours necessary to achieve success. just need a little guidence.
I have worked for Konica as well as independent copier company, I went to school for Konica in Laser C group and Mid level copiers.. By trade Mechanic I know I don't want that..
also worked a pc shop years ago windows 2000
So in short I buckled down I signed up with a company for Online so far their stuff is excellent.avail with 24hr avail mentor. I have the entire Suite to choose from.. I would like to know with my Age to hopefully get in the 35-40k range trying to be realistic with in the next 12 months what is the best solution or path to follow.
in your humble opinions.....I spend at least hours every night studying during a normal work week.. the weekends pretty much non stop I feel I am 10 years behind everyone else..
So any insight would be a blessing
I am relocating to Miami Fla, the first of February 2010
for completely fresh start
thank you
So much
Phillip

 

[CiscoGuy33]

Phillip,

Good luck to you, I started into the world of PC's and networking a little earlier - about 33 and have been in it 17 years now.

Where you go next will really depend on what area you are trying to work in, doing home and small business repairs/ setups/ installs - then Network +, Security + and Server + would at least give you some background in things you might see or run into.

If you are trying to get on with an IT department in a middle to large company I think that getting your Cisco CCNA would not hurt if you are heading the networking path or any of the Microsoft certs if you are heading more the OS or applications route. This is where you might do a job search for the area you are heading to, and see what the employers are looking for IN THAT AREA!!!!

In my opinion, most CompTIA certs are a little too basic or general, they won't hurt but don't expect anyone to get too excited about them!!

Don't forget to check your local Jr. College or Community College - most have many inexpensive computer classes in all areas of computers and networking.

And since you are relocating to Miami, might help to take a Spanish class or 2, if you already speak Spanish, you might be able to work into a good niche doing the home/small business thing!!

Again, good luck and I hope this helps!!

E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +

 

[Phillip2010]

Well I did take the exam And Passed So I Now have my first even though minor Certifcation solidified.....
Thank you for the feed back nice advice.. as far as What I would like to persue atleast for now is to work in aenviroment of Medium to large company on the IT team... So
Now I am starting prepping for NET+ and Security then Some for of Microsoft....
Phillip

 

[CiscoGuy33]

Phillip,

Congrats on the A+ !!!! If you are looking to get into medium to large IT department - I would really look into CCNA - look for a Cisco Network Academy - there are several in the South Florida area - most at adult education centers or community colleges.

I had several co-workers who kept trying to get on with big IT departments - they had several CompTIA certs as well as Microsoft MCSE - they did not get any real attention and intrest until they added CCNA.

At a Cisco convention they explained this - many large companies now expect entry level workers to do both computer repairs and light networking - what a CCNA should know.

Since Cisco controls about 75 to 80% of the networking area, having a Cisco cert can help get you in the door !!

Good luck !!!

E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +

 

[kmcferrin]

I had several co-workers who kept trying to get on with big IT departments - they had several CompTIA certs as well as Microsoft MCSE - they did not get any real attention and intrest until they added CCNA.

At a Cisco convention they explained this - many large companies now expect entry level workers to do both computer repairs and light networking - what a CCNA should know.

I have definitely seen that in small-to-medium IT shops, but I have never seen that in large IT shops (we're talking about Fortune 500 type companies with 50,000+ employees ). In the enterprise world they typically have one or more teams dedicated solely to network installation and management, and the desktop/server guys aren't allowed to touch the network hardware. At many enterprise IT shops it's not uncommon to have separate network teams for each datacenter/facility, then an additional team that handles enterprise-wide/WAN design and management, then another team that handles firewalls and security, and then another team that handles voice/PBX/VOIP.

Maybe it's just a matter of scale. What you think of as large may really be considered mid-market.

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCTS:Windows 7
MCTS:Hyper-V
MCTS:System Center Virtual Machine Manager
MCSE:Security 2003
MCITP:Enterprise Administrator