Ok so what now...?

[Melm0610]

Hey guys I am looking for some advice as far as what direction to go career wise.

I recently graduated in December with a business degree but my intentions were always to go into the IT field. I was confident that even without a technical degree that I could land an entry level IT job. Thankfully things worked out and I was able to get a Tier 1 helpdesk job with the title of Help Desk Administrator. The company I work for is great and I love the job so far. I have a lot of free time throughout the day and would like to take advantage of it in some way. I plan on getting my A+, Network+, Security+ and eventually CCNA certs but I think the fact that Things worked out so smoothly for me I have lost some motivation. I didnt expect to get a job so soon without any certs and hardly any prior experience. After a few years I want to move up to a System Admin position and I want to know which is the best way to prepare in my free time.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lexluethar]

I think you have the right idea. Personally if you are going for a system admin position you need to have some experience / certifications in server environments. SO i would do the A+, CCNA then look into something like server 2008. They have two server administrator certification courses, MCITP:Server Admin and an MCITP:Enterprise server admin. Both require 4 to 5 additional certifications.

Microsoft Learning: Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP)
Look at the certifications tab on that page - those are the certifications you should look to obtain for an admin position for windows.

 

[Melm0610]

Thanks a lot for the quick response. I will look into those certs. The IT field has so many different pathways its hard to focus on one so im not going to limit myself to just a sys admin position but it just seems like the most well rounded. What are some other recommended high level positions?

 

[Lexluethar]

I would honestly base your decision more off of what you like and what you are good at. YOu are right - there are a ton of paths to take from server admin, network admin to security and even architecure.

I would suggest studying a very broad range of areas to see which interests you the most - then go for that one.

WIth the A+, CCNA and MCITP you get a wide range of material from hardware, networking to server OS. May even through in a Unix certification to see if you like that.