Getting my foot in the door...
 

Hey guys,
I'm very interested in starting my career in IT. I just visited a Techskills location here in Denver and was impressed with their program. Basically, as many of you probably know, it boils down to this.......you pay $6000 for one year of unlimited IT training/certifications. This sounds like a great deal to me but I need some input from you guys. They say that the average worker can earn 4 certs/year. Has anyone done this? Let's say, for instance, if I get 4 certifications (I want A+, N+, CCNA, MCSE) in the year. Would I be able to get a decent IT job even without a CIS/CS degree? (I do have a bachelor's in Finance). I need some info to decide whether to do this! Thanks!

Well one thing first, do you have any experience at all hands on with PC? Cause paper certifications mean nothing. Lots of ppl can read and study for the certs but haven't a clue when it comes to hands on. The way the job market is right now they are extremely picky. You could be either over qualified or under qualified. Good luck, I do self study myself, I have systems with different OS's on them to do hands on, then go take the certification test, its cheaper. Alot of times these so-called IT boot camps are only giving you the training and the actual certifications are at a serperate cost not included in your initial tuition.

That's true. I recently had the privilege of working with a certified idiot. He had MCSA, A+, CISCO, and one or two others, but he didn't have a bit of common sense. For one thing, he could not follow simple instructions for a simple task, and for another, he did not even know how to attach a plastic stand to a tower!

So, here I am, female, still working on my certifications, and I outsmarted him 100 to 1. (Haha I love it!)

I think what it boils down to is this: having certifications makes it rather easy to get job interviews, because you have the paperwork to prove it; however, the final decision-making is based upon your knowledge and hands-on experience.

You need to find a way to get noticed, without making a fool of yourself, and prove that you have the knowledge that truly reflects your what you're certified in.

Your knowledge, experience, certifications, and your bachelor's degree will all help you to get your foot in the door, but boot camps probably won't. I suggest you start practicing, setup a home lab, and start studying!

Good luck!

Certs
 

Thanks for the advice! Well, it's been a few weeks since i posted that last message and I am currently in the middle of my A+ cert. It's going really well. I understand what you guys are talking about in terms of hands-on experience, it is very important, and fortunately, I have a decent amount of it. Hope the market turns around by the time I'm done with these certs! Thanks again.

Tom

If money is a concern, than techskills is not a good way to go, really, been there and done it! They don't even help you on you studies. All they did for me was give me a book that I could have gotten online for cheap. They provided me with pre-exam that I could have also found online. Cough* Kazza Cough* emue. People that worked there were knida lazy too. I basically learned the material by myself. For the hands on part, internships are there for a reason. If you really love what you do plus study for a reasonable amout of time and really get it, then you won't have any problems.