What certifications would help me switch from network engineering to administrator?
career advice, Career development, IT careers, IT certification and training, IT jobs, Network Administrator, Network engineering, Networking, Networking certifications, Staffing, Windows Server 2003
I have two years of experience as a technical support analyst for Elsevier employees where we had access to Elsevier servers through Citrix Metaframe. I worked on Active Directory in creating accounts (Mail and File) on Windows Server 2003. I have an engineering background. I have not had any theory on networking, though I worked on a little bit of it. Please recommend certifications that would help me become a network administrator rather than someone who remotely supports/administers accounts on a server.
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ASKED:
January 15, 2009 5:22 PM
UPDATED:
February 19, 2009 7:47 PM
Answer Wiki:
Boy! Do I have an interesting answer for you. I recently put together a survey of networking certifications for another TechTarget.com Website, SearchNetworking.com. It's called the <a href="http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid7_gci1324551,00.html">Networking Certfication Guide</a> and will surely tell you more than you wanted to know. Given your current background and interests, I'd suggest the relevant Microsoft certifications listed there first and foremost, primarily in the MCTS and MCITP categories.
I hope this helps to answer your question. If not, please post to this thread again, and I'll reply to more specific questions gladly and speedily!
Thanks for posting,
--Ed--
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CompTIA’s Network+ would likely be a good fit for you. You can also learn a ton about networking theory by reading TCP/IP For Dummies as well as perusing (and possibly purchasing) the goodies at Laura Chappell’s site: http://www.packet-level.com
Yes Ed is right, getting training for the Microsoft certifications helps enormously with gaining a quick knowledge of what you need to know to become a network admin. And don’t think you cannot get a job without it either. I had A+ Net+ and MCP XP when I got hired on the netadmin team to be there exchange admin. I got my Exchange cert not long thereafter and 2 more server certs since then. I continue to study and learn and will have my MCSA + messaging soon. On the job training is valuable and will give you even more on your resume once you also have the certs to claim a better job.