Tips on studying for MCSA/MCITP

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Tips on studying for MCSA/MCITP

mrchillie

53 posts

Master Geek

#73757 21-Dec-2010 15:12

Hi guys!
Im doing a diploma in Network Engineering at Computer Power in Wellington. Part of my diploma is an OS elective study, Windows or Linux. Turns out both options are well out of date, I have asked (begged) to do the latest MCITP Sys admin certs, but theres some excuse of "The MOE wont let us change your course modules" etc.

So I have some questions that I hope someone would be able to help me out with. I am going to do the MCSA certs and try and do the remaining upgrade certs later on.

Is MCITP Enterprise Admin in high demand? Or would I be ok with doing the Sys Admin certs?

If someone has already done what I'm about to do, have you got any tips for me?

I have a Server 2008 R2 box I built at home, I get a few MS licenses for free through Computer Power, and have some Hyper-V machines running XP, Win 7, and Server 2003, giving me the chance to play around and work on getting my skill set up.

Merry Christmas :)

wsnz

649 posts

Ultimate Geek

#422186 28-Dec-2010 19:08

From the perspective of a Manager who hires Techs, here's my two cents:

Pass your Diploma, get as much work experience as you can (even if unpaid - last resort of course), and concentrate on getting the MCITP sys admin cert's to start with.

Unless you have plenty of previous enterprise-level experience, then I personally wouldn't consider you for that particular position ? but it's a great goal to work towards. I would however potentially consider you for a role in the desktop support side of things, and then let you assist the engineers if things worked out. Gradually, you can work your way into the higher-level rolls with a combination of further experience and certifications.

With regards to your home setup, make sure you have a thorough grounding in system configuration, patching, deployment (e.g. WDS), and troubleshooting/maintenance.

ieatservers

73 posts

Master Geek

#423868 4-Jan-2011 04:29

It is too bad that you cannot do MCITP SA (Server Administrator) instead of MCSA. The reason why I say that is because I.T is all about staying up to date with new technologies and more and more companies are slowly upgrading their infrastructure from Windows server 2003 to 2008. MCITP SA/EA are the new set of Microsoft certifications which are based on the new Windows Server 2008/R2.

Certifications are good and while it will give you a good strong foundation, it is nothing like work experience, which is what most employers are looking for. So try and get more work experience as you can, contacting local IT companies and volunteering is a good way to start. Also ask your friends/family/school if they know anyone who is looking for IT staff, networking with others is the easiest way to find jobs (70 percent of the jobs out there are not advertised). You have to also understand that when you apply for jobs online the employer will recieve 100's of cvs so the competition is really tough at the moment. Most people start out in IT support roles such as Helpdesk or desktop support etc and they don't usally start doing server work first, they work their way up, it also depends on the company and the situation though.

Also when you are studying for your certifications make sure you Lab alot the more you practice with the technology the more you learn. You should finish you MCSA and then after you get a good amount of solid work experience working with Microsoft Systems, you can go on and do other Microsoft high end certifications like MCITP EA or MCSE and what not. Getting more certifications wont help your job hunt if experience is what you are missing, but if you like learning the stuff then go for it!!!

Best of luck,
Ieatservers.