Any training advice?

[cheredenine]

I currently work as an ICT technician in a secondary school - i'm self taught up 'til now, something that has served me well so far but which might not let me make the jump to better paid jobs.

 

So, i'd like to do some training. I'm thinking a Microsoft qualification to relect my experience so far (AD, group policy, user administration, a bit of exchange fiddling); i'm assuming MCSA or MCSE are the ones to look at (not sure on the difference, any clues?).

Problem is money is a distinct issue and the majority of training courses and exams I've seen cost an awful lot - too much to risk on the wrong qualification or inferior training product. I realise i'm not going to get something for nothing, but i'm guessing as with everything there are bargains to be had if you know where to look.

Can anyone share their experience? Has anyone found a cost-effective way to do such a qualification? Any pit-falls to avoid?

 

Cheers!

[jcollings]

I currently work as an ICT technician in a secondary school - i'm self taught up 'til now, something that has served me well so far but which might not let me make the jump to better paid jobs.

 

So, i'd like to do some training. I'm thinking a Microsoft qualification to relect my experience so far (AD, group policy, user administration, a bit of exchange fiddling); i'm assuming MCSA or MCSE are the ones to look at (not sure on the difference, any clues?).

Problem is money is a distinct issue and the majority of training courses and exams I've seen cost an awful lot - too much to risk on the wrong qualification or inferior training product. I realise i'm not going to get something for nothing, but i'm guessing as with everything there are bargains to be had if you know where to look.

Can anyone share their experience? Has anyone found a cost-effective way to do such a qualification? Any pit-falls to avoid?

 

Cheers!

 

The first thing I would do is talk to your employer, perhaps during your appraisal and discuss your desire to do some formal qualifications. Certainly here we provide extensive training to our IT technicians via one of the local unis. We are lucky that Lancaster Uni provide excellent value for money training and are on the doorstep. We have paid for them all through numerous courses leading to Foundation Degrees. Not sure how your school stands on this but we feel it is essential to fund this training.

[kmount]

MCSA is 4 Microsoft Exams, MCSE is 7.

 

Have a look here for how they work: Microsoft Website

 

I think its cheaper if you buy/loan the books and just pay for the tests (around £85 I think?).

[cheredenine]

The first thing I would do is talk to your employer, perhaps during your appraisal and discuss your desire to do some formal qualifications. Certainly here we provide extensive training to our IT technicians via one of the local unis. We are lucky that Lancaster Uni provide excellent value for money training and are on the doorstep. We have paid for them all through numerous courses leading to Foundation Degrees. Not sure how your school stands on this but we feel it is essential to fund this training.

 

Bit of a non-starter this one - not had a days IT training in the (almost) two years i've been here, nor has the possibility of any funding being available been mentioned. ICT seems to be a dirty word to some of the higher eschelons here! I'm planning a relocation with the good lady wife soon, so i might find myself in a better position. I'd prefer to get on with things myself, though, rather than rely on outside influences..

 

 

MCSA is 4 Microsoft Exams, MCSE is 7.

 

Have a look here for how they work: Microsoft Website

 

I think its cheaper if you buy/loan the books and just pay for the tests (around £85 I think?).

 

Looks like MCSA is more up my street, currenty. Am i right in thinking that the exams taken for MCSA would then still count towards an MCSE if i wanted to continue training?

The books you mention - microsoft published books or are there others of value to consider?

[kmount]

Yeah, you can use them for MCSE.

 

Something like this might be a start as it covers 4 exams.

 

Seriously though, someone actually holding the qualification would be better to comment, I'm just thinking out loud on what my plans are.

[cheredenine]

That looks like the one i just found on amazon! I was looking at the 'amount saved' figure, though, thinking "thats cheap!"

[K.C.Leblanc]

The MS books are fine, althought there are other good ones. If you look on amazon their are loads of reveiws. Some MS books come with vouchers for money off exam fees.

 

One problem with MS quals is that some of them are linked to particular OSs, once those OSs are out of date the qualification becomes worthless. It might be worth waiting for the Vista and Server 2008 courses to come online to give your MSCE a longer life span. It'll also be an excuse to learn new technology.

 

Exams can be booked on Vue.com or prometric.com . Other certifications too look into a Cisco certifications (I.P. networks and routing) or CompTIA.