MCSE Course with SkillsTrain (Scheidegger)

[GDVS]

GDVS bought the Microsoft one which he also speaks very highly of.

I did indeed, and I echo the self study recommendation.

There are always helpdesk jobs if you look for them, that's the way to get in (or in my case get stuck because they say they can't afford to have me off the helpdesk as I'm too good at it ).

[pp05]

I know someone doing it with skillstrain.

[rainbow]

oh rite when u say help desk give me a scenario here??

so what does your mate say about them?

would u say if i put the work in it would pay off? or are they just the slippery slope to fa

[Moby-Dick]

At is most basic , Helpdesk jobs are about getting the right information out of a user to either fix their problem there and then , eg. Outlook Troubleshooting , Password Resets or to be able to Log a call to the 2nd line team so that they have sufficient information to fix it without having to get back to the user to find out what the problem is

[rainbow]

o rite

so what is the best route to take?
coz i know deluded guy must be thinking hard about it now too?

[rainbow]

guys i have thought about this and what i am now thinking is to get these qualifications through http://www.vue.com/ms/mcse/ and learn myself then try and find a job independantly? would this be a good idea your views please..

what you now thinking deluded guy??

[DeludedGuy]

guys i have thought about this and what i am now thinking is to get these qualifications through http://www.vue.com/ms/mcse/ and learn myself then try and find a job independantly? would this be a good idea your views please..

what you now thinking deluded guy??

Im thinking exactly what your thinking.

I still see the MCSE as a very valuable qualification. Its not just about the qualification though, I want to learn, so someday soon I can be cisco certified.

I am prepared to start at the bottom (No less than £18k when I have my MCSE though).

[Moby-Dick]

you can take the actual exams throuhg VUE or Prometric.com its £88 a module to sit the test adn you'll need 7 of them for the MCSE

I had a quick look online and with 12 months experience under your belt in london you could get much more than 18k

[rainbow]

thanks guys really has opened my eyes im now looking at two routes

either going to college down wyhere im moving to wit my mates and doing this

http://www.richmond-utcoll.ac.uk/cou...ail.asp?id=544

or doing my own study and going the way of test center, u mention about after 12 months experince where would u look for that anywhere?
what would u say is the better option i knwo the college course is not the same but im am into netwroikgina dn the practical side of pc building maintenance, what would lead to better things?

at least now im deffo not gunna waste 5 grand

[GDVS]

At is most basic , Helpdesk jobs are about getting the right information out of a user to either fix their problem there and then , eg. Outlook Troubleshooting , Password Resets or to be able to Log a call to the 2nd line team so that they have sufficient information to fix it without having to get back to the user to find out what the problem is

If you find a Helldesk with no second line then that's a better prospect for learning (and pay). Somewhere where the policy is "If you can fix it, fix it". They are a small minority but the experience is invaluable, Outlook problems could be caused by anything from a corrupt profile (re-create profile) to backup failure (backup fails, transaction logs build up, hard drive fills, information store service stops). Ideally you want the sort of place that lets you fix with the second (move some of the transaction logs to another volume, restart Exchange IS service, diagnose and fix the backup issue) as well as the first but they are a definite minority, most places consider that a systems/3rd line job.

I consider myself lucky to work on one of the second type, I couldn't do the first type without going insane but I have a fair amount of experience at this so there's almost nothing for me to learn there (although you still pick up little things like Visio <=2002 cannot open Visio 2003 files) . I'm working on my MS certs because where I work there are no systems jobs going which means no promotion possiblities, I get very well paid for Helldesk work but not as much as I could earn doing systems (nothing like as much). The problem is my current employer knows how good I am (not blowing my own trumpet here, I really am very good at this game) but other people don't, I don't have a single piece of paper saying I'm qualified to turn a computer on (the only work related cert I've ever done was my National Licensees Certificate back in my pub management days). Experience is good but it's much more effective when backed up with pieces of paper, they make HR departments feel more confident in employing you.

Rambling back to the point, I say get a job on a Helldesk and study evenings and weekends for the certs. You can move up the initial steps of the ladder quite quickly if you apply yourself (I'm lazy, makes me a good sysadmin but bad at studying) and once you establish yourself with some experience the IT world is your oyster.

[rainbow]

its just getting some1 to hire me when i have nothing but my gcses and my word that i can do alot with pcs

[Moby-Dick]

its possible - I took on a lad who's last job was the Co-Op when I was working for an outsourcer.

[rainbow]

hehe im goign to look into it

[RVF500]

Ok, enterprise scenario:

Hello, helpdesk can I help?.....

The internet is down!!

What all of it?.....

Of course I can't get on

mmmmmkayyyy...which bit of it are you using?

What do you mean which bit am I using?

Well, it's pretty big you know....I doubt if it's all down

Look, you're the helpdesk, just fix it I have an important e-mail to send......

It will then take you an hour to find out that he want's to send a mail to his mate to tell him yes he did catch last nights episode of Top Gear and when he moved the PC to get at his pencil that he dropped under the desk he managed to yank the LAN cable out.

After cutting your teeth on that get some Cisco certifications and move over to networks and watch your pay go up

The best route in though is to go via the microsoft entry point (for want of a better phrase) as Unix admins or Cisco engineer positions tend to want more experienced people along with the certification. Once you have a background in IT it's much easier to make the jump. Those latter do make more than microsoft techs on average.

[DeludedGuy]

I've decided to do the CCNA instead of the MCSE. I will then hopefully go on to to my CCNP.

I think I will do the CCNA at the london met uni, its about £2500, but we actually get to be in a class with a teacher.

[Howard]

Aye learning on the job and self studying is the way to go If you can find someone to hire you. I was lucky to get my job considering I don't have any relevant qualifications, it was my knowledge that got me it. My job title is "IT Assistant" so it's not really just IT Support, although a fair bit of it is. Someone rings me, describes their problem and I go sort it. I do a lot of the other administration tasks and work with the actual IT Administrator We get on great