Which IT Certification for me?

[Scuall]

Not sure if this is the appropriate forum, but I'll try here first.

I've been thinking about a move into the IT world for some years. My background is in Civ/Envir Engineering, having spent many years in the private and gov't sectors. The only problem is that it's getting more difficult to find employment in that field due to the wife and I moving around every two years. She's a JAG (attorney) for the USAF.

One perk is that I'm getting education $ for the next two years to retrain. I've been going to school for another degree (Comp Sci), but thanks to this recent perk, I'm planning on attending a course (or two) specifically tailored for IT Certifications.

I'm planning to self study for the CompTIA A+ cert, i'm pretty knowledgeable in that aspect already. To start, I can attend the following IT cert courses:

CompTIA Network/Server +
CompTIA Security +
MCSA

Should I go the MS (MCSA, MCSE, etc.) route, or attend more CompTIA courses? Obviously I'm looking at this for future employment purposes, and on a global scale as we'll be moving around the world.

Any help from those employed in the IT world would be greatly appreciated!

 

[corbett_1989]

The Security + is the best idea to get due to the fact that all businesses are looking into security measures all the time. The MCSA I don't know how valuable that one is due to the fact that there are businesses and even government sectors that don't use Windows. Plus the MCSA only focuses on Microsoft concepts. All the CompTIA certs cover a lot more concepts because they are vendor neutral. If you can you should take all of them because they can never hurt you, but if money is tight or any reason you should probably take the security and network +. What you should do is look into what businesses want out of their IT employees. You can check online and look around at help wanted sites. I'm in the same boat as you right now. I'm going through college and getting a degree in computers as well. I have the A+ right now. I'm planning on getting the Security + and maybe a CCNA if I feel confident enough.

 

[raybay]

It sort of depends on whether you are looking for Government or miltary jobs... or very large industrial company jobs.
Most employers know that the certifications mean very little... It is the experience on many different devices, operating sytems, software, and especially networks... that make the difference.

For the hire level jobs, you will need Networks training courses and experience above all others... because a good network guy who has network certifications had to know a lot about other aspects of the job... and network training, exams, and experience are much more difficult to fake... You either know it, or you don't.
Big companies will test you to see if your knowledge backs up the certifications, and the most important weeding out tests are about networks.
A+ means very little, except that you have a genuine interest. The A+ test is not difficult, but you will almost NEVER find an A+ certification as a requirement.