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mcse 2K value?

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by mpaniccia27

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How valuable is an MCSE? I do not have a college degree, yeah, I know that would help a lot, but I just do not have the time right now. I have just earned my MCSE for Win2K (also have my MCSA). I am currently working in IT. I was moved into this dept. by my own choice about 6 months ago. I have a very good understanding of Windows 2000 infrastructure, Active Directory, and migration strategies. I didn't just study for the tests just to get the title, I really learned this stuff and have setup atest lab environment. Unfortunately, my current company has only 3 IT people (myself included) so I end up troubleshooting current issues, many of which could be solved if we would just migrate to 2K already. They are in no position at this time to migrate and I am afraid that if I do not begin using the skills I've attained, I will forget a lot of it. I'm also afraid to leave this job because the market is so dry. BUT, if I were to leave this job, with my certification, knowledge, and understanding, is that enough to get another job, perhaps working with a consulting company? I'd like to have someone to learn from, I've only been doing this for 6 months. I am able to pick things up very quickly (so I've been told by management). I'm verymotivated to learn more.

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by timwalsh

Where to start:

With the current job market, it's really hard to give a single correct answer.

First the value of your certification(s) in your current situation: Your employer may not be in the position to migrate now, but what are the long-term plans? (are there long-term plans?) If they decide to upgrade in the future, you could very quickly become THE MAN (especially if you're the only one with Win2K experience). The question is how far off is that future and do you want to wait around? On the flip side, of course, you correctly stated that if you don't use it you can lose it.

Should you go job hunting? Many employers will use a certification as a filter, but still want certain levels of experience to back up the certification. The fact that you have (if I read you question correctly)) only six months in the IT field, would probably get you at best an entry-level position in most mid- to large-size businesses. Or you could get very lucky and run across an open position where a company doesn't have a full-time IT person, wants to expand its IT infrastructure, and yours is the best resume they've received (because all the really experienced guys are getting hired by the large companies). Some companies may accept a certification in lieu of some level of (although usually not all) experience.

A consulting company may or may not be the answer. Do there seem to be more openings with Consultancies than with regular businesses?

(continued)

by timwalsh

You need to realistically answer some questions:
Are you happy where you are (despite the inability to put your new skills into practice)?
Would you fit into a larger company environment where you may have more bosses, a more structured work environment, maybe having to work shifts, etc.? Or is your temperament more suited for a small company environment?
What is the true job market in your area? Would you be willing to move?
What are your true skills? What are your weaknesses? You willserve yourself better by answering these 2 conservatively rather than being over confident.

In the mean time, some suggestions:

Start keeping statistics of the problem areas you regularly run in to and put together a Cost-Benefit Analysis (i.e. X number of problems daily causes XX number of lost hours of productivity (or downtime) which equates to $XXXX of lost profit per month; implementing a new operating system (which solves the majority, if not all, of these problems) would incur a one-time cost of $ZZZZ for software, hardware upgrades, and training; however, this cost can be offset by increased productivity and be totally recovered within YY months). Usually, if you can show number that are easily defended and easily understood(usually because they follow the $ sign), you can put forward a good argument for implementing an upgrade (this is of course assuming your company isn?t already JUST hanging on by the narrowest of profit margins).

Make the best use of your test lab to keep your skills current.

Keep your ear to the ground so that you can jump in case you run across a better situation.

Whatever you do, don?t give your present employer any idea that you may be unhappy and are considering other employment,or any cause for him to consider firing you.

Good Luck. (Sorry this is so long winded)

by penguinsrule

IT employment is not much different that trading in any kind of commodity or security. It is literally a supply / demand senario - with whatever skills you have meeting whatever skills that are needed. It also has a lot to do with the level of decision making in the position, how long someone has been looking, people situations, where you are located, all kinds of factors.
So what you have to do is to keep working on your skills - YOU WILL NEVER KNOW IF IT HELPED YOU OR NOT, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT YOU'LL KNOW - this is a true statement. It looks like you are in the Adminstration side of things and not programming, and you know Win2K and probably NT, but how good are your database administrations skills - those are important, network administration skills, project management skills, what about other operating systems like Linux, Unix, VMS, AS/400, Storage, Security, etc. I can go on and on - there are so many skills that you really need to be well rounded technically, and Win2K is just one of them. In my view you have a long way to go to really get to where you are a technical lead/project lead type position. My advise is to work on the other skills too. It's a lot of work. MOST LIKELY YOU WON'T KNOW IF ANYTHING HELPED UNTIL YOU LOOK FOR WORK AGAIN.

hope this helps - Rick

by shanghai sam

IT employment is not much different that trading in any kind of commodity or security. It is literally a supply / demand senario - with whatever skills you have meeting whatever skills that are needed. It also has a lot to do with the level of decision making in the position, how long someone has been looking, people situations, where you are located, all kinds of factors.
So what you have to do is to keep working on your skills - YOU WILL NEVER KNOW IF IT HELPED YOU OR NOT, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT YOU'LL KNOW - this is a true statement. It looks like you are in the Adminstration side of things and not programming, and you know Win2K and probably NT, but how good are your database administrations skills - those are important, network administration skills, project management skills, what about other operating systems like Linux, Unix, VMS, AS/400, Storage, Security, etc. I can go on and on - there are so many skills that you really need to be well rounded technically, and Win2K is just one of them. In my view you have a long way to go to really get to where you are a technical lead/project lead type position. My advise is to work on the other skills too. It's a lot of work. MOST LIKELY YOU WON'T KNOW IF ANYTHING HELPED UNTIL YOU LOOK FOR WORK AGAIN.

hope this helps - Rick

by penguinsrule

Oh, I forgot something - not having a degree hurts you a lot more than you know. Many companies still use the degree as a major contributing factor. Without a degree you'll probably be able to do helpdesk, desktop support, or general troubleshooting, but when you try to go to the higher level positions, this will hurt you.

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