Getting Certified For IT Helpdesk or Technical Support Jobs

i assume basic certification should be MCP (microsoft certified professional).

you could also get linux, install it and play around.

I disagree with seun.


Nosleep4uk, I advise that you go for the MCP option it has mor clout (or locus standi) than the A+. You would be better for it. I am talking from experience.....

Remember he is in the UK and not Nigeria where everything is MSCE/CCNA.

Hey, Seun is very very correct, i am an A+ Certified and i have step by step text book i can refer you to get and read through for like $40. With A+, the sky is the limit as a Technician especially in this Western World.
If you are interested in the text book, reply and let me know.

Hi Nosleep4uk,

You are better off with MCP, A+ and PC Build and Maintenance are just another way of sucking money from people.  Although these courses will be useful for beginners with little or no IT knowledge but you would soon find it boring as everyone in the world that is interested in IT has used or are using computing.

Beside, MCP will teach you all these A+ in advance way.  Let look at the topics covered in MCP.  MCP is one element of MCSA/MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Administrator/Engineer)  

"Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) candidates are required to pass one current Microsoft certification exam that provides a valid and reliable measure of technical proficiency and expertise (a current exam is any that has not been retired). " (1) http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcp/requirements.asp

There are series of exams to makes you MCSA/E.  for MCSA below are the elements:

1. Exam 70–2101: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
1. Exam 70–270: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional
( One required)

2. Exam 70–2151: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
3. Exam 70–218: Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment

4.  Selective from here http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcsa/requirements.asp

This would make you become MCSA, but one of them would make you MCP. For MCSE see here http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/windows2003/

Make sure that your investment in studying and acquiring these certs would fetch you jobs as IT is in decline by global outsourcing pandemic.  

If you ask me I would recommend CCNA.  This is the real IT Engineering.  Only 2% of their certs students actually get CCNIE.  Many of CCNA, CCNP are all well placed in IT industry.  I know people will challenge me here.  Lets be candid for now. MCSE/A is for Microsoft and it related technologies that keeps changing every year but CCN is not only for Cisco system but WAN, MAN, ATM, FIBER OPTIC, GPS, GPRS, WIRELESS and etc technologies.  These are the real IT Engineers for me.  I would personally go for CCNA to MCSE.

Finally, Microsoft is only a software company they do NOT build most of their hardware.  There is a different.  That is why you had to study A+ like senu said before going into software.  Believe me if you can pass CCNA you don't need to read about MCSE to pass it.

My advice if anyone can take it is to start moving away from IT.  IT is generic, everyone knows IT.  My Nephew can now program Ada (A 3rd generation Language) by Ada Lovelace a Mathematician in America.  And her sister (Nephew) can fix any computer gliche.  I am not suprise they are thought at school.  And if you are bend on learning IT and getting certs for it do the Open Source Software(OSeS) ie. Unix  They are difficult to configure and debug.  Many companies uses them for critical mession system i.e. bank Stock exchange etc. not only they are not susceptible to virus they are free.  Workstation in a company can have only 2 or 3 technicians to help administer them.  Even worse outsource it.  I remember my first IT job after graduation.  I worked for a company I would not mention their name here and two of us where in a small council room answering calls from big companies like National Health Service (NHS), Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and Housing Association in the borough of Southwark and Lewisham.  The staff calls us to log erros, we help them to fix it if we can and if we cannot we will dispatch Line 2 officers to physical go and fix it.  I can tell you 99.9% of time we can help them over the phone. Problems like I can't login, passwd expire I cannot connect to internet, my browser cannot read some special web apps i.e. download shockwave from macromedia etc.

Many companies are doing this to reduce cost and put people, IT prof out of job.  So, be careful with acquiring all these certs and find yourself in debt or no jobs.

But CCNA, you can not do it remotely infact there is demind for CCNA, the course it though but if you can get it you are in bether position for job to MCSE.  Typical jobs for CCNA

1. Setup ISP
2. Setup Enterprise Information infrastructure
3. Connection two different geographical company together (WAN) i.e Microsoft in CA to Microsoft in India  CA.com=India.com
4. etc., challenging haa...

I will stop here for now

Hi here. After reading this thread I feel someone here can give me some candid advise or refferal as it may be. I recently passed the MCDST- microsoft entry level certification and need a place here in Lagos to improve on my skills especially hardware. Can somebody recommend a place please?