I would like to take the MCSE or MCDBA. I do not know which one would be a better option for future employment. Which one has a better demand. I just got out of the ARMY not too long ago and I always wanted to get into IT department in the civilian side.
I do not know what school can I get this cert. from.
thank you,
Alex
Alex, the most important thing is that yo enjoy what you're doing. So I think that you must take a look and decide if you prefer giving support to Windows platform or SQL support. Both jobs are important and have demand but you must enjoy it because on this job you must stay updated and keep studying and learning, and if you don't like what you're doing it probably makes you quit. So, take a look at new technologies and new certifications, because after that ones you must take a look at MCTS and MCITP of that technologies. Regards
Diego MCITP/MCTS/MCSE/MCSA/MCP
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
Classes do tend to bit expensive from what I've seen. You can always study on your own and take Sim exams first to see how it goes. Depending on the results, make a decision then if the classes is what you really need. Since you already have some experience, combine that with the time you'll put into studying and I suspect you'll do fairly well
Erik
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
Alex, Erik is right, you could see the documentation online, technet, sims, labs, and there you can find if you need the classes or not. About how much demand on that kind of job, I don't know exactly the demand on USA but in the world both are very popular jobs. In this days you can work for Italy right from your home, so I can't tell you what of the two jobs have the most demand. Take a look at the jobs online pages and see what the company wants.
DiegoMCITP/MCTS/MCSE/MCSA/MCP
www.cabai.com.ar
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
Both the MCSE and MCDBA are good choices for certs. In my experiences, there aren't too many jr. to mid. level jobs for DBAs whereas there have been lots of opportunity for jr. to mid systems administrators. I suggest going in as a general systems admin and seeing what you like to do. You might decide that networking, or security are more enjoyable. Overall, the MCSE is a better foundation certification.
If you wish to do any programming, then the MCDBA is a better foundation choice. SQL is the underlying layer in almost any data-driven application or website. SQL is also a great start if you think you want to gent into managing systems using products like SMS or System Center.
Of course, you could always get both.
Whatever you decide, best of luck to you.
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
I was in the same boat as you when I left the Army in 96. I had been working with the ISO at my installation, but had no formal training. You would be surprised that you might still be able to get your foot in the door somewhere, depending on the hands on work you did. Take a look at the job listings that are in your area including Craigslist. There might be someone out there looking for a junior admin that they can train up. Of course it wont pay as much but you could probably get your training paid for and get some more hand on experience. Also check your local government agencies as a veteran you would have a leg up, did you have a transition period where they showed you all the job boards for goverment work?
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
It totally depends on what you see yourself doing as a career. One of the options you have is to evaluate the community (metro city area) and see what positions companies are hiring for. This can be as simple as browsing the want ads or the Internet. However, I would hate to see you invest in something you will loath doing. My suggestion is to browse the Microsoft Learning website and get familar with the certifications (more importantly the objectives) you are interested in. Determine if you have a desire to carry out what will be asked of you. Success for me is doing what I love and getting paid to do it. I chose this profession not because of a "have to" but because "I wanted to".
Good luck. Michael D. Alligood
www.theitclassroom.com
Good question. Like others have posted, which certification to get is going to largely depend on which kind of work you prefer, systems administration/engineering or database administration. They both pay pretty well, though I suspect there are more positions available for systems guys than database guys, simply based on the ratio of servers to database servers in most enterprises. :-)
Regarding the security clearance, it can help, but I wouldn't bank on it. It basically says that the government trusts you, so that might help make you stand out among a group of similar candidates, but your skills and personality will probably play a larger role in whether you get a given job. The one exception would be if you're doing government work. I do see positions posted from time to time (even at my consulting firm) that specify that a security clearance is required. Obviously in those cases it would come in handy. If you were planning on going the MCSE route, you might consider going towards MCSE:Security and then working into a more security-oriented career path, in which case the clearance would be a clear benefit.
Regarding the training, I generally recommend that people stay away from boot camps. Most of them are very expensive, and many of them are of dubious educational quality. I've heard of several "boot camps" that basically give you 2 weeks with an instructor and a copy of questions and answers that are (supposedly) directly from the exams, and they expect your "studying" to consist of primarily memorizing the Q&As and then asking the instructor if you have any questions. I'm sure that there are some legitimate boot camps out there, but I can guarantee that they're not cheap. And frankly, the MCSE is supposed to be a way of demonstrating your knowledge and experience with Windows platforms, not a way to get in the door.
My recommendation would be to get some old hardware and the evaluation copies of Windows Server (download from Microsoft). Then get a good set of prep material like the Microsoft Press self-study series. Go over the material, and spend a lot of time playing around with the evals on your old hardware. With your previous experience plus some hands on study, you should be able to start passing exams and get your foot in the door somewhere.
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
Alex, the most important thing is that yo enjoy what you're doing. So I think that you must take a look and decide if you prefer giving support to Windows platform or SQL support. Both jobs are important and have demand but you must enjoy it because on this job you must stay updated and keep studying and learning, and if you don't like what you're doing it probably makes you quit. So, take a look at new technologies and new certifications, because after that ones you must take a look at MCTS and MCITP of that technologies. Regards
Diego MCITP/MCTS/MCSE/MCSA/MCP
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
In the Army not too long ago I did a career change. I left the infantry and went into communications. This course covered, radio, cell, and internet. I worked in the IT department with the network admin. It was fun, but I did not get the proper training I needed to come to the civilian world and work. Well I been looking at theMCSE, with new horizon technical training in the city of anaheim, ca. Although, its expensive but I do believe it's also worth it.
I been told the boot camps for this courses are not the way to go. What do you think? Once I do finish is the work force in a heavy demand? how are the salaries? Since I have a military secret clearance is there a good opportunity out there for me?
Classes do tend to bit expensive from what I've seen. You can always study on your own and take Sim exams first to see how it goes. Depending on the results, make a decision then if the classes is what you really need. Since you already have some experience, combine that with the time you'll put into studying and I suspect you'll do fairly well
Erik
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
Alex, Erik is right, you could see the documentation online, technet, sims, labs, and there you can find if you need the classes or not. About how much demand on that kind of job, I don't know exactly the demand on USA but in the world both are very popular jobs. In this days you can work for Italy right from your home, so I can't tell you what of the two jobs have the most demand. Take a look at the jobs online pages and see what the company wants.
DiegoMCITP/MCTS/MCSE/MCSA/MCP
www.cabai.com.ar
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
Both the MCSE and MCDBA are good choices for certs. In my experiences, there aren't too many jr. to mid. level jobs for DBAs whereas there have been lots of opportunity for jr. to mid systems administrators. I suggest going in as a general systems admin and seeing what you like to do. You might decide that networking, or security are more enjoyable. Overall, the MCSE is a better foundation certification.
If you wish to do any programming, then the MCDBA is a better foundation choice. SQL is the underlying layer in almost any data-driven application or website. SQL is also a great start if you think you want to gent into managing systems using products like SMS or System Center.
Of course, you could always get both.
Whatever you decide, best of luck to you.
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
I was in the same boat as you when I left the Army in 96. I had been working with the ISO at my installation, but had no formal training. You would be surprised that you might still be able to get your foot in the door somewhere, depending on the hands on work you did. Take a look at the job listings that are in your area including Craigslist. There might be someone out there looking for a junior admin that they can train up. Of course it wont pay as much but you could probably get your training paid for and get some more hand on experience. Also check your local government agencies as a veteran you would have a leg up, did you have a transition period where they showed you all the job boards for goverment work?
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
It totally depends on what you see yourself doing as a career. One of the options you have is to evaluate the community (metro city area) and see what positions companies are hiring for. This can be as simple as browsing the want ads or the Internet. However, I would hate to see you invest in something you will loath doing. My suggestion is to browse the Microsoft Learning website and get familar with the certifications (more importantly the objectives) you are interested in. Determine if you have a desire to carry out what will be asked of you. Success for me is doing what I love and getting paid to do it. I chose this profession not because of a "have to" but because "I wanted to".
Good luck. Michael D. Alligood
www.theitclassroom.com
Good question. Like others have posted, which certification to get is going to largely depend on which kind of work you prefer, systems administration/engineering or database administration. They both pay pretty well, though I suspect there are more positions available for systems guys than database guys, simply based on the ratio of servers to database servers in most enterprises. :-)
Regarding the security clearance, it can help, but I wouldn't bank on it. It basically says that the government trusts you, so that might help make you stand out among a group of similar candidates, but your skills and personality will probably play a larger role in whether you get a given job. The one exception would be if you're doing government work. I do see positions posted from time to time (even at my consulting firm) that specify that a security clearance is required. Obviously in those cases it would come in handy. If you were planning on going the MCSE route, you might consider going towards MCSE:Security and then working into a more security-oriented career path, in which case the clearance would be a clear benefit.
Regarding the training, I generally recommend that people stay away from boot camps. Most of them are very expensive, and many of them are of dubious educational quality. I've heard of several "boot camps" that basically give you 2 weeks with an instructor and a copy of questions and answers that are (supposedly) directly from the exams, and they expect your "studying" to consist of primarily memorizing the Q&As and then asking the instructor if you have any questions. I'm sure that there are some legitimate boot camps out there, but I can guarantee that they're not cheap. And frankly, the MCSE is supposed to be a way of demonstrating your knowledge and experience with Windows platforms, not a way to get in the door.
My recommendation would be to get some old hardware and the evaluation copies of Windows Server (download from Microsoft). Then get a good set of prep material like the Microsoft Press self-study series. Go over the material, and spend a lot of time playing around with the evals on your old hardware. With your previous experience plus some hands on study, you should be able to start passing exams and get your foot in the door somewhere.
Marked as answer byKen Rosen_MSMonday, June 30, 2008 9:24 PM
