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IT Professional Cert advice

Last response: in Work & Education
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June 25, 2011 7:53:25 AM

I'm an army medic, and for the past two years i have been the unit information Management Officer. The job in reality is just a go between the end user and the help desk.

I like this job, and I have been learning some of the basic basic stuff. Honestly medicine (at least working on people,) is not my passion. I prefer working and troubleshooting computers. I have just learned that the army has access to most major certs through online, and I do not know where to begin.

I have taking a couple of routing courses, so I sort of understand how it works. I do plan on getting the CCNA, but beyond that I want to work with Microsoft OS administaration, and maitnentece. My big problem is that they offer so many certs from server 2000 to 2008, share point, so many MSXX certs I do not know where to begin, and I don't know what other certs or classes I shoudl take like Network+ or security+.

Any help planning a education path would be very much appriciated.

More about : professional cert advice

June 25, 2011 7:32:31 PM

I'm not present-day or former military, so I can't offer any advice in regards to what options the US Army may present you. You'd have to seek information from within the US Army about training and education options offered there. Unless perhaps you're seeking private education financed through the GI Bill, which would open up more avenues. Even then, you'll be working with the US Military to some degree.

When it comes to private education, where you live can have a major impact on your choice of schools. Fortunately, some organizations have training centers nationwide. An example would be New Horizons. With courses offering genuine, standardized and industry-recognized certifications from things as common as MS Office programs, to CompTIA A+, to Microsoft MCSE, to Cisco CCNA, and beyond, it's one of the most complete and highly recognized IT and computer training centers in the world. Many industry leading corporations send their own employees to New Horizons for certification training on their own systems.

How you wish to proceed with your training and education depends upon what options are present within the US Army, and how those options compare to what's available in the private sector. I suggest performing a thorough investigation of both options, comparing any course material and certifications obtained through each particular course to how pertinent and valuable they are to the career you want.

To me, "working and troubleshooting computers" sounds as though you've got interest in hands-on technician work. While it's not necessarily a very monetarily rewarding career at it's entry-level, there is serious potential. To get into that field, one or two CompTIA certs (A+ and Net+) is really all it takes. Combined with your interest in MS OS admin and Cisco, maybe a course that combines CompTIA A+, Net+, and MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Admin) into one would be the proper starting point.
June 26, 2011 5:35:38 AM

Thank you for your help. The army contracts skillport to do the classes, and we have procters to do the tests here on post. I like to tiner with computers but definatlly want to to go up the chain. I will look into New Horizions as well thank you. My current short term goals will be getting A+, Network +, and possibly Security +.
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