Member Avatar for seufer

Hey guys, I am new to the forums here and they look great. This seems to be a very helpful community and I look forward to being a part of that.

I have been working in the computer industry for several years and I am looking to up my value as an employee. I have tried to go at it on my own and there is just too much stress involved in that. I have some Microsoft training and tests under my belt as well as some Cisco training and testing. I have not finished either of the two testing "trees" out and am looking for some advice. I can self teach myself but I don't want to waste time either. What I am trying to ask is which direction has the better long term benefits, certs, testing, college? I have tried a few different paths and I can never get a straight answer the only thing that anyone ever tells me is that the way they went was the best.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by avinashdubey

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As asked, the best long-term choice depends on the role being targeted. Contributors here have rightly flagged Microsoft and Cisco paths and the importance of hands‑on experience (, , ). Since this thread was started, vendor programs and job markets have shifted: old exam names and tracks were reworked, cloud and automation skills rose in importance, and employers often prefer demonstrable experience backed by targeted certs over certificate-collecting.

A practical decision framework:

  • Pick the target role first (systems, networking, cloud, security, devops). That drives which certs add value.
  • Start with fundamentals (vendor‑neutral or cloud fundamentals) only if lacking real experience; then follow a focused vendor ladder aligned to the chosen role.
  • Build a home lab and small projects (virtual machines, cloud free tiers, scripting/automation, infrastructure-as-code) and keep evidence in a portfolio or GitHub; those projects matter more than multiple entry certs.
  • Use employer-sponsored training or short college coursework to fill gaps when available — employer-paid certs are efficient, as noted.

Practical tips and cautions:

  • Avoid chasing every certification. A few well-chosen, current certs plus 1–2 years of hands-on work or projects give better returns than many out-of-date certifications.
  • Keep certs current and watch for retired or replaced exams; training that maps to day-to-day tasks (AD, Linux, routing, cloud services, automation, security basics) yields the fastest value.
  • For longer-term career growth, combine technical depth with communication, troubleshooting history, and measurable outcomes on the resume.

This advice complements earlier forum points while adding a modern, career-first way to choose between college, certs, and experience: pick a role, validate key skills with focused credentials, and prove them with real work.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for cutepinkbunnies

There is no replacement for MCSA/MCSE Certs period. They are a backbone and probably the first ones you should attain.

Moving onto Cisco, Citrix, other certifications afterwards are great ideas and give you a chance to showcase an area of greater proficiency.

No certification will hurt you, but as I stated earlier the best foundation you can have is the MCSA/MCSE series. So until you have serious experience with MS servers/clients there isn't really an excuse for not having a MCSA/MCSE.

What MS exams have you done so far? They should take about a month each to bang out. What books are you reading? Do you have a lab?

Jon

Member Avatar for joshSCH

This has been somewhat discussed in this thread:
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread79774.html

Basically, most people say experience>Certifications. I'd say do a little both.. An associates degree and maybe a few other certificates.. but of course, I'm certainly no expert on this matter.

Member Avatar for Spriggan

I've been looking into it myself trying to decide b/t CCNA and MCSA/MCSE...
The easy answer is get both. it looks like the first one to get will be determined by what areas intrest you more, maintaining a server heavy infrastructure or maintaining the routers and switches in said environment. I will probably end up getting a CCNA first because it is being paid for by someone else... hopefully I can then get an employer to take care of the MCSE details...

hope this helped

Member Avatar for avinashdubey

hi guyz,i m persuing B.E. and i hv juz completed my 4th sem........can u guyz help me out to where i can do minor trainig?it'll b gr8 help
thanx

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