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Hi All,

I have about 3 years experience in IT as a help desk support, I am planning to take certifications, but before that, I have a couple questions:

  1. Should I take MTA certifications or should I just go directly to MCSA exams?

  2. Should I just take A+ instead of MTA? MCSA would be the next goal

My long-term goal would be a Sys Admin, I know I still have a long way to get there, but I am also familiar with Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and lately, I did my own project creating home lab using VMWare by connecting win 7 pro running on VMWare to server 2016 on VMWare - the detail of my project can be found here

Thank you

9 Spice ups
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The MTA certs are for high school kids, not for any adult and certainly no one with even one day of experience.

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The A+ is a bench cert and has no place in IT. It’s both “too junior” for any career purpose AND in the wrong field. Remember that the A+ was never designed to demonstrate anything more than six months of experience for bench (Geek Squad) work. So it would be pretty silly to get that for someone looking for IT career advancement and especially not someone with experience like you, don’t even think about the A+.

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The starter cert for the IT field is the CompTIA Network+.

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A good certificate path for career advancement would be do start with the Network+, then do the MCSA, then the Security+ and then move on to the MCSE.

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I asked a very similar question a month or two ago, I will dig it up and link it when I get to work.

Are you familiar with powershell? I have found something like that is a fantastic skill to have that doesn’t require any test or exams and you can learn it all online or if you want buy a small book about it.

I’ll also link the road map people linked to me which I found helped alot!

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Thank you for your rapid response!

You gave a really good guide, I am so glad that I have not bought any exam voucher, so for now, I will put my focus more on studying Network+

Actually, there are more questions you might help with:

  • So you say Network+ will help my goal toward Sys admin?is it just first step to get into MCSA cert?
  • Should I take MCSA in both clients and servers, in order to aim for a Sys admin position?

Thanks again

@scottalanmiller

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Thank you for your contribution

I am somewhat familiar with powershell, and I already started to learn some from Microsoft Virtual Academy

Thanks again, I am waiting for that road map links

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Network+ is generic. It won’t exactly help for the MCSA, but it shows foundational knowledge and helps you to be sure that you know the basics before getting into the more advanced MCSA track.

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You should only take one MCSA, and it should be servers. Getting two MCSA is like getting two associates degrees - zero additional benefit. An MCSA will do essentially nothing for you in your career (and likely will do actually nothing) and serves only as a guide for your own learning and a stepping stone to the MCSE. The MCSE is generally the junior most cert that might actually help get you a job or a raise and even that is decently uncommon.

This video might help in understanding how you should think about your certs.

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Thank you for answering my questions Scott

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Don’t be afraid of vendor certifications either. Maybe something with the VMWare you already have some practice with?

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A+ isn’t even really applicable to bench work, it’s just to show you have some kind of cert.

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That’s true. The knowledge is still mostly outdated and primarily about things you’d never use anywhere, even on the bench.

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I’ve seen that most job opening they ask for “A+ required”, and most people with A+ will get an interview call, I am now in search of my new job, most of the job I have applied, I had calls from recruiters, not from direct employers, and waiting time is usually very long. I had two interviews but without follow-up, and they went for other candidates. And when I went to frys or geek squad, they always say “We need someone with A+ certs”, my aim ultimately not going for there, but just wondering if HR will catch the someone with certs but not guarantee they are experienced enough

So I would like to know if there are any tips and tricks to get hired for sure since I have not got any certifications, and I am working toward my certifications now.

Thank you

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That means that either those are sub-entry level work with the hiring manager not even being at entry level or, far more likely, they aren’t IT jobs that just say they are IT to attract people hoping to get into the industry. No real IT job or IT hiring manager would ever require an A+, it makes no sense and would reflect so badly on the hiring manager that if they had any idea what it was, they’d be way too embarrassed to ask for it.

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Right, those are the quintessential bench jobs, they are not IT in any way. Not even close. That’s why you are seeing the A+ required, you are looking at the wrong field. So of course they require it, they are entry level bench jobs. Exactly as you’d expect.

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HR is not involved in 99% of IT hiring. That is a myth. It’s a convenient one to make people who don’t get called for interviews feel better, but on the inside, obviously no actual IT department could hire with HR being in the path, that would never work at all. Not even for entry level. In the real world, HR is not a gatekeeper for IT (but it is easily for bench where there are typically very few skills to look for.)

The question is… what are you looking for? Bench work or IT work? If looking for IT, what area of IT and what have you done to build IT skills?

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  1. Identify your goals. You are looking for unrelated job right now, so it’s hard to give advice because we aren’t sure what you are trying to do. Nothing wrong with finding whatever work you can, but if you are just going to pay the bills while trying to get into IT there are WAY better jobs for that then Geek Squad. You’d literally do better as an overnight hotel clerk than as a GS bench worker.

  2. Wok on your skills; build a resume. Make yourself valuable to an employer. If you can tell us what you are good at, they won’t figure it out. So find a way to build and demonstrate actual skills.

  3. Work towards certs that apply to your industry and goals, not unrelated ones for a different field that will only be a distraction.

  4. Volunteer. Find a church, non-profit, school or whatever that could use some IT help. Put in some time. This is a great way to build a resume even when no one is willing to pay you.

  5. Build a home lab. Show dedication. Do more at home than your employer does at the office.

  6. Get involved on social media. Are you posting regularly, like 10+ times a day? Are you blogging about your projects and skills growth? Are you documenting projects, etc?

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This video covers getting started in IT…