# what certificate should i choose ?



## mite_jan (Sep 9, 2011)

my country (Macedonia) is offering free educational training/courses and offering certificates for the following

MCITP – Server Administrator,
MCITP– Microsoft SQL Server Server 2008, Database Developer 2008,
MCITP- Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010,
MCITP- Enterprise SQL Server 2008, Database Administrator 2008,
CISCO – CCNA,
SCJP – Sun Certified Java Programmer,
LPIC– 1 – Linix Proffesional Institute Certification,
Comp TIA A+ 2009 Edition
Oracle

now i am not sure for which one to go on
what would you choose and why ? (most of all answer this question at least)
and can i get quick summary for every certificate to what job is reffering from some expert

i know everyone will say look what jobs are available in your country or what you are good at
all i can say is that i find programming a little hard but i would love to get specialised at it

so what's your opinion on this and maybe advice 
thanks


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

it depends what your experienc level is.

Certifications are designed to backup your experience level so when you go for a job when the hiring party sees that your certified as a ccna for example then they know that you have experience in adminstering and managing cisco equipment on a network.

MCITP – Server Administrator would require that you have experience in adminstering and managing multiple servers in a mdeium to big company supporting many users.

A couple of the certs you have linked are for people who want to be database adminstrators whilst the rest are for people who want to be IT techs and systems engineers.

So you need to decide what career you want.

If you have no experience and want to work in IT support or a systems engineer etc then you should start with the A+


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## mite_jan (Sep 9, 2011)

Comp TIA A+
so this certificate is for maintaining computers , support and that kind of stuff

i don't want to go for this one becouse i fell that i can work this without the certificate (btw i didn't mentioned that i have a diploma /informatic science so i think that should do the trick for this one)

to go for a programming certificate i should have some knowledge (in the university we learned basics of c , c++ , c#) but i don't know i am still scared from codes 
so if i go for the Java certificate would that by itself help me finding a job or they(job companies) would require from me other things too

i am thinking of Server administrator or Cisco


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

but the problem is the certs like server administrator and ccna are to back up your job experience they are not meant for people trying to get a job.

If you want to be a programmer then a degree is a good idea but if you want to work in support then you have to start at the bottom and the A+ and N+ are the certs to get.


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## mite_jan (Sep 9, 2011)

what about the prices ?
MCITP SA most expensive ?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

mite_jan said:


> what about the prices ?
> MCITP SA most expensive ?


it depends wether you go through a school or self study. But I dont think your getting what I am saying.

I will try again going for the MCITP:SA is not going to help you get a job unless you do that for a living.

If you want to work in programming or database administration then a degree is more useful. If you want to work in say network management you need certs and/or a degree but in any case you will have to work your way and progress to that level.

Being over certified can be as bad as having no certs at all.


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## mite_jan (Sep 9, 2011)

let me tell you now my begginer oppinion on all this
i have some small knowledge in every aspect (not every but most) related with computers (that's what the diploma/ degree did)

if i want to be a programmer the organisations always want you to know for example Java , objective oriented programming , SQL and so on
that's why i don't want to go with the Java cert. becouse it' won't help me much by itself (hope you understand what i said)

so from all IT jobs i am afraid only from programming and that's why i don't want to go on that road (at least i am not educated enought)

everything else which will give me good payment i will do (in this case we are talking about the SA cert)

so you say this like organisations are giving certificates just like that ... well it isn't like that (but you probably know that)
you will have to work hard to get that certificate ... pass couple of exams and if you are good at it you will pass and in other words that means that you understand server/clients/networking and you are ready for a position

do you think people who have no idea how a computer works can get some of those certificates ? i don't think so

now i know that in IT you always need to upgrade yourself with knowledge 
but i can't agree with your statment that certification will not get you job or something like that
becouse this project which they are organising is becouse our country is deficiting in IT
from the last year which was same project like this , from 30 people - 20 get a job after the passing the exams

i still appreciate your opinion a lot but i was kinda expecting more 
encouraging answer 

p.s i think you may missunderstood me 
all this certificates includes training too (3 to 6 months)
so if they didn't included training i would agree with you then that you must know all this and go only on the exams


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

actually if you good a studying you can pass any cert if you put in the parctice with say a home lab. I have never taken a course for any of the certs I have they were all done by self study.

The A+ and N+ and mCDST were done when I had no job experience whilst the rest were done with experience. There are many places out there which will tell you get this cert and get this cert and you will get a good job earning lots of money. It doesn't work like that in the real world.

If these training places that your thinking of going to give you job experience then thats good. Note that lab experience is not the same as real world experience, anyone can set up a lab and practice but it will never simulate real worl experience.

Going for high level certs without the experience can be a bad thing although study that cert is not a bad thing. I know too many people who got high level certs with no experience but they could not get a job. As soon as I told them to hide the fact they had high level certs on their cv/resume they got hired.

I never said a cert wont get you a job I said getting high level certs will be bad its becuase if you have high level certs no one will hire you for an entry level cert because in their mind set they will think as soon as this guy gets some experience he will leave and go for a better job with better money and we will have to advertise again for a new employee.

Then there is the other way they will see you have a high level cert but no experience two thought processes will be involved here they will either think you have used brain dumps to pass the cert or they will think I am not going to let someone loose on my network with no experience.

No one walks into a networking job these days without progression unless they are extremley lucky.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

forgot to mention here are the prerequisites that mictosoft state you should have before going for the MCITP:SA = MCITP candidates are IT professionals capable of deploying, building, designing, optimizing, and operating technologies for a particular job role. They make the design and technology decisions necessary to ensure successful technology implementation projects.

MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) | Training Courses for IT Professionals


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## mite_jan (Sep 9, 2011)

if you thought about the MCTS prerequisite i believe there will be 3 exams for the MCITP certificate but i will see then 
i know this is a certificate for a proffesional

i don't know about your country but here they want educated people (doesn't need to have certificate but it needs to be good at the job he is applying except some can offer some training program but very rarelly)

becouse this is a free project and the government are giving a lot of money (180 people can get those certificates) i believe it won't be easy

thanks man
it is always a plus to learn something


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

where are you based?

IT is the same in the US and UK.

In IT in the UK and US if doing certs it is not required for you to go to a school or training course. Certs are actually meant to be self studied i.e the theory that they are based on your job experience so a little bit of reading and you should be good to go because of your experience level.


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## mite_jan (Sep 9, 2011)

all this is happening in Macedonia

what would you suggest me play with windows server 2008
i have 2 computers available home maybe i can get one more


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

you certify in what you work with.

FYI most business still use server 2003 and a lot will still use xp for years to come.


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## JimFlagg (Aug 23, 2011)

mite_jan said:


> all this is happening in Macedonia
> 
> what would you suggest me play with windows server 2008
> i have 2 computers available home maybe i can get one more


This will not get you every thing. You really need a complex network to get some useful experience. You don't know how things are going to work in a company that has multiple remote office that are connected by a framerely with a home environment. You may find that the Windows VPN works fine at home but in a firewalled environment it may not.

That being said it never hurts to play with a home network. I test things at home sometimes before I try to implement them at work. Granted our office has been down graded from a medium to a small office after we laid of 60% of our work force and closed one of the remote offices. 

If you have 2 servers then I would install 2003 Server on one. I would play with the different Functional Levels of the domain. You will find that some functions are not supported on older servers. Also 2003 is so different from 2008. 

I personally am having mixed feelings about 2008. We upgraded one of our servers to 2008 and I love some of the new stuff like power management in the GPO (about time Microsoft) and the powershell but in my oppinion they broke the NTBackup and the MSScheduler in 2008 and many other things (don't get me started on the print server and the UPS functions) but I could rant all day. I digress. Lets just say I am reluctant to upgrade my PDC Emulator just yet and I think others may be the same way and want to stick with 2003 server just for a little while so you might want to learn 2003 too. 

Also, if you could sneed a Linux box in and get use to Somba because some devices out there like copiers will use Somba. PLuss linux could not hurt to learn. 

I guess it is hard to say, I am still learning 2008 server my self. Good Luck.


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