sandspider Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hi all I work as an IT manager and am considering future options for training / qualifications. I've got 7 years experience of IT managering, and I've already got MCPs, an MCDST, MCTSs and am MCITP-Server Administrator. I'm not sure what to do next! Considering perhaps one of the above, or something else. The aim of this is to broaden my experience / increase my salary and desirability to other companies. I'd hope to get my current work to pay for at least some of this, and would probably do it in an intensive bootcamp type training course over a week or so. I'd be happy to stay on at my current job for another year or so if they pay for it, but eventually I would like to go elsewhere and get paid more! I've previously suggested a Prince2 qualification to my manager, but she said if it was just project management type training she could mentor me on that Not what I want. So that one is likely to be hard to sell, and ITIL might be similarly difficult. I looked at CISSP but I don't have 5 years of experience of just network security - though I do have experience of network security amongst other things. Then I looked at CISM as that requires less experience, and is also a bit more of an overview of security rather than the hands on technical experience of CISSP. I don't really mind whether I end up as a manager type (I already am, after all!) or a more technical type, as long as there's employment opportunities and decent salaries at the end of it all. Does anyone have any of the above qualifications? Were they hard work, and worth the money / time / effort? Can anyone recommend a good training provider? (I've used Firebrand in the past, and they were OK, but I'd consider others too). Can anyone suggest other possible training / qualifications I could look into? Many thanks, and for reading all the acronyms if you got this far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolhead Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 I don't think any qualifications will make much of a difference. Most organisations aren't capable of maintaining a recognised standard anyway. Like most things it's more important what paid experience you have. Current trends are for virtualisation and remote working technologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammie*dodger Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 (edited) I did the first ITIL module last year and went into it thinking "this is going to be a waste of time" Was actually pleasantly surprised and intend to sit the other parts if I can. Does mean that my eventual aim will be to specialise in ITIL consultation but even if that doesn't pan out I still think it will be useful. Edited November 1, 2012 by jammie*dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest topshot_2k Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Citrix? we are starting to a lot more projects involving it Cisco if you want to get into networking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Cisco CCNA/CCND? Depends where you want to go CompTIA? Prince2 is project management and used by govt. I looked at a prince2 course and may do one in future not cheap and need redoing every 3 years so if you dont use it you could loose it. There are also some NVQ courses available which might be an easier sell at work http://www.learndirect.co.uk/qualifications/business/nvq-management/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deker Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 It really depends on where you want to go from here, 'hands on' or manage, if you want to be hands on then maybe dig deeper in to MS certification (Exchange, SharePoint or Lync) or as mentioned VCP is a good one to add to your current MS ones, if you want to go the management route then ITIL Practitioner and Prince2 are pretty much the standards at the minute. Have a look on the usual jobs sites at roles that you like the idea of and see what they're asking for, it'll give you an idea of where to go next for certification. Oh and there's no way someone could mentor you to Prince2 certification, they can probably give you a much better understanding on how your company implements it but you'll never pass the exams without a course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 I'd go for Prince2, because it gives you a chance to get out of IT management ( which I see as getting increasingly crowded and competitive ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulABF Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Oh and there's no way someone could mentor you to Prince2 certification, they can probably give you a much better understanding on how your company implements it but you'll never pass the exams without a course. What he said. I did the course last year as army resettlement. Confused at the start, during it and at the end even when I 'd scraped a pass. The worst run course I've ever done for content, instructional capabilities and an understanding of what it actually is. I'll never use it. Waste of (the army's) money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprinter Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 All these qualifications are all well and good for the trainers. What really counts is real world experience, if you follow the letter of all this training you'd get ****** all done. Take stock of what you need to do, plan carefully for it, have a backup plan, a regression plan and be prepared to carry the can in an upright and honest manner if it goes tits up. I spent 22 years in IT, started as an oik and finished in ifrastructure mgt. Gave it all up when i realised that the people you do this for don't give a toss, you will never get thanked for anything but will always get brutally rodgered with the rough end of a pineapple when it goes wrong. Save yourself, get out while you can and do something you want to do......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Save yourself, get out while you can and do something you want to do......... Listen to this man, you only live once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandspider Posted November 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thank you for the replies. (And sorry for the delay in responding, been out and about) I don't hate IT, though I don't love it either. (I'm mainly annoyed by a few of the people I work with, but I get flexible hours and work in a nice area...). And it pays fairly well. Not really sure what else I'd realistically do TBH... Some sort of virtualisation qualification might be good - seems to be the buzz word of the moment. (That and the cloud). I'll do some more investigation, and see what work fancy paying for. (If anything!) Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Some sort of virtualisation qualification might be good - seems to be the buzz word of the moment. There's money there, because it's saving companies big bucks. One modern server can replace 5 old Sun servers and all the hassle that went with them. It won't last forever though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Best thing I did was to get my voice ccie, never looked back since. We do a lot virtual stuff now and a lot seems to be going that way.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I'm recruiting for an IT Project Manager in North London - if anyone's interested?! SharePoint and VOIP experience would be nice. PM's my way please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
working dog Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Agree with most of what has been posted above. IT is becoming more competitive. The good old days of plenty have sadly gone, along with a lot of the good will between employers and employees. If you want to go down the management route, ITIL and Prince are good qualifications to have on your CV. If you do want the management route you will have to let go of the tool kit and focus on management training (I doubt you will get the funding to train in both technical and management). Mentoring is all well and good but having the qualification gets you through the first gate of the selection process when your prospective new employee is wading through piles of CV's. ITIL can now be studied on line at a reasonable cost and gives you a common language and understanding around the IT service lifecycle. Project Management can give you a good living but can seem a bit too regimented for ex-techies who tend to prefer to get on with the job, rather than complete 'paperwork'. Another alternative would be the service improvement / auditing route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glensman Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I did ITIL foundation last year. It's basically encapsulated common sense... If you're paying I wouldn't bother. If work are paying, then Free Training! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Project Management can give you a good living but can seem a bit too regimented for ex-techies who tend to prefer to get on with the job, rather than complete 'paperwork'. Good choice of words, I have worked with a few ex-forces project managers and they've been very good. I think the forces training must lend itself well to projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolhead Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Some sort of virtualisation qualification might be good - seems to be the buzz word of the moment. (That and the cloud). I'll do some more investigation, and see what work fancy paying for. (If anything!) Cheers. Cloud is a word used in marketing. It's just a mixed role virtualised estate. It used to be all VMware and Citrix RDS but MS has shafted them with its licensing model. I'd recommend Hyper-V and VDI for further study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandspider Posted November 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll suggest virtualisation training to my manager and see what she says. We're not a very big company, but I'm sure I can find a use for it! I've used Hyper-V before, and I messed around with VMWare today. Will look into VDI too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandspider Posted November 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Hi all Sorry to bring this up again, but in terms of Virtualisation training, there seems to be the option of either VCP (run by VMWare themselves) or an alternative called CVE. My usual training provider offer the latter, and say that it's "better" (more hands on etc.) than the VCP. But they would say that, wouldn't they! Has anyone got either, or can anyone suggest a better virtualisation certification? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolhead Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 They all seem to be run by the developers themselves. Since 1) MS Hyper-V is included with 2008 2) They insist on having Remote Desktop CALs whether you use their RDS or Citrix RDS 3) MS VDI does not require VDI CALs if used from a windows client which has Software Assurance It's just my opinion but I think this adds up to a market manipulation that makes end to end MS the most cost effective. VMware and Citrix are undoubtedly better but if you still have to pay MS whether you use their infrastructure or not I think an MS will eat into their markets. http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cert-virtualization.aspx There's a limit to what you can do because I.T. is too big to be skilled in everything. It's a gamble but not so much if the employer is paying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Cisco and now HP are starting to take over the network side of the business....plus the potential in this side of IT is growing and expanding..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandspider Posted December 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Hi all Seems I'm back at the same place again. Just wondering if anyone can recommend a good, useful & relevant IT certification now? I see it's 3 years since I first posted this! I suppose virtualisation is now less popular as most appropriate servers will by now have been virtualised. Cloud? Cloud security, CCSP? I didn't end up doing any training previously, never found the time. But I do now have 3 years more experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandspider Posted December 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Azure? Office 365 perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlistairB Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Lots of larger companies have been a bit slow adopting Agile but are now starting to embrace it. Whilst its far from perfect in terms of large Enterprise implementations, it may be something to look at. Lots of job ad's are asking for Professional Scrum Master certification, less so for Lean Six Sigma. Agile might open some new doors. AB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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