|
Alder posted:Alright, thanks. I figured since I'm fairly new I'd be better off completing A+ then N+ then moving on but I don't see a help desk jobs offers really getting any better even if I had A+. Regardless I will keep trying to send apps I guess. Skip the A+ anyways, it's literally only good for desktop junky jobs. It may help lead in to Microsoft exams but those are going to require a lot of job experience to pass because of the minutia involved. At least N+ shows you're moving towards junior admin roles, and leads in nicely to the ccnet exam.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 13:48 |
|
|
# ? Jun 8, 2024 09:24 |
|
If he's seriously considering WGU then passing A+ is a base requirement for any of the BS Information Technology tracks and worth 8 credits. Yeah, it's a fairly worthless cert ,and I wouldn't ever put it on my CV, but it might be a consideration.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 14:12 |
|
Marshall Louis posted:Do you have an idea of what you'd want to work on within IT? Ideally a career that would pay higher than $22k and some kind of health insurance. System Admin would be great. Everyone tells me if I manage to break into the IT field w/o a degree/certs I'd need to start from help desk roles. Judge Schnoopy posted:Skip the A+ anyways, it's literally only good for desktop junky jobs. It may help lead in to Microsoft exams but those are going to require a lot of job experience to pass because of the minutia involved. At least N+ shows you're moving towards junior admin roles, and leads in nicely to the ccnet exam. Alright, will look into N+ requirements so I get a better idea how to proceed. Ozu posted:If he's seriously considering WGU then passing A+ is a base requirement for any of the BS Information Technology tracks and worth 8 credits. My original plan was find help desk jobs and fund my A+ certs/WGU but right now it's on standstill due to being jobless. I looked into local CC programs but they don't really offer much unless it's Computer Info Systems which is related to Business.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 17:22 |
|
Alder posted:Ideally a career that would pay higher than $22k and some kind of health insurance. What area are you in? Higher than 22k should be manageable from your very first helpdesk or MSP job. N+ Requirements: Read book, take test. Super simple as far as certs go, and should land you a job if you've got a decent personality. I don't think a CC certification program has helped anybody in IT. I looked into it originally as well, thinking it would be useful, and quickly realized it's 10 times more expensive than industry certs and 1/10 the value on a resume. Also I totally forgot A+ is on my WGU requirements so I guess I better start studying for it.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 17:42 |
|
Just passed the 220-802 and am now A+ce certified. This is my first industry cert, despite several years of IT work experience. Can someone give me a dumbed down explanation of CompTIA CEU's? Are they preferable to just taking the test? When they say you only have to retest your highest level test, does this mean that if I take S+/N+ (this is what I'm doing, in that order) that I will only have to recert one of them every 3 years? Time to start studying for security.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 18:34 |
|
TEH Zombie Penguin posted:Just passed the 220-802 and am now A+ce certified. This is my first industry cert, despite several years of IT work experience. Can someone give me a dumbed down explanation of CompTIA CEU's? Are they preferable to just taking the test? When they say you only have to retest your highest level test, does this mean that if I take S+/N+ (this is what I'm doing, in that order) that I will only have to recert one of them every 3 years? Time to start studying for security. Sec+ is the highest on that list, so it will automatically renew your N+ and A+
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 18:39 |
|
TEH Zombie Penguin posted:Just passed the 220-802 and am now A+ce certified. This is my first industry cert, despite several years of IT work experience. Can someone give me a dumbed down explanation of CompTIA CEU's? Are they preferable to just taking the test? When they say you only have to retest your highest level test, does this mean that if I take S+/N+ (this is what I'm doing, in that order) that I will only have to recert one of them every 3 years? Time to start studying for security. I don't know anything about CEUs (that is, the little training modules or whatnot, with the annual fees that they make you pay) and will continue to ignore them. That said, I can kinda still answer your question. The CompTIA hierarchy is A+ --> N+ --> S+ --> CASP. If you want to keep your A+ certification, within three years you need to either retake and pass A+, or take and pass any of the higher-level certifications. Given that you say you'll be going for your S+ and then your N+, things will be a little backwards for you. S+ will refresh your A+ expiration date. When you get N+, it'll refresh your A+ expiration date, but it won't have any effect on your S+, because S+ is higher than N+. And so it's clear, once you have all three, your option is to basically either retake and pass the S+ certification, or to go up to the CASP. Either one would renew all of your previous certifications.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 18:39 |
|
Is the CASP actually worth having? I'm looking at going into security and I've heard it's the Comptia version of the CISSP, which...doesn't sound appealing at all.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 18:42 |
|
Kashuno posted:Is the CASP actually worth having? I'm looking at going into security and I've heard it's the Comptia version of the CISSP, which...doesn't sound appealing at all. No idea, I kinda consider myself done with CompTIA. I guess I might renew my S+ in 3 years depending on where I'm at, but I doubt it. I forgot to say that all of this renewal talk is moot because, assuming that dude gets all those certs and has been working in the industry for the next 3 years, renewing A+ will be at the bottom of his list of priorities.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 18:47 |
|
yeah once you get to certs you actually care about keeping recertified, you will probably have a job that will pay for them
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 18:49 |
|
Kashuno posted:Is the CASP actually worth having? I'm looking at going into security and I've heard it's the Comptia version of the CISSP, which...doesn't sound appealing at all.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 18:50 |
|
Judge Schnoopy posted:I don't think a CC certification program has helped anybody in IT. I looked into it originally as well, thinking it would be useful, and quickly realized it's 10 times more expensive than industry certs and 1/10 the value on a resume. I have two community college degrees (not certifications, there's a difference) which are IT-related. They have helped me land jobs, argue for better salary/benefits, etc. Also I only hire from the local CC for entry level roles. It at least assures me that the person that I'm interviewing can write semi-coherently and follow instructions. Way better than interviewing random people from Bruegger's or whatever who have decided to stop cutting bagels and get into IT by getting their A+ and spamming out resumes. It also means I know what material has been covered and roughly what their knowledge level is/ought to be, so helps me tailor interviews as well. I could write a really long winded post about the community college aspect of IT education, but I'm well aware that our system (North Carolina) is actually pretty great and probably not the norm compared to most other states so it wouldn't really be applicable to most of the thread. Sheep fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Feb 16, 2016 |
# ? Feb 16, 2016 18:55 |
|
I got my IT career start thanks to a local community college program. I'm a big proponent of community colleges when it comes to IT education.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 19:00 |
|
skipdogg posted:I got my IT career start thanks to a local community college program. I'm a big proponent of community colleges when it comes to IT education. Was it an Associates degree with an IT specialty? Or a straight up "Computer Science Certification" program that was 12 classes and didn't end in a degree? My community college offered 4 different Comp Sci cert tracks that didn't end with any sort of degree, and was geared towards people who already had their associates or wanted schooling but couldn't afford the time for a full degree. 12 classes at $300 a credit hour came out to like 10k, and while it did offer classes you'd find in most college degree tracks that's a lot of money for a "Community College Certified" label.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 19:37 |
|
Japanese Dating Sim posted:
Ah, my mistake. I guess I will do the N+ first then. Good to know, and thank you for the information! The thought of having to pay to take all three of these tests every 3 years was a little unpleasant. Now I feel better about it. Bruce Boxlicker fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Feb 16, 2016 |
# ? Feb 16, 2016 19:52 |
|
TEH Zombie Penguin posted:Ah, my mistake. I guess I will do the N+ first then. Good to know, and thank you for the information! The thought of having to pay to take all three of these tests every 3 years was a little unpleasant. Now I feel better about it. I would be shocked if you ever renewed any of them, and especially shocked if you paid for it. You'll be paying for certs that cost 5x as much, instead.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 19:54 |
|
KillHour posted:I would be shocked if you ever renewed any of them, and especially shocked if you paid for it. I'm going to school right now for a CIS bachelors and I got my GI Bill to pay for the certs, so that's that. Why would I not renew them? But on the matter of shocking you, I pay out of my own pocket and get reimbursed. Still, better than paying and not getting reimbursed or just not taking any tests. Bruce Boxlicker fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Feb 16, 2016 |
# ? Feb 16, 2016 19:56 |
|
TEH Zombie Penguin posted:I'm going to school right now for a CIS bachelors and I got my GI Bill to pay for the certs, so that's that. Why would I not renew them? Because you won't need them. Sec+ is the only one that might be remotely useful with 3 years of IT experience, and I guarantee if you need it, your employer will pay for it.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 20:00 |
|
TEH Zombie Penguin posted:I'm going to school right now for a CIS bachelors and I got my GI Bill to pay for the certs, so that's that. Why would I not renew them? S+ might be worth keeping depending on where you're working because it satisfies a security requirement for some government agencies. I think the idea is that by the time your entry level certs are expiring you would hopefully be working on a more advanced certification that would greatly eclipse an A+ or N+ or whatever.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 20:00 |
|
I see. On the matter of S+, I'm definitely not going back into any kind of DoD work after the Army. Honestly I'm just trying to make better use of my time while I go to school. I've always wanted to take a crack at CompTIA but after doing the A+ I can see what people mean about it being kind of retarded/for retards. The overall intention was to do these three and then start in on an MCSA because I did SysAd crap in the military and I guess that's what I more or less study the most. I'm definitely open to advice. As for work, I'll probably be applying most for soul-crushing Oregon state IT positions, or whatever.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 20:08 |
|
I have two T1 technicians who are great. When they started, I recommended that they consider going for A+, since we pay for certifications. I framed it as good, basic foundation knowledge, it's weirdly well-regarded in my organization, and they get a taste of what the whole certification process is like. They both decided they wanted to, and began studying for it. ...6-9 months have passed, and they're still ostensibly preparing for it. I've kind of tried to hint that it's probably no longer worth it. :/ TEH Zombie Penguin posted:I see. On the matter of S+, I'm definitely not going back into any kind of DoD work after the Army. Honestly I'm just trying to make better use of my time while I go to school. I've always wanted to take a crack at CompTIA but after doing the A+ I can see what people mean about it being kind of retarded/for retards. The overall intention was to do these three and then start in on an MCSA because I did SysAd crap in the military and I guess that's what I more or less study the most. N+ and S+ are both much better than the A+. They're still both pretty easy and very generic/theory-based, but I'm definitely glad I got my N+. It's like babby's first CCENT, and it gave me an understanding of networking that helped in a lot of basic troubleshooting and just general conceptualization of things happening behind the scenes that I'd never touch in my daily job.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 20:10 |
|
It's definitely good stuff to know, but the A+ at least was definitely on a whole other level of stupid compared to my professional experience. I'd say I spent ~30 hours studying (doing Sybex practice quizzes) over the course of a month between both the 801/802 and they were still pretty easy. I'm still going to do the N+/S+ just to say I did and because they're basically free for me. Oh, should I get the Meyers book or the Lammie book to study for the N+? Bruce Boxlicker fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Feb 16, 2016 |
# ? Feb 16, 2016 20:15 |
|
TEH Zombie Penguin posted:It's definitely good stuff to know, but the A+ at least was definitely on a whole other level of stupid compared to my professional experience. I'd say I spent ~30 hours studying (doing Sybex practice quizzes) over the course of a month between both the 801/802 and they were still pretty easy. I'm still going to do the N+/S+ just to say I did and because they're basically free for me. I used Meyers when I took it (3 years ago) because I liked his A+ book, and I liked it. But based on Lammle's CCNA book, which I also like, I think you're fine with either.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 20:37 |
|
Network+ is a good cert to get if you've never taken a cert exam before. It's a fairly straightforward exam, the exam objectives are clearly laid out and there are lots of resources available online since it's a relatively common exam. It's also a fairly broad exam so there are things you will learn from it that will apply in many other cert exams.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 21:04 |
|
Judge Schnoopy posted:What area are you in? Higher than 22k should be manageable from your very first helpdesk or MSP job. I'm in NYC and everything costs so much. A+ is only required if I didn't have 2 yrs of IT work exp for WGU or Associates.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 22:08 |
|
Alder posted:I'm in NYC and everything costs so much. Requirement as in it's one of the classes for every IT degree track. If you have it before you sign up, they waive that class for you. If you don't have it, you'll end up getting it anyway.
|
# ? Feb 16, 2016 22:17 |
|
Judge Schnoopy posted:Requirement as in it's one of the classes for every IT degree track. If you have it before you sign up, they waive that class for you. If you don't have it, you'll end up getting it anyway. Really? I wanted to transfer to WGU for their Info tech program but I didn't have enough work exp and they said I needed to get a A+ done to qualify otherwise I'd get rejected since it's a degree program. http://www.wgu.edu/admissions/it_requirements Alder fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Feb 17, 2016 |
# ? Feb 17, 2016 01:58 |
|
Alder posted:Really? I wanted to transfer to WGU for their Info tech program but I didn't have enough work exp and they said I needed to get a A+ done to qualify otherwise I'd get rejected since it's a degree program. Any cert works as long as you got it in the last 5 years. I have N+ and CCNA, so the A+ is absolutely worthless to me, yet the program will still require I get it as one of my courses. Still hardly a downside to a degree track as it should be easy and I can throw it on my resume for the "look how long this loving list of certs is" factor
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 03:00 |
|
Replaced Hyper-V with ESXi 6.0u1 on my lab box. Was kind of a pain in the rear end because VMWare apparently doesn't support most desktop hardware by default so you have to hack that poo poo in there manually.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 03:03 |
|
Judge Schnoopy posted:Any cert works as long as you got it in the last 5 years. I have N+ and CCNA, so the A+ is absolutely worthless to me, yet the program will still require I get it as one of my courses. Still hardly a downside to a degree track as it should be easy and I can throw it on my resume for the "look how long this loving list of certs is" factor I kept thinking one I got a higher cert I could skip the lower level certs and save time/money.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 03:33 |
|
It's true. Just start with a ccna.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 03:39 |
|
^^ If you get a CCNA, nobody will give a poo poo that you don't have anything from CompTIA. I refuse to get a CompTIA cert out of principal, and I just got my VCP5-DCV that I totally don't need.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 06:07 |
|
I will say that if you live anywhere near Washington DC, a Security+ is basically mandatory.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 07:19 |
|
Alain Post posted:I will say that if you live anywhere near Washington DC, a Security+ is basically mandatory. Yep; this is very true. It's annoying, but worth grabbing. It's the only CompTIA cert with any real value, given that you have some other cert.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 17:29 |
|
KillHour posted:^^ I actually have an A+ and I don't think I've put it on a single resume I've sent out. Microsoft and Cisco have been sufficient
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 17:56 |
|
vyst posted:I actually have an A+ and I don't think I've put it on a single resume I've sent out. Microsoft and Cisco have been sufficient Same, no way I've ever put A+ on my resumé.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 18:18 |
|
I put my A+ on my resume for my first IT job, but I would never consider it again. N+ Maybe, S+ yes.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2016 18:24 |
|
Cisco cert questions: If a cert like a CCENT expires, but you write a new exam shortly after, does it retroactively re-up your expired exam? Eg. Expire in January and pass an exam in February.
|
# ? Feb 18, 2016 18:44 |
|
Ashley Madison posted:Cisco cert questions: If a cert like a CCENT expires, but you write a new exam shortly after, does it retroactively re-up your expired exam? Eg. Expire in January and pass an exam in February. No, as far as I'm aware there are only grace periods like this for CCIE level certifications. See the "Suspended" portion of the Recertification section: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-certifications/certifications/expert/ccie-routing-switching.html#~Recert
|
# ? Feb 18, 2016 19:00 |
|
|
# ? Jun 8, 2024 09:24 |
|
Ashley Madison posted:Cisco cert questions: If a cert like a CCENT expires, but you write a new exam shortly after, does it retroactively re-up your expired exam? Eg. Expire in January and pass an exam in February. I don't think cisco will let you write another exam if your ccent lapsed. Unless it's the ccda which if I remember correctly is the only one that doesn't require the ccent as a pre-req.
|
# ? Feb 18, 2016 19:11 |