Which is better?


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I'm wrting this because I want to get a through answer(s) as well as give a little update. I managed to land a job at a grocery store as a stocker (I know it's a miracle) and while the job is decent I still want something better out of life. I'm debating on whether or not to pursue IT certifications of get an associate degree in IT. I want to know which one has the better investment? What are some good beginner IT certifications to get?

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Technically, you'll need both to get an IT job. It totally depends on what you are going for. Support? Networking?

 

About your most important asset into any field is the ComTIA A+ certification.

  On 12/05/2021 at 03:52, Mindovermaster said:

Technically, you'll need both to get an IT job. It totally depends on what you are going for. Support? Networking?

 

About your most important asset into any field is the A+ certification.

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Not sure who told you that, but you do not need both. You do need to know what you are doing and experience helps. Whether it’s certs or school, you have to know what you are doing. 
 

As for A+…absolutely not. 

  On 12/05/2021 at 03:57, adrynalyne said:

Not sure who told you that, but you do not need both. You do need to know what you are doing and experience helps. 
 

As for A+…absolutely not. 

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Actually, it looks good on your resume to have both, and businesses read your resume, not your experience. I have ton of experience, and I never got an IT job.

 

ComTIA A+ is the number one certification you want. But yes, there are many many more.

  On 12/05/2021 at 03:10, RolloofTheNorm said:

I'm wrting this because I want to get a through answer(s) as well as give a little update. I managed to land a job at a grocery store as a stocker (I know it's a miracle) and while the job is decent I still want something better out of life. I'm debating on whether or not to pursue IT certifications of get an associate degree in IT. I want to know which one has the better investment? What are some good beginner IT certifications to get?

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I really depends on where you live. Should I rewrite that sentence in interrogative voice?

 

I myself started on the path of getting an MCSE. I dropped out. There were seven exams, and each exam's cost at the time (2004) was $250. For me, it was a large sum to spare. Now, all I got is a couple of MCP certifications on Windows Server 2003, but since I have actual work experience, they are unnecessary.

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:00, Mindovermaster said:

Actually, it looks good on your resume to have both, and businesses read your resume, not your experience. I have ton of experience, and I never got an IT job.

 

ComTIA A+ is the number one certification you want. But yes, there are many many more.

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Now we know why you aren’t getting an IT job. A+ is worthless. 

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:01, adrynalyne said:

Now we know why you aren’t getting an IT job. A+ is worthless. 

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Do you? Do you own a multi-billion dollar company to say that? A+ is just one of many.

 

Here's a pic I found. This is 2021 edition:

 

image.png.2aaf93df470e5e39b6935d1f92323f83.png

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  On 12/05/2021 at 04:07, Mindovermaster said:

Do you? Do you own a multi-billion dollar company to say that? A+ is just one of many.

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I’ve worked alongside enterprise IT for the better part of a decade and not one co-worker  has had an A+. 
 

Anecdotal sure, but far more credible than saying it’s a must to get. 
 

When I was younger and working in a call center, A+ was the bees knees. 
 

Call center. Let that sink in. 

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:08, adrynalyne said:

I’ve worked alongside enterprise IT for the better part of a decade and not one co-worker  has had an A+. 
 

Anecdotal sure, but far more credible than saying it’s a must to get. 

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What about the other ComTIA certs?

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:11, adrynalyne said:

I would spend the time for Network + if someone needed a starting point. 

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According to the list above, Network+ is #8, where A+ is #5. You saying that isn't important?

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:13, Mindovermaster said:

According to the list above, Network+ is #8, where A+ is #5. You saying that isn't important?

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Network + can help gain you low level security clearance. So…yes. 
 

If your aspirations aren’t any higher than replacing hard drives and video cards, go for A+. 

 

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:17, adrynalyne said:

Network plus can help gain you low level security clearance. So…yes. 
 

If your aspirations aren’t any higher than replacing hard drives and video cards, go for A+. 

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By itself it might not be worth much, but with other certs (many of which aren't hard to get) they do show you'll put forth the effort.

  • Thanks 1
  On 12/05/2021 at 04:18, Randomevent said:

 

By itself it might not be worth much, but with other certs (many of which aren't hard to get) they do show you'll put forth the effort.

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If you have other certs, it doesn’t matter anyway. 

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:17, adrynalyne said:

Network plus can help gain you low level security clearance. So…yes. 
 

If your aspirations aren’t any higher than replacing hard drives and video cards, go for A+. 

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A+ touches all the areas, though. Hardware, Software, Networking, Printers, etc. It's a broad cert, not specific to one area.

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:19, Mindovermaster said:

A+ touches all the areas, though. Hardware, Software, Networking, Printers, etc. It's a broad cert, not specific to one area.

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I did the A+ in my youth. It’s a computer repairman cert. which, if that’s the goal, go for it. 

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:20, adrynalyne said:

I did the A+ in my youth. It’s a computer repairman cert. 

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Not the first half. Second half was easy for me. First half I had to retake.

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:07, Mindovermaster said:

Do you? Do you own a multi-billion dollar company to say that? A+ is just one of many.

 

Here's a pic I found. This is 2021 edition:

 

image.png.2aaf93df470e5e39b6935d1f92323f83.png

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This is quite a significant list. It shows that so many people have CCNA that a recruiter or interviewer can easily pass over them. One who seeks to fill the shortages of the IT world needs to avoid these certificates, although the worth of that shortage is another topic.

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:23, Fleet Command said:

This is quite a significant list. It shows that so many people have CCNA that a recruiter or interviewer can easily pass over them. One who seeks to fill the shortages of the IT world needs to avoid these certificates, although the worth of that shortage is another topic.

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Well, 2/3 of that is Networking stuff. I never did much with the networking side.

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:29, Mindovermaster said:

Really? huh..

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Well, yeah. I'd be hard to tell someone to manage and maintain a multi-site Active Directory implementation if that person doesn't know what Ethernet means. How is he supposed to fix the replication problems?

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:34, Fleet Command said:

Well, yeah. I'd be hard to tell someone to manage and maintain a multi-site Active Directory implementation if that person doesn't know what Ethernet means. How is he supposed to fix the replication problems?

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I was just curious. I found this in UrbanDictionary:

 

  Quote

ethernet

What you wish was there to catch you when you pass out
at your computer desk and fall out of your chair!

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ROFL

  On 12/05/2021 at 04:20, adrynalyne said:

I did the A+ in my youth. It’s a computer repairman cert. which, if that’s the goal, go for it. 

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What I mainly want to do is dev ops and cloud services. Are those certifications open to beginners or do I need to start off with something else first? 

  On 12/05/2021 at 12:50, RolloofTheNorm said:

What I mainly want to do is dev ops and cloud services. Are those certifications open to beginners or do I need to start off with something else first? 

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Start with Network +. Then look at cloud certs. 
 

I’m not big on certs, honestly. I have several and if my employer didn’t want/need them for MS competencies, I wouldn’t have them. 

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