Career advice needed...MCSA / system and network admin career change. Help needed

vibes23

Hi all

Looking for a career change from sales to IT.

I did a Fetac level 5 in comp Sci about 12 yr ago and worked as a technician for about 3 years after. I was then offered a sales job with a brilliant package so sales is were I have been for past 8 hrs or so. I want to get back into IT and finish what I started and make a career move. I really enjoyed system and small network admin and would love to reskill to get back into this area.

Obviously so much has changed. I'm currently working in sales and I was hoping to do a course at night that would help me get in somewhere as a junior. This is proving a lot harder than I thought. Not deterred I am going to keep at it. Right now I need to decide on a course. I was thinking to do the A+ 801/802 to get me up to date but I have decided I can self study this as a lot of the content I remember from my Fetac course.

So I have looked into a few other courses and I really like the look of MSCA server 2012. The content covers what I would like to do in the long term. What do you guys in the industry think would be the best route for me. I'm 32 I don't have a lot of cash to throw into study so before I invest the little I have I need to make sure it's the right course.

Then once the course is done how would I go about getting a foot in somewhere. I undrstand it's a lot to do with experience. I would be willing to leave my job now and work minimum wage and go from ground up. So any guidence from anyone I would be very thankful.

For the few negative people and naysayers who say I can't do it or won't work. Save your breath to cool your pies!

TIA

tnegun

Look at the Microsoft Virtual Academy plenty there for free to pass the MCSA exams also look at the Office 365 stuff not as much required as the MCSA and plenty of small businesses are switching and getting rid of their local email servers

theteal

I could have typed up a very similar post about 4 years ago. I couldn't wait to get out of a sales management job (the brown-nosing was unreal) so when herself was offered a job on the edge of London, I jumped at the chance to move. I have a fairly stale IT degree from 2005 but I did have a very fresh CCNA that I did in the evenings in the week before we left.

It did take a while to get sorted over here - underqualified for IT work, overqualified for crap part-time sales jobs I was applying for. I eventually got a start with a very small IT company (3 of us and a cat) that covered about a dozen SMEs. My age actually benefitted me there as they were looking for someone older with a car. The experience was great, I quickly realised I didn't know half as much as I thought I did.

Anyway, 4 years later I'm working for a small IT dept in a massive company. On a daily basis I'm now working with VMs, servers, network infrastructure, backup solutions along with the usual 1st-3rd line helpdesk issues. The money is still not great (nowhere near the old sales salary) but the job satisfaction makes up for it abundantly.

I've bored you enough with my story. Certification wise all I have now is a couple of windows 7 certs and I did a CCNA wireless last month just to extend the life of my CCNA which was teetering on the edge of expiration. In your shoes I'd be looking at basic OS certification before moving on to servers. IMO the A+/N+ stuff isn't worth much more than bog roll.

vibes23

Thanks for that man. Tbh money is the reason I'm in this perdiciment. I should a staying put all them years ago! Just had look at the Microsoft virtual academy some great info courses there. I'm just going to keep the head down with a bit a luck I could get in some where in the intrem.

IvoryTower

there's an IT support role going in Ashbourne on jobs.ie, you should apply for it