kimchee411
Senior member
- Apr 28, 2001
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Originally posted by: jzodda
Sorry to seem so helpless here, but what collection would be a good start for someone trying to get into an IT help desk position? Like an earlier poster, I have a fair amount of experience in a home environment, but no professional experience. Even though this price is great, I don't have much extra money due to being on unemployment. I'd rather not get a package that goes over most of the information I already know, and I also don't want to get something that's over my head, or not really pertinent to my goals(help desk). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :^)
I think you should do the MCDST and I think there is a link to that package somewhere in this thread. Then upgrade it to Vista if you like since there is one of those for $35 also. I think that link was in the first post.
Then take A+ cert which is 3 exams (I think 602-604) if I am not mistaken.
Then you should be fine for help desk entry level. Once you start you can game plan what other certs to go for and the job itself can help with that possibly or give you clues. For A+ you won't find anything in those packages though.
If you can pass MCDST, I would think you could pass A+ without additional study. Plus having both is kind of redundant, no? Of course I don't know anything about MCDST content...
Also, here's one piece of advice that I think would be helpful for anyone looking for a Helpdesk/Desktop/Systems/Network position: use your home environment as a test lab. Think about how you can tweak your systems and network gear to do different things. For example: set up a Windows domain; build a file server using Windows server or XP or Samba in Linux; add a web interface to that file server with IIS or Apache; use Windows as router using Routing and Remote Access services and try to lock it down; hack that SOHO router with more powerful firmware and set up a VPN; build a Hackintosh dual booting with Windows... ANYTHING that interests you.
A lot of you have powerful computers -- use all that power to your advantage for learning instead of just gaming. Leverage virtualization! VMWare Server is free.
There's nothing wrong with having textbook knowledge, but what makes you really stand out is your passion, enthusiasm, and ingenuity -- and that's what IT managers look for. It's okay if you don't know all of the technologies used in a given environment: you can always be trained. But what's attractive is that you can learn quickly and thoroughly, that you care about what you do, and that you can contribute to the bigger picture.
Of course there are some employers who are more impressed by certs and paper credentials and don't value the opinions of non-managerial staff so much, but who wants to work in that kind of company anyway?
Anyhoo, that's just my opinion... based on my experience.