Certifications...

Ok I'm looking into a certification and looking for a study book but on amazon.com there are soooo many mixed reviews and most aren't even up to date.. Is there a good place to read reviews on study books for tests

MCDST Exams (Exams 70-271 and 70-272)

I'm interested in that exam btw...

http//forum.freeipodguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=45557

Here was a link recommended in that thread, that seems pretty good
http//www.mcmcse.com/

I use the cbtnuggets videos. I don't know if I'll ever care to get the certificates, but they are really good to watch and grasp overall concepts.

cool thx

I like TestOut.

Just my $0.02 on the subject of certification (and this is strictly my opinion, but formed from years of IT experience and hiring)

If you're doing it out of personal interest, as a personal goal just to see if you can do it, as a (though expensive) self-study program, etc., then by all means do it if you can afford it or better yet, have an employer that will pay for it. The personal satisfaction of doing it might be worth it all to you.

However if you're thinking that being certified will automatically land you a better job or a lot more money, not so fast. Depending on the field of IT you're going into and the prospective employers, it might not mean squat. It certainly doesn't mean anything to me when I'm hiring people. Why? Because I've seen too many "certified" people that didn't know their ass from a hole in the ground when it came to applying real-world IT knowledge and problem-solving.

In my 20+ years in the engineering/development field, I quickly learned that academic credentials (degrees, certifications, professional associations, etc.) are good for not much more than satisfying HR guidelines and giving non-tech managers the warm & fuzzies. They mean virtually nil as a sign of technical competence. I could regale you with several personal anecdotes of impressive credentials gone bad, but I tend to get wordy and don't want to be accused of writing for a "novelty" forum again, whatever the hell that was. P

[quoteee8b441e16="dmorris68"]Just my $0.02 on the subject of certification (and this is strictly my opinion, but formed from years of IT experience and hiring)

If you're doing it out of personal interest, as a personal goal just to see if you can do it, as a (though expensive) self-study program, etc., then by all means do it if you can afford it or better yet, have an employer that will pay for it. The personal satisfaction of doing it might be worth it all to you.

However if you're thinking that being certified will automatically land you a better job or a lot more money, not so fast. Depending on the field of IT you're going into and the prospective employers, it might not mean squat. It certainly doesn't mean anything to me when I'm hiring people. Why? Because I've seen too many "certified" people that didn't know their ass from a hole in the ground when it came to applying real-world IT knowledge and problem-solving.

In my 20+ years in the engineering/development field, I quickly learned that academic credentials (degrees, certifications, professional associations, etc.) are good for not much more than satisfying HR guidelines and giving non-tech managers the warm & fuzzies. They mean virtually nil as a sign of technical competence. I could regale you with several personal anecdotes of impressive credentials gone bad, but I tend to get wordy and don't want to be accused of writing for a "novelty" forum again, whatever the hell that was. P[/quoteee8b441e16]

I agree with you 100%. That degree can sometimes be nothing more than a piece of paper.

Certifications are good as a assist to get into the field but after that experience is what counts....

Certs are only paper, such as degree but you won't get into IT without a degree or if your lucky a cert.

My A+ got me into IT but that's it, after that 1st job, it meant nothing more.

To each their own, alot of employers out there and many have different standards... I've learned not to take other opinions too seriously in regards to IT, if I have I would have jumped over to the medical field right now.

[quoteb020e4d18b="topbillin1"]Certifications are good as a assist to get into the field but after that experience is what counts....

Certs are only paper, such as degree but you won't get into IT without a degree or if your lucky a cert.

My A+ got me into IT but that's it, after that 1st job, it meant nothing more.

To each their own, alot of employers out there and many have different standards... I've learned not to take other opinions too seriously in regards to IT, if I have I would have jumped over to the medical field right now.[/quoteb020e4d18b]
You are certainly correct, for SOME employers, as I said. However if you applied to my company and I was reviewing your resume, I would -- quite literally -- skip right over whatever certifications you claimed to have. They are THAT meaningless to me and my colleagues here. And we're a very large company, with over 500 people in the IS department alone. At least on my side of the fence (development & engineering) certifications mean nothing to us. I can honestly tell you that it wouldn't put you in any better position to get hired over someone else that had no certs. That's why I said that if you are looking to work for a specific employer, try to discern their view of certifications before you waste your time & money. However if you're shotgunning resumes to multiple companies, the cert might stick at some of them, so it may be a good idea.

As I said, I have many personal experiences with either hiring or working with people who held certifications -- multiple certs in some cases -- who were useless. On the contrary, I've had people with NO degree and NO certifications, who could run rings around folks with graduate degrees. One of the worst employees I hired and had to manage had double Masters degrees. He was also the first employee I had to terminate.

I do agree that a college degree, and to a much lesser extent certifications (particular in lieu of a degree), are sometimes necessary to get your foot in the door and be considered. However it certainly IS possible to get into the IT field (and be very successful at it) without a degree at all, much less a cert. You just have to usually know somebody, and then be able to prove or back up your claim of technical competency.

Dmorris, I couldn't agree with you more. Why do people need a peice of paper to prove they know/or don't know what their doing.

In my case I want to learn )

I'm already in the work place working for a top fortune 500 company going permanent tomorrow (Finally!.. go me! )

I talked with my boss and he bought me the two ms press books for the cert in the orginal post and he said he would pay for the test.

I started at the books today because I can't wait to read them as I have a great interest in learning more!

I got hired at my current job with no certs, but I do have a Bachelors degree which probably help me get my foot in for the interview.

We have a spot open on our team now and the hiring guy was telling me he see tons of people with a crap load of certifications but dumber than an ass.

Anyone have DCSE?? How is it? Worth taking?

Wow, I was just about to bump this thread as well. I have a question about A+ Certification, preferable from someone who has taken the test. Which books did you use to study? Were they good enough for you to pass the test?

A+ should be pretty easy to pass, I didn't read too much into it but if I remember correctly it is mainly just understanding where things go on the PC and what hooks up to what.

[quote80c9375032="TryinToGetPaid"]A+ should be pretty easy to pass, I didn't read too much into it but if I remember correctly it is mainly just understanding where things go on the PC and what hooks up to what.[/quote80c9375032]

CompTIA released new A+ exams in late 2006. Instead of having two exams one of hardware and one for OS, the test now has two tests one for hardware and OS (or the A+ essentials) and one elective of your choice. If someone has taken the new exam, I want to know which books he used to study for the test.

Anyone know what is needed to become dell certified on desktops?

I see the below, do I have to do all of those to become certified in desktops?

Desktop
DCSE Personal Maintenance Exam - Dimension Certification Version 6 (Non-DSP)
DCSE Personal Maintenance Exam - Optiplex Certification Version 6 (Non-DSP)
DCSE Personal Maintenance Exam - Precision Workstations Certification Version 6 (Non-DSP)
Foundation 2007 Desktops

I would appear so. Much like the MCSE you take a bunch of smaller, broken down tests to get the certification.

[quote01be4f1218="TryinToGetPaid"]I would appear so. Much like the MCSE you take a bunch of smaller, broken down tests to get the certification.[/quote01be4f1218]

But I believe the Foundations 2007 Desktop covers EVERYTHING...hrmmm

Edit

If you want to certify in Desktops, you will need to take the Associate V5.0 OptiPlex, Associate V5.0 Dimension and Associate V5.0 Workstations.

daggoth, PM me and I will send you all the A+ study material I have, hoestly two or three days of studying should be enough for you to pass. I used the Sybex A+ book

Well I'm all signed up to take

BCP-211 Supporting BlackBerry Devices in an Enterprise Environment

I have a week to finalize my studys

Your company wanted you to take that?

[quote8cc96e5f14="bballp6699"]Your company wanted you to take that?[/quote8cc96e5f14]

I offered to take it seeing that I'm a senior bes admin and my boss said sure and he liked that I was being proactive

A+ , Net+ , and C-tech Wiring & Cabling was a BREEZE!

CNA was a bit different ;)


Problem is , because I don't have 2 Year's experience in a "Production" Environment. I can't get a job in the field. Even though I spent over a year in school.

That they don't tell you in school, before you've paid your tuition ;)

I just don't understand, how everyone wants 2+ years experience, yet No one will hire you, because you don't have it.

[quote742ed49a48="hawke12"]I just don't understand, how everyone wants 2+ years experience, yet No one will hire you, because you don't have it.[/quote742ed49a48]
Classic chicken/egg problem that affects most recent grads in professional/technical fields. Most people have to take a job doing something more menial, such as internship or clerk position, and then work their way into a better positions. Most companies look within for talent before they look outside.

As an IS/IT manager myself, I can tell you that we value experience over education any day of the week. As I've said before, degrees and certifications are nice to satisfy HR and make it easier to get an interview, but doesn't weigh heavily on the hiring decisions at many places outside of academia/science. The only time I've paid much attention to school/certs was when there liwasli a lack of production experience, or when they worked on some interesting school projects that they noted on their resume. But not all fresh graduates are a natural and have a knack for hitting the ground running, and especially in this economic environment, nobody wants to pay you to "train up" your first year on the job.

[quote3413c029d2="hawke12"]A+ , Net+ , and C-tech Wiring & Cabling was a BREEZE!

CNA was a bit different ;)


Problem is , because I don't have 2 Year's experience in a "Production" Environment. I can't get a job in the field. Even though I spent over a year in school.

That they don't tell you in school, before you've paid your tuition ;)

I just don't understand, how everyone wants 2+ years experience, yet No one will hire you, because you don't have it.[/quote3413c029d2]

Tell me about it!! I couldn't get a job for awhile because everywhere I applied they wanted experience and no one was willing to even look at me because I was a college grad

I think alot of it is location.

Had I have been in a position to move to one of the coasts I probably would have had an easier time to find something. But it just wasn't possible.

[quotea8eab7e665="topbillin1"]Certifications are good as a assist to get into the field but after that experience is what counts....

Certs are only paper, such as degree but you won't get into IT without a degree or if your lucky a cert.

My A+ got me into IT but that's it, after that 1st job, it meant nothing more.

To each their own, alot of employers out there and many have different standards...[ba8eab7e665] I've learned not to take other opinions too seriously in regards to IT, if I have I would have jumped over to the medical field right now.[/ba8eab7e665][/quotea8eab7e665]

It's all about designation in the health sciences and what piece of paper you have at the end unfortunately. The most brutal part of the process is getting in... twisted