Certifications
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@alex-olynyk said in Certifications:
I have been a generalist/jack of all trades IT guy for 20 years. I have been laid off and while I'm looking for a job I've been thinking about getting a certification. What are your thoughts on certifications? What would you recommend? Do employers value them? I don't have a degree. Are cloud certifications worthwhile to get?
It depends on what you want to do / ideal role, where you do it, who you work for / want to work for, the role itself, and short term and long term goals.
Could you answer those? Examples if you aren't sure?
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@Obsolesce Microsoft/Powershell/Linux/Infrastructure/Databases
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I just went through 6 months of unemployment, getting hired on 3/1. Many employers value certs and recruiters, in some cases, require them. I would advise getting a CompTIA Security+ and A+ at minimum, though the A+ is really only needed if you have less than 5 years in IT.
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Think forward when it comes to certifications. Prove where you want to be, not where you're at, currently. With 20 years in IT, an A+ is useless. You have already proven well above that competency. If I look at your resume and see Windows Server and powershell experience for 10 years, I know you have those skills and Windows Server cert doesnt really matter much to me. If you get a cert in AWS, Security, and Redhat. Then you seem pretty adaptable to any environment. It shows you have strength in 3 areas most Windows administrators don't have. Which increases your stock.
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@IRJ said in Certifications:
Think forward when it comes to certifications. Prove where you want to be, not where you're at, currently. With 20 years in IT, an A+ is useless. You have already proven well above that competency. If I look at your resume and see Windows Server and powershell experience for 10 years, I know you have those skills and Windows Server cert doesnt really matter much to me. If you get a cert in AWS, Security, and Redhat. Then you seem pretty adaptable to any environment. It shows you have strength in 3 areas most Windows administrators don't have. Which increases your stock.
If I see powershell on a resume, I'm going to ask the difference between read-host and write-host durung the interview. You'd be surprised how many people just cuut/paste their life.
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@alex-olynyk said in Certifications:
Do employers value them?
Some, certainly. As with anything, some do and some don't. Overall, certs are about the best bang for the buck, especially if you use them as an educational resource.
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@alex-olynyk said in Certifications:
Are cloud certifications worthwhile to get?
If that's a direction that you want to take your career in. Cloud has little to no applicability to the SMB market, so you have to consider that when picking a cert. But lots (and I mean LOTS) of SMBs are SMBs because they don't make good decisions, so loads of SMBs might want cloud and cloud certs regardless of its applicability.
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@Grey said in Certifications:
though the A+ is really only needed if you have less than 5 years in IT.
Supposed to be six months of bench.
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@IRJ said in Certifications:
and Windows Server cert doesnt really matter much to me.
Especially as it has now been discontinued.
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@scottalanmiller said in Certifications:
@IRJ said in Certifications:
and Windows Server cert doesnt really matter much to me.
Especially as it has now been discontinued.
I think they are considering a reversal on that decision from what I've been hearing from some good sources.
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MS certs can definitely give you an edge at companies that are MS Partners, since they need to meet certain requirements
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@flaxking said in Certifications:
MS certs can definitely give you an edge at companies that are MS Partners, since they need to meet certain requirements
I assume that that is going away given that the certs themselves are going away.
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@Obsolesce said in Certifications:
@scottalanmiller said in Certifications:
@IRJ said in Certifications:
and Windows Server cert doesnt really matter much to me.
Especially as it has now been discontinued.
I think they are considering a reversal on that decision from what I've been hearing from some good sources.
Oh, well that would make sense as it was so dramatic that I assumed Microsoft was using it as an announcement that they were leaving the market.
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@scottalanmiller said in Certifications:
@flaxking said in Certifications:
MS certs can definitely give you an edge at companies that are MS Partners, since they need to meet certain requirements
I assume that that is going away given that the certs themselves are going away.
It seems that the plan was that by June 30, 2021 MS Partners would have to have Microsoft 365 certifications or Azure certifications to meet the requirements instead.
However, it sounds like they're already giving a free pass to partners that are not meeting the current requirements https://blogs.partner.microsoft.com/mpn/responding-to-covid-19-microsoft-partner-network/
If they continue with the June 2021 plan, Microsoft 365 and Azure certifications may be in high demand in that area of the market.
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Great topic as I thought about getting a few myself. Leaning toward Microsoft 365, Azure, Cloud, etc...for sure want to finally get my Network+ (love Mike Myers instruction for this)...
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@scottalanmiller said in Certifications:
@flaxking said in Certifications:
MS certs can definitely give you an edge at companies that are MS Partners, since they need to meet certain requirements
I assume that that is going away given that the certs themselves are going away.
MS Certs are not going away. The Server line was going away.
And the MS Partner track has long had the cloud/azureO365 on the list.
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@JaredBusch said in Certifications:
MS Certs are not going away. The Server line was going away.
Certs as we know them and as everyone means. Certs for IT stuff, rather than end user stuff like Office.
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@flaxking said in Certifications:
It seems that the plan was that by June 30, 2021 MS Partners would have to have Microsoft 365 certifications
Yeah, the MOUS style stuff is still around. Those were never considered MS certs in the past, because they were for secretaries, not for IT staff. They are certs and they are from MS, but they weren't IT certs.
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I've been so focused on the RedHat stuff, I didn't realize Microsoft's changes. Thanks again to ML for helping me keep sort of up to speed
