So currently am a junior Systems Administrator, primarily doing help desk work, machine builds, SSL renewals for our websites, Domain administration, virtual machine setup, and server migrations. My past I have a computer science degree, A+ certified, and 5+ years of computer repair/troubleshooting experience.
I am already on a career path with my company but I dont have all the details. I am not very familiar with server maintenance and setup, and working with linux servers.
Any certifications or learning paths you could suggest? Is the CompTia Network+ cert worth it? Thank you!
@Cisco @CompTIA
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Hello
I am in the same situation as you and I was reading an article stating that systems administrators jobs will increase in 2015. the certification suggested were windows Server 2012 + SQLserver 2012 + VMware, and I personally would add MS system center 2012. I hope this helps.
Thanks Ill take a look! Would still love to hear some feedback from more seasoned IT guys too 
The question is where do you think you want to go? What interest you? If you are not sure yet other than something in IT; look at getting CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+. I think those two are a must for any career in IT. They give a great foundation. If you still want to explore there is CompTIA Cloud+ and CompTIA Linux+
After that, if you want find yourself drawn to system admin there are several different Microsoft tracks. If you like security and networking, there are Cisco paths and so on.
Look at getting your CompTIA Linux+ - it’s a good basic understanding of Linux and if you like it, you can go off into the Linux world of certs.
If you want to do desktop support still, MSCA Windows 7/8.
If you want to do servers, MSCA Server 2012.
You can work up from MSCA to MSCE as well. Or look into SCCM as well.
I think there’s some certs for HP/Dell hardware as well I think.
Thank you very much guys I will look into all these and make a decision on what direction I want to go!
jschadt
(jschadt)
7
I strongly suggest against CompTIA certifications; I even have one and it was a joke. I’ve heard the same countless times from more experienced guys.
-They’re not difficult in the least, very, very basic stuff that even kids in high school should be able to do, and their value has decreased dramatically with the availability of brain dumps. I’d suggest going for more difficult certifications directly from Cisco, Juniper, Microsoft, Red Hat, etc. as your interests lead you to specific subjects.
jschadt - There was a time I would agree with you. When I took A+ and Network+ the information was old and some even incorrect, but I would say times are changing. Yes CompTIA certifications are ENTRY level, but they have been revamped and modernized. Additionally, Security+ is often mentioned as one of the top 5 certs to get on your way to becoming a security professional.
Because of the price and content, for someone starting out in their career, CompTIA brings value to someone that isn’t sure what direction they want to go in.
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Obtaining your Cisco certification is always a good one to have too.
youngitpro
(Bluedevil58)
10
If you have access to a lab I would suggest going down the Linux route and learning on CenTOs. it’s exactly like RHEL (which most businesses use). You can make really good money if you know the basics of linux:
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Expanding LVMs
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Leaning to restart services.
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Creating user groups and users.
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Simple IPing (lots of people can;t do this on Linux.)
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Maybe working some with Apache.
Right now, Cisco is looking for anyone with Linux experience so a CCNA and also maybe an RHEL cert would not hurt. I would start with a Lab and just elarn how to properly clone/spin up, IP, and set up a Centos box would be good for starters,
Thank you everyone for this! Ill be documenting all these responses and coming back to reference. Thank you very much for the help and insight!
Another good path is learning some basics and maybe a little more about iPhones, iPad and Macbook Pros. A lot of the executives and higher office positions in companies are beginning to turn more and more to Apple products, mainly because of their popularity. This can be frustrating, because a lot of times a company may have software it needs to access and Mac may not support it. So I would get used to setting up parallels and such, get used to setting them up on secure networks and etc. Also VPN on macs was a fun one to learn with the secret code and all.
T3CH_WARR10R:
That is so true! Two different executives at my job both use MAC machines, while everyone else is on windows. It can be frustrating especially getting a MAC on a windows Domain…
If you are adding more Mac to the company, get it budgeted for training for at least one person to become a specialist. At my last company, the Marketing department wanted to go all Macs (6 people). I agree on the condition that they paid for one IT person to get trained. There is a basic tech support cert.
Yes that is what we did… I am Apple Certified to work on Macs, iPhones, iPads and even the Apple Networking devices.
Hi there!
I would recommend checking out CompTIA’s certs here: http://certification.comptia.org/
CompTIA Network+ and Security+ are two of our most popular certs and would be a great starting point for you! If you’d like more information feel free to send me a message, I’d be happy to help!
Eileen
Once you figure out your path, continuing your education may be a good idea. Capella has a competency-based learning environment, in which we can use your current certifications, and current work experience toward college credits- in addition, it’s 100% self-paced, so you can move through the program as fast, or slow as you want. You are able to gain additional real-world applicable skills that can really teach you the skills you need to make an impact on the next stage in your career. Please feel free to check out this link:
http://www.capella.edu/flexpath-self-paced-learning/
Let me know if you have further questions about our FlexPath program. Best of luck in your research!!
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Aimee that sounds very interesting. I will definitely be looking into it! Thank you all for the advice!
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Mike,
Just to add to this thread, it is important to narrow down your passions. What are you most interested in? What drives this passion to advance your career? Finding this out can be easier said than done but it shouldn’t stop you from diving in. With 5 years experience, the Network+ may be a little unnecessary unless a position you are pursuing specifically asks for this cert. Good luck and keep us updated on where your IT journey takes you!
