Question for all the network admin geeks
 

I currently have my A+

Currently self study CCNA Routing and Switching.

For the field of Network Administrator, would these be enough?
A buddy said that I should also get Microsoft Active Directory and ESXi

Any thoughts and inputs?

It depends on who your competition will be. I think that Net Admin postings would be highly favorable to those with prior experience, in similar environments, vs any education one might have.

i work in IT, i would say go and get a job and then get them to pay for all your training.

work in IT. I only have my CCNA which all the answers are online. was going for my ccnp and was the same, all the answers are online and most people know that already so its completely useless. Gave up renewing those certs.

Never had any other certs and i'm mainly do system and network administration.
Experience > certs in IT imo

You should at the very least, get your CCNA and then gain work experience. From there, have your employer pay and promote your education and work experience for your career development.

You can have all the fancy titles and certifications, but if you have no experience in doing the work and applying the principles, its value is zero.

Can you send me links?
The exam questions never change?

The only cert I have is my MCSE... in NT4... They don't really help the career. It'll help to get your foot in the door but once you're in, I wouldn't bother. Just have the company pay for training and skip the certification.

I tend to skip past the education and certifications when looking at resumes. A smaller company would look at that stuff but they're also paying less than $40k for a sys admin that can do it all. If you get one of those jobs, use it for what it is and gain experience then move on.

So... Degree vs Cert, this is more valuable?

I'll PM you a link to assist with your studies.

For degree vs cert, for me, my first job, boss pretty much looked at where i got my degree from and then during the first week tested me on a couple of items. didn't even care about my certs when i asked him.

Let me chime in again, I used to work for Cisco and now at another competitors. Seen it all. No one will blink and eye unless you're CCIE.

CCNA is like high school, CCNP is like university, and CCIE is like being a solid grad.

If they are smart, company will lock you in for a 2 yr contact since they pay for your tuition and of course, you'll need to pass the course in order to get payment. If YOU'RE smart, you'll read your T&C before you sign the paper prior to your employment.

I've seen a company lose 1/2 their certs on their wall when 1 of their senior tech left.

I'm not the best person to answer this. I started out during the dot com boom in the late 90's right out of high school. You could get an IT job if you knew what a computer was... lol

If I had to choose, I'd say degree. To get that you need to be able to think critically and understand the concepts/technologies. A cert just tells me you can remember a braindump. There's even exam simulators with actual exam questions. Kids under 10 are able to get certified... literally

Degrees and Certifications will only get to you in the door.
When I was looking for an IT job, most interview questions were about experience rather than education. Sure, you'll need some education just to land the interview. To get started, you'll need to start low to gain experience. Don't expect to become a network admin in your first year.

When I started my career, I had a Bachelor of Information Technology and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), and working on Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE). I would recommend during your between jobs, work on some sort of certification. You can pad your resume during the interview process. Now, 10 years later, I have more certification titles than can I fit on my business card... :alonehappy: