how good are -link removed- exam preps for Microsoft and cisco exams ? . anyone have any info about this , then plz let me know . iam trying to shift from auto field to IT field and need some solid guidance

The Cisco stuff is pretty heavy to start out on. Start out lite with an XP or 2000 WS cert. I've been doing this for 15 + yrs and I see the cert shortcuts as a real way to shortchange yourself on knowledge.

T

What are you looking to do? Lots of different Cisco and MS certs? I've done a lot of the microsoft certs over the years. I have MCP, MCP+I, MCP+Site Builder, MCSD, MCT certs from MS. I could maybe offer some advice if I knew what you where going for. Most of mine are getting pretty old, I really need to get out and take a few. I've never really used the cert prep you buy to do my testing.

I took a different route and earned the Degrees.. Will have my Master in Computer Science at the End of the Current Semester. I work for the State Board of Education, in Infrastructure, Networking and DR. I know getting a MS Cert, or Cisco Cert are nice shortcuts to have, but I just never took them. Maybe I will sometime. I did Take Cisco Semesters I & II, just taking that class prepares you for the Certification.

I guess I should add I also have a BS in Management and Information Systems. I think I learned more with the certs though honestly, I had been working as a developer for a good 3 years before I starting taking them. I learned a lot studying for them. I wouldn't consider them a short cut.

No Offense, but You don't learn the same things taking a BS In Compute cience, vs a MIS Degree. This is true at least at the University I attend. CSC was directed more at CORE programming skills, networking skills, etc. While IS was less distinct on this.

I don't know how I would learn more by taking a cert. It is a test, you pass, you get the piece of paper. You fail, your out the money, and no paper for you.

You learn studying for the test, not taking it. I agree MIS was not even close to the same as CE or even CS majors. I took a lot more business classes and never carried around a bread board box. If I was going to go back and do it all over again, in this field, I would do CE not MIS. But then if I was to do it all over I don't think I would go into IT at all. To late to go back now though.

Anyway the tests covered a good deal of things I didn't do, and wouldn't have ever taken the time to learn if I hadn't taken the test. But anyway I think this might have been an ad. He only has one post, and clearly this isn't a good place to put this kind of a post.

Harlan, I think you are right. This was a clever ad for that company. This fellow posted from India.

I removed his link. That was pretty sneaky.

Al

True, but hey... Chevelle Guys, that also Know how to develope software or networking.. thats pretty cool either way.

And I must agree if I did it all over again, I can't said for certain I would choose IT. I am good at it, and it comes naturally, but sometimes especially when programming, you can lose your mind.

I guess we get the benefit of spending 1/2 the day on TC and getting paid for it. But then if you had to look at what I have to look at all day I bet you would too right?

iam trying to shift from auto field to IT field and need some solid guidance

First, learn how message boards work and are organized and start using them correctly. Organization, following instructions and knowing when you just EF'd up are a good place to begin.

Either that or stick to the ol playstation. ;) :D

Certs are good if you have the education or experience to build on. Not so good if that's all you have and you rely on that to get you through, depending on the area you want to get in to. They're very focused on specific knowledge. If you have the skills and basic knowledge of the subject area then certs can be a plus. As mentioned studying for a cert forces you to study and learn things you might not otherwise learn. They're also a bonus on a resume, that does not equate to skills but it sure can help.

Right now SQL, Oracle, Microsoft, MySQL, are hot areas. After the basics then BI, business intelligence which is the real growth area. Companies have been collecting info for decades. BI let's them mine the data for trends or other info in ways they never could before.

EDIT: Transcender is one of the biggest in exam preps, there are a few other good ones but they're not cheap.

I have no certs and no formal education, I have been self taught and have worked in the IT, tech support and hardware, software testing fields for the last 8 years.
I have worked directly or indirectly for HP, Microsoft, Dell, EDS, and QualityLogic.

I have recently made a career change due to the stress level and headaches of said positions. I love computers, and at home I am always challenging myself to learn something new (right now I am learning more about website building and design) it's cool stuff.

Anymore I see certs as just a piece of paper with no real advantages in finding or keeping an IT position.

I have no certs and no formal education, I have been self taught and have worked in the IT, tech support and hardware, software testing fields for the last 8 years.
I have worked directly or indirectly for HP, Microsoft, Dell, EDS, and QualityLogic.

I have recently made a career change due to the stress level and headaches of said positions. I love computers, and at home I am always challenging myself to learn something new (right now I am learning more about website building and design) it's cool stuff.

Anymore I see certs as just a piece of paper with no real advantages in finding or keeping an IT position.

How can you see certs as a piece of paper if you don't even have any? I know my $$ went up when I got my certs, and my MCSD in particular gave me a nice move up. Its been serveral years now that I got it, almost 5, but I saw a $20k a year jump after getting that cert. I got about a $20k jump a few years before that with my mcp+site builder, but I think that had more to do with the .com upstarts needing developers than the certs. I don't know that it was 100% related to the certs but I know without the certs I wouldn't have made that big a jump, probably not even close. I made another pretty big jump when I got my MCT, which I don't even use anymore. I also think both the MCSD and MCT where a huge reason I made it into serveral interviews and that is always 80% of the battle. I learned a great deal taking the train-the-trainer class though, wouldn't take that back for anything. And I bet I learned more teaching MOC then I ever did as student.

Sorry, but around here the markey is saturated and I have been placed in positions that others with certs had applied for but didn't get.
I also worked with a guy that had his MCSE, CompTIA and one other I am not sure of and I was making more money than he was.

I guess I sould not have said they were no more than a piece of paper and for that I apologize.
I should have (in retrospect) done some research in other maket areas too see if people were still benefitting from them.

Again, sorry bout my misconstrued opinion.

They are just pieces of paper..... They aren't wood, they aren't gold bricks... glass, steel... they are and will always be just paper.....same goes for the three degrees sitting on my was... they are just paper as well........