Need your valuable opinion !

[righthere]

Hi ,

I will be really grateful if u could guide me in planning my career.

I am in pre-final year of my Bachelors of technology in computer sc. at a b-grade college.
Due to slowdown in IT there r no campus placements , companies visit our campus only when there is really a boom in the market as it is not a top notch college .

I realize that I really have to upgrade my skills and education beyond the college to ensure a decent career.

What do u suggest I start with ?

I dont like programming much and have no experience working/internship in an IT company. BTW can I do without programming in IT sector ?


Which is the hottest certification go for , your other valuable suggestions ?

Waiting for your invaluable opinion.
Thank you

[skrpune]

You can certainly get a job in IT without programming. There are so many different specializations. What type of IT job are you interested in? It's hard to say what certs would be applicable without knowing what you really want to do once you get out into the workforce.

[brad-]

Originally Posted by righthere

Which is the hottest certification go for , your other valuable suggestions ?

CCNA
Oracle
...are probably the hottest i know of.

A+/Net+ will probably always be somewhat valuable - as well as 70-290 MCP exam.

If you're on the high end, biztalk and sharepoint are big.

I have yet to see employers asking for MCITP...but im not in a big market area. It depends on where you live.

[pennystrader]

I would think at your level a Network+, A+, Security+ or a MCP exam would be a good starting cert. Is it the best one, well no but you need to start into something and this will get your feet wet and you will know by studying hard if you enjoy the material and are interested or if that particular direction would not be a good fit for you (aka network, hardware, security or database). Figure this out and take an entry level exam and then you can move into that direction and go for a bigger exam. Read the forums and learn all you can. There are smart people and alot of us study hard and have paid our dues just like you can as well.

[RobertKaucher]

Since you are still in school and have little experience, I would suggest, and in this order:
A+
Net+
MCITP: Enterprise Support
MCSA or MCITP: Server Admin
CCENT

[remyforbes777]

My opinion, don't count on school to do anything but get you an interview, which is a great start, but that's only the beginning. If you really want to break into IT, teach yourself as much as possible. Experiment and learn. Do you have a Windows Server set up at home? Do you have a Linux server set up? If not do it. Learn how to administer these things yourself. There are plenty of online documentation as well as e-books to help you. Get hands on experience. Sure its not on the job experience but it helps out when you know "where everything is". I landed my first network admin job simply because I told them that I have a few servers running various server applications at my home lab. Good luck and keep grinding.

[dynamik]

Originally Posted by righthere

Which is the hottest certification go for , your other valuable suggestions ?

YourMom+

Just kidding

Do you have any real-world experience or certifications? Have you even considered whether you'd like to work with networking (Cisco/Juniper) or systems (Microsoft/*nix)?

[righthere]

Thanx all for support.

@skrpune : I dont know how to decide as I have almost no knowledge about how things actually are. Networking seems fine to me but I need to know more to make an informed choice.How to evaluate my interests ?

@brad- : I live in New Delhi, the capital of India, if that helps .

@pennystrader : thx for motivation

@RobertKaucher : clears the picture for me

@remyforbes777 : thx for tips.

@dynamik :no real-world ex or certs . How to decide ?

[RobertKaucher]

Originally Posted by righthere

Thanx all for support.

@dynamik :no real-world ex or certs . How to decide ?

Well, that's why I suggested the certs I did. The first three will help you develop fundamental knowledge about PCs and networking in a corporate environment. The second two will help you learn about server systems (OS) and more advanced networking. This will give you a solid foundation from which to develop more specialized skills, even if you do not get all of those certs, but only include them in a study plan for yourself. Those certs + your schooling should get you noticed. To gain exerience I would suggest volunteering your services, either for free or at a reduced rate. When I decided to get my MCSE I helped a small business develop a Small Business Server 2003 domain in exchange for them paying my gas mileage. This helped me a lot in my path to getting certified and looked good on my resume as I tried to get out of the support role and into being a network admin. And who do you think they call when they need help until today?

If you decide to do something like that, ensure there are clear boundries, though.

[NetworkingStudent]

Hello , righthere
I guess it depends on what you want to do, in the IT world. I would recommend pursuing the A+ and Network+ Comp Tia certifications. I think others have already mentioned that though. I think you should consider an internship before you graduate, this will help you gain some experience, and maybe get you a position in the company you’re interning at. Can you talk to your counselor, student services, or a career services person, at your college? They may have some job advice, but most of all they’re paid to help you, and help develop that resume, and get you a job, use them!! If you’re looking for an internship or a volunteer position check this website : VolunteerMatch - Where Volunteering Begins I went on there a few times and found a few positions, but you really have to look to find what you want. However, you can search for volunteer positions by state, and category. Remember libraries and museums always are looking for interns. Also, I included a link that shows roles in IT and certifications needed, I hope this helps.
IT Certifcation, Certification Training, Microsoft Certification Training, Certification Programs, Certificate Programs - New Horizons Computer Learning Centers
You might start off in help desk, so you may want to go with this path, I posed the link below:
Help Desk Certification, Help Desk Training - New Horizons Computer Learning Centers
PS YOU’RE not alone I hate programming too

[ipconfig.all]

Of course you can have a career in I.T without programming. You can get into networking by doing certifications such as mcse, ccna, network + etc. If you want to do I.T help desk or tech work you should go for comptia exams.