1

Hello!

As someone who is relatively amateur (comparatively), what would the best certification be for me to pursue first? I’m a tech at a school system and I’m catching on rather quick, building upon my previous knowledge of IT in general; however, I was hoping to speed up the process getting a cert in something. I have a pluralsight account and was unsure whether to study for A+ or network+ certification. I was hoping to get some input from you guys on what you think the hierarchy would be in deciding which cert to get first.

Thank you!!

5 Spice ups
2

The one that makes me lots of monies!! Another what is best thread…grrrrrrrr.

1 Spice up
3

Which certification is best?

Depends what you want to do.

That’s like asking “Which way is the best?” Multiple ways get you there. It just all depends on you. what you want to do and where you want to get.

1 Spice up
4

A+ then N+

2 Spice ups
5

I started working for a school district about a year ago. I am currently working towards getting my MSCE and considering some cisco training as well since the majority of our network is cisco. While the certifications aren’t required, There is still a decent amount of knowledge that I have found useful to be gained through the studying required to pass the tests.

6

Look at the jobs you are interested in obtaining at companies you want to work for. Whatever they post for requirements are desirable.

1 Spice up
7

I will also give you one of my standard cert speeches. If you are going to get certified on something make sure that you know and maintain knowledge of the material. As a hiring manager if I see a cert I assume you know the things the cert covers and will ask you several questions, if you don’t know it will hurt you badly, if you don’t have the cert on your resume I have no claim from you that you know that material and will be more forgiving of “I don’t know”

I interviewed for a network position a while back and a candidate made it to the interview stage because he had a Net+ on his resume. When asked questions he stated he got the cert four months prior and hadn’t used or studied that information since. His Net+ ended up hurting him.

2 Spice ups
8

If you already have a job in IT, then A+ will likely be a waste of time, unless you want to find a job repairing computers. (read: minimum wage).

If you aren’t sure what you want to end up doing, Net+ and Sec+ are good starts. If you really like networking, then look into Cisco’s certs. If you decide that you want to dig more into Microsoft stuff, look at Microsoft’s certs.

Oh, and of course there’s also the Linux+, but I have no experience with that, so I’ll let someone else talk about it.

And it can never be stressed enough: back up your certs with experience!

9

I would skip the A+. It counts for basically nothing and is embarrassingly easy to pass. Net+ is a good start, and if you want to get into networking, CCENT is even better. You can pad it out with MCP or an entry-level VMware cert. Just beware, VMware requires you to take ($$$) VMware-provided classroom training to get the cert. You cannot self-study and test to certification for VMware.

1 Spice up
10

hey shnladd. then why dont you have an A+?

11

I have one from 2002 that’s all but irrelevant now. To put it in perspective, IRQs were still a topic and disks were either IDE or SCSI at the time I took the A+. I won’t say that I didn’t learn anything at all from studying for it, but it was more a way to fill in little blanks with background info than it was a way to learn a massive new skillset.

12

of course your skill set grows with time and effort. you would be a fool not to grow beyond A+ basics, but the question is which to get A+ or net+.

Now A+ great start. teaches you the basics and how to get it fixed correctly.

Net+ gives you the foundation to start in the other world of networks.

both are great, both can get your foot in the door.

you must grow beyond this level, but never forget what got you to that next level.

like shnladd here is an arrogant man, who thinks such achievements are meaningless.

nothing can be further from the truth.

everything you learn, everything you do, can and will help you, including these great certs.

good luck. to you. and dont listen to shnladd here… arrogant was the nicest word i could put here. lol!

1 Spice up
13

Ha! Pwned!!! I wouldn’t have been so crass, but I have the same era A+ as you (~'98-'99) and haven’t ever regarded it as worthless. True, it’s irrelevant now, but that one added letter and symbol on my resume had opened up quite a few doors with HR reps that would never have even cracked an inch. Probably still would. It shows you’re certified in ‘knowing the basics’, which is what non-tech hiring managers are looking for, even for upper-level positions in some places. The more letters you have after your name, the more they like it.

I don’t regard any certification as worthless. Depending on the person wielding it, of course.

1 Spice up