Anyone work (or recruit) within IT on here?

[PaulSecteur]

Hi,

A few years back I was made redundant and for the year I was out of work I got a CompTIA A+ technician cert (Exams 220-601, 220-602) and a Microsoft windows XP qualification (70-271).

As for getting a job, they didnt help because at the time the recession was in full flow, and all the junior roles seemed to be filled by people with a lot of experience just doing it to have a job. Anyhow, work in my usual line picked up so Im employed but not in IT, and if Im REALLY honest, doing those courses, especially the microsoft one, taught me I didnt really want to be on a helpdesk.

What I did find interesting was the networking side. I have self studied TCP/IP to a standard where Im usually OK with networking questions for the Cisco CCNA, but I have not touched a cisco product.

So, the eventual question is.... If I were to put myself through the CCNA, would this along with the othe 2 qualifications get me an entry level job within networking, even with no hands on experience?

 

[MattHB]

I run the Applied computing and electronics courses at Bournemouth and Poole college.

While CCNA is still useful, it's not as well thought of as it used to be. The qualification seems to have been diluted by out of date teaching and assessment methods. As for how it's seen in the industry I'd be unable to comment on that.

Obviously, completing all 4 parts of CCNA isn't going to do any harm, but for us at least, the Microsoft short courses are gathering more momentum in recruitment numbers and general interest.

Jobs in the industry appear to be more and more hard to come by as outsourcing seems to becoming more popular and cost effective. A lot,of the companies that provide the outsourcing seem to train internally, so that might be a good place to start looking to see what they are putting their staff through. Running internal IT solutions is not as desirable as it used to be! I wonder how long it'll be until our own IT dept is outsourced.

 

[PaulSecteur]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your reply

....the Microsoft short courses are gathering more momentum in recruitment numbers and general interest....

Could you link me to the courses that you describe please?

Are the offered by colleges or universities, or available for self study?

Many thanks, Paul.

 

[MrJamie]

In my experience there are simply different schools of thought, one company I worked for strongly favoured self taught computer geeks when recruiting developers and also systems admin, because they felt theyd also learnt the skills to pick things up and figure things out as they go and have different skillsets/experience. Other companies seem to hold academic qualifications in a much higher light. There are IMHO advantages and disadvantages both ways and they arent mutually exclusive either Training for your own qualifications can only be seen as a positive thing though surely.

I was looking at the Comptia A+ a while back, I passed practice tests repeatedly but not by so much of a vast margin I felt confident enough to pay to sit the exams. Ive known people pass who arent overly technical though.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Operations Director here, from an IT Management/Service Delivery/Infrastructure background. Think about doing some ITIL training/certification and look on the job recruitment sites to see what people are actually specifying as essentials for particular roles rather than what you think they might want. Lots of folk are now CCNA so that also dilutes the worth, if I had my time again I'd do a Microsoft boo tcamp, get an MCSE and go work for free somewhere for three months to get some real world experience.

But it all depends on what you want to end up doing. I'd avoid any sort of desktop certification like the plague (way too much interaction with numpty 'users' who don't want to comply with corporate policy) and go for skills applicable to the server farm/room or comms closet or web site.