Need help choosing an MCP!

[PriestJPN]

To try and get straight to the point, I've been looking for basic PC / Desktop Support work for a while now after a few years teaching English in another country and I'm not having much luck. I've got an Information Systems degree and I honestly love building, repairing and maintaining PCs and networks. Done loads of installs ranging from DOS to XP Pro and can configure them to run securely and swiftly. However, I think a lot of employers worry about my break from I.T...

I'm starting at the bottom rung due to having left the UK after graduation, but I've of course carried on working with PCs in my time away. I hope that getting a suitable MCP will help kick-start my I.T. career again..
I know my first job won't be that great, but I am looking for 'hands on' experience rather than being a call center monkey... So:

1) What do you think would be the most suitable (most useful to an employer) MCP for me to take?

2) What company should I choose to buy the course from? Any good / bad experiences?

3) How much should I expect to pay for a 'home study' course?

I should add that I'm looking to head in the direction of Sys Admin / Network Engineer / I.T. Manager in the future. Programming is not my forte at all, but of course batching and the like are OK.

I'd appreciate any advice as this is getting to be a real concern. Time is ticking on...

[FordPrefect]

First thing is MCP will not get you a job. I'd wait until you get a job and are getting experience and try and get your employer to pay for it. Exactly what do you want to do? Do you want to be a cisco network mokey? Network security? Windows servers? UNIX? Desktop support?

I know you dont want to work in a call center, but as a starter job its either gonna be that or desktop support, and tbh you will more than likely get more experience in a call center as so much is done remotely these days. Desktops are normally called in to reinstall windows from ghost disc if its not reachable over the network. Many companies also contract out hardware support, so as desktop engineer you will end up just installing windows from a ghost disc, rebooting servers and network kit when requested by someone in the management center.

[PriestJPN]

I don't see the MCP as a 'holy grail' for getting me a job, I was just thinking it would be a useful thing to have / be studying while I'm looking for work. Perhaps it'll show that I'm dedicated enough to do training on my own... I've applied for 100's of jobs and some do give preference to MCP or MCSE qualified folks.

To start, I want to do Desktop Support but I then want to specialise which will possibly be in Network Security or server management. I can't be more precise than that as I don't know what area I'd enjoy doing most. It is an interesting point about the call center work; maybe I haven't been open-minded enough about it as a job option....

I'd still like to do an MCP as a foundation for future study such as MCSE and the like, but I'm open to go for Cisco or Linux qualifications also in the future. Microsoft study comes first because I have most experience with their OS's.

[Moby-Dick]

Working your way towards an MCSA should be a good thing , but without experience to back it up most (good) employers will ignore it.

When we look at 1st line guys , whcih is where you would probably start , unless you were lucky to get an operations ( tape monkey ) job , we dont tend to look for masses of technical knowledge and qualifications up the yinyang. people that have tend to be a little know it all , and we want people to be able to do things our way.

An aptitude to learn and a logical approach to troublshooting will get you far more jobs than an MCP itself will.

Saying that, showing that you are studying towards any of them is a good thing

[dozer]

i would start with xp, think its 70-210, then you can do the 2003 stream. i would say it has more relevance now than 2000.

[PriestJPN]

Moby-Dick: Yeah, having the experience is a bit of problem, so I've been doing volunteer IT work for my local Citizens Advice Bureau, as a starter. The other thing is that I am willing to listen, learn and solve problems in a logical way, but its hard to get this point across to employers either in the cover letter or CV... Any thoughts?

Dozer: I was thinking about the XP MCP, I just wasn't sure if people prefered that or possibly the older 2K MCPs as 2K has a wider userbase (if I'm mistaken here, please correct me)... Having said that, your point is completely valid and I do have more experience with XP than the other MS OS's, plus that fact that XP and 2003 are the latest tech.

[TiG]

Moby-Dick: Yeah, having the experience is a bit of problem, so I've been doing volunteer IT work for my local Citizens Advice Bureau, as a starter. The other thing is that I am willing to listen, learn and solve problems in a logical way, but its hard to get this point across to employers either in the cover letter or CV... Any thoughts?

Dozer: I was thinking about the XP MCP, I just wasn't sure if people prefered that or possibly the older 2K MCPs as 2K has a wider userbase (if I'm mistaken here, please correct me)... Having said that, your point is completely valid and I do have more experience with XP than the other MS OS's, plus that fact that XP and 2003 are the latest tech.

Depends whether you want to work on a 1000 user desktop environment vs a 100 machine server system, User desktop i'd say go XP route, server systems then the 2000 route is still without a doubt the prefered choice imo...

I'm going to be doing MCP myself with the aim of getting MCDBA within a year.

TiG

[PriestJPN]

TiG: Just out of interest, which MCP have you picked to do (and who with)? If I did do the XP one, I guess I could progress to doing a more server oriented course if needed in the future... I think it maybe be wise for me to aim at user / desktop support and then once I'm comfortable, take a more specialised route (servers, et al).

[TiG]

Plan to do it like this....

Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)
Exam 70–215: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA)
Exam 70–216: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure
Exam 70–228: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition
Exam 70–229: Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition

Don't get me wrong tho, i'm doing it to enhance my CV, but i've got 3+ years experience in IVR's, this just rounds off my CV nicely, I've just got a new job in under 2 months from starting looking because i got bored with my old place.

All the servers that I build on are win2k, and will likely be win2k until win2k3 has been proved out by the general server community.

TiG

[PriestJPN]

Very interesting... I am drawn to the XP MCP (70-270) because of the 'newness' of XP and the experience I have with it which I hope would help me get off on the right foot, however the W2K Server (70-215) one you mention above also seems good.

It may seem that I'm indecisive, but there's a fair chunk of money at stake, so I need to give it a considerable amount of thought. Thanks to all who have posted so far!