Pls help (Studies)

[Pitbull]

Morning guys,

If all goes according to plan I should finish my current job by 01/12/2009.

I have a CCTV business on the side which should keep things cooking and I have enough savings to get me through to June 2009 if I make nothing from the CCTV business.

That all being said, I want to start moving from my current finance field to IT. Now after some consideration I'm left with 2 options.

1. Networking (N+; CCNA; CCNP)

2. Systems (A+; MCSE; MCSD)

I don't really know which to choose between the two. I like the networking part the only problem I have is that it seems I need to do CCNA; CCNP from a place in CPT (2KO). I can't find any place in Johannesburg which seems to be able to provide this field of studie on a fulltime scale. (I'll go down to CTP if need be)

Now if you have to make a choice considering all the various fields you guys are in, which would you choose. This based on the job function, working hours, salary.

Much appreciated

 

[FarligOpptreden]

Well, the only accreditation that seems out of place there is the MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer). You should only do the MCSD if you are interested in .NET development.

Also, the MCSE is more geared towards networking as well and, AFAIK, you gain the N+ accreditation somewhere along the completion of your MCSE accreditation, just like the MCAD accreditation forms part of the MCSD.

Hope it helps!

 

[Park@82]

Have a read here: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=181451

If you are considering (A+; MCSE; MCSD) Conrad seems to know a thing or two...

 

[Pitbull]

Now if you had to start into the IT field today knowing what you know now, which of those to paths would you choose?

From my understanding the Cisco route is in very high demand, especially once you did your CCNP (Which from my understanding is pretty damn hard ).

 

[jano]

Personally, if I wasn't in the programming side of IT, I would go the networking route. Better pay, skills more in demand (as compared to systems).

You can do the CCNA certification via self-study and then an exam - I've got the CCNA book if you're interested (7 years old, so not sure how much the curriculum has changed). We also did the first half of CCNP at varsity - that's quite tough, and you need some hands on training. But definitely worth it.

 

[paul5186]

It does not hurt to have an MCSE and a CCNA together

 

[Pitbull]

Personally, if I wasn't in the programming side of IT, I would go the networking route. Better pay, skills more in demand (as compared to systems).

You can do the CCNA certification via self-study and then an exam - I've got the CCNA book if you're interested (7 years old, so not sure how much the curriculum has changed). We also did the first half of CCNP at varsity - that's quite tough, and you need some hands on training. But definitely worth it.

Was planning on just doing the N+ for some background into networking before I do CCNA. I assume it would help greatly. I don't know if selfstudy is such a good idea for the type of person I am I need to sit in a class to process all the info and then study for an exam as in School/Varsity. If I need to learn this from scratch from a PC screen I doubt I'll get it down tbh

 

[Devo-sa]

Exactly this...

It does not hurt to have an MCSE and a CCNA together

^^
Make sure you can perform (specialise in) the collection of functions of one, and still have the other under the belt in order to manage it effectively.

That's the way forward to quickly work yourself up to a manager or project manager position.

So combine as much as possible that relates directly to each-other in the field.

 

[Pitbull]

I think I should first study one field and then supplement it with other fields. Or do I just mix and match?

 

[dequadin]

Now if you had to start into the IT field today knowing what you know now, which of those to paths would you choose?

From my understanding the Cisco route is in very high demand, especially once you did your CCNP (Which from my understanding is pretty damn hard ).

Isn't Cisco certs extremely expensive? The demand is high and the salaries are good however...

 

[Pitbull]

Isn't Cisco certs extremely expensive? The demand is high and the salaries are good however...

CCNA from my understanding = +/- R 3000

CCNP = R 30 000

No train smash

 

[FarligOpptreden]

Wow - that's pretty cheap. I've head the Cisco certifications going for more than R100k... Probably included instructor-led training as well...

 

[dequadin]

CCNA from my understanding = +/- R 3000

CCNP = R 30 000

No train smash

That looks far to cheap. That's probably for the local training/course material etc... What about the cost of the international exams? Most guys don't put this on their websites cause it's crazy high...

Wow - that's pretty cheap. I've head the Cisco certifications going for more than R100k... Probably included instructor-led training as well...

Exactly what I thought, I've heard of them being in the region of $10000 - $20000....

 

[dequadin]

Okay so it seems like it depends on which Cisco cert you do:

That's from Wikipedia...

The CCIE Lab is currently $1,400 USD per attempt and are offered only at ten Cisco lab exam locations worldwide.
<snip>
according to a survey by Cisco the average cost to prepare for CCIE certification is $9,050 as of April 2006,

The CCNA and CCNP are cheaper. $150-$200 per exam...

 

[Pitbull]

That looks far to cheap. That's probably for the local training/course material etc... What about the cost of the international exams? Most guys don't put this on their websites cause it's crazy high...



Exactly what I thought, I've heard of them being in the region of $10000 - $20000....

I e-mailed 2KO and asked them for the prices on CCNA and CCNP. The exam price is around R 1 500. Will wait for what they say. The prices I got from google so no idea how accurate they are. Waiting for 2KO will update you guys once I receive their feedback

If I can get away with CCNA and CCNP < R 50 000 that would still be ok, not willing to spend more on that for now

 

[sn3rd]

From experience, neither CCNA nor CCNP are difficult at all...

CCNA takes you from ZERO knowledge; it gives you all the background you need. A lot of the same info is repeated in CCNP. CCNP does have a slightly higher level, dealing with Internet routing, but it's still not difficult. If you put in the work (and especially if, as you are planning, you have instructors to guide you), you'll do just fine.

The CCNA and CCNP certs aren't that expensive.

@ Farlig: The expensive course you're thinking of is CCIE. It's arguably the most difficult course available, but it's definitely the most highly paid. CCIE consists of 2 exams; 1 written, 1 lab. The written exam costs $350. Only upon passing the written exam can you attempt the lab. From passing the written, you have 18 months to attempt the lab. If you fail, that time is extended to 3 years from the written. But you don't want to fail the lab, because it costs $1400 each time.

 

[guest2013-1]

I have a CCTV business on the side which should keep things cooking and I have enough savings to get me through to June 2009 if I make nothing from the CCTV business.

Don't quit your job!!!!!

 

[Pitbull]

From experience, neither CCNA nor CCNP are difficult at all...

CCNA takes you from ZERO knowledge; it gives you all the background you need. A lot of the same info is repeated in CCNP. CCNP does have a slightly higher level, dealing with Internet routing, but it's still not difficult. If you put in the work (and especially if, as you are planning, you have instructors to guide you), you'll do just fine.

The CCNA and CCNP certs aren't that expensive.

@ Farlig: The expensive course you're thinking of is CCIE. It's arguably the most difficult course available, but it's definitely the most highly paid. CCIE consists of 2 exams; 1 written, 1 lab. The written exam costs $350. Only upon passing the written exam can you attempt the lab. From passing the written, you have 18 months to attempt the lab. If you fail, that time is extended to 3 years from the written. But you don't want to fail the lab, because it costs $1400 each time.

I will only do it if it's instructor lead, you just gave me a little hope for this tbh Seems like I'll be staying in CPT for about 5 weeks to train at 2KO they seem to be very legit in this field. Can anyone recommend them?

 

[Pitbull]

Don't quit your job!!!!!

Applied for a voluntary package which is pretty good, I was about to resign anyway. Now I'll be getting out around R 80k more than just resigning

 

[rurapente]

you need to pick a direction and stick to it. If you're gonna go the SysAdmin/Analyst role of the MCSE, I would definitely combine with with some kind of Linux certification. Since in many corporations today the two are living next to eachother and a key person is someone who can seamlessly integrate and support the two.

if you go the networking route, go the whole way and do router, switch, firewall etc certification and then either stay that way or swing into a security role (with emphasis on networking)

It comes down more to what you enjoy rather than salary in my mind. And try Self-Study guides, I know of people who heading up network dept for large corporations who got everything via self-study and experience. Granted it requires oober amounts of self-control, but its far easier on the budget.