# New guy in IT



## Magrocha (Nov 7, 2012)

Hey everybody.i did a big change in my life and thank god everything is working out pretty good with my career change.i took your advice and now I am working for a pharmaceutical company as a helpdesk technician supporting doctors , research scientist and nursers. I have took the network + certification and passed, because i would like to be on the networking field. The job that Iam is very flexible..they going to give me tuition for school and everything.so ,iam pretty happy about that ..my questions are the following. 


How good are working for pharmaceutical company's ? 
What certification shoudl I go next?! 
Should I go to college to get an associate on computer science with the tuition money or go to do something also related to the job?! Such as certifications .courses?!
which one is going to help me more in a long run?! 
How long should I stay in help desk position for..? 

If I see that the company is not letting me move up from my position?! Should I just try to find a hole as desktop support technician in another place!after my experience is good on help desk!? 

Thank you very much for the support.


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## fgreco (Nov 20, 2002)

I am not in the same position as you because you have your certification in Network+. Me I am currently attending online at DeVry University and am going for a degree in electronic and computer technology. 

If I were you now and your company is giving you money for tuition I would go to a college and get a degree. Now while getting your degree make sure you take classes which you can use to get other certifications....For example I am taking comptia A+ course which will prepare me for the test. I am also going to take comptia Network+ for my certification in network+ which you have.

Now that I am taking these classes in College I don't have to pay for the classes to get those certifications but just pay for the college...Its like killing two birds with one stone. Your getting a degree while getting certified in different area's. 

I was told by a computer tech that I should get these certifications as well as my degree. A+ yes is hardware and hardware he said anyway is going out but what your into is he said really good.

Once your get your degree and another certification which I think others will be able to help you more on what to take I think that is when either a raise or possible promotion is in the cards.

Hopefully I helped a little with the college part. DeVry is a good program but, its expensive. my degree is $45,000 dollars. That is expensive for only a associates degree. Even though your company is paying make sure what or how much they are paying for.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Certifications are supposed to be based on your experience level not what you want to do. They are designed to show what you have experience in.

Apart from entry level certifications which are the A+, Network+ and the odd windows client certification such as 70-279 and 70-680.

Also beaware that you do not need to take classes to get certifications You can study and practice on your own then take the exams when you are ready.

I have some certs and never took a class for any of them.

EDIT you do not need a degree to work in IT, experience counts more than any qualification or certification. That being said Qualifications and certifications plus experience is a no brainer.

You also dont need to have a degree in IT to work in IT. Alot of people I know who have degrees are in Maths or some sort of science subject.


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## fgreco (Nov 20, 2002)

Sorry to high jack your thread Magrocha but this might help you too...

So greenbrucelee, I am going for electronics tech I guess that is why i am in college but, If your certified is that just as good as a degree in computers or IT?

What is the best to get into with computers? Meaning what field? I am talking money wise.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

No certifications are not as good as degrees but as I said experience beats both.

Unfortunately if you want to start on good money in IT you need to develop a time machine and go back to 1990 because these days it aint gonna happen weather you come out with the best degree possible or the worst degree possible you will most likely have to start at the bottom.

Lets put it this way if you want to be a network tech or systems admin no employer with any braincells is going to hire you to look after their network if you do not have any real world experience in doing the same sort of job previousely.

The same goes for if you decided you wanted to be the guy who sets up server cabinets with loads of cisco kit inside. No employer is going to hire you to do that without any preivious experience.

Systems analysts get paid well but thats technically an office job where you don't do much with computers anyway apart from design data flow diagrams and visit the site where the system will be put in and look at where the cables will go.

Do not believe any of the crap you see on TV where it says the average salry is this if you get this certification or qualification because its BS.

Never go into a job or IT for the money you do it because you like it, if you are good at what you do the money will follow at some point.


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## loda117 (Aug 6, 2010)

> Do not believe any of the crap you see on TV where it says the average salry is this if you get this certification or qualification because its BS.
> 
> Never go into a job or IT for the money you do it because you like it, if you are good at what you do the money will follow at some point.


he is right on the money there guys 
First of the back go into IT if you love computers, networking equipment and the whole concept of dealing with computer related issues *NOT* for the money 
As for the OP 
Main thing is to specialize in a certain aspect of the field. For example you started with network+ how do you like networking? if you like it over Microsoft stuff than take courses for Cisco CCent CCNA or if you are confident enough you can practice on your own and go for the certs 
As for the MS side of things there is just tons of stuff but it all depends on how much you already know about windows
Its up to you if you want to get a degree or just the certs that is your deicision but basically what i learned from my Computer science course that basic setup of windows 7, basic domain environment and basics of everything which you can cover on your own if you google them lol 
As Green said experience is over the degree and over the certs and currently in IT field if you want experience you will have to start from bottom which you are already doing 
My suggestion is to get courses related to Cisco CCNA while also if you have extra time bring up a virtual machine with windows server 2012 and start your own virtual domain with a computer so this way you get your basics of networking side and MS side as well and later on you can decide where you want to specalize Cisco, MS, etc etc

As for jumping ship when you realize you are at a dead end position ...well cover and understand all aspects of your job 
So you are in Desktop Support so you are not touching servers no worries dont stop to what you have to deal with everyday no Get good at what you do everyday and on side start with Servers and once a better opportunity comes along that brings in the option of working with desktop and servers and maybe some networking (personal experience try to work for an IT consultant company which manages small to medium size businesses if you want to get most out of the experience because in house IT will only do certain things unless you are in fortune 500 company)


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I would say not to get the CCNA though as that is designed for people who work with cisco kit already although CCENT may be a better option after Network+


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## fgreco (Nov 20, 2002)

Yeah I need to start to learn the server aspect of things...


I am more into the technician sort of things where I fix, refurbish and repair computers and electronics. I need to broaden my horizons and get into newer things so i know a little bit of everything. Or better yet so I know a lot of everything. 

Right now in School I study electronics aspect becuase I am going for electronic technician. I am a little lost also with electronics not how to perform the tasks but what jobs come with that?

Can anyone give me good advice getting into this field?


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## loda117 (Aug 6, 2010)

electronics and Computer engineering ECEET as DeVry calls it 
there is a broad variety of jobs because even that course itself covers a high level over view of computing and low voltage electronics so it is totally up to you where you want to go 
As for jobs, local electric provider, companies who manufacture ICs, NSA has job posted for ECEET lol so there are lots of companies out there with variety of jobs


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## fgreco (Nov 20, 2002)

Loda117 thanks so much...You really helped me clear some things up. I saw that is a Bachalors degree so I guess I will go for it. Thanks so much.


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## Magrocha (Nov 7, 2012)

Hey guys.thanks for all the answers.i couldn't reply earlier but here Iam.
Ok.i understand all that are you saying , but I still have some questions on my mind.

1.dont you guys think I should go for the cloud certifications?! Since the networking field will be a little dead in a couple of years?! 

2.iam in a pharmaceutical company .
Since Iam in the healthy IT field ...I was thinking working for a hospital in the future for their IT department..which certifications are related to the healthy IT industry.?! 
(I've heard epic certifications are good)

Thank you all for the help.


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## loda117 (Aug 6, 2010)

Again you can specialize in anything you want well lets give you a different way of thinking

A house with its foundations strong will last many many years compare to one with poor quality 

So in order for you to understand Cloud (which relies heavily on networks) (why networking will never go away but will get more complicated and more jobs once we start to implement IPv6 into north america) will be easier for you to understand once you have knowledge of networking which CCEnt will give you and MS server courses

so start with basics and move on to bigger better things
These courses shouldn't take you more than 3 months each to finish and that is even way too much time. I have seen people getting certs by just studying for a month. So just image you can get 4 certs in a year or more if you really are a book worm :4-book:


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

first I would like to say if you think networking will be dead in a couple of years or even 10 years you have a lot to learn because it wont be and anyone who has told you this is talking BS.

They said 15 years ago that desktops would be dead and long gone by now and they are not and they are still going strong and will do for years.

Secondly like I said earlier certifications do not get you a job they are designed to backup your experience level not show what you want to do.

Getting certifications that are beyond your experience level can have a very negative effect on your employment prospects.


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## Magrocha (Nov 7, 2012)

I understand what are you saying too..but what I mean by that is everything is going virtually..so most of the maintenance would be remotely.and yes there is a lot of desktop support jobs.but at least here in the US, everything is going to contract work.there is not a lot of full time jobs on desktop support no more.and that's why I was thinking getting a cert in a cloud base, because people are saying that networking will be big on the cloud base.(virtual machines ,etc)but Iam just going by what you guys are saying because Iam just starting on the field .

Thanks


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

No not everything is going to be remote, do you know how much that actually costs?

Not many companies can afford to that just like many companies can't afford to upgrade to the latest version of windows every time ms brings one out.

The only reasons companies now outsource to places like India etc is because its cheap but as many of these companies are now finding out it is costing them more money because people do not want to talk to someone in a different country that they can't really understand.

Lots of companies have used VMs for years but that has nothing to do with cloud. They use VMs to test updates and upgrades before applying them to live systems but as for networking there will always be a need for onsite people this will never go away and there will always be a need for onsite techs this will never go away either.

and FYI you wont ever get a networking job with first being a tech or working your way upto it say through 1st line, 2nd line and maybe then but you may have to do 3rd line first.

Just because you get a certification in cloud computing does not show an employer that you can do the job, it shows the employer that you know the theory and can pass an exam.

This is why certs are designed to show your real world experience, when an employer see's someone who has the MCSA for example it shows the employer that the person has atleast 6 months experience in a systems admin role. Whereas someone who has say the compTIA A+ and compTIA network+ it shows the employer that they are ready for an entry level position and may have some experience but they may not.


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## Magrocha (Nov 7, 2012)

Thanks for your reply..it really clear things up now.
With all that said.there is no reason to get certified in anything now..because Iam just starting out.i should get some experience in the field for at least one year.and then go for some other certifications.such as microsoft client or whatever other one..


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

exactly, the reason entry level jobs are called entry level is the same as why trainee jobs are called trainee jobs. You may know a little bit about the work involved but you have never done it for real.

The A+ and N+ are designed for entry level techs and can be done with no experience. They are designed to show you have a good grounding in the theory and are ready for a position doing that sort of thing.


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## loda117 (Aug 6, 2010)

would like to put my 2 cents into this conversation 

Look at it from this prospective, certs give you and show few things about you. 
1) you are dedicated to learning in your field and you are a self learner which is a good thing from employer's prospective 
2) You get to learn the basics of a topic and tip your toes into advance side of things as well ...you learn to do things correctly from group up 
3) Basic A+ network+ certs all the way up to MCSA or CCNP etc will make you stand out for a job that has more roles than desktop (remember even as a system administrator in many companies you won't get away from desktop support most likely you will be doing desktop support as well as server side ) 
4) IT field is all about learning but what makes difference is how you start and where you start from soo basically start from low level certs either your working as desktop or working in a different industry currently and wanting to switch to IT does not matter because yes Experience is the best thing out there but Certs do show that you have covered your basics


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