Jack of all trades...

red menace

Howdy folks,

Just after some general experiences
I have been working in IT in Epsilon roles for the last 3 and a half years.
So I have come to the realisation that I do need to specialise (This was brought home to me in a fairly major way last week when I needed to come up with specific expertise for a visa application and had none)

I am currently weighing up options for a more defined career path as I cannot keep on at support much longer.

So the two area I am interested in are:

Security

Would like to do CCSP

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le37/le54/learning_certification_type_home.html


Is there any other courses that would be recommended?


Virtualization

Vcp

http://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrReg/plan.cfm?plan=12457



Maybe possibly do both?

Has anyone done either of these courses and did they open many doors to you?

Thanks in advance
Shane

kravicecreama

good post dude...I am in the same boat as you.And from having a chat with others(mainly techies)....the theme is the same....time to get certified to be able to get full time/regular employment.
The thing is though...maybe it just me but one of the things that made me distinctive was that I had no qualifications..I was the dude who got called in when all else had failed(ie. the dudes with the certs signed off the tech/project as a dead end and I proved otherwise)
What might be a better question for same like minded people is this...instead of what certs to go for...where do people think the I(nternet) T(hingy) in this country is headed towards. Where are..and I hate to say it..the growth areas...or areas where people with non standard/non university brains can make a name for themselves.
Just a thought...

red menace

How's your programming?
It easy to have demonstrable results from this.
Link on your CV to some open source stuff you did etc?

I am always wary of the next big thing to be honest,

I would be happy with a set of skills that would raise me off the bottom rung,

I am in Canada at the moment and most people here do rely heavily on networking...I can see the benefit in having a good linkedin profile with some recommendations from co workers and what not

kravicecreama

red menace wrote: »

How's your programming?
It easy to have demonstrable results from this.
Link on your CV to some open source stuff you did etc?

I am always wary of the next big thing to be honest,

I would be happy with a set of skills that would raise me off the bottom rung,

I am in Canada at the moment and most people here do rely heavily on networking...I can see the benefit in having a good linkedin profile with some recommendations from co workers and what not

cheers for the "rely heavily on networking" tip.didnt think of that. As regards the linkedin profile...please see read previous post regarding non-qualifications.

red menace

I mean networking in two ways there:

Yes the physical computer networking and also people networking

There's a saying in my little area of North Kilkenny

"A dummy priest never got a parish" AKA you can beat talking to people

Join groups on linked in
Provide your expertise wherever you can
Do a decent profile, talk about your skills and get colleagues and supervisors to recommend your work. It all helps

Moonbeam

The best way to learn is by doing nd then in an interview even if you have no previous commercial experience in something ,if you have done it at home you can talk about it and show that you are prepared to learn new things and demonstrate that you do have experience in it.