[RESOLVED] Is there life after A+ cert tech.???

[momo]

Hello,
I have worked as a PC support tech for about 3 years now. My question is what would the logical progression to the next area of the IT field be, or what have most of you A+ techs moved onto?? I am leaning towards programming(C++) but feel being pulled towards MCSE since thats where most of the A-plusers mainly progress to? Whats your take. Looking forward to hearing from you all.

[ephmynus]

After my A+ (4/00) I am now going for my net+ and then my MCSE. I wanted to jump straight to the MCSE but I figured my net+ would be quick enough that I could get out there and gain some experience before my MCSE. This seems like a good route for most.

[cc_penguin]

I am workning towards getting my CCNA, but you have to do what you like. Do you like troubleshooting or writing programs?? Me personally, would rather fix problems, but either route you go, realize that the more software you know the better off you are.

[sab4you]

Ya depends what you wanna do.
1. program, then gofor C++ or whatever you like
2. database, go for access to start, then SQL+oracle
3. networking, I would say Network+ over Net+ if you want, or gofer CCNA and/or MCSE

Right now I am going for CCNA and UNIX System Admin. I figure everybody and mom are getting MCSE and the hey-dey for MCSE's is ending. I agree MCSE is good info to have, but im not going to work that hard myself for not that huge of opportunity.

This also depends on where you live, I am in so. cal where tech stuff is popular. If I took a MCSE and moved to say, Indiana, people would love to hire me.

[Garak]

im a+ now but my next moved will probably be my msce's... and netcerts.. but thats another story...

[computron99]

I got my A+ in Aug of '99. I've been working hard ever since. I sat down the other day and decided to look toward the i-Net+ first.

[SBLive]

regaurdless of which way you go, your field exp is gonna be way more valuable than a piece of paper. When I got my A+ (back in 96) I thought, hey I'm some big jack now, but then I couldnt get a job anywhere cause I had no field exp. When I moved to CA from Maine, I lied a lil on my apps to get a job in the retail computer repair. In retail, they want certs because they can advertise that they have certified techs, but in an IT/MIS capacity working for a company supporting their network, they care more about field exp. Personally, I would not ever go back to retail support again. IT is the way to go, be it programming, software or hardware support. I too thought about MCSE, but I too agree that Microsoft wont mean all that much as it has in the past. I'll probably pesure something along the lines of Cisco Certs, that's where the fun and money are!