morayo08:


With desktops, servers etc please ask yourself the question, can someone pay me in the next 4 years to consult me on what I am doing? When secondary students are already have hands on. Cisco is a lifetime career path and I stand to be corrected.

Qudbell:
hello friends,
I have known since my undergraduate days that being an I.T certified individual boosts your chances of landing a good job after school and my experiences in the labour market justified that. Actually, I just had my CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) but someone more experienced is telling me to switch to the Microsoft path. does anyone in here have something to add which I can learn from here?

Allboiz:




Nice response... Pls, what is your view on COMPTIA A+ in terms of job opportunity in Nigeria today?

morayo08:
Guy good talk.......

Conclusion: study for a month, take the ITIL V3 certification which is nt expensive and this will give u better understanding of whatever path you choose. Best of luck

presidentpikin:
This post is very informative... I will want to more informatiobin SAP technology and the relevance on the modern technology cos from what I heard abt the technology is getting obsolete and industry are not using it again. I am considering dining their certfication.....

AkumahTalk:
You can self study rather than pay 100k+ to the likes of NIIT.
Just a thought. Sorry if my comment does not make any sense to you; I typed this in a hurry. You should read this article : http://www.techbusiness101.com/specialist-vs-generalist-surviving-the-new-information-age/. Better still visit my blog www.techbusiness101.com. You'd find some very useful tips on how to develop your career, IT companies to target in your job search in Nigeria...etc.

GlorifiedTunde:
Take my advice
..

Do CISCO up to CCNP; have CCNP, CCSP and CCDP

Do Microsoft Also. MCSE ...blah blah

Get PMP and ITIL

Then you may land a job.


Let me tell you from experience - over 13 years. Certifications do not guarantee a job in Nigeria anymore.

Even with all that above, you'll be getting a 70k offer.

If you really want to feel rewarded in technology, once you have done all the above, fly out to Canada or UAE straight.

Nigerian employment really sucks!

Please try to get masters also when you're at it - that's if you still want to stick to Nigeria.

slye:


How can you help with the audios pls?

AkumahTalk:
For IT training, audio files are practically useless and I'd say they don't exist either. The idea of videos is to show you how things are done while you're being taught at the same time. Kinda like giving you a classroom feel. A laptop is a must have as well.

bigtt76:
Good you go for both but also best when you get industry based certifications rather than product based so you don't get limited in capabilities. Not all companies you attend their interviews are ready to invest in Cisco or Microsoft Servers.

An industry based certification in Information Technology such as CISA, CISM or CISSP takes you further in most cases.

AkumahTalk:
I think either will do; depending on your area of interest. As an IT support Engineer; I'd say a Cisco centered Network engineer/Admin job will give you some exposure to Microsoft's Server infrastructure. However a Microsoft System Admin/Support role may not give you any exposure to core network devices like Switches and Routers. There are lots of opportunities for Microsoft roles because almost every medium/large organisation will have an instance of Microsoft's Server operating system running. The down side is that there are also lots of competition as well. There are too many Microsoft certified professionals as compared to Cisco.
To have the advantage in the job market, my advice to you is that you need both Certs to get ahead. You can't do one and run away from the other. To achieve this, there are lots of videos that cover the full MCSE (Server Infrastructure curriculum) and Cisco's CCNA curriculum. I have tonnes of them. You can self study rather than pay 100k+ to the likes of NIIT.
Just a thought. Sorry if my comment does not make any sense to you; I typed this in a hurry. You should read this article : http://www.techbusiness101.com/specialist-vs-generalist-surviving-the-new-information-age/. Better still visit my blog www.techbusiness101.com. You'd find some very useful tips on how to develop your career, IT companies to target in your job search in Nigeria...etc.

Lacomb:
It all depends on your choice of career path, I would advice you look inward at your strength and whatever comes easily to you and you have passion for, Servers or Networking. A lot of people think Microsoft is all about the OS, but that's not true. Like CCNA, you will still have to choose a path, even if you choose to go the Microsoft way (SQL Admin, Exchange, SharePoint,TMG (though obsoloate), skype for business (Lync), System center which is a suite like the office (VMM,DPM,Config Mgr etc and some other). For starters you can go for your CCNA and MCSA like someone advised and see where the job takes you. Which ever you decide , have passion for what you do and be willing to ALWAYS learn, because it's a very dynamic field. All the best.

slye:


I meant to say video jare. naa mistake, apologies

Nihilist:
There are too many networking vendors out there today - Cisco, Palo Alto, Juniper for example which makes commiting to a Cisco cert not as attractive as it used to be.

Microsoft on the other hand are thr global leaders in the desktop and server field.

Simply put, you might apply to a company who don't use Cisco hardware, but you can be sure that they have Microsoft products.

With this in mind, I would recommend starting of with an MCP/MCITP. Windows servers can actually be configured to serve as routers so you might find that a Microsoft cert is sufficient for your needs in thr early stages of your career.

CCNA is really meant for system admins who already have exposure to IT infrastructure. Network configurations tend to stay the same once configured so dedicated network engineers are usually only needed at data centres and colos.

Start with Microsoft. Reassess after a year in your 1st job. That's my advice.

Akathriel:
Well, I think Cisco is better because he sang Unleash The Dragon & Thong Song