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Hello all, I have a question concerning the certification path I should take. I am a beginner in the IT field and I am already A+ certified. I have no industry experience and looking to add one or two more certs to help me get my foot in the door. I like to give a few scenarios on the path which are more likely to be taken. Chose the path you think will be best for me. Maybe you have another path to take, let me know. Thanks in advance for all replies!

  1. A+, Network+, MCSA = should I go for the Network+ next
  2. A+, CCENT, MCSA = should I go for the CCENT next
  3. A+, MCSA, Network+ = should I go for the MCSA next

@Cisco

7 Spice ups
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The first question would be, what kind of IT work do you want to do? It’s difficult to give you guidance unless you’re able to identify the type of job you’re looking to move towards.

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Thanks Gabrielle, I’m leaning more towards networking side of things.

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Go with Network+ and CCNA. My understanding is that the Network+ and CCENT are fairly comparable. Someone around here should be able to clarify that.

Then I would go for something like MCSA, if that’s what you are looking at getting into.

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CCENT is the 1st half of the CCNA. So it goes a little beyond Network+ and covers a several Cisco commands.

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A+, Network+, MCSA = should I go for the Network+ next

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If your want to be taken seriously on paper most companies are looking for CCNA for networking related certification. Do the CCENT 1 & 2. It breaks up the material so your not tested on everything all at once. Cisco also offers advanced certs past the CCNA once you figure out what your better at. CCNA - Training & Certifications - Cisco

CompTIA used to be more prevalent in the 90’s not so much any more. Get yourself a cheap 2950 switch on ebay (est. ~$20 and up). Then a Router - Cisco 1800 series are pretty cheap. Download as many sample configs and guides as you can get your hands on. Get a few cheap books, labs, anything that will test your “regurgitation” ability. Try configuring everything from memory without help.

It also helps to know what line of work you want to do. Private consulting, MSP, Salaried employee, contract?

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Also keep in mind some companies care a lot more about certs than others.

Also, A+ is a waste of time I’d skip it and work on a cert that will actually be useful.

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It’s useful that you have the A+ certification already, I got mine after my CCNA and discovered there is networking material in there not covered by the Cisco criteria. I imagine that the Network+ is the same and I plan on doing that as a sort of “refresher” prior to anything more advanced.

You can break up the CCNA into two separate tests (ICND1 & ICND2) but it may be worth considering just going for the whole thing. As the CCNA exam covers more objectives than the ICNDs, it’s likely that you’ll only be given a few questions per area so even if there’s a section you’re weak on it probably won’t show up all too often (subnetting aside).

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Thanks for all the replies, I have been preparing for both network+ and ccent in a way but am torn between the two as if which one I should take; the network+ cost more and have more questions and the ccent is cheaper with lest questions. I was not trying to go the whole CCNA route because I have no actual industry experience, don’t no how helpful a CCNA will be with no actual industry experience… But I was also wondering if some kind of Microsoft cert will also be helpful.

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Some of the comptia certs have value but I don’t consider A+ to be one of them. It’s all common sense customer service or basic hardware assembly stuff. I’ll be probably hiring a helpdesk minion next year and I wouldn’t consider having/not having A+ (I don’t) as something to base a hiring decision on with otherwise identical applicants.

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Here is a good how to:

http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/show/5873-how-to-get-certified

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OP indicated that he already had A+

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