Career advice

[martinmo]

Hey guys I need some advice. My highest qualification I have is matric and I'm looking to change that. I currently work doing technical support for a company helping clients with ADSL setups and troubleshooting and a bit of webhosting and 3G support which I have been doing for 5 years now. I'm looking to grow career wise but without any qualifications I'm getting nowhere.

I need to be upfront and say that I'm not 100% sure which direction I want to go. I'm really interested in Cisco (I've been reading Routing and Switching by Todd Lammle which is super interesting) and Linux so I'm kinda leaning towards something like server administration. I like the idea of working on a command line interface. I was even looking at programming as well. My plan so far is to start with A+ and N+ and then do CCNA and LPIC

What I want to know is:

- Is it worth getting A+ and N+ at this stage?
- Would A+, N+, CCNA and LPIC still be relevant in like 5-10 years?

I know this is vague seeing that I myself am not sure which direction I want to go but seeing that the people on this forum have experience in these fields I was hoping to get some insight before committing.

Your help will be much appreciated.

 

[PPLdude]

Well apparently having a uni degree would broaden your career ability. (Look at my sub thread here)

However, around the web and most job applications most of the time req CCNA/CCNP (In terms of network engineering).

So as far as CCNA being relevant in 5-10 years, I think it will be. It is something that needs to be renewed.

But that's just my two cents.

 

[srothman]

- Yes, it will be worth it.
- Yes, CCNA, LPIC, etc. will also still be relevant.

This being said, if you're still at CCNA level in 3-5 years time, there are way bigger questions you need to ask yourself.

As for having a uni degree or diploma, you won't go wrong. I've sat in way too many interviews where the guys have a whole bunch of technical qualification, but I regretted them. You want to know why? Because "they didn't think a degree was important".

Do you need a degree to be a top-notch network engineer or expert in another field? Of course not. What a degree shows me, is someone who is willing to put in the extra 3-4 years to distinguish themselves, who took the time to mature into a career and not just a job.

And that's just my two cents.

 

[martinmo]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I really appreciate it because I feel kinda trapped at my current job.

With regards to a degree or diploma that is the end game. The certifications is to get me a better job that allows me to actually pay for getting a degree. I just needed some advice on where to start.

 

[ToxicBunny]

For me the degree avenue shows someone who can and is aware of the larger ramifications of their job and the stuff they do... it won't necessarily improve your technical ability but it gives a broad base to evaluate things and such.

 

[srothman]

ToxicBunny hits the nail right on the head.

In my case, I decided to opt for business and finance academic qualifications to complement my technical qualifications. I learned very quickly you need to "speak" both IT and business if you want to progress further than being just a button pusher.

That being said, nothing wrong with someone wanting to be a button pusher.

I don't recall who said it, or where I read it, but the gist if it is this:

Decide where you want to be, and what you want to do, and align every single decision you make to achieving that goal.

Unless you know where you want to end up, or at least have an idea, then figuring out how to get going might prove difficult.

 

[martinmo]

Wow guys. I really can't thank you enough. I was feeling kinda down because I didn't know where to start and how to go forward but all this info helps a lot. I'm actually excited now. Going to get the books I need and going to study hard. Thanks again.